Welcome to the last week before the anniversary shaves!
I’m still working through the sample haul, and swapped in the Proraso green menthol & eucalyptus pre shave and shaving cream for the normal Proraso white products. And no, I used the Proraso white sensitive skin after shave balm, because there wasn’t a sample of the green balm when I ordered.
Briefly, for those of you not aware, Proraso is an Italian shaving products company that produces 4 different shaving product lines, identified primarily by the color on their packaging: white (sensitive skin), blue (aloe & Vitamin E), green (menthol & eucalyptus), and red (coarse beard). I’ve been using the white product line since March, and absolutely love it. There’s a light scent and it keeps my face and neck moisturized and feeling good, even after an aggressive shave.
Last Sunday, I tried the Proraso blue, since I got samples on sale recently from Maggard’s Razors. I liked it, but needed to think about the fragrance, which was stronger than I expected. I was also surprised at a cooling feel, but no menthol smell.
So today, I tried the green formula, which specifically has menthol in its name. And the menthol is there, but not aggressively, mostly in the pre shave. There was a strong cooling effect with the pre shave, and the menthol scent and feel shot up my nose, but not in a bad way. The shaving cream–my third time using a shaving cream with a brush instead of a soap–lathered well and also had some cooling and a lighter menthol fragrance.
This shave also is continuing my experiment of mixing up the blade/razor pairings, so I shaved with the Rockwell 6C plate 4 and the RK Stainless Steel blade, which came with my Henson AL-13. When I’d tried the RK blade with the Henson, I was disappointed–the shave felt imprecise and not very close, which confused me, as I believe that a razor manufacturer would pair a blade that performs well with the razor. This shave was better overall than with the Henson, but it still wasn’t up among the best shaves I’ve had.
The Rating
Shave #153. The Proraso green sample Sunday shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Rockwell 6C plate 4
- Blade: RK Stainless Steel
- Pre-Shave: Proraso green pre shave
- Brush: Proraso Shaving Brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Proraso green shaving cream
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Proraso white aftershave balm
I was interested to see if the RK blade worked any better with the Rockwell than the Henson, and it did, though only marginally. There was some blade feel, especially on my neck, and that led to more sting than usual with the alum block. And the shave wasn’t as close as I’d like, as I need to go back and hit several spots with extra passes. My conclusion, then, is that the RK blades aren’t as close or precise as others. For a blade paired with a high-quality razor, I’m pretty unimpressed.
Generally, though, it was a good shave. The menthol feel and scent is not too strong, but it is assertive. Overall, I’m not sure I’ll get the full-sized green products–there isn’t much there that really appeals to me over the white formula.
Comfort: 4.750 out of 5
Quality/Closeness: 4.750 out of 5
Overall: 4.750 out of 5
