While food, clothing and shelter get the lion's share of attention by homesteaders, things like basic hygiene cannot be ignored when thinking of our health, or our wallets. In this world of body sprays, hair sprays, deodorant sprays, breath sprays and every other kind spray shot out of a can with petro chemicals and tons of slick advertising trying to convince you their sprays will make you sexier, smarter, and more successful, there are other ways of getting these most basic tasks done. 5000 years ago in Sumer, modern day Iraq, a shaving preparation made of wood ash and animal fat was used well before any can of anything hit any shelf. Today the modern equivalent is shaving soap. This hockey puck shaped soap sits in a shaving mug and is worked into a thick lather with a shaving brush then applied to the area to be shaved like any other shaving cream. When traveling and in a pinch I've used a wash cloth in place of the brush ad forgone the shaving mug altogether. Even after the purchase of the brush and mug the long term financial advantage of this shaving prep technique is significant so long as you stick to it. Happy shaving!
