Lather Games Day 4- April, May, June and July Showers Better Bring Flowers
- Prep: Hot Shower - Preshave
- Brush: Shore Shave 26mm Motherlode
- Razor: Razorock Gamechanger .84
- Blade: Astra SP Green (3)
- Lather: Martin De Candre - Rose Soap
- Post Shave: Catie's Bubbles - Ocean Grove Splash
It's another rainy morning here in Southern Maine on the 4th Day of Our Shaving Lords. Fun Meteorological (aka SCIENCE!) fact- In the month of June, we had all of two days without any precipitation here. We had 5.68 inches of rain to be scientifically exact (thanks National Weather Service), which outpaces our usual average of 3.77 inches. Funner Meteorological fact- It has rained every day to start the month of July. A Botanical (More Science!) fact recently learned from a farm with a pick-your-own-flowers operation is that many flowers aren't blooming yet because there hasn't been enough sunlight to help the blooming process along.
Well, I'm here today to bring more flowers to Southern Maine and to you. I wasn't going to use a soap that had flower essences mixed with petrichor. Hell, I can smell petrichor any time I want just by walking outside lately. Nope, we are going for the straight flower note provided by MdC Rose, or, more scientifically, MdC Rosa Rubiginosa. Fun Science fact- there are over 360 species of roses to be found worldwide. MdC is produced in France which is a couple of thousand of miles away from the wilds of Maine, so I'm going to assume that they use the essence of Rosa gallica officinalis. This species is defined as a "compact, fragrant, European rose (Rosa gallica) having usually pink, red, or crimson flowers that yield an oil used especially in perfumery."
To effect this morning's shave, I used my surgical grade US-manufactured quarter to gently lift out 1/8 of a teaspoon into my bowl. After soaking my 26mm Motherlode knot in a half cup of 120 degree water and shaking off .001 liters of excess water from my brush, I proceeded to spend the next minute watching a spectacle of water displacement science turn my solid soap into a pile of foam, or what we call lather. Thanks to Google, "In physical chemistry, foam or foam spray is defined as a colloidal system (it means a dispersion of particles in the continuous medium), where the particles are given as gas bubbles and the medium as a liquid." Now, since we don't love foamy lather around here (except for tomorrow's shave), I proceeded to add 1/8 of a cup of water to my foam creation to produce a shaving product that would meet my needs.
Once I slathered (scientific shaving term) the soap creation on my face, I grabbed my handy-dandy Gamechanger with the .84mm blade gap and started my shave spending 2 minutes going with the grain. A quick rinse of the face with 1 cup of 70 degree(F) water and another slather was done. 2 more minutes were spent going across the grain on my face. Another quick rinse with another cup of 70 degree(F) water and I began my blade buffing clean up. 6 minutes were spent to achieve the end result of what we shave scientists call Baby Butt Smooth (BBS). BBS is the physical state of the skin where stubble is reduced to .025 micrometers making the skin feel like, well, a baby's ass. To finish off my shave, I figured Catie's Bubbles Ocean Grove would be a perfect topper since it is scented with Rosa rugosa, more commonly known as the Sea Rose around these parts. You can find them growing lushly around my property as well and clearly near where u/c_bubbles likes to jump into the ocean at the Jersey Shore.
And that ladies and gentlemen is my lecture for today. Please be sure to wipe the drool from your faces as you lift your heads off of your keyboards and get the sleepies out of your eyes. Have a great day all!