Shave of the day 16th November

Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Peppermint Soap
Lather: Mama Bear’s Awakening
Brush: Turkish No7 ‘horse hair’
Razor: Ever-Ready1914 with a GEM SE
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Krampert’s Finest 80 Below
Beard care: Big Red Beard Balm and Big Red No7 Beard Comb

Shave of the day 13th November

Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Peppermint Soap
Lather: Mike’s Natural Soap Orange, Cedarwood & Black Pepper shavestick
Brush: Omega #10048 Boar Bristle
Razor: GEM 1912 SE with a GEM SE
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Proraso Liquid Cream After Shave
Beard care: Big Red Beard Oil and Big Red No7 Beard Comb

Shave of the day 11th November

Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Peppermint Soap
Lather: Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum Acadian Spice Shaving Soap
Brush: Turkish No6 ‘horse hair’
Razor: GEM 1912 SE with a GEM SE
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum Aftershave
Beard care: Big Red Beard Oil and Big Red No7 Beard Comb

Shaving accidents medical reports

Sometimes I run across things that makes me cringe inside… one of my finds is hospital-data.com, which among other things lists statistics on such things as – for instance – facial accidents involving shavers or razors.

Lets skim a few and see what lessons we can identify, shall we?

61 YO M, C/O FACIAL SWELLING AND PAIN, ABSCESS WITH DISCHARGE, STARTED 4 DAYS AGO AFTER SHAVING AND CUTTING HIMSELF, DX CELLULITIS.

Very ouch, and a reminder to use alum and patch up major cuts.

35 YOM INFECTION ON FACE FROM USING DIRTY RAZOR FACIAL CELLULITIS

Less sympathy here – clean your gear people.

40 YO FEMALE SHAVED WITH RAZOR AND HAS RASH UNDER CHIN FOLICULITIS

I’m going to guess bad prep, in my experience a good prep fixes most rashes.

FOUND RAZOR AND CUT FACE, ALSO TOUCHED HOT BURNER ON STOVE

This one… two year old child. Please don’t put your razor where children can find them and play unsupervised – and keep an eye on the stove when the burners are hot.

The database also lists injuries to other bodyparts, as well as injuries caused by other objects. Speaking of the former, it’s not too surprising to see that injuries to the fingers outnumber facial injuries about 6.4:1… but the one shaver-or-razor related injury category that really make me cringe is “Eyeball”:

PT C/O CUT TO RT EYE AREA LAST NIGHT WITH RAZOR – DX CORNEAL ABRASION.

Eeeeew.. not going there.

PS: I wanted to lighten up the post by adding a few funny pictures of razor cuts or accidents… but the majority I found was about self-injury and rather depressing. If you do suspect someone near you are suffering from this, please do whatever is in your power to get them help.

Shave of the day 9th November

Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Peppermint Soap
Lather: Mama Bear’s Awakening
Brush: Semogue “The Shave Nook 2012 Limited Edition” mixed boar-badger
Razor: GEM 1912 SE with a fresh GEM SE
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Myrsol Formula K
Beard care: Big Red Beard Balm and Big Red No7 Beard Comb

Shave of the day 6th November

Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Eucalyptus Soap
Lather: Mike’s Natural Pine & Cedarwood Soap
Brush: Vie-Long #14033 mixed horse-badger
Razor: Yuma potmetal razor with a Wilkinson Sword
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Myrsol Agua De Balsamica
Beard care: Big Red Beard Oil and Big Red No7 Beard Comb

A possible shocking shave

Over on Paleofuture (a fun blog I recommend by the way) I stumbled over a electric razor (and face massager) from 1926:

Allegedly the vibrating blade should overcome the “pulling effect that an ordinary razor blade has on the beard” – not that I’ve noticed any tugging since I switched to traditional razors – but what I found most interesting is the way the back-and-forth movement of a solenoid is turned into a side-to-side movement by a clever linkage.

The device was claimed to be “entirely water-proof” and “practically free from troubles of all kinds”, hopefully the later included the kind of trouble you could get if the handle wasn’t as water-proof as claimed… this US manufactured wonder-razor was supposed to be hooked into the light-fixture for that 110VAC 60Hz goodness.

As an added bonus you could take the razor head off and substitute a massage arm, allowing you to use the device for facial and scalp massaging. According to the ads, men as well as women had “discovered the satisfaction of using the Vibro-Shave Electric Safety Razor.”…

According to a website I stumbled over, the Vibro-Shave electric razor was manufactured by the Electric (Safety) Razor Corp., which was located in Long Island City (NY, USA), in the later half of the 1920s. Same site claims there should still be many Vibro-Shave razors on the market, although a quick search didn’t reveal much more than one:

A bit of digging revealed that the patent was filed in 1924 by Mr Saul Shaler, and has long since expired. The patent drawing is pretty nice though, and does a good job of explaing the lever arrangement that allowed the solenoid to drive the blade.

The 1924 patent was an improvement (according to Mr Shaler) on a 1923 patent, mostly in the construction of the handle. The Original 1923 patent also includes a drawing of the facial massager.

Mr Shaler was also granted a patent on an improvement on his Vibro-Shaver in 1929 – in other words towards the end of production – covering an improvement in the razor head.

Taken together these three patents offers a fascinating glimpse into the development of this largely forgotten razor and/or electrical hazard.

Shave of the day 4th November

Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Citrus Soap
Lather: Prairie Creations Walter
Brush: Vie-Long #13051M unbleached pure horse
Razor: Yuma potmetal razor with a Wilkinson Sword
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Myrsol Agua De Limón
Beard care: Big Red Beard Oil and Big Red No7 Beard Comb