Nobrainer’s Think Tank

After Day 1 of my effort to re-learn shaving, I journeyed to my local Wal-Mart in search of new razors, and shave creams. Now included in my testing plan are:

• Edge Advanced Gel - Extra Protection (which I had been using)
• Edge ActiveCare Deep Cleansing Shave Cream
• Gillette Fusion HydraGel - Ultra Sensitive (don’t like the website, took forever to load. I hate websites with automatic sound)
• Nivea for Men Sensitive Shaving Gel
• Williams Mug Soap (and a cheap shaving brush)
• Shave Secret Shaving Oil
• Gillette Fusion 5 blade razor
• Gillette Mach3 (not the Turbo)
• Nivea for Men After Shave Cooling Balm

Before I go further, I’ll answer your question to save you from asking. Yes, I feel a little gay now.

Yesterday I put new and old Mach3 cartridges to the test, side-by-side. There was little difference and unsatisfactory results.

The plan is to test the Mach3 and Fusion side-by-side with the various gels and creams and whatnot.

Today I tested out the Shave Secret Shave Oil. The shave oil comes in a little dropper bottle, about like what you would see for eye drops. The directions say to use 3-5 drops massaged into the beard.

I took a hot shower, kept my face wet, and made sure to re-wet my face before applying the oil. I’ve never paid a lot of attention to glidability before, but the oil seemed to create excellent razor glidability. After shaving with the grain, I evaluated the results. The difference between the Fusion and Mach3 with respect to closeness is non-existant as far as I can tell. And neither is good enough for my purposes.

As I feared, I had to go against the grain. Here’s where the shaving oil is cool. The directions indicate that instead of adding more oil, you should just add more water to your face if you should opt for a second go-round. Being as careful and gentle as possible, I went against the grain before patting my face dry and applying the Nivea cooling balm.

Again, I can’t tell a difference between the Fusion and Mach3. Fortunately, the desired closeness was obtained (well my cheeks are smooth anyway. If it’s not good enough for the girlfriend, then I’ll either need wax or frickin lasers). Now I need to go through the day and evaluate the side effects such as razor burn, irritation and whatnot. I fear that once I go outside and get a sweat going, my face will burn like hellfire.

Commentary: Whether or not the shave oil holds up in the long run, I kinda dig it. The container is small and it requires very little product for use. The directions also indicate that the oil can be re-applied after the shave as a skin conditioner, and why not apply “liberally all day & night”? It may work great. It may create instant acne. Anyway, this stuff may be great for travelling, especially when space is tight or weight is a factor.

I do however fear that after about 3 uses the little plastic bottle itself will get oily and nasty: a small price to pay perhaps.

The oil has other ups and downs related to one issue: it’s clear. You have to pay attention or else you won’t notice where you have and have not shaved already. On the other hand, it’s great if you need to navigate around side burns, a goatee, or your freakish, beak-nose.

I’m also betting that I’ll continue to notice no difference among the razors with respect to the shaving itself. I’d also bet that if I dig up an old Gillette Sensor, I won’t notice much change either. The question will center on the matter of comfort provided by each. I think it would be nice to go backward and save a bit more money on blades.

I also don’t expect to notice much short-term difference among shaving creams, although the the mug soap may not do so well.

We shall see.