Wet Shaving With
Gilette Fusion ProGlide
QShave Badger Brush
Arko Shaving Stick
Since I've got plenty of time on my hands,I thought I'd have a go at this wet shaving lark
I bought a Fusion Proglide from Sainsburys along with a tube of Nivea Anti Irritation shaving gel. I found that although this gel smelled quite nice it didn't seem "strong enough" to stop the razor from hurting. I'd seen that Arko gave good results and so I ordered some from Amazon along with a badger brush.
The razor itself has got 5 blades and an edge on blade mounted in a cartridge on a twisted turny head. It makes for a very comfortable shaving experience as its not rigid against the skin and follows all the contours.
A lot of reviews of the shaving soap stick Arko says it's got a lemony smell. Now, I'm no expert but if that's a lemon smell then I'm a 5 legged potato masher! Its GROSS!
I have got a very sensitive sense of smell and Arko smells like some sort of lard made out of animal fat.... largely because that's what it is! The main ingredient is Tallow, which is FAT that's been scooped out of various animals.
There might be lemon in there somewhere but to me it smells very much like animal fat and soap from the 1970s. The positive side of ARKO, is that it seems to give a really good fuzzy foamy protection from the blades of the fusion. You can still hear the scratchy sound as it goes across the skin but the Arko means that it doesn't hurt. I think its a pity that such a good shaving stick experience is let down by quite a strong smell.
The brush is brilliant but it has got a different smell of its own. I think it needs washing in shampoo. The thought however that goes through my mind while shaving is whether the hair came from a badger's bum?
I've found that the advantages of using stick and brush compared to foam that comes out of an aerosol can, is that the foam doesn't go everywhere. I tried shaving with blades about 10 -15 years ago and found it a very messy experience with foam going everywhere and it hurt. The bathroom looked as if there had been an explosion in a whipped cream factory after I had finished! Using the stick and brush to apply the shaving foam means that its all reasonably well contained and it didn't end up in my hair, on the floor, covering the mirror or smothering the sink and toilet. Another advantage is that foam made from a stick or cream in bowl doesn't contain the irritant chemicals that are used in propelling it out of the can.
Compared to shaving with an electric shaver, this is a completely different experience. It does take quite a bit longer than electric with a lot more fiddling about and manual dexterity. Not something that I could see myself doing before heading off to work in the morning.
The result of shaving with all this extra added parlava is that the shaving quality and the feel is so much better than what can be achieved with my Phillips shaver. I'm not very good at doing the chinny bits, but the cheeks and neck feel very silky smooth.
At the moment the Arko smell is really off putting, I've hung it up outside to "air" as people say it gets better - I'm half expecting it to get eaten by passing foxes.
The other thing I'm not so keen on is the environmental impact. The problem is that the razor blades in the cartridges have a life after which they have to been thrown away and not recycled. This is because due to the fact they're made from mixed plastic and metal.
I have also ordered the Grapefruit shaving cream in a bowl from Taylors of Old Bond Street. It's a lot more expensive than the Arko but as its not tallow based it wont smell like I'm scraping dead animal across my face.
For aftershave to protect against infection, I'm using a bog standard Witch Hazel liquid. I don't know if the "witch" is still alive as its a few years old but it still smells alright. I've ordered a bottle of Bronnley's Lemon and Neroli Eau de Toilette ( ehhh... "Toilette Water" doesn't sound too good!)
At the moment the Arko smell is really off putting, I've hung it up outside to "air" as people say it gets better - I'm half expecting it to get eaten by passing foxes.
The other thing I'm not so keen on is the environmental impact. The problem is that the razor blades in the cartridges have a life after which they have to been thrown away and not recycled. This is because due to the fact they're made from mixed plastic and metal.
I have also ordered the Grapefruit shaving cream in a bowl from Taylors of Old Bond Street. It's a lot more expensive than the Arko but as its not tallow based it wont smell like I'm scraping dead animal across my face.
For aftershave to protect against infection, I'm using a bog standard Witch Hazel liquid. I don't know if the "witch" is still alive as its a few years old but it still smells alright. I've ordered a bottle of Bronnley's Lemon and Neroli Eau de Toilette ( ehhh... "Toilette Water" doesn't sound too good!)
If you've not tried it before, then wet shaving is well worth a go and its quite nice to spend some time on yourself. You just need to be careful not to cut your own head off!
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