July 28, 2023 – R/wicked_edge Made Me Do It

• Brush: My Own Bare Hands
• Razor: Gillette Guard
• Lather: Old Spice – Swagger Shampoo and Conditioner
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Arkadia

When the LG calendar was released THIS was not the shave I had planned. In fact I hadn’t really had much of a plan. I started on this wetshaving journey with a Maggard starter kit and then some samples and eventually sets. I’d only in the last couple years secured a job in a field that afforded me actual disposable income to spend on hobbies. So while still a frugal and price conscious consumer I am happy to pay a premium for premium products. So what to do? Arko? Derby? Col. Conk? Maybe another canned goo to replace the awful one time use of the one earlier this month that has been banished from my den?

And then, as if from the gods, an answer appeared from r/wicked_edge. Apparently more than one person over there has figure out that all you really need to a great shave is plain old hair conditioner! Forget the brush. Forget the creams, the croaps, the pre shaves, pucks, and tallow based soaps! Apparently the revelation had left previous enthusiasts crushed, wayward, yet secure in knowing the truth. That the answer to a perfect shave lay right there in the corner of their shower. Conditioner. So I had to.

I entered this shave with trepidation. What if they were right? Who would I be? To myself, my family, my community. To God. As a greenhorn to the conditioner game I wanted to trust a purveyor with legacy, a soap maker I could trust, but one who is not afraid of innovation. The sweetest fruit of Proctor and Gambles portfolio, Old Spice. Checked over there on ol man Bezos site and I can get 58.4 ounces of this sucker for a ball hairs less than $20 US. For my scent… Swagger. Trust me there were plenty cartoon characters to choose from. But I don’t need a Tony the Tiger, I am a man so I chose swagger for its classy branding and having a scent profile described as an intoxicating blend of citrus and cedar. The only prep I needed for tonight was a nice cool bath after a day out in the sun and a good hair washing and conditioning with… Swagger.

As for the shave? Terrible. Jesus. This one was bad. I’m not sure if it’s because I was out on the beach all day, or that I was using a Gillette Guard for the fourth time that was hanging out at the bottom of my Dopp kit, maybe that I’ve been shaving daily for the past month, or that fucking 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner is just a shit dumper of a product to use as a shaving soap. This was not a fun shave. I’m not going to do it any justice by describe any sort of performance or passes. But it was fun to write and I hope fun to read. I could have splashed with my cheapest, Clubman Special Reserve, but I want to sleep in the same bed as my girlfriend tonight. Also, after that shave I wanted to treat myself with a splash that was actually nice to my face and actually citrus and cedar so Stirling’s Arkadia fit the bill, and my girl will be happy to kiss me tonight.

Cheers! 🤙

ROTY