Keeping the beard at bay in style

I’ve worn a beard for the better part of 38 years, dating from an early summer 1975 backpacking trip to Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior.

I’ve shaved it off a few times just to see what my face looks like without it. I’ve been mostly beardless since June 19, 2012 when my skin became dry and irritated and I decided to air it out.

When I did use a razor to shape and groom my beard over the years, I preferred to use shaving soap with a brush and a mug. I found a nice shaving mug on Ebay with the Alpha Tau Omega coat of arms dating from 1964 and still use the brush I bought at the long-gone Kittle’s Other Side gift shop in Indianapolis back around 1978.

I bought a cake of Edwin Jagger sandalwood shaving soap in November, 2011 that served me well until early this year when it stopped making lather. There was still plenty of soap left in the mug, but no matter how much I swirled the brush around, it refused to give up any lather.

So I surveyed my Amazon.com choices and settled on the Italian made Proraso soap with menthol and eucalyptus and the UPS guy delivered it to my door on Feb. 25.

The only downside is that it lives in its own little lidded cup, so it won’t fit into my shaving mug.

But, coupled with my 5-edged Gillette Fusion Proglide razor, it gives me the closest, most comfortable shave I’ve ever experienced. I like the aroma of eucalyptus and menthol and so does Maria, so Proraso will be my shaving soap of choice for the foreseeable future.