Burma-Shave, once again

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

It’s a fine
Old Spanish custom
Take your mug and brush
And bust 'em
BURMA-SHAVE

As we see from the above actual jingle (c. 1938) the marketing “hook” for Burma-Shave was that it was “brushless.” The first (mid-1920s) shaving cream that was applied directly to the face with the fingers and shaved off…shortly followed in the market by Barbasol, Colgate-Palmolive, and other brands.

Burma-Shave was sold by the jar –

Riot at the drugstore
Calling all cars
100 customers
99 jars
BURMA-SHAVE

and by the tube –

If harmony
Is what you crave
Get a
Tuba
BURMA-SHAVE

to sleek young sheiks, lounge-lizards, and hep-cats who pursued a modern lifestyle in toiletries, pooh-poohing Grandpa’s 19th century shaving brush and mug.

Ironically, after following the generous UncleBeer’s link to www.drugstore.com, I found that the only Burma-Shave products currently available are brushes and cakes of shaving soap! (Better than nothing, I guess…according to 1998’s BURMA-SHAVE: THE RHYMES, THE SIGNS, THE TIMES, the brand-name was dissolved completely after being sold to the Philip Morris Company in 1963.)

Here’s my question: Who out there has, or is still, shaving with a brush and mug? How do you do it?

One assumes that the brush is dipped in hot water, dabbed on the cake of soap, then brushed vigorously along the jawline to make a lathery mess that’s then shaved away, along with the morning’s whiskers. Correct?

Is the mug used for storing the soap when not in use? How do you keep the soap from dissolving in a puddle at the bottom of the mug? Is a special shaving mug an important buy, or can I use an old coffee cup?

I breathlessly and unshavenly await advice. I’ll leave off with a final classic jingle that’s a poor rhyme, but a nice construct, anyway:

My sweetie purred
When she felt my face
But when she felt my hands
She slapped my face
BURMA-SHAVE

Uke

2

I have my father’s…his brush…and his mug…I remember him shaving that way for years…his mug…is from Old Spice…and I know that it is at least 35 years old…he passed away in 1990…so I’m not sure if this is the same mug that he used all those years ago…I found it when my mom passed away last year and I bought the house from my brothers…but if it’s not…it is still old…cause I was a teenager when he started using a regular razor.
He used to keep the soap in the mug…he’d put hot water in the mug…but the brush in it…then on the soap…when he was finished he’d dump the water out and put the soap in the mug …
Wow…what memories…

“Do or do not, there is no try” - Yoda

You wanna know something about me…ask me…not my friends…

3

The angels
That guard you
When you
Drive
Usually retire
At 65
BURMA-SHAVE

[q]
Who out there has, or is still, shaving with a brush and mug? How do you do it? [/q]

You can do it any way that suits you, that’s part of the beauty of it. Actually, for the last few weeks I haven’t been shaving at all, but when I do, I use Colgate shaving soap (about the only brand I can consistently find). I use an old coffee cup for my mug. The hardest thing to do is sometimes finding a new brush – but, maybe not so difficult, nowadays.

[q]One assumes that the brush is dipped in hot water, dabbed on the cake of soap, then brushed vigorously along the jawline to make a lathery mess that’s then shaved away, along with the morning’s whiskers. Correct?[/q]

Pretty much. I run the water nice & hot, then get the brush wet and moisten up my whiskers for a few moments, while I run more hot water through the brush and then start working the soap up into a lather. Usually, I don’t run any water directly into the mug. When I think I’ve got a sufficient ‘load’ of soap, I transfer it to my face and start working it up and into my beard. Usually, I don’t rinse the brush after I finish, but let the lather dry in place.

[q]Is the mug used for storing the soap when not in use? How do you keep the soap from dissolving in a puddle at the bottom of the mug? Is a special shaving mug an important buy, or can I use an old coffee cup?[/q]

Where else would you store the soap between shaves? The soap doesn’t dissolve into a puddle if you don’t leave water standing in the mug. You can buy a shaving mug if you want – I’m sure somebody must make them exclusively for shaving, there’s usually someone who’ll do anything – but it’s kind of pretentious, IYAM. A coffee cup with your name on it is okay.

4

Special mug,
For your soap?
Beat’s me Uke,
That the dope.

Mug and brush?
Too much time,
Rush to work,
Earn my dime.

Barbasol,
Comes in a tube,
Rub it in,
There’s your lube.

What do I believe in? Not much that isn’t explained by logic and scientific experiment. And, you better believe, I want to see the logic and the laboratory equipment.
–P.J. O’Rourke–

5

Uke, the shaving mugs I’ve seen have a built-in little shelf. You put the soap on the shelf, a little water in the rest of the cup, and whip up a lather going between them.

I took a look at eBay to see if I could find you any good examples:
Shaving mug
Some of the ones I looked at seem to be all shelf at the top of the mug, with an extra holder for the brush:
Shaving scuttle

And just for you, there’s this:
Burma Shave

I think if you were anyone at all (in the days before the safety razor), you had a shaving cup with your name or profession on it that stayed at your barber’s.

Does that help any?

6

I have my paternal grandfather’s old shaving brush. It’s a very nice one, with a wood and glass handle. I display it in a Burma-Shave mug, with a cake of Burma-Shave soap in the bottom. It serves as an interesting decoration, a conversation piece, and a reminder all at the same time. I wouldn’t use it, though. I’m a thoroughly modern electric razor man, myself.

The overwhelming majority of people have more than the average (mean) number of legs. – E. Grebenik

7

I too have dad’s hand me down Old Spice™ mug with the clipper ships on it. Once in a while I’ll use it but it’s in storage right now. You’ve got the drill down already, there are no secrets. I’ve never had to drain the water out because I don’t put much in to begin with, just enough to wet the brush. The excess dries by the time I use it again.

I’ve never taken to electric shavers but I am spoiled by the new three blade razors. My dad started me on the old safety razors that I wouldn’t use on a bet now.

Come, let us go, I’ve a cask of amontillado.

8

I pictured Ike
All lathered up—
Of smelling salts
I grabbed a cup . . .

BURMA-SHAVE

9

I buy this shaving cream from the Body Shop. It comes in a plastic tub.

I spread the cream on my face with my fingers, then takie the shaving brush, pass it under the faucet, and “brush” my chin until the cream is foamy.

Then shave the same as I used to with the canned shaving cream.

I don’t use a mug at all. The shaving brush just sits on the counter.

The correct procedure is to hum Broadway show tunes whilst you’re shaving. This morning, strangely enough, I happened to be trying to sing “New York, New York”, and realized I don’t know more than a few words.

10

Thanks, guys! Tomorrow morning I’m gonna try a crazy mishmosh of all the techniques elaborated above, and I’ll let you know if I open a vein.

Bringing home my official WATERGATE HOTEL coffee mug to use as part of my shaving apparatus…we’ll see if it fills the bill.

DIF: For what it’s worth, the BURMA-SHAVE history book cited in the OP says that one of the reasons brushless cream became popular is that unproperly-rinsed shaving brushes developed a foul mildewy odor when tossed into shaving kits. Just to put you on alert…and thank you for the informative post.

aseymayo: Thanks for the links! I put a six-buck bid in for that BURMA-SHAVE mug!

UncleBeer: Slow down and smell the roses…or the foul mildewy old shaving brushes. When you’re on your deathbed, will you be saying “I’m so glad I spent so much time working,” or “I’m so glad I quit my job, moved to New York, and started that Gypsy Saxophone Trio with Uke and Melanie?”

Eve: [bronx cheer]

Doctor Jackson, here’s one for you:

Whiskery stubble
Doesn’t faze her
He shaves with
An electric razor
Who needs
BURMA-SHAVE

(MAD Magazine parody, c. 1960)

Uke

11

Uke, I used to have a shaving mug and brush, but I forsook them in the interest of saving time in the morning. The mug was wider around than a coffee mug, and about half as deep. The soap (which you can find in most drugstores) was a round cake that just sat inside the mug.

I always used to wet the brush good, swirl it on the soap and just lather up. Since not a lot of water is used, there usually was minimal, if any, puddling. The cake of soap was dry by the next morning.

There’s something nice about the feel of a brush, though. Mine was boar’s hair, I think. Very soft, and with warm water and lather on it, it was a very relaxing a.m. ritual.

He kissed her once
He kissed her twice
She said to him
By gosh, that’s nice!
BURMA-SHAVE

The Dave-Guy
“since my daughter’s only half-Jewish, can she go in up to her knees?” J.H. Marx

12

I remember about (mumble mumble) years ago, my brother and I got my dad an Old Spice shaving mug and brush for Father’s Day. He loved it. Still uses it. Like a previous poster said he did, my dad just wets the brush. I don’t remember him ever having a soap-melting problem.

I think those mugs & brushes are pretty cool, myself.

13

We wait for Ike
With bated breath—
He “shaved” a vein
And bled to death!

BURMA-SHAVE

[with a Bronx cheer back atcha]

14

Okay. Still alive here.

This is going to take some practice. The first go-round did not yield enough lather, and I had to dip back in for sloppy seconds. Some work on brush technique is due, too. How the hell do you soap up the moustache area without jabbing Burma-Shave into your mouth? Yecch.

I hope the cake dries out by tomorrow morning, as it is now hopelessly fused to the bottom of the mug. Next time I wet the brush good, swipe TWICE, and work up the lather on each cheek, spreading it under the chin and finally over the upper lip.

On another note, the wife announced that that bathroom now smells like her grandfather’s house.

Next gambit: straight razor!

Uke

15

. . . Disturbingly, your wife’s grandfather was Phillip Armour, the slaughter-house king . . .

16

Eve says that Ike
She’d never touch
Methinks she doth
Protest too much
Burma-Shave
grin

Live a Lush Life
Da Chef

17

And hey, Ike…when you form that Gypsy saxophone trio with Melanie and Unclebeer, you’re going to need a singer to front the band…can I come over and play if I bring my cool fedora?

Live a Lush Life
Da Chef

18

Youll also need a chick singer too…how 'bout a busty, leggy redhead in a sequinned dress? over here! over here!

19

I spotted Ike,
My heart went “zing!”
But then I saw
That wedding ring . . .

BURMA-SHAVE

20

I would actually like to learn to shave with a straight razor. I bought a couple, but I can’t seem to get them sharp enough to shave with. In fact, I’m not really sure how one goes about sharpening a razor. I’ve got a stone, but all I’m managing is to wear the blade down.

Any advice?