I found and interesting post over at The Art of Manliness, going into some details on shaving and grooming across the world and across time.
Shaving & Grooming Rituals from History
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Tag Archives: Thoughts while shaving
Roman shaving
I found this interesting article on shaving in Roman times. Seems shaving and shaving gear was just as complicated back then as it can be now.
The history of shaving
The history of shaving, as seem by ModernGent.
How a Double-edge Razor Can Change Your Life
More things to read – “How a Double-edge Razor Can Change Your Life” is an article by one of the moderators from a shave forum; it’s a good read even if it’s not my favorite forum.
Razor Sharp
Another article for y’all today – “Razor Sharp – The return of the classic wet shave” tells the story of a visit to Trufitt & Hills in London.
A relaxing, rewarding, and self-indulgent morning routine
Still trawling the net, I came across “The Wet Shave“, an article that tells a story that in many way resembles my own quest for a smooth shave.
…traditional shaving is all about tailoring to the individual
A little while back someone linked to “The Triumphant Return of Wet Shaving” over at my favorite wetshaving forum. Half information, half entertainment, half advertisement… but if it can get people interested and make them explore the options, it’s all good in my book.
…turning the morning shave into a tug-of-war between men and their facial hair.
A little while ago I happened upon “The Racially Fraught History of the American Beard“, and found it an interesting read. The rise and fall of the african-american barbers in the early 1800’s, the rise of the beard as a masculine symbol… an interesting history indeed.
Some old razor patents
The repeating magazine safety razor from the 20’s is like the bolt action rifle of the bathroom – but I’m not sure how carbon steel blades would have fared in the enclosed magazine once you get some water and lather in it.
It seems like the idea of a multi-blade razor goes back a long time – this one from 1933 looks rather unwieldy to me.
An early – 1944 – patent for what we would call a cartridge razor today… showing that Gillette started thinking about renewing their vendor lock-in fairly early on. Disposing a cartridge with four razor sharp edges sounds… interesting.
This patent for a disposable razor from the 50’s would at least have made a neat little travel razor – you could almost fit something this small in a wallet if you wanted to.
Adding soap to cream
The other day I was using some Arko Cool Mint shave cream, which makes a pretty decent lather but is – in my opinion – somewhat lacking in the mentholated kick department. Acting on an impulse I added a couple drops of Dr Bronners liquid peppermint soap as I was building my lather…
The result was a thicker lather than usual, with a distinct and pleasant menthol-peppermint kick to it – a definite improvement both on the face-feel and the cushioning. I suspect I’ll do it again the next time I use the Arko cream, and possible to some of my other creams too.