#220 - A Mug of Sudser, a Leather Strop

An Apron, a Towel, a Pail and a Mop

This is the sixth change in my month-long pledge to give up plastics for Crunchy's Extreme Eco-Throwdown.

So the first thing I learned about shaving with a safety razor is that you wants lots of thick, foamy lather to help the razor glide across your skin. Unfortunately, my "no plastics pledge" precludes me from picking up a can of Skintimate Shaving Gel at Walgreens, because, although the can is made of recyclable steel, the packaging includes a big plastic cap and spout.

So enter once again - Mary, the Goatsoap Lady. Last week at the farmer's market, Mary hooked me up with a shaving kit - complete with ceramic mug, goats-milk shaving soap and shaving brush. Unfortunately, it also included a disposable razor that I didn't see until I got home. Ooopsie. I considered taking it back to Mary with a stern lecture about the evils of plastic, but thought better of it. One should never piss off a goat-milkin', soap-makin' woman, you know. It creates bad karma and you're likely to find more than goats milk in your next bar of soap. Instead, I'm going to keep the razor in my "I forgot it" box of toiletries that I keep on hand for friends and family who come to visit.

But I digress. Again.

My new plastic-free solution to creating a thick, creamy lather works quite well. I place the soap circle in the bottom of the mug, add some hot water and stir. I feel like Sweeney Todd, minus the whole vengeful, homicidal-maniac thing. In fact, I find myself singing "Swing your razor high, Sweeney...." every time I shave. And yes, it does creep out my husband.