What Your Father Didn't Teach You About Shaving

3 Shaving Items That Have Surprised Me Lately

I tend to get kind of jaded when I test 'new' shaving items: I've tried a lot things over the years and I tend to return to the tried-and-true, traditional gear (with a couple of exceptions, like my OneBlade Genesis razor).

But over the past couple of months I've tried a few things that have shaken up my preconceptions:

Land And Lore face wash. As I mention in my original review (click/tap here to read), this face wash really does seem to make a difference in the performance of my shave. (Last time I checked the 20% discount mentioned in the article is still good, too.)

I had been using Lucky Tiger, ACH Brito, and the PAA Cube for face washing but I'm using Land And Lore pretty much exclusively now.

Saponificio Varesino lather "grail." I have a bunch of scuttle, mugs, and bowls but these days the Saponificio Varesino lather "grail" is getting all my attention (click/tap here for the purchase page). The (treated) wooden bowl retains heat for me better than the ceramic mugs and bowls I use, but more importantly the large, under-bowl handle is much easier on my hand than others. There's a picture of it in my "How To Make Shaving Lather" article/video (click/tap here to read/view). Saponificio Varesino is a Sharpologist sponsor.

GilletteLabs "Exfoliating" Razor. GilletteLabs, the same folks who brought you the Heated Razor, sent me one of their new "Exfoliating" razors a while back. Bladed razors "exfoliate" anyway but OK. Rather than using the standard "pretentioners" in the typical cartridge razor (the little "fins" at the base of the cartridge), this razor uses a permanent, textured bar mounted where the heating element of the Heated Razor goes.

At first I figured this was just a novelty but I finally tried it for a few days and...you know what? It does seem to make a difference. Easy, one-pass DFS with this thing. Yeah, I was surprised. Review coming soon....