Not in this contest, but this sounds very weird: so if the chosen soap would be something of the now-defunct Oleo Soapworks, you can’t use anything under Chicago Grooming Co. despite Vida being the artisan behind both names, just re-branded? Same with Scott and L&L/Declaration Grooming? IMHO, that sounds like BS to me. The rules don’t seem to mention the same brand name.

tbh, this can happen to anyone of us. I immediately recognised the handle and just zoomed in to see the little holes indicating what base plate it is that GreenCult uses. I always found this little detail very neat!

Not OP, but if I am not mistaken it’s a GreenCult 2.0 with adjustable base plates (similar to Karve/Rockwell), stainless steel safety razor made in Austria.

19.02.2025

• Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: Perma-Sharp half DE
• Lather: Ethos - Dragonsbeard
• Post-Shave: OAM oli del benessere toner; Alterra men natural ASB

-> 2-pass head shave, very smooth sailing all around.

Dragonsbeard is rather interesting. Warm oud meets florals is what my nose thought of it at first. However, this didn’t change much once it was lathered. I was really grateful that it’s not one of the very animalistic/barnyard ouds and the overall scent strength wasn’t very high - I suppose this is good for some use cases. Judging by the high price point of Ethos though (over here at least), this wouldn’t be a soap high on my buy list. However, I am really grateful for the opportunity to try it! Thanks gcgallant for the sample.

Btw, I kinda had trouble to get the lather right. First pass was very sloppy and wet, the second - after some new loading and starting from scratch - much better. The base has good glide and doesn’t irritate my skin, so bonus point for that. Not as great as a mutton tallow base or something by WK, B+M or ZM, but perfectly serviceable.

Now it’s time for bed for me since I have another early shift tomorrow. Last one this week though, on the weekend it’s late shifts!

17.02.2025

• Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: Perma-Sharp half DE
• Lather: HAGS - Creatures of the Night
• Post-Shave: OAM oli del benessere toner

-> 1-pass WTG head shave to get back into the swing of things. I know I say this a lot, so you better take it with a grain of salt…

Anyways, this was a very relaxed shave with a very smooth and slick lather - mutton tallow bases seem to be universally loved and thanks to this soap, I understand why. The scent is a bit too sweet and powdery, so I use it rarely. But the lather is always cream of the crop. Of course it wasn’t close at all, but good enough for WTG.

I’m currently a very stressful time for my mental health. I notice I fall back into depressive thought patterns and all the stress also takes a toll on my body (reflux and other gastrointestinal disorders). My only day off after 5 early shifts was spent running errands and catching appointments, so not much rest. Problem is, now it’s another 3 early shifts starting tomorrow and they want us to get in even earlier… sometimes I hate my job, but then again I need to focus on the positive aspects harder. It’s just very hard atm.

I feel like the people around me at work would be even shorter-lived if I quit again 😂

No, in all seriousness: I have no desire to quit/stop vaping. Switching to that from cigs was a huge jump in life quality without sacrificing the tastes I enjoy (tobacco, menthol) so I see no reason. However, your recommendation is very good for anyone really set on quitting. 👍🏻

14.02.2025 • Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm • Razor: RazoRock Cyber Medium w/ RR Superknurl handle • Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux • Lather: HAGS - Aftermath (old vegan base) • Post-Shave: Moon Soaps - Old School “balm”
-> 1 pass head shave. The blade is slightly tugging, I suppose it’s at the end of its cycle.

This was just a quick shave after beard trimming. I’m tired AF from the early shifts, but still wanted a nice clean shave. Well, this isn’t a very close shave but it’ll do… Still have two early shifts on the weekend. Unfortunately I also deal with lots of reflux and nausea atm, but my decision to go cold turkey on nicotine during work wasn’t that good: it added the most awful headache and the shittiest mood swings ever on top. Gotta love withdrawal symptoms 🥴

At least the soap and brush worked together nicely and despite some slight tugging of the blade, everything went alright. This old vegan HAGS isn’t the slickest soap, but I really like this dupe of Interlude Man too much.

I’ll send it together with your sample 👍🏻

Thanks for the friendly offer, but I believe in synthetic superiority 😅

Tobacconist EdP must be awesome, greatest tobacco fragrance IMHO 🚬

12.02.2025

• Brush: RazoRock 400 Noir SE 24 mm
• Razor: RazoRock Gamechanger 0.84 OC w/ Superknurl handle
• Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum
• Lather: Barrister & Mann- Le Grand Chypre
• Post-Shave: Osma alum block; OAM witch hazel & cucumber toner

-> 1 pass head shave. Was the OC razor way more eager to cut than the Cyber? Yeah! Was it too eager? Unfortunately yeah too. Had a big weeper on the right side of my scalp, but alum and witch hazel fixed that.

I wanted to join in on the LGC fun, somehow this Citrus Cola scent wasn’t what I was expecting reading those scent notes, but it is a damn fine soap. It’s in Omnibus already, so this shave was ultra slick despite me overhydrating the lather yet again.

Two things that should probably go down the drain: today’s brush and the OC plate. While the handle is my all-time fav, I simply don’t like or need anything that aggressive anymore. Perhaps I can find a nice replacement head somewhere? The brush was used so much by me and it had a good run. Now, from all the swirling I do when lathering on my head, the inside fibers somehow developed splits and became tangled. Since I really love the Rubberset style handle, I should probably try to drill/steam the old knot out and replace it with something better. Also, I really want to get away from too much RazoRock stuff in my den. It’s very affordable at a good quality, but it sure has its shortcomings. Anyway, have a nice day/evening!

Thanks for the thorough explanation! It is really helpful. I always assumed it was due to the small size of our instance and that it might not be federated with every single server. What you wrote makes a lot more sense though!

Ah sorry, I misunderstood that. 😅 I can definitely see the point in that then, even though I myself am politically left-leaning; it’s a quite harsh/borderline extremist userbase on those servers.

(Side question: so it’s not a limitation of our server if some communities are displayed as “completely empty” despite having thousands of members and hundreds of posts?)

As much as they suck, please don’t add “.ml” to the block list. I’m following a few instances registered on there for FOSS apps, back when it was one of the only servers open for registration.

11.02.2025 SOTN

• Brush: RazoRock Beehive 28 mm
• Razor: RazoRock Cyber Medium w/ RR Bamboo 316L handle
• Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux
• Lather: A&E - Ouddiction
• Post-Shave: OAM sensitive skin toner; benecos 2in1 aftershave & face balm

-> 2-pass head shave. Not as close as I would’ve liked, but comfortable.

After a few days of only trimming my (remaining) hair down to barely noticeable lengths, it was great to finally go for a luxurious shave again.

Today was a good day for Ouddiction, but unfortunately I am a bit out of the loop when it comes to lathering K2e. It was very thin and sloppy, something that a lot of folks like for their face shaves, but as a head shaver I prefer a bit more cushion. I tried to redeem that on the second pass, but it wasn’t that much better. Some days are just like this, I suppose I need to go with my crazy long loading technique for all soaps. The Cyber was very mild despite being the more aggressive version of the two heads RR offers, but well… this wasn’t as close as I like my shaves to be. I’m kinda tempted to go with my OC or MMOC tomorrow.

After a short late shift yesterday and a day off today, I’ve got five early shifts ahead of me. Ugh. Getting up at 4:30 in the morning is way harder than still being awake at that time, but someone has to do it.

How I feel as a bystander witnessing your discussions and witty comebacks

I second the option of a vintage razor if budget is an issue. They are available in great condition, shave well and stood the test of time. Plus, they’re easy to get shiny and clean again if you desire so with just a toothbrush and dish soap and an ultrasonic cleaner bath afterwards.

The general staff shortage in nursing affects my work place too, but a bit less than others since we belong to the AWO. I was recently told that there used to be 3 people in the nights, but after one of the higher-ups had to work at a very calm night, they decided to cut the third one to have more staff in the day shifts. According to a teacher at my nursing school, the patient:nurse ratio is different for nights. It’s 50:1, means my nursing home is still narrowly within the guidelines.

It is quite rough. The problem is that quite a few new residents are people with dementia who aren’t on proper meds, as they either lived alone or with little to no support from their family. So no regular appointments at a doctor’s office and barely any prescriptions. The ugly truth with dementia is that those who are affected by it often need sedatives/tranquilizers for the night as a sleep aid, since their condition causes them to have an altered day-night-rhythm (similar to how we night shift nurses train our bodies to adapt, but in their case it’s happening unwillingly). Otherwise, they can’t sleep for the whole night with all the side effects: they are more prone to falls, they react cranky to downright aggressive and so on. Some of them in the early stages of dementia also realize that something’s wrong, they are sad that they can’t sleep and ask what the hell is happening with them. I always try to speak slow, calm and with a deep voice to them since this seems to calm them down a bit and they are less likely to feel bad about themselves when I explain that it’s not their fault.

Finally got through my 5th night shift this morning. I had my alarm set at 16:00/4 PM, but put it out and slept until 19:00/7 PM. Now I feel well rested for the first time this week. The problem isn’t the changed rhythm, as I am a “night owl”. It’s the workload:

Nights aren’t a walk in the park in my current work environment: in the nursing home where I was working before, every station had their own night shift, as in 1 per station. There was always one examined/certified nurse (I guess the english term would be RN or nursing specialist?) and two assistant nurses, i.e. people who don’t have any previous qualifications or just one year of training. The RN did all the complex medical stuff: like administering injections, counting all the medication that falls under the “Betäubungsmittelgesetz” (= narcotics/drugs with high potency and addiction potential) and giving out meds that the old folks required at night for all stations, plus everything else that was required to do on their station (looking after the residents, changing the positioning of those who can’t move anymore, etc.)
In my “new” nursing home, we are two people in the night shift for over 90 residents. One’s a RN, the other either an assistant nurse or, like the last few nights, a trainee/re-trainee like me.

This was quite hard work, since we have a handful of residents with dementia who are awake at night. Coupled with the fact that the “ordinary” residents often need help to get to the toilet or a painkiller to sleep and that a few dementia patients have “bed edge sensors” who send an alarm to our phones when they leave their bed, I’m sure you can imagine how stressful that can get. If some people think that night shifts at a nursing home must be easy since all the old folks are asleep, let me assure you it’s quite the contrary. We also have 2 residents who are picked up very early for dialysis on MON/WED/FRI, so what does the night shift do? We start with basic care, i.e. washing them and helping them to get dressed. At 4:15 to 4:30 in the morning. 😮‍💨

Needless to say, I am very grateful for my rest day and a free weekend ahead of me. I plan to go shopping on Saturday after a nice brunch with my parents so I can get a few missing items for my apartment - with the new night shifts, I realised that I need blackout blinds, better curtains and some sleep aids. I’ll also look for little sample containers so I can send out the BVWSC samples for March. Have a nice weekend, folks!