CO Bigelow and Art of Shaving side by side

Art of shaving (L) C O Bigelow (R)

I'm on a shaving kick lately.  Do not know why, but something about seeing shaving ads for brands that push the multi-blade razors, with gel strips, swiveling heads, and contour handles just makes me anxious.  Soon I'm expecting a laser guided leveling system to be built right in, just so they can charge you more.  Of course, the latest retrend.  Let's stop there, retrend, I don't think that is a word, but I'm going to make it one.  It should only be used by people old enough to see the phenomenon, and secondly, it is when you see the same stupid junk being recycled, hyped, and made out to be new, when it really happened twenty or thirty years ago.  So, the latest retrend seems to be that everything has a lubricant built right into it, guaranteeing a frictionless shave.   Well, I still remember those horrible white strips from the '80's that disintegrated and actually screwed up the geometry of the shave the more they disintegrated.  Horrid.  It got me thinking that I don't experience that one bit.  Not at all.  Why?  Sharp single blades and good quality shaving cream.  As mentioned previously, I first found C O Bigelow when researching something other than shaving soaps, and like them so much I use a number of their products (a scent and lotion).  Lately, I've been using Art of Shaving Lemon Essential Oil cream, and find that I may like it more.  So, I'm doing a little side by side.  Prior to the actual comparison, I want to share a little about my experience with Art of Shaving.

I'd only seen art of shaving online, and found the prices to be a tad steep to just try and then possibly toss because I didn't like the product.  So, I dismissed them.  While on vacation in Vegas, we found ourselves in the Forum Shops at Caesars.  Among the watch stores, lord I could spend all day, and probably did, just looking in the stores, was an Art of Shaving store.  I had no idea they had stores, the nearest one being 20 miles through horrid traffic, but nearly ran in and dragged my wife in with me, scowling at me after putting up with hours looking at watches.  Isn't it usually reversed?  Hmmmmm......... Anyways, the salesman, oddly, was not well shaved.  Great beard, but scruffy and not trimmed.  Odd for a shaving store, but, extremely helpful, telling me about the various products and giving me a tidbit of info about finding your favorite blade, this there will be more on later.  Overall, amazingly helpful to see, smell, and touch the product.  I was impressed that it is so smooth.  Anyways, I was convinced to try their smaller tube, 2.5oz.

Art of Shaving on the brush

Art of shaving in the mug

You can see a slight sheen on this product.  It feels like there is a fairly high oil content.  It provides a very smooth shave, and what I like most is that it has a dense lather that stays put.  The lemon is not strong, I would say that it would do better with a stronger scent, but since I use aftershave every time I shave, really have nothing to complain about.

C O Bigelow on the brush

C O Bigelow in the mug

Note: I used the same amount of water and cream in each of these shaves.  The C O Bigelow is definitely foamier than the Art of Shaving.  It is stiffer and has just a touch of "slop" when applying.  It allows for a close shave, has enough oil to prevent any dragging, and has a stronger scent than the Art of Shaving.  This is due, I'm sure, to the fact it is a menthalyptus product.  I enjoy that it is pungent enough that you almost do not need to use aftershave if you just use whatever's left in the mug to wash you face with.  Very tingly.  I'd say these are pretty close in quality but feel that I get a closer shave with the Art of Shaving.  Packaging, Art of Shaving is more convenient, especially in the bathroom, but the Bigelow is more durable.  I've taken this tube on a 30+ day road trip without in leaks or breaks.  It looks sloppy, so it has got to stay under the sink, but the best choice for traveling.

It's hard to call.  I'm always open to suggestions on what products you like.  If you can convince me, maybe I'll give it a shot.

Shaving soap or cream?

When I started this journey back to safety razors, I knew I needed a mug, brush, and soap.  The mug was easy, they were all over the second-hand stores and really, you can use almost anything.  There was a brief side-step to scuttles, more on that later.  I got a few, and found that I prefer the round bottomed ones.  Flat bottoms just didn't seem to lather as well.  Brush, a little harder, but found some in those same second-hand stores.  Don't be repulsed, you can sterilize them using alcohol.  The lather was actually the hardest to find.  No stores around carried anything but the white, round block of soap that doesn't want to build a decent lather.

So what about the soap?
In order to activate it, and start building a lather, a very wet brush is required.  This leaves a weak lather, that drips down the face and doesn't provide enough lubrication for a good shave.  It reminded me slime more than lather, and more importantly, the closeness that a safety razor can deliver never came through.
Secondly, no matter how much you drain the mug, the soap get mushy from the bottom up, sliding around the cup after a few days.  What was a disappointing shave before became frustrating as well, not what I was looking for.  I even got my hands on an antique scuttle, and tried that.  No go.  So had to find something else.

And if you know something that I gotta try, please let me know but this soap has got to provide a rich lather, maintain its consistency day to day (no mush and slime), and does not require a lot of water to activate.

So, I looked and looked.  Nothing, nada, zip.  I asked a couple local barbers what they used.  All used product meant for the profession.  Bulk.  Easy to use.  I can't buy.  But, did lead me down the road of a cream, and not that nasty self-foaming stuff you get in a can.  Ok, you say, why didn't I use the internet?  I have a love/hate relationship with shopping on the internet.  I love the convenience, hate the hands-off nature.  I prefer to read a box, smell it, and get some feedback from the sales person.  You can imagine how surprised I was going into Bath and Body Works just on a whim, and finding a nice selection of C. O. Bigelow.  I'd not used their products before, but being the only cream I could find, jumped on the chance to try it.  What a game changer.  After a few shaves, the learning curve was done.  I prefer a fairly rich, dry shave, wetting my face first, just a few drops of water, and a fingernail of cream. I can control the consistency perfectly.  Best, it is pungent with mint and eucalyptus and keeps any irritation to a minimum.

My biggest complaint: it's difficult to try various brands since most come in 3 or 4 oz sizes (or larger) which last me six to seven months of daily shaves.  I'd like to see (shaving stores do you hear me) collections of 10 - 20 small tubes, maybe .5 - .75 oz, that allow for easy trial of different brands.  More about others later.

Growing pains, the horrors of a young shaver

I'm not unusually tall or hirsute, but as a child, I came into that early.  By 6th grade I was one inch shorter than I am now, so 6', and shaving every other day.  It didn't help that I was not especially gifted in sports, and just a little pudgy.  While boys struggled to grow a wisp of a mustache, I was being told to shave by teachers when I missed a day.  As with any pre-teen, I was also starting to get acne.  Shaving teen acne just makes acne worse.  Fun.

I remember asking at the end of 4th grade asking my father to shave my face after he finished cutting my hair.  He could actually cut hair pretty well, so never had that buzz cut most fathers give, and he had the proper tools for a shave.  That was the pace of things with facial hair, it needs a shave when my hair needed trimming, every few months or so.  But things changed pretty quickly after that.  By the end of the summer my father handed me his old Remington electric shaver and encouraged me to use it.  So, there I was shaving my face with an aging razor while getting acne.  Remington Microscreen certainly didn't shave closer than a razor, and unfortunately, I didn't get my money back.  Things just got worse.

Junior high was a horror of problematic acne, razor burn, facial rash, and attempting to figure things out.  I also found out I was allergic to aluminum, so most antiperspirants were out, ugh.  What a mess.  Sometimes I'd raid my sisters bic razor singles, but usually I just went two or three days, waiting for my face to heal, at which point my whiskers were long, and the famed Remington Microscreen would proceed to rip my face apart, chewing my follicles like they were bubble gum.  I'd go to school with a rash and bleeding acne.  WHEEE!

The above picture is a warning.  If you see anything resembling this, do not use it, or even think about it, unless you have the finest peach fuzz imaginable.  This will tear your face clean off.  

It went on for some time, exactly, through college.  For a graduation present I got a pen (that will be spoken of at some point) and razor,a really nice razor.  It was a Merkur Futur.  

The Merkur Futur is adjustable, very smooth shaving, and heavy enough to be comfortable in the hand.  I used it off-and-on for nearly 10 years.  Why off and on?  While living in Southern California the double-edged blades were kept behind the counter at most drug stores, or just not sold.  Crazy, right, but they were one of the most stolen products.  If you've spent all your money on coke, I guess you have to steel the blades.  Oh, and then when living in the East Bay, I could hardly find them because they were "Ecologically insensitive."  WHAT?!?  Like those plastic cartridge, or disposables are really eco-friendly.  I didn't feel like growing a beard, so I'd shave with that old electric, and then when I could find blades I'd buy all I could find, use them up, and then suffer.  My only complaint about this amazing razor, is that some of the parts used in its construction are not, as the Germans would say, rostfrei.  After a decade, it started having major problems.  Uneven shaving, and a loose handle.  I looked carefully, and it was actually blowing apart from the inside.  I decided, unwisely, to try a top notch Panasonic electric.  Mistake.  But due to a no return policy, it still sits in a drawer.  That's one of my main complaints about razors, I understand about the sanitary aspect, but some are amazingly expensive, whether electric or safety, and quite an investment.  Hopefully you'll find some help here.  So what's a razor-burned, full-bearded dude to do?

Find it at your local junk store.  That's what I did.  While looking around for brass instruments at the local vintage and antique cooperative, I found two razors, a Gem 1912 and Gillette flare tip Super Speed.  The Super Speed is part of a broad family called one piece or butterfly razors, since the head opens like a butterfly.  I don't think I paid more than $20 for the two, and unlike earlier, was able to get double edged razors at the local drug store.  The shave from both of these are superior to anything I had used before this point, and are still two of my go to razors.  

I cleaned them thoroughly, soaked them in alcohol for a day, and then took an old toothbrush loaded

up with the finest car polish I had and scrubbed.  Clean, sterile, and newly shiny. 

The Gem 1912 (left), obviously a single edge. when newly loaded, can remove a heavy 3 day beard without a thought.  The Gem stainless blades blades are sharp enough to use against the grain after the initial shave with the grain.  It is aggressive and can, if handled improperly, cause bleeding.  The learning curve was about 3 shaves.  It is worth the scrapes.  

The Gillette Super Speed (right) is a much easier shave.  It doesn't handle the heavy multi-day growth, but as a daily shave, is very nice, probably one of the best I've used. It is not as close, but very gentle.  Mine is a 1959 (E) first quarter (1).  I have read that the Super Speeds from the 40's are even better, but the best come from 1951 and '52 when the brass shortage forced Gillette to make the handles from either stainless or aluminum.  There is an Aristocrat model that is open comb (like the ball-end 3-piece razors from the 20's) that I would imagine is a very close shave.  That I'd love to try. 

To note, both of these tarnish, the Gem much more since when purchased almost all the plating was worn down to the bare brass.  I repolished both again after a few months.  They never tug the skin when tarnished, but can when newly polished.  I suggest, if you get one of these vintage razors, gently polishing only once as part of the cleaning process, and letting them patina.  

So, now I've been using double and single edge razors exclusively for 12 years.  I have never had a rash, since, no bumps, no burn, and I can shave every day without worry.  In that time, it has also become harder to find those vintage razors for a reasonable price.  I have been lucky to get a number of them, never paying more than $12, but now my local shops, when they do have them, are all marked well over $25, and often in worse shape.  If you find them, buy them.  Try it out.  And try all the different blades available to you, many sites have tens of choices, if not hundreds, for double edged, and at least a few single edged.