Tuesday, the 25th of July, 2023
- Brush: AP Shave Co. 24mm Gelousy SHD Badger
- Razor: Karve brass Christopher Bradley, SB-C
- Blade: Topaz Platinum (74)
- Lather: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir
- Post shave: Barrister and Mann - Eigengrau
- Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir
sO, I'm right-handed. Shaving with my left hand is a fool's game. It's slow, awkward, and injury-forming.
I tried to make lather using my left hand. But after like five minutes... I decided to read the challenge again: it clearly says "shave with a non-dominant hand." "Shave!" Well, there you go: I can rules-lawyer a little bit, too. This doesn't say "lather with a non-dominant hand," therefore, I lathered with my right hand like normal. This is clearly not part of today's challenge.
But when it comes to the shave, well. Honestly, making the first pass with my left hand isn't bad. It's a little slower than normal, but it's easy to keep the razor on track. It's not until the second pass that things get awkward. Here, I need to start paying more attention to angles of attack, and it's here where, if, like me, you aren't careful, you'll end up going against the grain when you meant to be going across. It's the neck where this is a real problem, because I need to change direction a couple times. And my motor memory is in the wrong hand. So, that's a little rougher shave than I intended.
The third pass actually starts off better (probably because I start with my sideburns and cheeks), but again it just gets tough to keep things straight under my chin, and again on the neck. I end up nicking myself right under my chin, I think because I didn't have the right angle with the razor.
Overall... it wasn't terrible. But it also wasn't a good shave. Well, it was an interesting exercise. I'm glad that challenge just comes once a year!
And as for the theme, well, Santa Noir was an exclusive Christmas soap and perfume from House of Mammoth. It's a very Christmassy scent, in which the musk can be almost overpowering. Eigengrau is a Winter release from Barrister and Mann... "meant to be the inverse of L'Eau d'Hiver, the smell of moonlight on snow." It's also a great scent... but man, does that alcohol burn.