Episode 9: Bixby, by Moon Soaps
Episode 10: Prom King, by Summer Break Soaps
Episode 11: Asian Plum, by Ariana & Evans
Wow! Such awesome different types of shave soaps this week, and all new artisans for us too! We had so much fun with our first Wednesday episode we added to our schedule this week, we will be keeping it on the schedule.
Cola–
Marcus found this as a surprise for me to try and see if I could guess just by smelling it alone. I had NO idea about it until I smelled it in the video, you will have to watch to see if I guess it on the first try or not! Thank you Monica at Van Yuley for the details you put into this one, we really enjoyed it!
Bixby–
We were so lucky to get to talk to Monica and Zach at Moon Soaps to hear about their family run business and get to know these awesome two artisans! We were already fans of them and this soap goes back to the very first research we did on shave soaps so it was special to us before we even smelled it, but we did not expect to be so enchanted by the scent that immediately. Fun fact it’s named after the Bixby bridge that’s only about 100 miles from where Marcus and I are in the SF Bay Area.
Prom King–
Marcus found this by trying to see if anyone had made a shave soap based on his old college cologne he used to wear. Summer Breaks Soaps happened to have exactly that! Fun to see what another artist can be inspired to create, we were lucky to enjoy the final product and find a new artisan to add to our list.
Asian Plum–
This was our first by Ariana & Evans and we were so surprised by the smell of it, so cozy without it smelling Chirstmas-y somehow.
Our TBD lather adventures this week:
We have been learning so much with our own wet shaving practice and this week we both realized how much more focus we were putting into the lathering portion of the practice. After watching a few videos and realizing we were not spending nearly enough time on the actual lather, we were only spending maybe 45 seconds to build it instead of almost 2-3 minutes. The whole reason we fell for the wet shaving experience was the idea of more self care and putting energy into ourselves for a change instead of just checking off the hygiene regiment list.
With that in mind I found myself getting frustrated that the lather was adding more time to the process and instead by brain was listing all the other things I should be doing instead (laundry, prepping dinner, blah, blah, blah…) then I had to pause myself and change my perspective…wait! This is only a few minutes Sara, let yourself put some energy into making the best lather for YOU instead of rushing through, enjoy the process of just focusing on what is in front of you instead of the normal life junk that will be waiting for you either way. By taking time to refuel your tank a bit you will have more energy to conquer what’s waiting, I have to say that helped a lot, made it way more enjoyable instead of stressful.
Marcus even just grabbed some bowls and brushes and set up a few lathers to just practice, why not?! He was able to tell when a soap was more thirsty or needed more lathering…all the brands are a little different or even the bowl or brush size can make a difference as well but overall we are learning there is a feel to it. The more you do it the more it will be less work and you’ll enjoy the process, it’s worth the time to practice on your own and it makes you feel sorta awesome for learning something new and accomplishing that!
Hardware from episodes this week in case you were interested in any:
Van Yuley (Teal/Magenta), Honeycomb Lather Bowl
Plastic Lather Bowl (yellow), Barrister and Mann
The Intergalactic Indestructible Shatterproof Travel Scuttle , Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements
Yaqi R1744-S Chianti’s Synthetic Brush
Atomic Rocket 26mm Synthetic Shaving Brush, Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements
Star Wisp 26mm Stygian Synth Hybrid Knot Shave Brush, Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements
Hensen Razor, Mild in Blue
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The Barbershop Duet 
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