u/Priusaurus's SOTDs for challenge 'GEMsOfWisdom 2022'

Aug 1, 2021 – Austere August. Day 1.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (1)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Post, Post Shave: Zingari Man – Rescue Potion

It’s gonna be an interesting month. On the one hand using an MMOC and breaking in a boar brush is going to spice up my shaving life a little bit, but I’m also going to be living a boring, unscented life for the next 31 days. I’ve used this soap literally twice since I bought it, so it’ll be good to make a dent in this 5.8 oz tub. I documented on Second Chance Day why I dislike this soap, but the long and short of it, is it’s no fun using unscented products. Imagine having a bunch of wonderful nose-flavors at your fingertips and choosing this? No thanks. However, that changes today. I opted to buy Zingari Man’s post shave products because I believe they put a ton of effort into the skin care aspect of shaving and Lord knows my face is going to need all the help I can get this month.

I was fortunate enough to get to use this MMOC about 7 or 8 times prior to today, because otherwise, today's shave would have been bad. My first time using it about 2 weeks ago was somewhat of a bloodbath and I had about a dozen nicks/cuts. Fortunately, I’ve learned I need to use a light touch at a good angle. I’m still very much at the point where the goal of every MMOC shave is to not need to use a styptic pencil. I was confident heading in, but today I had 5 or 6 nicks at the end of my 2 passes. Most of which came from my first pass, and the sub-par lather that came with it.

At first, I really struggled building up a good lather with this new brush my first pass. Of course, most lathering issues can be fixed by adding more soap and more water, so I went back and really, really overloaded soap between passes, which helped on the 2nd time around. I’m looking forward to seeing this brush progress, because if I didn’t trust this would be worth it, I probably would’ve given up on it after one shave. The brightside is I think I found a loophole to u/rocketk455’s unscented challenge: while all the software I used was unscented, my brush provided my face with a stench of wet animal, so I have that going for me! #winning

After the shave and balm, I also used Zingari Man’s Rescue Potion. I didn’t plan on having to use it (which is why it’s not in my SOTD pic), but I’m thankful I had it ready, because my face was pretty irritated coming out of the bathroom. Can't wait to try this again tomorrow! One day down, 30 to go!

#sidetracked: u/Teufelskraft had the great idea to ask us to include a little bit of music in our SOTD posts. I’m kicking it off with the band Guster, and their song “This Could All be Yours” from the album: Easy Wonderful.

Because my two-year-old daughter likes the album cover, she requests this album literally every day. So, I listen to this song every. Single. Day. And I’m not tired of it yet, so at least she has good taste! Every morning she says “Flower music, Dad!”, because the cover looks like a flower to her and then she stares at the album cover on my phone. One time, I tried to play something different, but still show her the Guster album cover, but she wasn’t having it. She has to listen to this Guster album and look at the “flower”. The song is uplifting and will remind me to keep looking toward the future, as Austere August may start to drag on at some point!

Tags:

#GEMsOfWisdom u/EldrormR and u/Semaj3000

#RawHoggin

#unscented

Aug 2, 2021 – Austere August. Day 2.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (2)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Post, Post Shave: Zingari Man – Rescue Potion
• Music: Dispatch – The General

Day 2 went better than day one. Ended the shave with 2 small nicks instead of the half-dozen I had yesterday. I corrected for some errors I made yesterday with pressure/angle, and really loaded a TON of soap onto the brush. I’m not usually a face-latherer, but I’m getting used to it. I still wouldn’t call my lather good, but it was 10x better than yesterday. The brush is (not surprisingly) still scratchy and a bit stinky, but I’m confident that breaking it in will just take a bit of time.

Shoutout to Zingari Man for making Rescue Potion, because it has been an absolute blessing to have yesterday and today. My goal is to not need it in a week or so, but we’ll see what my face has to say about that. For now though, it's absolute amazing.

While I’m sure the new boar brush and MMOC will be perfect by the end of the month, the unscented part may be the end of me. It’s only day 2 and I already don’t like it. I just feel empty at the end of the shave. It’s wild to think that I went years and year without the fun scents of wetshaving and now the thought of going another 29 days like that absolutely repulses me. But, once I commit to something, I go full-boar (pun & misspelling intended to tie the themes together), so I’m gonna ride this unscented wave all month long.

Even though u/Teufelskraft only requires two song selections to be part of his game, I decided I’m going to include a daily music selection because why the hell not. I went with Guster yesterday, and today I’m going with a very similar style band in Dispatch. They hail from Boston, where I went to college, and were active while I was in school there, so it would be rare to NOT hear their music at a college party in 2003 in Boston. So, hearing Dispatch will ALWAYS put me in a good mood and bring me back to the good old days of no job, no responsibilities, and making memories.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom #sidetracked

Aug 3, 2021 – Austere August. Day 3.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (3)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Post, Post Shave: Zingari Man – Rescue Potion
• Music: O.A.R. – Road Outside Columbus

Day 3 went far, far better than day 2, which was far better than day 1. If I continue progressing at this rate, I’ll be MMOC shaving with my eyes closed in no time! No nicks or cuts and little irritation today. I still used the Rescue Potion as a preventative measure, but I didn’t need it nearly as much today as I did yesterday or the day before.

While the brush still has a way to go, the lather I built today was so, so, so much better than the first time I used this brush two days ago. The Eau de Farm Animal scent is still present, which makes the unscented challenge that much more difficult. When this dissipates, I'm guessing the end result of the shaves with turn from "unpleasant" to "meh".

Being unscented is what it is. I’m not changing courses, and neither is the soap. The only thing changing is the eventual disappearance of the stink of this new boar brush, which can’t come soon enough. I do feel fortunate that Stirling’s mutton base is so good, because I think that really helps my cause (and face) this month.

For today’s music selected, I’m completing my personal “Big 3” of college jam bands. I played Guster on Day 1, and Dispatch yesterday, and today the trilogy is complete with O.A.R. – Road Outside Columbus. To me, this is a song to play at an outdoor summer BBQ or tailgate or pool party. From the opening strum of the guitar this song is on the road to putting me in a good mood. While the song is (perhaps obviously) about Columbus, Ohio and it becoming the lead singer’s second home after going to college there, I tend to see (hear?) myself in the lyrics as well. Going away to school, and absolutely loving the people, the culture, and the surroundings of where you find yourself, and making lifelong friends there. Man, that’s what college is all about and I get nostalgic listening to this song, just thinking back about the journey of life that so many of us go on.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom #sidetracked

Aug 4, 2021 – Austere August. Day 4.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (4)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Post, Post Shave: Zingari Man – Rescue Potion
• Music: Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness – Fire Escape

Day 4 and I'm getting into a good groove with the MMOC and building a lather with this new boar brush. No nicks or cuts again for the 2nd day in a row. I'm sure it's a combination of creating a better lather and also making sure I'm using the correct angle and pressure for the MMOC. I continued to use Rescue Potion today and will for the next couple of days as my face adjusts to this new equipment (and the new equipment gets broken in).

The brush still smells like a farm animal, but I think it may be getting better. Or I'm getting used to it. Honestly not sure which. Overloading the brush with soap and building a face lather has become a nice change of pace for me. I'm typically a scuttle guy, and I do love the warm lather from the scuttle, but creating the lather on my face is becoming fun for me. Never would I expect to describe anything shaving as "fun", but "fun" is all relative, I suppose.

My #sidetracked music selection for today is Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. I've been a fan of his music for over twenty years now. Andrew was the front man for the pop-punk, piano rock band Something Corporate, and then moved on to create a softer, more emotional driven sound with the band Jack's Mannequin, and now he's been doing his own thing for the last 7 or 8 years. While his biggest hit has been a song he wrote about his daughter, "Cecilia and the Satellite", my selection today is "Fire Escape". Music can have such an impact on our mental state and well-being. A sad song can amplify a sad mood, an upbeat song can get us going, and few things can unlock memories like music can. And this song makes me happy. The “woah-woah-woah-woaaahs” and the optimistic sounds this music brings in will ALWAYS put me in a good place. I'm a big fan of Andrew's music, don't be surprised if I include some other songs in my future SOTDs.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 5, 2021 – Austere August. Day 5.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (5)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Post, Post Shave: Zingari Man – Rescue Potion
• Music: Lawrence – Don’t Lose Sight

Adjusting to using the MMOC isn’t taking nearly as long as I imagined it would. Five days in a row and around 10 total uses (around 5 before AA) and I’m shaving great with it. No nicks or cuts or irrational at all today. My skin is feeling great and I’d consider this a very good shave.

I’m also building up a nice lather with this new boar brush as it’s starting to break in. The stench is still there, but is noticeably less than how it was when we started this journey 5 long days ago. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this brush progresses as it continues to break in. Overall, while I wouldn't call this process enjoyable, it hasn't been as bad as I thought it was going to be.

My #sidetracked music selection for today is the band Lawrence and their song “Don’t Lose Sight”. I’m gonna sound like Stefan from SNL, but this song has EVERYTHING: a brass horn section, a catchy melody, a brother/sister duo, and a high energy sound that just won’t quit. I saw this band live a little bit ago and had an absolutely amazing time. They put on a great live show and it seems like they are starting to get some attention this year - They played Coachella earlier this year and also had appearances on Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert. Personally, I'm hoping they blow up because their unique sound and vibe is something the music industry needs (and precisely why they likely won't).

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 6, 2021 – Austere August. Day 6.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (6)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Mötley Crüe - Kickstart My Heart

I had a really busy day today, so I don’t have time to write much by the way of deep reflections of the MMOC today. A few days in a row of clean, smooth shaves. I’m sure the breaking in of the boar brush (and creating a better lather with it) is helping the process of using an MMOC along. I really have no complaints about the shave itself. I even stopped using Zingari Man’s Rescue Potion today for the first time since AA started. That’s big news and happened much sooner than I expected. On day 1, there was a part of me that thought I’d be using it all month.

I feel like the brush is building a better lather every day and most of the stench is gone. I can still faintly smell it, but I’m guessing within a day or two, it’ll be entirely gone. That’s still the only scent I have in my shave, so there’s a small (very, very small) part of me that will miss the wet pig smell when it’s gone, since that unscented life is with me for 25 more days.

For my #sidetracked music selection, I picked Motley Crue’s Kickstart My Heart. Motley Crue just played at Fenway Park last night and put on a HELL of a show. The crowd was… Interesting… While there were some young people there, I feel like I was one of the youngest people in my section and I’m in my late thirties. I guess that makes sense, given that the band was at its peak of popularity in the 1980s, and at that point, its fans were probably in their mid-twenties. Fast forward 40 years and here we are. The rebels that lived for this music are currently getting ready to retire. Their lead singer, Vince Neil, was showing his age a bit, but they still put on an amazing show on the whole. For those uninitiated, this song was written by the bassist, Nikki Sixx, about being brought back to life after being legally dead thanks to a heroin overdose. After hitting rock bottom 20something years ago, Nikki is trying to be positive force in the world now, and talks opening about his addiction and recovery now, but these guys were the embodiment of Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll back in their heyday. Their autobiography, “The Dirt” is actually a very, very good read and goes into great detail of how they lived their lives. Spoiler alert: They did whatever the hell they wanted, whenever the hell they wanted with little repercussions. It was a different world back then and I wonder if a band like this could rise up and be successful today like The Crue did. Regardless of any individual’s feeling about the shenanigans this band, I don’t think there are many out there that can deny that this is a great high-energy rock song that can really get your blood pumping and put you in the mood to rock and roll!

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 7, 2021 – Austere August. Day 7.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (7)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Meat Loaf - Paradise By The Dashboard Light

A week into AA and the MMOC has turned into a nice little shaving device for me. Shaving with it has become pretty natural to me and it’s been days since I got a nick or cut. I’ve been getting nice, close shaves with it and my muscle memory for angle and pressure have pretty much taken over. I didn’t have any irritation after today’s shave either. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, I really expected it to take a lot longer to get used to shaving with this gentle giant. I remember it took me a few weeks to get used to shaving with a DE after making the switch to cartridges, and I assumed this would be similar, but everything was really, really good about today’s shave.

Me and this new boar brush are also getting along nicely, as well. I’m still going through a lot of soap, but the lather we’re making together is quite good. There’s still a faint Eau de Farm Animal lingering, but it gets less and less with each shave. Since this is my first time breaking in a boar brush, I’m not sure what it’s supposed to feel like when it breaks in, but I’m enjoying every step of the journey.

I think I’m actually shaving faster too. With no scents to savor in, and lathering on my face (instead of my usual method of bowl lathering in a scuttle), I’m just getting right down to business with each shave and the GEM blade quickly and easily slices my whiskers down. That being said, a big part of what I enjoy about wetshaving is the ritual and the scents. Lord knows I don’t do this for speed. So while shaving faster is nice, it comes at a big, unscented cost.

For today’s #sidetracked music selection, I’m picking Meat Loaf’s “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”. What an awesome song. Unlike my previous music selections, I don’t have any deep connection to this song and this song doesn’t unlock any special memories for me. It’s just an awesome song and is solid for it’s entire 8 and a half minutes. Meat Loaf was such an uniquely talented individual and while he certainly was far from perfect, it’s hard argue that the man had a lot of talent. RIP Mr. Loaf.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 8, 2021 – Austere August. Day 8.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (8)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Impression That I Get

Happy Monday fellow wetshavers! Hope everyone is doing well heading into our second week of Austere August. I continue on my unscented, MMOC, with a new boar brush daily journey. Today’s shave went well. Once again, no nicks, not cuts, no fuss, and no muss. Built up a nice, slick lather and had a nice, smooth, unscented shave.

Every day the stank of the boar gets less and less. I’m starting to wonder if using an unscented soap is slowing down the unstankification of the new brush. Where if I was using scented soaps, the brush would pick up those scents and lose the wet pig scent faster. I suppose the only way to figure that out would be to break in the same boar brush again and this time use scented soaps. And while this journey has been fun, I think it’ll be a while before I go down this road again.

For today’s #sidetracked music selection, I’m going with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Impression That I Get. Few songs can bring me back to the late 90s like this one can. After I shared the band Lawrence’s music two days ago, I had it in my mind to share this one next. Both heavily feature brass instruments and are really upbeat. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are one of the many, many one-hit wonders the world has seen and I really have to wonder (no pun intended) what that is like. These guys started as a band in 1983, had this MASSIVE hit in 1997, then continued on for another 25 years without coming close the same mainstream success. Gotta be a weird feeling. When I searched for this song on youtube, I watched some (somewhat) recent live performances and the lead singer, Dicky Barrett, almost looks bored performing it. And I can’t say I blame him! Every show and festival they play, this is the one they close it down with, day after day, show after show, most of the people there know you for this one song. Gotta be really, really strange. In early 2022, the Bosstones finally hung it up and retired just shy of 40 years making music and dancing together. (Sidetracked-sidenote: They had a member of the band who's only job was to dance and he killed it. What a great gig that must've been!) Upon doing some limited research for this post, I saw that Dicky Barrett was also Jimmy Kimmel Live’s announcer from 2004-2022 and apparently a big anti-vaxxer, performing at a Defeat the Mandate rally earlier this year. It’s speculated it’s that stance that cost him his announcer job at Kimmel and caused the band to break up. No clue if that’s true or not. It’s probably not a bad thing though, they were probably all tired of playing this damn song over and over again, but what do I know... That’s just the impression that I get.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 9, 2021 – Austere August. Day 9.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (9)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Ruth B. - Lost Boy

Another day, another shave. Austere August is like the Groundhog Day of shaving. The same thing, every single day. The Lather Games flew by for me, and AA seems be to going on forever. As an adult, I’ve come to learn how my brain operates and part of that is knowing my brain craves constant stimulation, it needs variety. I am always trying and researching new things. Austere August challenges my brain to use one tool for each task, even though I have a variety of tools available. My fellow neurodivergents out there know the struggle that I’m talking about. But not all heroes wear capes, and I think that fact that I'm narrowing my focus on 1 razor, 1 new brush, 1 unscented soap, and 1 unscented aftershave is heroic to say the least! That's partially the reason why I’ve putting effort into the music selection. I need SOMETHING to change every day!

The MMOC continues to shave great for me. No complaints at all. No nicks/cuts and a smooth shave again today. The blade is holding up great as well. After every shave, I dry it off and strop it on my arm, so hopefully that keeps it going nicely.

The brush break in is also progressing. I still got a faint animal smell today, but it seems like the brush isn’t requiring as much soap to build a lather as it did at the start.

For my #sidetracked music selection, I’m changing it up and going with Ruth B. I’m such a sucker for music that is just a piano and singer. There’s something raw about it that gets me. There’s no hiding for the performer. There’s no back-up for the artist or distractions for the listener. I love that. Canadian singer Ruth Berhe, goes by “Ruth B.” (very creative) and got her start when Vine was a thing (it was like a primitive TikTok, but limited to 6 second clips), singing 6 seconds covers of songs. She posted a short clip of her singing a line she made up about Peter Pan, her followers told her she should make it a full song, so she did. And she posted this song on her personal YouTube in January of 2015, then 6 months later Columbia Records signed her to a record deal. It’s just that easy, boys and girls. This single, “Lost Boy” went 4x RIAA Platinum and was a huge hit, worldwide in 2015. The music that Ruth B. has come out with since “Lost Boy” has been far more produced and has more of a Pop sound, which is unfortunate, in my humble opinion. From my outsider perspective, the record company took someone that wrote a great, unique, and popular song and has been trying to turn her into a Pop-Star, instead of letting her create the music that made them want to sign her in the first place. And that’s a damn shame.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 10, 2021 – Austere August. Day 10.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (10)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Johnny Cash – Hurt

Today’s MMOC shave was mostly smooth. My 7 days streak of no cuts was broken today as I got a small nick on my ATG pass under my nose. Very small, and didn’t even need to break out the styptic pencil, but it happened and I was surprised. Just when I was thinking I truly mastered this thing, the MMOC humbles me. A wild stallion is never truly tamed. Other than that, it was an uneventful shave.

The new boar brush gets better with every shave. I feel like it doesn’t use as much soap and is really starting to do a good job holding soap between passes. Most days, I’ve been having to reload the brush between passes, but today, I had enough for the whole shave. Still a faint stench that gets less and less every day.

Today’s #sidetracked music selection is Johnny Cash’s cover of the song “Hurt”. This is a beautiful, raw, and emotional version of Nine Inch Nail’s original song. Johnny takes this song, strips it down and truly makes it his own, seemingly allowing someone else's words to tell the story of his life.

For me, the video is the cherry on top on of this musical sundae. Pairing old videos of a young Johnny Cash along side a frail old version of himself is somehow powerful and sobering. Trent Renzor, who wrote the original song felt the same way: “That song in particular was straight from my soul, and it felt very strange hearing the highly identifiable voice of Johnny Cash singing it. It was a good version, and I certainly wasn't cringing or anything, but it felt like I was watching my girlfriend fuck somebody else. Or something like that. Anyway, a few weeks later, a videotape shows up with Mark Romanek's video on it... I pop the video in, and... wow. Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps... Wow. I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine anymore. Then it all made sense to me... I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. Some-fucking-how that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning-different, but every bit as pure.”

To emphasize, the guy that wrote the song said “that song isn’t mind anymore” after seeing this video. Absolutely amazing.

The video reminds me that all of us will (hopefully) get old, and even a badass like Johnny F’ing Cash is going to age, and it will do a number on us. There’s a moment where he’s lifting a glass, and you can clearly see his hand shaking as he’s struggling to hold it up and then it’s paired with a young version of himself casually hopping a train. It’s somewhat heartbreaking, and somewhat beautiful. It’s the circle of life… And it rules us all.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 11, 2021 – Austere August. Day 11.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Hanson - Ain't No Sunshine

Great shave today. Seriously 10 out of 10… Well maybe 6.8 out of 10 since the unscented path is still part of my life, but other than that, everything was great. Shaving without a scent kills me a little bit every day, but this is the path I chose to go down.

The good news is, I got a nice, smooth shave out of the MMOC and dare I say this new boar brush has officially broken in? I didn’t smell any farm animal stank today and I created a nice lather with enough on the brush for both (WTG & ATG) passes. I’m really, really happy with how this brush has grown on me from day 1 and weirdly excited to see how it progresses.

Today’s #sidetracked music selection, I have the Band, Hanson, covering Bill Withers' “Ain’t No Sunshine”. Yes, that Hanson. Unfortunately for the Hanson boys, the world will forever remember them as the kids that sang “MMMBop”, which has undeniably become an absolute joke of a song. Not without good reason. MMMBop is an annoying, catchy pop song, then add in the ridiculous video of 3 boys with long, blonde hair playing rollerblading around and playing their instruments. Cringe-city. Especially watching it now, as an adult. However, today, I’m here to say that we, as a society, did Hanson wrong. MMMBop came out in 1997, among a slew of boy bands that were insanely popular that year, Hanson was the goofiest. NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys were the sexy ones that could dance, 98 Degrees were the sexy ones that could sing, and Hanson were the goofy little kids that gave off a weird 1990s Partridge Family vibe. But these dudes were actually good musicians. They wrote their own music, played their own instruments, and sang their own songs – and were damn good at it! But they were victims of their own success. MMMBop made them loved, and quickly hated. The song was overplayed and annoying and we got sick of them and made them the punchlines to many jokes.

But, today, I urge you to give this song a listen. They are good. And while MMMBop may not have been for everyone (or ANYONE), they have put out some decent music that never stood a chance because they were always gonna be the little boys with long hair that sang MMMBop.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 12, 2021 – Austere August. Day 12.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (12)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Sublime – Caress Me Down

Another day, another great shave. At this point, my biggest concern is when this blade is going to give up on me. Fortunately, I don’t see any signs of it wearing at all, but that’s how comfortable I’ve been feeling with the MMOC. I’m feeling very, very dialed in with it and enjoying using it. It’s such a very far cry from Day 1.

The brush is rocking and rolling right along, as well. It feels good on my face and does a good job of making a nice lather. It’s holding just enough soap to cover me for both passes. I think that will likely improve as well continue, but I'm still loading a ton of soap on the brush every time. Gonna feel really weird my first time using a synthetic brush after this. I guarantee I create enough lather for 14 passes when that day comes.

Today’s #sidetracked selection is one that will forever feel like a summertime song to me. The vibe of this song just screams pool party to me. Hearing this song is just better if you have an ice cold beer in your hands. Unfortunately, it’s morning (and a work day) as I write this, so a beer is out of the question right now – although I’d love to argue that a Friday morning beer would be a great tradition for any office to implement! Anyways, it’s sad that Brad Nowell, the lead singer of Sublime, died before the band’s mainstream success and the self-titled album “Sublime” was released months after Bran Nowell passed and sold over 5 Million copies. Most people gravitate toward “What I got”, “Santeria”, or “Wrong Way” but “Caress Me Down” is where it’s at for me. The deep and meaningful lyrics that talk about his mushroom tip and her G.I. Joe Kung-Fu grip just hit on another level for me. And half the song is in Spanish, so it’s educational! Dora the Explorer has nothing on Nowell! This song is truly a masterpiece for all generations.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 13, 2021 – Austere August. Day 13.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (13)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: The Killers - Mr. Brightside

Lucky day 13 and not much to report on today. The shave was good and smooth and the lather was nice. MMOC continues to give me a great shave, day in and day out.

The brush is still taking a lot of soap to build the lather, but I’m used to it AND the lather we’re producing together is good, so I really can’t complain.

For today’s #sidetracked music selection, I’m going with one of the best 2000s pop-rock anthems in existence. If you play this song at a party or bar around people around my age, you are nearly guaranteed to have people singing along. It’s impossible for us to ignore the greatness of this song. This song has nearly half a BILLION views on YouTube. The Killers have had other hits, but nothing comes close to Mr. Brightside. It’s especially impressive considering this is from their first album. Talk about coming onto the scene like a rocket-ship. I can’t say I’ve followed much of The Killers catalog, but Mr. Brightside is a banger and 500,000,000 people agree!

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 14, 2021 – Austere August. Day 14.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (14)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Jimmy Eat World - The Middle

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood today and I had a great shave. My face is feeling clean and smooth, and once again, my tools for Austere August did not let me down. While I am desperately missing using the variety of shaving accoutrements I’ve acquired in the last year, there is something to be said for putting no effort into deciding what I want to smell like today. The unscented challenge is the hardest part right now. I feel really comfortable with the MMOC and the new boar brush is going good, but I do miss the smells. And we’re not even at the half-way mark yet! I just repeat over and over again: “I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.” And then, when I think I can’t, I sneak away to my shave den, make sure no one is looking and twist open a tub of soap, just so I can remember how good soap can smell…

Today’s #sidetracked music selection is an absolute pop-punk anthem. If you look up the pop-punk era in the dictionary, this is the song you’ll find. I guarantee I originally downloaded this song off of KaZaa or LimeWire, and likely got a virus because of it, but it was worth it! This song defined the early 2000’s for so many of us. Like many of my music selections, it’s impossible for me to be in a bad mood while listening to this song.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 15, 2021 – Austere August. Day 15.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (15)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Bon Jovi – Livin on a Prayer

Woooah… We’re halfway there! Woooahhh… Living Austere August! New Boar Brush we’ll break-in, I swear… Woooahhh… Living Austere August…

Today’s the 15th and we’ve reached the halfway mark of Austere August. Another great shave with my MMOC. No issues at all today, and while I miss the variety of wetshaving, these challenges I’ve embarked on for the month of August will help me appreciate all the scents and different brushes and different blades and different razors all that much more on September 1st.

Not much to say about the brush or MMOC that I haven’t said in the last couple of days. Today was a good, unscented shave all around.

Today’s #sidetracked music selection is Jon Bon Jovi – Livin on a Prayer. This song literally needs no introduction. Everyone knows this song. Everyone likes this song. And this main reason I picked this song is for the lyric “We’re halfway there” to commemorate being 50% through Austere August.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 16, 2021 – Austere August. Day 16.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (16)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Rise Agiainst – Swing Life Away

Good shave with no issues, today. Razor was good and the brush was good. Every day, the brush and I seem to improve the quality of the lather we build together.

I don’t have time for a long #sidetracked music write-up today, but I’ll let Rise Against speak for themselves. Unfortunately, not all of us can Swing Life Away and some of us have to work for a living, and have other social commitments after work!

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 17, 2021 – Austere August. Day 17.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (17)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Billy Joel – Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Today’s shave was good and uneventful. Me and the MMOC continue to be in our nice groove.

The new boar brush does better and better every day. I can absolutely see this Zenith turning into one of my favorites, long beyond Austere August.

For today’s #sidetracked music selection, I have Billy Joel’s “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant. One of my favorite songs of all time. This song is a musical adventure, taking us all through the lives of Brenda and Eddie, as told over a bottle of red or a bottle of wine… Whatever kind of mood you’re in tonight. There are few artists who could pull off what Billy Joel has been able to pull off in his life. The guy hasn’t written a song in nearly 30 years, yet he still sells out arena after arena and has a residency at Madison Square Garden and he’s said that will continue on until he stops selling it out. And early month every single seat gets sold. He is The Piano Man and his music connects to both the young and old. I’ve seen him live in a few stadiums and at MSG and the energy of the shows are amazing, but if I had the ability to time-travel, I would love to be transported back to the 1970s, when he was playing the types of bars he talks about in Piano Man, and the piano sounds like carnival and the microphone smells like a beer. Imagine being able to tell people you witnessed one of the greatest to ever do it, before the world knew who he was… Gotta be a cool feeling… And honestly one of the reasons why I ALWAYS love to be introduced to new music. You never know who is gonna be the next Billy Joel.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 18, 2021 – Austere August. Day 18.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (18)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Bush – Wild Horses

So today the first pass of the right side of my face felt off. It was super aggressive and the blade was dragging. I wondered for a second if the blade was going, but it was such a dramatic change from yesterday, that couldn’t be it. Then I looked at the blade and realized the blade wasn’t properly seated and was on top of those little blade holders, not behind them, like they should be. Whoops! After I took the blade out to dry it and strop it on my arm yesterday, I must’ve not been paying attention and just closed the door without making sure the blade was in the right spot. Won’t do that again! Fortunately, no cuts of anything bad resulted from this blunder. Just a couple uncomfortable strokes.

The brush was good again today. Made plenty of lather for two passes and felt comfortable on my face. No complaints whatsoever.

For my #sidetracked music selection, I’m going with the sweet, gravely voice of Gavin Rossdale from Bush covering the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses”. Bush was an absolute force in the late 90s and fun fact about me: the first CD I ever purchased. Everyone I knew listened to and loved Bush in those days, and with good reason. Their music seemingly took the baton from Nirvana and kept Grunge/Rock music popular. To me, Gavin Rossdale’s voice is a lot like the Zenith Boar Brush I’ve been using: possibly a bit too scratchy at first, but then it grows on you and you recognize just how beautiful it is. And this song really shows off his voice, which is why I selected it. I’ve always said he has the voice of a fallen angel and for me, few are better. Admittedly, I haven’t kept up with Bush after they initially broke up in the early 2000s, but I just listened to some of the stuff they’ve put out recently and it has a similar sound to the Bush of old. Good for them for staying true to themselves.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 19, 2021 – Austere August. Day 19.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (19)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Grizfolk – Bob Marley

I changed up the shave a bit from yesterday and today I made sure the blade was properly seated in the razor BEFORE I shaved, and today started better than yesterday did.... And finished just as good. Another solid day with the MMOC!

My brush served me well again today. I’m really digging this brush now. Admittedly, it may possibly be Stockholm Syndrome and since it’s the only brush I’ve used in a while.

For my #sidetracked music selection, I’m going with a Swedish-American rock band called Grizfolk. I saw them as an opening act at a concert several years ago and was immediately drawn to their music. Just something about it took to me and I’ve kinda been waiting for them to get big ever since. As I’m waiting for that, relax and have a listen to “Bob Marley”. And thank me when you’re humming the chorus to yourself for the rest of the day.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 20, 2021 – Austere August. Day 20.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (20)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Zac Clark - Love You Later

Every day, I get a little more excited for Austere August to end and seeing the dates starting with a 2 is a big step in the right direction. The things I thought would be the hardest: MMOC, new Boar Brush, and using the same blade every single day are not the hardest part of this for me. Sure, I’d like to change those things up, just for the sake of mixing things up, but I’m now very comfortable with all those… But the thing that is killing me is u/rocketk455’s damn unscented challenge. I miss the scents way more than I ever thought I would. Shaving has become a ritual for me. Something that I enjoy. And part of that ritual is determining the scent, based on how I’m feeling that day, unscrewing the tub, and inhaling a big whiff before I start to load the brush. And of course, smelling my aftershave of choice for hours after the shave and having my wife comment “You smell nice today!”

It’s been a long 20 days without that and while I know I can go another 11, this part is way harder than I thought it would be. The chance to win something awesome from him is (hopefully) worth a little piece of me dying every shave.

Today’s shave itself was good (provided you ignore the how soul-crushing 20 days of unscented life is). The MMOC shaved great and the boar brush was good as well. I was never a face-latherer before this, but I’m starting to wonder if I prefer face lathering to bowl/scuttle. Gonna be interesting to go back and see how AA has impacted my shave routine once September rolls around.

Today’s #sidetracked music selection is my man Zac Clark. Dude looks a little like a homeless person and literally lived in his van for most of last year, driving around the country, playing his music. He needs more attention, because his music is awesome and he seems like a very interesting human. Right before the pandemic, my wife and I saw my play to a crowd of maybe 30 people in the upstairs old, run-down theater venue in Rhode Island and it seemed like half of the audience was his family, and it was awesome. Instead of using his own piano, he opted to use the theater’s own organ “because it has more character”, and he was right. Zac’s music is laid back, almost-folk-piano-rock, and he preaches love and kindness through his beautiful voice. Give it a listen and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 21, 2021 – Austere August. Day 21.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (21)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: The Wrecks – James Dean

Good shave all around today. The MMOC and new Zenith has become quite the tag-team for my face. I’m sure a lot of credit goes to Stirling’s Sheep base (which is phenomenal), so I’m eager to see how things go once AA is over and I can unleash this boar on a few different soaps. But we gotta get through August before I hatch any grand plans for this little brush. And until then, we continue on our unscented Stirling & Zingari Man combination.

Today’s #sidetracked music selection is a modern day pop-punk band, The Wrecks. To me, their sound kinda takes me back to the days of Good Charlotte. It’s been well documented that I’m a big fan of the pop-punk scene from the early 2000s, and The Wrecks are able to fill some of that void that left when the music industry moved forward. I saw The Wrecks open for another band several years ago and was very impressed with their sound and their energy. Being an opening act is tough, because most people there aren’t there to see you and a good number of people aren’t paying attention at all. But The Wrecks went out there and made people pay attention. They’re another band that I was convinced was going to blow up after I saw them, but that hasn’t happened (yet). Perhaps, if it were a different era they’d be bigger. But the year is no longer 2002 and their sound isn’t what’s popular now. Damn shame, if you ask me.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 22, 2021 – Austere August. Day 22.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (22)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Nas - Bridging the Gap

Good shave today with no complaints. It might be in my head, but the blade of the MMOC could be showing signs of slowing down. It was still a very good shave, but the blade didn’t glide like it has been as of late. I made sure to give each side a good stropping on my forearm after the shave, so hopefully that straightens everything out.

The new Zenith did really good today, as well. Not only is the lather nice, but it’s getting to be more plentiful. Had enough for both passes and then some! I probably had enough for 3 passes, but I’m always a two-pass guys. One with the grain and one against the grain. I’m crazy like that.

For today’s #sidetracked music selection I’m going with Nas and his song “Bridging the Gap”, which features his dad singing the hook. The song is kind of an autobiography of Nas and a very abridged music of rap music over a traditional blues beat with a modern twist. In doing a bit of research for this post, Nas’ dad, Olu Dara, was a musician in the Navy in the early 60s and actually came out with his own album in 1998, several years after his son Nas got into the music industry. That’s a pretty cool thing. Nas’ got into music because of his dad, and his dad got into the music industry because of his son. They both lifted each other up, which has got to be a really unique and special thing for a father and son relationship. Plus the song is fire too. Check it out if you’re not familiar with it.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 23, 2021 – Austere August. Day 23.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (23)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Kesha – Praying

Another day, another good shave. The MMOC was smooth and the lather was slick today. It seems like the brush gets better every day and produces a little bit more lather every day as well. We’re 23 days in and everything is still feeling comfortable. The blade may be wearing down a little, but the end is in sight and I have no question it’ll do just fine for the next 7 days.

For today’s #sidetracked music selection, I present to you: Kesha. Yes, the same Kesha that told the world she wakes up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy, and then partied with Mr. Worldwide in Timber. This party-girl can actually sing! And sing really well. It’s always interesting to me that some artists are marketed a certain way and once they get put in that box, it’s hard for them to escape. I can’t say I would call myself a Kesha fan and never followed her career, but, like most of the world, had Tik Tok on a playlist or two in 2010. When I heard her sing “Praying” a couple years ago, I was blown away. I’ve said before, I love when an artist is alone with a piano and their voice, and while Kesha adds in some strings and background vocals, I still find this song raw and it did a great job at showcasing her truly impressive vocals.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 24, 2021 – Austere August. Day 24.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (23)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Warren G & Nate Dogg - Regulate

If this was normal life, I would have changed the blade by now, but this isn’t normal life. This is Austere August and I’m committed to going the distance with one blade, one razor, one brush, one soap, and one balm. And doing it unscented. So we soldier on with a blade that is on its last leg. This is what separates the men from the boys. This is where legends are made. The MMOC blade was dragging a bit today, but the result was still a good shave.

The new board brush is doing great and I had enough lather for more than two passes. The Zenith and I come such a long way since the rough start we had together and I genuinely enjoy it now.

Today’s #sidetracked music is a hip-hop classic. When someone from my generation first hears the whistling in the beginning, there’s no mistaking what comes next. My mind was blown when I found out that was sampled from Bob James’s song Sign Of The Times. And the beat of the song was originally Michael McDonald’s - I Keep Forgettin', who doesn't seem nearly as cool as our boys from 213. So while Warren G & Nate Dogg might not be responsible for creating the music itself, the talent in their poetry is unmistakable and the ability to splice the samples together into a good, cohesive song does take a lot of talent. While I was just a young kid when this song came out, I have to believe it helped usher hip-hop into the main stream as it was Def Jam’s biggest single ever. Unlike some of my previous sidetracked selections, I have to believe ALL of us are (at the very least) aware of this song and probably know it pretty well.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 25, 2021 – Austere August. Day 25.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (25)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: New Politics – Give Me Hope

Twenty-Five days in and everything is still going smooth. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the unscented portion is the hardest for me. I feel like the MMOC is NBD now and the new boar is now a broken-in boar… But the unscented will always be unscented. It goes against so much of what I love about wetshaving. It’s not right! But we’re closing in on the end of the month and have less than a week left before I put the tub of Sheep away until Second Chance Day of the 2023 Lather Games. It’s a great soap, and I’m really glad I made a big dent in it… But it’s just so… BORING!

Today’s #sidetracked music selection is New Politics – Give Me Hope. In these daily music ramblings, I feel like I bring up energy and feeling a lot. Whether it be the energy of a particular band or song, or how a particular song makes me feel, a lot of what I get out of music is how it can shape or even amplify your mood. If you’re listening to a high energy song, it can absolutely give you a mental boost. An adrenaline shot to your soul. And this is a song that does that for me. Like many of my sidetracked bands, I’ve seen these guys live several times and they put on an amazing show. Their lead singer, David Boyd (who is married to Christian Serratos from the Walking Dead), breakdances, crowdsurfs, and jumps off balconies during their performances – He basically does everything except for holding an instrument. New Politics is just a 3-person band, but you wouldn’t guess that just by listening to them. Their songs have a well-rounded, complete sound of a much bigger band. I love their vibe, their music, and (most importantly) their energy.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 26, 2021 – Austere August. Day 26.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (26)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Jack Johnson – Better Together

Today’s shave was good. While I look forward to using my other hardware and software (oh Lord, do I need to use my other software), I’m able to get perfectly good, albeit unsatisfying, shaves with this set-up. In the early days of the month, I didn’t mind the unscented, because my brain was stimulated on the novelty of the MMOC and new boar brush. Now, those are old hat, and I’m just living that unscented life. Sept 1 can’t come soon enough on that aspect.

But today, the MMOC and Zenith were perfectly fine. Nice, close shave and the brush is really, really nice now.

Feeling like taking it easy for today’s #sidetracked music. The sweet, soothing sounds of Jack Johnson with Better Together. Jack is my go-to listen for when I’m working on projects or building anything, like the project I described in this post about hobbies, where I turned an old kerosene water heater into a lamp for my office. Jack Johnson’s music absolutely puts me in a calm, relaxed headspace so I’m able to focus on the task at hand and not get frustrated when something doesn’t go as planned or work the way I want it to (Fun-Fact: There will always be something that doesn’t go as planned). I listened to Jack for 100% of the time it took to build that lamp, restore an old dresser, and paint my toddlers’ nursery before they were born. When it’s time to be productive, and not rush through the process, it’s me and Jack Johnson. Every time.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 27, 2021 – Austere August. Day 27.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (27)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Elton John - Saturday Night's Alright

Good, uneventful shave today. MMOC did a great job and the Zenith is a tamed beast that regularly gives me a wonderful lather and feels good on my face.

Busy day today, so I don’t have time to write much about today’s #sidetracked music selection. But as the final Saturday of Austere August, this song seemed very appropriate and Elton John deserves a little bit of recognition with my music selections.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 28, 2021 – Austere August. Day 28.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (28)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Europe - The Final Countdown

MMOC is chugging along and the end is in sight for my blade, which is definitely on its last leg.

The Zenith brush is very good and giving me plenty of lather to work with.

For #sidetracked, we’re in the final days of Austere August so The Final Countdown is appropriate.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 29, 2021 – Austere August. Day 29.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (29)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Tupac – Changes

Really nice shave today all around today. The MMOC gave me a nice, smooth shave, and while the blade is getting a little tired and doesn’t glide as well as it did earlier in the month, it still gives me a really, really good shave. I just strop it on my forearm before and after every shave now.

This Zenith brush may have slowly become my favorite brush. It’ll be fun to use one of my synthetic ones again to compare/contrast, but I’ve come to really enjoy this one far more than I ever expected. While the process of breaking it in wasn’t super-fun, it wasn’t as awful as I originally expected it to be.

Today’s #sidetracked is brought to you by ‘Pac. I’m an East Coast guy, but I always took the West Coast rap scene’s side in their East vs West feud. As a white kid growing up in Massachusetts, Tupac’s music spoke to me so much more than Biggie’s did. Changes was released after Tupac got ~~murdered by the LVPD~~ shot and killed and is a phenomenal song. Tupac was no saint, but he was clearly passionate about the problems people like him face on a daily basic. Listening to this song (that is about 25 years old) is interesting because it focuses on problems that we’ve since completely solved – police brutality, race relations, drugs, the struggle of poverty, and wars in the Middle-East. Thank God we’ve solved ALL of those issues in the last 25 years and we never hear about any of them at all anymore. I have to wonder what my kids will think of this song in another 25 years. I really hope Tupac is wrong when he says “That’s just the way it is”.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 30, 2021 – Austere August. Day 30.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (30)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: The Get Up Kids – Out of Reach

Quick post before I go to bed today. Another good shave and we’re so close to ending this journey. MMOC is a smooth operator and the Zenith Brush great at this point. I feel like I could use these two pieces of hardware for a long time and not get tired of them. The soap is a different story. I can’t wait use ANYTHING else is a couple days.

The #sidetracked music for today is The Get Up Kids – Out of Reach. Anyone that knows me knows I love songs that take me back, and this song takes me back to college. It’s a great jam. I have a lot I could say about this band and song, buuuut... It's been a long day and I'm tired and there's no way in hell I'm going to miss a post with 2 days left of Austere August. Good night!

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom

Aug 31, 2021 – Austere August. Day 31.

• Prep: Hot Shower
• Brush: Zenith - B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2
• Blade: GEM PTFE (31)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sheep
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Unscented - Aftershave Balm
• Music: Jack's Mannequin - Swim

We did it. The final day of Austere August is upon us. This month dragged on for me and I'm so ready to use a different soap and splash. I've said before, I could use the MMOC daily and not mind it, and the Zenith is broken in and a brush I enjoy using... And using the same GEM blade all month hasn't been bad... But... Using unscented soap and aftershave every day has been a brutal, soul-crushing experience that I wouldn’t recommend anyone do. The silver lining is that me doing this all month means that u/rocketk455 will be donating an additional $10 to the JED Foundation. So while I would hesitate calling myself a hero for completing this torturous challenge, I wouldn’t stop anyone that bestowed that title upon me either.

Earlier in the month, I featured a song by Andrew McMahon for my #sidetracked music and today’s selection is from his band before he went off on his own, Jack's Mannequin. The song "Swim" is one he wrote about his own battle with cancer. I'm sure all of us have been impacted by cancer in some way, shape or form. Whether it be family member, friend, or yourself that got that awful diagnosis it fucking sucks. But my guy, Andrew, sings about how he had to keep going, no matter how difficult it may seem, and there are people who count on you to pull through. I'm comfortable enough with my masculinity to admit this song has brought me to tears on more than one occasion and I'm not the least bit ashamed of it. Knowing too many people who have lost their battle with cancer, this song hits me right in the heart and brings me right into thinking of those loved ones. So why include this song to close out Austere August? Because while Andrew wrote this song about his cancer treatment, the theme is to never give up. No matter what, no matter how hard it is, you've got to swim. And while I’m aware using the same shaving equipment for 31 days may NOT be on the same level as battling a cancer diagnosis, it can be a daunting task. And I think Austere August can be a difficult grind for a lot of us. Limiting this group to using the same equipment every day for a month is a tall order, but we did it. We did not give up. We swam.

Tags: #unscented #rawhoggin #GEMsOfWisdom