Shaving Nirvana?

I know.

Another post about shaving. If this isn’t your type of thing, I understand. There will be a regular post on Sunday.

But I just had to share my latest shaving experience. I mean, I’ve been telling others in person so why not tell you, too, dear reader.

I’ve been out of shaving soap for awhile now. Well … not out. I’ve been using a couple of samples I’d received. But I was getting close and needed to purchase some new soap. I’d heard about a particular company ever since I started shaving with a double-edge (DE) safety razor but I was always on the fence about their products. Recently, though, I’d been watching a few YouTube videos1 and the staple in each video was a product (or products) from this company.

Oh! I guess I should tell you who it is.

It’s Proraso — an Italian company that’s been making shaving products since 1908.

Yes. You read that right. 1908.

Matt Pisarcik, in a video profile about Proraso on the Razor Emporium YouTube channel, said that the Proraso company and its products were one of the key factors in him starting Razor Emporium.2

But, I had never tried their products. I always gravitated toward artisan soap makers like Mike’s Natural Soaps or Wet Shaving Products or others.3 While there’s nothing wrong with artisan soaps and creams, I took a cue from all those videos and ordered the White pre-shave cream and shave soap from Proraso  (it’s formulated from green tea and oatmeal for sensitive skin types).

As it was the Memorial Day weekend, I waited for my package to arrive and was pleasantly surprised that it actually arrive on the holiday!

Since I’ve grown to really enjoy shaving (I mean, really enjoy it), I normally shave every week day and on most weekends. But I hadn’t shaved since Friday morning. When I opened the box and took out my new products, I could barely contain myself but waited to shave until the following morning.

And — oh my goodness — what an incredible shave! So close. So comfortable. It was, without exaggeration, the best shave I’d ever had. In fact, it was so close that I could’ve gone without shaving the next day and would’ve been perfectly fine. But I didn’t; I shaved anyway (I did say I really enjoy shaving).

I’ve only used Proraso’s White pre-shave cream and shave soap for three days now and I can say that I’ve found my everyday-go-to-shave-soap. Like Matt, I’m rather boring and once I find something I like, I generally stick with it (I’m a rather loyal person).4 In fact, I’ve already told my shaving enthusiast friends that I probably won’t be buying any other shaving soaps. Proraso has left all the others behind.

Proraso has a “system” that just works. They recommend using the pre-shave, soap, balm, and aftershave with each shave. Now, to be fair, I didn’t purchase all four products — just the pre-shave cream and the soap. But those two alone are worth every penny. A quick procedural run down:

1. Shower or wash face.

2. Apply about an almond size (or smaller) amount of the pre-shave cream to your face, working it into the beard (and head in my case).

3. Take about an almond size (or smaller) amount of soap and put it in a scuttle or mug (or you can use the container it comes in if you purchased the tub).

4. Wet your shaving brush — wet but not dripping.5

5. Create the lather until the lather starts to peak and has the appearance of whipped cream (add tiny amounts — drops — of water as needed).

6. Once you have a good lather, apply lather to your face/head in circular motions until you get a good, thick layer.

7. Shave — 1st pass: with the growth of the hair; 2nd pass: across the growth of the hair; 3rd pass: against the growth of the hair. Rinse and relather between passes.6

8. Once finished, rinse your face one last time and blot it dry.

9. Apply witch hazel.7

10. Apply aftershave/balm.8

I know that looks like a lot of work, but it’s really not. I can shave my face in about 10 minutes (less if I only do two passes) and less than 15 minutes if I include my head (I shave it about every other day). And Proraso’s pre-shave and soap have made a tremendous difference in the quality of my shaves. Again, hands down, the best shaves I’ve ever had.

So, if you’re into this type of shaving (and you really should be), I highly recommend Proraso products. I mean, they’ve been around for over 100 years so they must know what they’re doing.

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In the Love of the Three in One,

Br. Jack+, LC

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1. I know it sounds weird but I find watching shaving videos very calming. You can watch some Proraso reviews from my favorite YouTubers here, here, here, and here.

2. See this post about some of the services offered by Razor Emporium.

3. There’s also Maggard Razors, Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements, and Stirling Soap Company. I still use Wet Shaving Products line of aftershaves, balms, and EDP colognes. I’m a huge fan of their Gaelic Tweed but I’m currently hooked on their Distinguished Gentleman.

4. When it comes to pipe tobacco though, I still enjoy sampling different blends. Currently, my favorite tobacco is Sutliff: 504C Aromatic English. It’s my go-to-everyday-blend. But I still enjoy some others, too — Kramer’s: Blend for Cary Grant, Lane Limited: HCL, Orlik: Golden Sliced, and the ever popular, Mac Baren: Scottish Mixture, just to name a few.

5. If it’s an animal hair brush, you’ll want to soak it for 10-15 minutes. Most people have it soaking while they’re in the shower. I use a brush with synthetic hair so I don’t need to soak it.

6. Some people only do passes 1 and 2 while others do all 3 passes and then “pick-ups” — shaving any remaining stubble.

7. I recommend Thayer’s. While this is an important step for me, others skip it.

8. I use both while some people use only one or the other.