Sword sharpening is pretty tedious, as is chain saw sharpening and mower blade sharpening. I use power tools these days for everything except razor blades and my good chisels, I donât even sharpen my axes by hand any more. Too lazy! Benchtop belt/disk sander for the win!
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Couldnât agree more. Good prep is crucial to a good shave, cartridge or DE.
Right there with you on evening shaving (and evening showering), too. I apply a hot washcloth for about a minute before washing with a hypoallergenic face cleanser using an exfoliation pad. I use Vanicreamâs non-lathering shaving cream because my skin with revolt if I shave with anything else.
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I have a feeling Iâll be watching these more than once. Thanks!
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Also, echoing what @Medievalist said, I rub a little of this on a couple of minutes before I shave. Most people donât realize that human facial hairâs shear strength is about the same as copper wire (if you could find copper wire that thin). If you have a low power microscope, you can look at a blade when itâs fresh and after three or four uses. It looks very different. Softening up those hairs makes things go much more pleasantly.
If I have time, I also boil water in my electric kettle and pour some over a wash cloth (in one those blue bowls in the picture I posted earlier), then lay down with it on my face for a couple of minutes. The very hot water works better for me than warm tap water, but be careful not to scald yourself.
OMG I just entered the crazy wide world of âold ladyâ creams and holy crap there is a lot to wade through!
(Also, sorry Sephora, no 20something with a spackle-load of foundation is ever going to be able to sell me my old-lady creams, can you hire some older ladies please thatâd be great thx!)
This shit is expensive, but I like it. Just a couple drops at night. Super easy.
http://www.sephora.com/retinol-fusion-pm-P381578?skuId=1391341&icid2=products%20grid:p381578
This is not so expensive, and I also like it, but I think theyâre going out of business up here cuz this shit is hard to find all of a sudden! (I use this in the day the other at night)
https://www.retinoltreatment.com/products.cfm?Page=Products&Product=Retinol%20Facial%20Oil
I also like their mask its weirdly burny then cool and then your face is numb? LOL - donât use it too often, its literally burning the top layer of skin off. 
https://www.retinoltreatment.com/products.cfm?Page=Products&Product=Advanced%20Brightening%20Mask
Also their moisturizer was also good, but its scented, so not for me.
https://www.retinoltreatment.com/products.cfm?Page=Products&Product=Retinol%20Night%20Cream
This is a new Canadian company, and I have literally bought their entire line (because I cannot find the above stuff anymore) and so far its been great! I wish them many years of continued success so I donât have to find yet another line, again! (and its all unscented!)
And if you really want to try a chemical peel at home⌠try this: http://www.strivectin.com/glycolic-peel.html
Its enough for probably 10 treatments, but be warned, its burny, you will be red the first time, I like it, but I find its a bit extreme for me, but its excellent in the winter when weâre all dry and dull.
There, those are my recos, AMA! ;D
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Really? Are there guy versions? Just asking for a friendâŚ
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This is unisex! Just slather it on, let it burn as much as you can stand and wash it off! (follow the actual instruction tho) At the very least, its a really good exfoliator.
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Too much pink on the package for you? 
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They could take the exact same product, put this picture of Nick Offermanâs face on it, and make a beeeellion dollars.
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The first bit of Ben Goldacreâs book Bad Science is a good resource for de-bullshitifying cosmetic industry marketing, BTW.
TLDR version: cold cream does pretty much the same job as the hyper-expensive stuff, and most of the âwrinkle-reducingâ claims are just the short-term effects of astringents.
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I hope this is not a dumb question, but what do the peels and retinol do? Take off a thin layer of skin, like a chemical exfoliation? Smoothing things out? Plump up the low spots in wrinkles? Or does it have more to do with pigmentation?
Iâm a woman, but Iâve never worn makeup and basically pay no attention to my face, as long as food isnât smeared on it. Being firmly middle aged, I feel like maybe I ought to do something to keep my skin from⌠something-bad, but benign neglect has worked really well so far.
I did buy some of those Korean collagen sheet masks, because they looked like fun. Indeed, they are fun, but I couldnât tell if they did anything at all to my skin.
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The NYTs has a good break down:
(its really frakking hard to find sources for info on this shit that is NOT linked to cosmetics companies!)
Its vitamin A essentially and its prescribed to treat acne and other skin disorders, and then it was found to actually diminish wrinkles and dark spots and the cosmetics industry went nuts adding it to everything. So finding something that actually does anything is hit or miss. Kind of like how moisturizers with SPF are not sunscreen, not all creams with Retinol will actually do anything. Hence my recos! 
Its not so much taking a layer off so much as causing the skin cells to renew faster and slow down the breakdown of collagen, these together give the appearance of âyoungerâ skin. So yes to to some very minor smoothing/plumping, but more it slows down aging. Iâve noticed a difference, and really since Iâm the only one looking that hard thats all that really matters.
(I have a whitening Korean mask and its freaky⌠and it works, kinda scary actually.)
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âŚwhich also made it difficult, if not impossible, to get a prescription plan to actually pay for the acne treatment.
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Thanks! I guess now is the time to start that sort of thing. I tried the cucumber and green tea sheet masks, but Iâm a little more skeptical of platinum and gold. And, Iâm sort of freaked out by snake and snail. Marketing/art? Or ingredient? The label doesnât actually help.
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That is amazing. I am envious. My shaving setup consists of a can of Edge in the shower, and a Bic disposable razor that I get from Costco by the sack full. And half the time the can of Edge is empty and the razor is dull because my wife uses it too.
Last week I treated myself to a hair trim and a shave at a barbershop in Bruges. The whole deal: hot towels, freshly made shaving foam, straight razor. And they hand trimmed my beard with scissors. What a luxury!
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All my jeans are by Gustin- with womenâs denim, much of the special sauce is the fit. With menâs, itâs often a about construction and materials. My everyday pair is some 16.25oz delved he denim, and I have an 18oz for the winter and some 9âs for the summer.
They arenât cheap but theyâre way less than $200-400. Not entirely sure if they intend to do a womenâs cutâŚ
Iâd rather have less good quality clothing than more disposable clothes.
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When I think of all the years I wasted money on cartridge razors and overpriced can shaving cream that irritates the skin, I kick myself for not transitioning sooner.
But even if someone prefers cartridge razors, getting a good quality shave soap will greatly improve the experience of shaving. Can shave creams and gels have chemicals that shouldnât go anywhere near human skin, let alone the face. Any sort of bowl will do, or even a mug. You just soak the brush in the mug with hot water for about thirty seconds to a minute, then empty the water and put a penny-sized to a nickle-sized dollop of soap into the mug and lather it up with the brush for about 30 seconds to a minute until itâs a froth you can spread on the face with the brush. That nickle-mass of soap will cover your face three or four times, so a 5 ounce tub like this will last a good four or five months even if you use it every other day. Sure a can of Edge costs a third the price, but it wonât last anywhere near as long.
When I first started, I probably spent about $80 for the razor, the blades, the soap and this badger hair Vulfix brush. Alternately, hereâs a synthetic fiber brush with a similar knot of hairs to my Plisson (which I bought at a store called LâOccitanin in Paris, but I think they have a few stores in the US now). The synthetics are softer and dry faster, but take slightly longer to lather up the soap.
It seems expensive until realizing how much you spend on gel and cartridges over the same time frame that will last you, and the razor itself will last forever as long as you dry it between blade changes to keep it from rusting. The brush will last a few years. Youâll notice a few hairs come out of a badger brush the first several shaves, but there shouldnât be very many and that Vulfix brush has a reputation for not losing very many hairs. The synthetic fibers are more uniform in length and thickness, so they tend not to lose any.
Just something to think about.
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I plunked down 150USD for the Feather shaver after calculating that it would pay for itself within a few yearsâ time. I really hope I made the right decision. My skin today is telling me that I did.
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That Atlas razor by Above the Tie in my picture on the right (the on the little stand) cost about the same. I say that with some embarrassment as I donât like to spend a lot of money when good cheaper options are available. But the shave it gives me is so comfortable and smooth that I donât regret it. Glad the Feather is working out. The Feather blades are my favorite, but I switched to the Astra blades because theyâre half the price and nearly as good.
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My daughter gets a Korean subscription beauty box* and she swears by the snail products. I actually rather like snails and I find those a bit squicky too, honestly.
*(Mishibox, if anyoneâs interested. I think itâs a really good value; most of the stuff she gets is full-size).
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