Live Shave: Cajun Blade Sub Zero on a 92-Degree Memphis Morning
Never done a Facebook Live before. First time for everything. I figured if I was going to try it out, I might as well go with something worth watching. Memphis is calling for 92 degrees today. I got the Cajun Blade Sub Zero in the mail yesterday, a week late thanks to the US postal system having better things to do. Easy call on what soap to reach for.
Sub Zero
The soap has a bluish tint to it. I don’t know if that comes through on camera, but it’s there. Scent-wise, it’s fruity, coconuty, with strong menthol. I honestly couldn’t remember all the notes off the top of my head during the live, but you can’t miss the menthol. You open the puck and it’s right there.
My kid caught a whiff and immediately clocked the coconut. He’s right. But to me it reads more medicinal. Fruity medicine, like something you’d give a sick kid. That’s not a knock. I like medicinal smells. Probably one of the reasons I love menthol in the first place.
Eric says he made the White Walker base to handle that level of menthol specifically. It shows. Loaded clean, held up through the whole shave without issues. Menthol can kill a lather if the base isn’t up to it. This one is.
The Shave
I went with the Maxwell June, EX plate. Three passes, no drama. The menthol was going from the moment I started painting on the lather. Hit it with a water spray and it jumped up another level.
My barometer for menthol is simple: are my eyes watering? By the second pass, yes. That’s the appropriate level of menthol, as far as I’m concerned. This one cleared the bar easy. Eyes streaming, schnoz running. That’s what I’m after.
Quick shave too. Done in 15 minutes, maybe less. My videos usually run 30. Going live definitely cuts out some steps.
The Splash
The splash is blue as well. Nice touch. Here’s what I noticed though: the menthol doesn’t hit right away. I put a little on the night before just to test it, and it took a couple of minutes to come up. You think it’s mild, and then it isn’t.
Same thing the morning of the live. Applied it, thought, okay, this is manageable. Then it came on. Hard.
And then I put my pinky in my eye. With the splash still on my hands. Don’t do that.
Eyes running, sinuses wide open, ready to take on the day. In 92-degree heat, this stuff is going to keep me cool for a while. That’s the whole point.
Blizzard Battles
Sub Zero is a contender. No question. Eric did a fantastic job with this one. The first batch sold out quick, and I think that justifies a second round. High menthol isn’t cheap to work with, and if he can keep the price reasonable while using quality ingredients, that’s impressive. That’s what he’s done.
I’m also keeping an eye on Doug’s Double Dog Dare when that drops. Doug doesn’t mess around with menthol. He’s sent me some of his work - Choco Caliente, which has menthol crystals actually growing in it, and one of his early iterations called Zero Kelvin. Both solid. I’m curious to see what Double Dog Dare brings. Going to be a competitive field.
Summer’s here. The highly mentholated soaps are coming out. This is the season.
If you’re catching the replay, let me know what you think. I might start doing more of these live shaves, especially for the High Strangeness Advent Calendar with Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements (PAA). Six days back to back, going live saves me a lot of editing time. We’ll see how it goes. As always, wet shaving community is the best community. Happy shaves.