A look back at 2025 in my shaving patterns
A look back at 2025 in my shaving patterns
After last year's writedown, let us have a look at what 2025 had in store for me. Time for some statistics!
Overview
I shaved 207 times in 2025 (roughly every 1.8 days), down from 230 in 2024. A 10% drop! What's going on here? I suppose that in 2024, I was worried about the health of this community, so I had the impression I had to shave more. Now, that I'm more confident, I am reproducing a more standard pattern of roughly one shave every two days.
The straight razor dominance continues but has slightly plateaued:
| Razor Type | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Straight | 149 (64.8%) | 131 (63.3%) |
| DE | 51 (22.2%) | 50 (24.2%) |
| GEM | 22 (9.6%) | 14 (6.8%) |
| AC | 8 (3.5%) | 12 (5.8%) |
The brush situation saw the most dramatic shift – synthetics surged while horse and boar both declined:
| Brush Type | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Horse | 103 (44.8%) | 86 (41.5%) |
| Boar | 74 (32.2%) | 32 (15.5%) |
| Synthetic | 53 (23.0%) | 87 (42.0%) |
| Badger | 0 (0.0%) | 2 (1.0%) |
As to acquisitions, I was not very disciplined last year – though I hope that this will change next year.
Tooling clearly played a role in my shaves. Now that I can calculate with my sotd.el system exactly how much stuff I have used so far during the year, I used this power, and I got a much more balanced usage pattern (except for brushes). It is a more reasoned approach to shaving.
But let's have a look at the details.
Lather
I killed only one soap this year, namely Ishtar, which leads the charts this year. Absinthe was a spring purchase, and I very much like it. It's a clean and unassuming scent, which I could use every day (but it would be a waste to do it). Also, I'm vibing suddenly with The Watchman – which was not my favorite up to this year.
The Buena Vista Wetshaving Social Club is also clearly visible in the charts, with many soaps appearing once or twice. My favorite this year was probably Susurro.
| Lather | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Abbate y la Mantia Ishtar | 23 |
| Martin de Candre Absinthe | 21 |
| Haslinger Algae | 19 |
| Zingari Man The Watchman | 18 |
| Lainess Blue Pearl | 13 |
| The Goodfellas Smile Amber Fougère | 12 |
| Barrister & Mann Le Grand Chypre | 10 |
| Le Père Lucien Narcisse | 9 |
| Mäurer & Wirtz Tabac | 9 |
| Zingari Man Mousse Illuminée | 8 |
| Le Père Lucien Rose de Pushkar | 7 |
| Zingari Man Bon Monsieur | 7 |
| Stirling Electric Sheep 🐑 | 6 |
| Stirling Arcadia | 5 |
| Wholly Kaw Entropy Man | 5 |
| Cella Aloe Vera | 4 |
| Saponificio Varesino Tundra Artica | 3 |
| HAGS Megalodon | 3 |
| Chicago Grooming Co. Susurro | 3 |
| Le Père Lucien Bay Rum | 3 |
| Spearhead Spiced | 2 |
| Australian Private Reserve Raconteur | 2 |
| Chiseled Face Midnight Stag | 2 |
| Saponificio Varesino Opuntia | 2 |
| Ethos Grooming Essentials Dragonsbeard | 2 |
| Barrister & Mann Famine | 1 |
| Le Père Lucien Traditionnel | 1 |
| Los Jabones de Joserra - Noir | 1 |
| Chicago Grooming Company Irving Park | 1 |
| Areffa Phantom of Kiyv | 1 |
| Southern Witchcraft Valley of Ashes | 1 |
| Fanzine Saponifications Caravaggio | 1 |
| Abbate y La Mantia Koké | 1 |
| Woolly Wash Soapery Night at the Pub | 1 |
| Total | 207 |
There is no obvious candidate for killing a soap this year, and I don't know whether I should. Now that I have (checks notes) lots of soap, I have the impression that I enjoy each one individually quite a bit more.
Brushes
I bought a Yaqi 26mm Bingcha (Iced Tea) synthetic, which I used a lot. Boars got a lot less love this year. A badger finally made an appearance with the MRED/Le Père Lucien acquisition. Otherwise, the Semogue horse brush is still leading the field (but it has changed its nature, and I should probably write about this).
| Brush | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Semogue C3 Galahad Horse 🐎 | 62 |
| Yaqi 26mm Synthetic Bingcha (Iced Tea) | 36 |
| Zenith 506U XS Horse 🐎 | 24 |
| Muninn Woodworks Gloire de France with Zenith 505BC Boar 🐗 | 21 |
| Yaqi 24mm Synthetic Panda | 19 |
| Yaqi 28mm Synthetic Rock | 14 |
| Chisel & Hound Blaireau de la République with 24mm G5 Synthetic | 12 |
| Semogue Owner's Club Boar 🐗 'Taj' | 11 |
| Yaqi Aqua 24mm Synthetic | 6 |
| MRED/Le Père Lucien 26mm Badger | 2 |
| Total | 207 |
Razors
In the razors, I believe it is clearest that I have tried to balance somewhat my usage patterns – there is no clear favorite anymore like last year.
I bought a Puma 100 in spring, which saw quite a lot of use, and I continue to lean heavily on my Parker straight.
| Razor | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Ertan Süer L'Ours Russe (7/8th) - Straight | 25 |
| Thiers-Issard 188 7/8 'Coq et Renard' - Straight | 24 |
| Parker Straight Razor - Straight | 24 |
| King C. Gillette DE Razor - DE | 20 |
| Puma 100 - Straight | 17 |
| Koraat 14.2 Straight Razor - Straight | 16 |
| Edwin Jagger DE89 - DE | 12 |
| Thiers Issard Le Grelot - Straight | 10 |
| Feather Artist Club SS Kamisori - AC | 10 |
| Greencult GC 2.0 II - DE | 9 |
| Star 1912 Type Razor - GEM | 7 |
| GEM MMOC - GEM | 7 |
| Mühle R41 (3-piece) - DE | 7 |
| Dovo Bismarck (6/8th) - Straight | 6 |
| River Razors Kamisori - Straight | 5 |
| Tedalus Essence - AC | 2 |
| J.A. Henckels Friodur 72 - Straight | 2 |
| Karve CB Brass C Plate CC - DE | 1 |
| Dovo Barbarossa Stainless - Straight | 1 |
| Karve CB Brass B Plate CC - DE | 1 |
| Man-Hoshi 24 - Straight | 1 |
| Total | 207 |
Looking ahead
I think I have gotten some confidence in my honing abilities, though it is certainly not perfect, and far away from @gcgallant's proficiency. I am hoping to get a better grip on the La Lune stone.
Aaaand I should probably be much more restrictive in my purchases. I do not feel the same itch for new (types of) razors anymore, and I hope that I have reached the exploitation phase after the exploration phase.
Thanks for reading all this, and a happy new year to all of you!
Btw, I would be very interested to see also the statistics of other's.