So I lost a bet and now I'm shaving with a Bic 4 blade cartridge for a week. I'm three shaves into it and I thought it is entertaining enough to share.
I also just got 3 new-to-me razors, an Old Type, NEW LC and a SA, that are just sitting there which makes this especially cruel. Oh well, I've been thinking about trying a cartridge as a comparison to my several month wet shaving/DE odyssey.
I've been using an triangle hole, fat handle Tech and Williams with an Omega boar brush. My usual shave is a nightly, irritation free two pass WTG/XTG and I get a CCS fading to an SAS in the morning. Chasing a closer shave leads to irritation even with perfect prep and a ATG pass is very uncomfortable even after a four pass shave.
I think the Bic is a variation of their Comfort 4/Flex 4 disposable, Amazon has them for about $3 a piece in bulk.
This is exactly what it looks like, with the orange strip and black squeegee.
The first night, I used some of my son's Edge gel for a true cartridge users shave. It said "for sensitive skin with soothing aloe" so I figured it was going to be okay. As soon as I had the gel spread over my face and started to lather it up with my hands I felt a burning sensation. Instead of wiping it off I took advantage of the cartridge's ability to shave FAST. Did a single WTG pass and got that stuff off my face! To be fair, I have a similar reaction to Proraso.
Throughout it all the razor clogged a lot and I had flashbacks to banging my Sensor against the sink. While cleaning up I forgot about the slime strip at the top of the cartridge and it left a snail trail across the towel as I dried the blade off out off habit. Good enough for a SAS the next morning and happy to have Day 1 of 7 in the bag. I had lots of irritation and some itchiness the next day but chalked that up to the reaction to the canned gel.
Day two, no more canned goo. I face lathered some Cella, a new addition that performs well for me. I did a my usual two pass shave, used just enough pressure to keep the razor smoothly on my face. There wasn't any cloging but the slime strip combined with the Cella to make soapy strings that followed the razor almost every time a lifted it from my face. I thoroughly rinsed my face off between passes so I didn't get that gunk on my brush.
All in all it wasn't a bad shave. About the same as a three pass with the Tech going halfway between XTG and ATG with the third pass. This results in almost a DFS though my witch hazel AS burned a bit more than with the Tech this time. I can tell I can't get as close to the edges and corners of my nose and mouth because of the fat barrier around the blades in the cartridge. The blade hanging out of the DE may take some finesse to get into the tight spots but it rewards you in the small details of the shave.
What encourages me is I got an irritation free almost DFS with the NEW and Old Type with two passes. I can't wait for this week to be over and I get to play with them again!
Third night, I missed my DE shave. I missed the skill and attention required in shaving with a DE safety razor. Your deftness is rewarded with a great shave and the mindfulness brings peace and calms my mind. Its a great way to end the day.
I went ahead and used the cartridge. I forgot my plan to use RSC shaving cream and whipped up a big bowl of Cella lather. The Cella made me feel better until I got the stringy slime every time I lifted the razor from my face. I even got some in my mouth, ugg.
I got to thinking that maybe I could SHAVE that strip off, so I grabbed my Tech and tried. I got some of it off but the blade kept digging into the plastic guard surrounding the razor. I took the DE blade out and used the end as a scraper to smooth it back out.
Resigned to a slimy shave, I did my second pass and kept my mouth shut. I got the same almost DFS shave except for the nooks and crannies. Using as little pressure as possible to keep the light plastic razor on my face I had almost no irritation, imagine that!
I'll post updates as I go...
I also just got 3 new-to-me razors, an Old Type, NEW LC and a SA, that are just sitting there which makes this especially cruel. Oh well, I've been thinking about trying a cartridge as a comparison to my several month wet shaving/DE odyssey.
I've been using an triangle hole, fat handle Tech and Williams with an Omega boar brush. My usual shave is a nightly, irritation free two pass WTG/XTG and I get a CCS fading to an SAS in the morning. Chasing a closer shave leads to irritation even with perfect prep and a ATG pass is very uncomfortable even after a four pass shave.
I think the Bic is a variation of their Comfort 4/Flex 4 disposable, Amazon has them for about $3 a piece in bulk.
This is exactly what it looks like, with the orange strip and black squeegee.
The first night, I used some of my son's Edge gel for a true cartridge users shave. It said "for sensitive skin with soothing aloe" so I figured it was going to be okay. As soon as I had the gel spread over my face and started to lather it up with my hands I felt a burning sensation. Instead of wiping it off I took advantage of the cartridge's ability to shave FAST. Did a single WTG pass and got that stuff off my face! To be fair, I have a similar reaction to Proraso.
Throughout it all the razor clogged a lot and I had flashbacks to banging my Sensor against the sink. While cleaning up I forgot about the slime strip at the top of the cartridge and it left a snail trail across the towel as I dried the blade off out off habit. Good enough for a SAS the next morning and happy to have Day 1 of 7 in the bag. I had lots of irritation and some itchiness the next day but chalked that up to the reaction to the canned gel.
Day two, no more canned goo. I face lathered some Cella, a new addition that performs well for me. I did a my usual two pass shave, used just enough pressure to keep the razor smoothly on my face. There wasn't any cloging but the slime strip combined with the Cella to make soapy strings that followed the razor almost every time a lifted it from my face. I thoroughly rinsed my face off between passes so I didn't get that gunk on my brush.
All in all it wasn't a bad shave. About the same as a three pass with the Tech going halfway between XTG and ATG with the third pass. This results in almost a DFS though my witch hazel AS burned a bit more than with the Tech this time. I can tell I can't get as close to the edges and corners of my nose and mouth because of the fat barrier around the blades in the cartridge. The blade hanging out of the DE may take some finesse to get into the tight spots but it rewards you in the small details of the shave.
What encourages me is I got an irritation free almost DFS with the NEW and Old Type with two passes. I can't wait for this week to be over and I get to play with them again!
Third night, I missed my DE shave. I missed the skill and attention required in shaving with a DE safety razor. Your deftness is rewarded with a great shave and the mindfulness brings peace and calms my mind. Its a great way to end the day.
I went ahead and used the cartridge. I forgot my plan to use RSC shaving cream and whipped up a big bowl of Cella lather. The Cella made me feel better until I got the stringy slime every time I lifted the razor from my face. I even got some in my mouth, ugg.
I got to thinking that maybe I could SHAVE that strip off, so I grabbed my Tech and tried. I got some of it off but the blade kept digging into the plastic guard surrounding the razor. I took the DE blade out and used the end as a scraper to smooth it back out.
Resigned to a slimy shave, I did my second pass and kept my mouth shut. I got the same almost DFS shave except for the nooks and crannies. Using as little pressure as possible to keep the light plastic razor on my face I had almost no irritation, imagine that!
I'll post updates as I go...
Lost a bet, my week with a cartridge.
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