My first Hydrolast Shave.

[Sejanus]

I got myself some Hydrolast *BIG THANKS TO MIKE* and after a very kind primer from Mike and a review of Mark's (Mantic) videos on the subject I took to my bathroom to give it a shot.

Seeing all the parts separate made me feel like an alchemist so I got on some safety gloves, a lab coat and goggles *Ze Goggles, they do NOTHING* and laughably, I unwrapped the Cube and some dust puffed up.. which I inhaled and coughed up a lung.

I took it slow and made up my mix. Made up lots of slag.. dropped the cube a few times (Damn it is slipper) and put the paste in. The whole thing changed colour and it looks good. It seems a little lacking in terms of amount.. but it looks decent from a shaving standpoint. I lathered up and began shaving.

First off.. wow.. my hands FELT different from handling the mix and cube. Silky soft. Anyway, the shave felt very different and was LOUD.. lots of hair cutting sounds. It felt like my face burned just a little as I was shaving but I think it was because I was not used to the whole process.. nerves you know.

Anyway, I finished the shave (3 passes, WTG, XTG and ATG) and cleanup passes. Felt very good.. sprays on the tonic.. sprayed myself in the eye (damn) and put on the conditioner. I took a step back.. cleaned up the mess and felt my face.

Hooooooly. I know there is a learning curve but DAMN am I impressed. Astounding results for the first time and my face felt GREAT. 99.9% BBS and everything. I think we have ourselves a convert folks! I can't wait until I can do this again!

BIG Thanks to the following: Mike for putting my stuff together, Charles Roberts for making mine with Lime in mind, I love the stuff.

and yes.. all this story is 100% true.. inhaling..spraying in the eye..everything. What I won't do for a shave.

[IsaacRN]

I was truly impressed with my first mixing experiments. Its definitely a fun activity. But I do have to warn people. If your the type that doesnt have your own bathroom...this one can be a bit of a counter space taker :P

[JayKay]

I like the idea of a simplified and consistant shaving experience that is great every time, but I just cant get with the forget the direction of hair growth idea. My face is super sensitive and from the beginning of time, shaving ATG left me in pain for a couple days. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoy it :D

[jls1963]

Welcome to the Method Brotherhood! One of us. One of us. One of us.

Did you get some of the Finishing Balm? Adding a small shot of that to the breech of your brush makes for an incredibly well-buffered mix without sacrificing velocity.

Cheers,
j

[Scorpio]

well-buffered mix without sacrificing velocity.

Where have I heard this language before??????? oh yeah...I remember now:D every now and then you have to throw in a "lubricity" and "shaving terrain" in the conversation too;)



Glad you like it Ken. It is absolutely the best shave. Keep playing with the mix, you can get a nice lather with practice. Remember you can always add a little more paste with a shot or two of activator!!!!

Raf

[Sejanus]

Did you get some of the Finishing Balm? Adding a small shot of that to the breech of your brush makes for an incredibly well-buffered mix without sacrificing velocity.


No, I did not order the cutting balm this time around. I mostly stuck to the advice of the masters and went with the essentials to get my feet wet. Once I continue playing around with it I can always put in an emergency order for the cutting balm if needed.. :rofl

[Sejanus]

Glad you like it Ken. It is absolutely the best shave. Keep playing with the mix, you can get a nice lather with practice. Remember you can always add a little more paste with a shot or two of activator!!!!


Yeah I believe it Raf. If the shaves get much better then I will honestly be hard pressed to shave with anything else! :1respect:1respect

[msandoval858]

Amigo, you're just getting started. Like I said, don't get discouraged if you run in to a few trouble spots with mix building, it happens. A little practice and you'll be blasting out BBS shaves every time. I'm glad to hear my little effort at educating you helped out :D

Jay, ignore that stuff about the cutting forms. I've been going on about this for awhile now. Those forms are really "guidelines" more than anything and work well for guys who have never even used a DE before. If you are a proficient wetshaver already, just cut the way you normally do and you'll be fine. I don't even use the forms anymore. When those were developed, Charles was addressing the needs of a lot of his clients who walked in his door and had never even held a shaving brush or DE razor before. Starting from scratch, it was a good reliable way for him to educated them with.

[Sejanus]

Yeah I did not even bother with the forms and the results were excellent. It is a shame I shaved so late last night or I could do it again today! :rofl

[mantic]

I don't even use the forms anymore. When those were developed, Charles was addressing the needs of a lot of his clients who walked in his door and had never even held a shaving brush or DE razor before. Starting from scratch, it was a good reliable way for him to educated them with.

+1. CAR once told me that my videos have made the forms much less important than they used to be, because he doesn't have to "teach the basics" anymore.

--Mark

[JayKay]

Hmmm.... One day in the future I'll have to give it a shot. As for having my own bathroom and plenty of counterspace, this all goes out the door come Sept. 1st. I'm moving out of my 1 bedroom into a 3 bedroom where 2 of us will have to share a bathroom. Theres plenty of counter space but I've learned my lesson about keeping anything shave related and nice out on a counter in a college setting.

[IsaacRN]

Did you get some of the Finishing Balm? Adding a small shot of that to the breech of your brush makes for an incredibly well-buffered mix without sacrificing velocity.


WOW....that made me feel like i was back at Enchante....Velocity...Cook the mix....BAM!!

[rick]

so far I have some Eucalyptus Cutting paste and the cube.
Been having pretty good shaves since I stopped being so stingy with the paste............
Do I reeeeeeeeeeee-lly need the other products or can I get pretty close with what I have???



Sorry for the derail, Ken :o
Congrats on the great shave !!

[Sejanus]

The Tonic and the Conditioner are simply after shave components, so they will not add any extra closeness to your shave Rick. They do feel really nice though and they made my skin very soft.

As for the Activator, I do not know what affect it had on the overall shave since I have only tried it A: Once and B: With Activator. In the demo I received from Mike it was also used, but Mike doesn't have blood through his veins.. he has Hydrolast in there. :D

I have not tried the cutting balm yet so my results did not have that product figured in. I'd be curious to see what it did though.

[IsaacRN]

so far I have some Eucalyptus Cutting paste and the cube.
Been having pretty good shaves since I stopped being so stingy with the paste............
Do I reeeeeeeeeeee-lly need the other products or can I get pretty close with what I have???



Sorry for the derail, Ken :o
Congrats on the great shave !!

Coming from someone that just had the cube and the paste....You should get the Activator. The conditioner and tonic are necessary. I would highly suggest the activator because it helps to build a better mix IMHO.

If you do get the activator..might as well get the conditioner...which is top notch again IMHO

[rick]

and if I get the Conditioner.....I should get the cutting balm
and if I get the cutting balm I should get the...........?????


Enabler

[IsaacRN]

and if I get the Conditioner.....I should get the cutting balm
and if I get the cutting balm I should get the...........?????


Enabler

DOnt really need the cutting balm imho. The conditioner is just something nice to have and works great. I just suggest if you get the activator thats the other thing I would pick up. Making lather with and without activator is a big difference. The activator just wakes up the whole process imho.

[rick]

Yep.
Thats what I thought too.
Been struggling getting a good mix and Ive heard a lot of positive things about the Activator.
Keep up the testing, gents !! :cool:

[Brad]

DOnt really need the cutting balm imho. The conditioner is just something nice to have and works great. I just suggest if you get the activator thats the other thing I would pick up. Making lather with and without activator is a big difference. The activator just wakes up the whole process imho.

Activator and slag also make a great mix for a finishing or clean up pass. I have tried the cutting balm and do not see a big change. I do like the finishing balm though. I have yet to decide between finishing balm and activator with slag. Finishing balm custs closer, but activator is slicker. So many choices, so little time to shave.

[Dave29C]

I have to say, there are obviously lots and lots of different shaving soaps, creams, razors, etc., and I've only scratched the surface with my Gillette Fusion and old-style handle from London. Have three brushes, one quite old, and about 10 different shave soaps -- including several from Italy.

Really need to read more and post more, too.

Dave C
Irvine, CA USA

[jls1963]

I see the finishing balm rendering the activator and cutting balm unecessary. I use the finishing balm to boost the mix (a la activator), in cutting serum (with slag and a dab of paste), and with a splash of hot water for a clean-up pass.

Hmmm, reminds me of the oooooold SNL skit ("It's a dessert topping _and_ a floor wax!")

Raf and Isaac--good points. Maybe I need to ease off on the visits to Enchante. I might just end up talking about the role of the Hegelian dialectic in wet shaving (which sadly, CAR and I have done) :)

Y'all have a great weekend.
j

[Brad]

While, I agree that you could substitute one for the other, I think there may still be uses for the others. Before there was finishing balm, I used activator and slag in lieu of cutting balm as I didn't want to buy both. After trying a sample of the cutting balm, I have noticed that there are some differences in how it performs. The same holds true for the finishing balm. Do you NEED all products, probably not. Are they nice to have and use separate and are there performance trade offs? I think they are. JMHO

Brad

[Sejanus]

Well my 2nd shave was just as effective as my first.. perhaps even a little more so. Chances are very good once I get the basics under my belt I will grab the cutting and finishing balms to add to the customization process. Maybe a few weeks.

[Aquanin]

Glad some more of you are seeing the benefits of the Hydrolast stuff. It is truly amazing stuff, but there is always room for traditional products. I recommend the activator and finishing balm as well, they are great products and just enchance the closeness and slickness of everything. When I started I used the forms as well, and now my passes are much more loose, and I do what workds for my beard.

Of any Hydrolast product, you have to try the AS Conditioner. It will make your face feel moisturized all day.

[roberto811]

Of any Hydrolast product, you have to try the AS Conditioner. It will make your face feel moisturized all day.

The aftershave is definitely a top quality moisturizer, and you need so little of it to cover your entire face.

[019]

I just wanted to quickly post that I too have fallen to Method Shaving. I stocked up on shaving supplies during my trip back to the US and came back with the Cube, unscented paste, a Lychee Rose shaving round and Peppermint AS conditioner.

I have been Method Shaving for a week and and wow! It is simply amazing! My skin has never felt so good and my shaves are incredible! I'm finding it hard to go back to just regular soap now. I was pleased to find that the Cube doesn't smell as bad as people made it out to be. If you've smelled a normal Savon de Marseilles, then you've smelled the Cube. I do wish the shave had a bit more smell, so I'll be getting some scented paste next time I need to stock up. Have not tried the round yet but I have to say that it smells INCREDIBLE! Again, this was based on people's recommendation and I can honestly that I am very pleased with it. Now just have to see how it shaves.

The AS conditioner is amazing. I don't think there's anything else to say about it that has not been already said. It is definitely a very top tier after shave, worth every single penny.

Conclusion: Method Shaving rocks! Not only are my shaves much better but my skin feels incredible. I'm going to have to see if I can go back to using my shaving soaps. I just find it very hard right now...