Showing posts with label razorock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label razorock. Show all posts

Thursday, January 4, 2018

RazoRock Alum Stick

January 04, 2018 0
I caught an interview with RazoRock Joe on the Moustache and Blade Podcast.  By the sounds of it, alum was the start of RazoRock.  As the story goes, Joe was tasked by his father-in-law to find alum blocks while on vacation in Italy with his uncle and business partner.  Eventually they found a little shop in Tuscany that had it and they purchased all they had left.  At dinner one night they had the idea to import these alum blocks and sell it.  They would call it RazoRock and the rest is wet shaving history.  Check out the podcast here: Moustache & Blade Podcast - Episode 2 : Feature Interview with Italian Barber

RazoRock Alum Stick
Admittedly, prior to getting into traditional wet shaving the only time I heard about alum was from Looney Tunes cartoons I watched as a kid.  I’d remember Sylvester the Cat getting this powder poured in his mouth and his lips would involuntarily unwilling pucker until he could only try to ingest Tweety Bird with a straw.  I remember that I asked my father what that Alum on the label was and he simply said that it was for shaving.  Fast forward a few years and I would find out from a cursory Google or Bing search that this was most likely Potassium Alum. 

"Birds Anonymous" - the toon that turned me onto alum (around 5:33 mark)

 According to an article on ThoughtCo: “Potassium alum is a fine white powder that you can find sold with kitchen spices or pickling ingredients.”   Potassium Alum is also the most commonly used form of alum in wet shaving.  There are a lot of great sources and detailed information on the types, chemical make-up, and different uses for this compound.  But rather than get too deep into that; check out the article Shaving alum: what it is, why you shoulduse it on Why I Wet Shave, it's a good read.
If the alum in stick form isn't your preference, RazoRock also has it available in a block version 
In many of the forums I hear that an alum block is a great way to get “feedback” from your shave.  Basically, this means that you experience some stinging when applying the alum those are areas that have probably shaved too roughly.  It also helps to stop the bleeding from nicks and cuts. 

The stick and base weighed 72 gm on our scale.  The base alone was 5 gm.  So, got a little more alum than the 60 gm listed on the box 
Personally I like using alum (block or stick) as an aftershave.  It provides good feedback for my head shaves and is an indicator if I need to replace my DE Blade or HeadBlade cartridge.  Moreover, I like to use alum on the head because it soothes my scalp without having to apply a splash; which (depending on the aftershave) can make me feel as if I’ve bathed in it. 

The base is a soft plastic that could be cut away and free up about 22 gm of  alum used to secure the stick in place.
I also enjoy using it for my face shaves as well.  My face, particularly my upper lip, craves more of the astringent sting of an aftershave splash .  I’ll do a first post shave pass with the alum, but will follow it up with a splash and potentially an aftershave balm.  Then I’d complete the routine with a moisturizer, preferably one with some SPF protection. Specifically, I like the RazoRock alum stick for travel. The alum sits in a plastic holder and is protected by a plastic cover.   In its case The Alum Stick measures about 3 inches tall and 2.5 inches at the base. So it doesn’t take up a lot of space in my small dop kit. 
My small hoard of RazoRock Alum sticks

As far as the weight goes, the package notes 60g. But I wasn’t sure if the usable alum was 60 grams or if the entire stick was 60 grams. After weighing, it appeared as if the alum stick and the plastic base weighed 71 grams (on our scale), and the plastic base weighed 5 grams. So, the entire stick of alum weighed 66 grams. There is product in the plastic base to secure it in place. I’ve seen photos of people breaking it apart to get at the remaining alum, but I prefer cutting the base with a pair of small scissors. What was left was a 22 gram alum block that can be used for a few more shaves. I have a small hoard of RazoRock Alum Sticks because since discovering alum, I use it quite regularly in the routine. 

 Overall, I really like it. The alum stick is a nice, compact, post shave that soothe my skin after a shave and it doesn’t leave any residual odor that could mix oddly with my aftershaves.  Are you a fan of Alum in your shave routine? Please leave a comment below and let us know.

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Sunday, August 7, 2016

RazoRock Son of Zeus Shave Soap

August 07, 2016 0
RazoRock’s Son of Zeus fragrance was inspired by scent Terre d'Hermès. Fragrantica simply describes Terre d'Hermès as  “a Woody Chypre fragrance for men.” They go on to more specifically describe the fragrance as “top notes are grapefruit and orange; middle note is flint; base notes are woodsy notes, oak moss and benzoin.”[1] I have never sampled Terre d'Hermès, so I can’t comment on how close Son of Zeus resembles it.  But, the citrusy and woodsy scent that Fragrantica wrote sounds like a description that could characterize the Son of Zeus scent.
The regular, non-tallow edition produces a pretty rich lather
The non-tallow edition of Son of Zeus shaving soap is a very soft soap that is off white in color.  I get a good, slick, and protective lather with this soap and I don’t find it to require a lot of water.  With some of the thirstier soaps that I have in the den, I’ll tend to use the Marco Method (extremely wet) to load my brush.  Though, RazoRock soaps I’ll tend to use the dry brush method: wetting it, shake out much of the excess, and loading while adding water as necessary.
A soft soap that's stored in a container with a good amount of space for loading. 

 The soap is packaged in an interlocking and stackable container. So if a user has a number of RazoRock soaps in similar containers, they easily stack. At least with RazoRock soaps, this stops me from pulling a container from the middle and having the rest fall over -- call it a game of shave soap Jenga.  There is also a decent amount of space in the container to aid in loading the brush.
Interlocking containers help keep some stability when stacking them in the den 
The scent of the soap isn’t overwhelming and I find that it washes away after the shave.  I do enjoy the scent, so this is one fragrance that I wouldn’t mind lingering around for a little longer. Fine Accoutrements L’Orange Noir is an aftershave that I like to use in conjunction with the Son of Zeus shave soap.  L’Orange Noir was also inspired by Terre D’Hermes, so I find it to be a good complement to the Son of Zeus soap.  RazoRock also has a Son of Zeus Aftershave.  I have not tried it, so I don’t know how it compares to the soap, Terre d'Hermès or L’Orange Noir. But it is something that is currently on the wish list.  Until I get my hands on it, L’Orange Noir is currently my choice for maintaining the woodsy, citrus, cologne scent.
Tend to use L'Orange Noir to complement the Son of Zeus Shave Soap
Overall, the experience with Son of Zeus has been a good one.  It smells great and it offers good protection.  I’m anxious to try the special tallow edition, aftershave, and even the artisan bar soap.

Have you tried RazoRock products? What do you think of the Son of Zeus Scent?  Leave a comment below and let us know what yo think.

 References:
[1] Terre d`Hermes Parfum Hermes for men 

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