Shaving Whilst Travelling

Greetings all!

I write this brief article from my hotel room at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole.  Why am I here?  Well, it's for a conference dedicated to the service desk industry, and how to make it brilliant.  But I digress.

Whilst I am away, I still want to shave, so the dilemma is "what on earth does one take to shave whilst travelling?"  I say dilemma, it is more torture.  Whilst I am essentially a creature of habit, I crave variety in my shave.

Last summer whilst on a short break in Wales, I took a "one size fits all" shaving kit, and it worked well.  I took my Merkur 39C, Proraso Green Soap, Wilkinson Sword Brush, balms, creams, alum and a melamine cereal bowl to lather with a cornucopia of items I've since forgotten.  Fast forward to this week and I wanted something less bulky over all.  So what to take?

I think it is important to consider that you don't want your shave experience to suffer, so take what works well.  If you can, leave your lovely ceramic bowls and scuttles behind, and face lather.  Bring one quality soap that leaves your skin in a very happy place, that way you may not need a balm or lotion to finish.  Do bring a small brush and a single razor, but multiple blades.  A synthetic brush is ideal for travel as it is quicker drying.  By considering your shaving equipment carefully, you can limit your baggage to a manageable level (I had a single bag to take with me, limited in space).  

I have taken with me:

Merkur 39C
Astra Superior Platinum Blades
Phoenix & Beau Citra Royale
Body Shop Synthetic Brush

And that is it.  My shave is great, my skin feels superb and my overnight bag still has space for anything I want to bring back with me.  Next time you travel, think critically about your shave, you may surprise yourself about what you truly need.

REVIEW - The BodyShop Synthetic Brush

Welcome to a review I conducted way back when I first got this brush.

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Body Shop Synthetic Shave Brush - A shave brush, designed to build and apply lather to your boat race.  Doesn't get any more complicated than that.

APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
As with any brush, it's a case of dampen, load with soap cream and whip.  I found with this brush, you have to work creams a little more to get a satisfactory lather.  With soaps less so.

CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
Well, I've used it every day for 7 days now, and my findings changed from beginning to end.  Day 1 the brush had ridiculous amounts of backbone, almost too much.  The tips have been super soft since day 1.  As time went by, the bristles seemed to 'give' a little, resulting in a much more pleasant lather application.  I can't say at this point if I prefer bowl or face lathering with the brush, as it seems equally at home with either.  What I can 100% say about this brush is that it is efficient.  Teutonic efficient.  Like BMW/Mercedes/Audi, it does exactly what it should do and does it well with no fuss.  It always lays down an even coat of lather regardless of application method (bowl or face).  It rinses easily, and dries with no fuss.  A good synthetic brush to break into the synthetic brush market.

WOULD YOU BUY IT AGAIN?
Well, it is a budget brush in terms of cost (£7).  I have no other synthetic brush to compare it to, but that's by the by.  If it lasts a reasonable time (I've read a few reviews on the companies website that are showing short lifespan) then I would buy another for sure.  Most complaints seem to be the handle cracking or the knot falling out.  As long as the handle stays in one piece, I can reglue a knot no problem.


UPDATE
Well, I've had this brush for quite some time now, and I use it almost exclusively.  I've had zero issues with the brush at all, so I do wonder what people must have been doing with their brushes to damage the handle or lose the knot.  It has broken in nicely, and performs just as well as it did in those first 7 days.  This brush is a bona-fide bargain, worthy of a place in a beginner and advanced shavers arsenal alike.