Any dedicated wet shavers here?

Paleocon wrote:

I find that even premium shave soap is cheaper per shave that the canned crap.

I've been using one of these for like... a year? Long enough for Proraso to change their labeling.

I shave in the shower, helps to have the hot water/steam going for me. Also I got one of those razors with four or five blades on them in the mail for free to try, and I must admit, it's been the smoothest shave I've ever had. Problem is, those blades are pretty expensive and it's not really worth it to me right now.

Same here. I am not a daily shaver these days, but that soap has lasted me about 2 years.

KingGorilla wrote:

Same here. I am not a daily shaver these days, but that soap has lasted me about 2 years.

I have a puck of Mitchell's Wool Fat that cost me $35 and has lasted a little over 2 years and have had pucks of Colonel Conk that cost $6 and last about 6 months. Any way you work the numbers, old fashioned shaving soap delivers a superior shave at a significantly lower price.

As long as you know how to work a brush, the soap is definitely the way to go.

Also, a badger brush is a must. Boar's hair doesn't make as nice a lather, and is WAY stinkier.

Good badger brushes rock. And they last for freaking ever; my wife's grandfather has been using the same brush for 30+ years. My MiL was talking about replacing it the other day and he's like "What are you talking about? It's just getting broken in!".

AnimeJ wrote:

Good badger brushes rock. And they last for freaking ever; my wife's grandfather has been using the same brush for 30+ years. My MiL was talking about replacing it the other day and he's like "What are you talking about? It's just getting broken in!".

It is nice to have a couple brushes though so that they get fully dried out between shaves.

I've only got my one, don't know that I've ever had that issue. I don't hang it up very wet either though.

MoonDragon wrote:
complexmath wrote:

Shower mirror is a definite necessity,

Pfft... amateurs.

Haven't shaved with a mirror in 10 years. Unless you're styling a specific facial hair piece, it's not that hard to do without a mirror. You can always examine it later on in the mirror and fix up any minor missed spots.

complexmath wrote:

and I'm a fan of the shaving soap with brush, as much because I have sensitive skin as anything though.

For many years I could not even shave. My skin was so sensitive that I would cry in pain when trying to shave my neck.

My major revelation was flowing shower water. If you shave under the flow of water, it takes all the discomfort away. It also lubricates just the right amount as well. So no need for any fancy (and extremely overpriced) products. After I'm done, I use regular Nivea cream (dark blue container) on my face. I tried a whole bunch of specialized (and extremely overpriced) products, but good ol' Nivea just does it for me. Never any discomfort. And it moisturises for hours.

In all fairness, I use "normal" Gillette Mach3 razors. But I don't see why it would be different for any other razor.

It is funny I stumbled upon this thread. In 17 years of having to shave (I started at 15) I never had anyone to teach me or give me advice on the "proper" way to shave. My father was never around so I had to figure it out on my own. What I find funny is I started using the shaving cream and some disposable razors, but once I went into the Army I learned to shave in the more interesting ways. Like using my canteen cup and heating the water on the engine block of the HMMWV. I started to forgo shaving cream and just started to use water and basically never went back. Over time I wait annout 30 to 40 minutes now after I wake up to shave and I will use a very hot towel/rag to get the hairs to soften and splash some hot water and start to shave. I shave with the grain and against and don't have a problem with in grown hair or anything, even though people cringe when I tell them I use no shaving cream and I go with and against the grain.

One of my questions that I have always wanted to ask but never did to anyone is aftershave. What is the purpose? Is it used as a stringent to prevent your now wide open pores after a shave from getting infected? Does the alcohol close your pores there by doing the same thing as the first thing I said. Or is it just to smell good?

I believe the purpose is just to close the pores, yes. The thing about alcohol is it has a much lower evaporation temperature, and evaporation cools things down, so it's like putting something cold on your face that dries quickly, as opposed to getting it hot and wet before shaving to open your pores.

Aftershave's purpose is to calm your skin down in order to prevent razor rash and ingrowns. IMO, the easiest way to close pores(and stop light bleeding too) is to rinse with cold water before patting your face down with a towel. From there, aftershave to sooth your now raw face.

As for shaving without lather, it's doable. The primary purpose of lather is to keep your face moistureized and wet so that the blade glides rather than skips. Personally, I've shaved enough without lather of any sort that while I can, it's unpleasurable enough that I don't.

Cross-posting from the "silly purchases thread". After using catridge shavers for the longest time, I realize a few months back I was getting some skin irritation from these razors. I've always used a brush & shaving cream, so the only change was to a DE razor. Picked up a cheap handle and some blades a couple of months back and it's made a big difference.

So last week I picked up a better handle (Edwin Jagger) and a year's worth of blades (Feather):

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/PeECnl.jpg)

I already had a badger brush so the one in the pic is a spare.

PS: Something I didn't realize when I switched to a DE razor is that it makes shaping a goatee a lot easier. The catridge razors would always trim off some beard at an awkward angle.

We did our gift exchange with the in laws the other day, and my mother in law gave me a Edwin Jagger DE89 for Christmas. Coupled with a badger brush and the Taylor of Old Bond Street sandalwood shaving soap my wife gave me, I tried wet shaving for the first time yesterday.

What a great experience! It was slow going at first, because I keep a beard during the winter, so I was just shaving my neck and shaping the edges, but I soon found that the design of the razor helps you find the correct angle fairly easily. It was more intuitive than I thought it would be, and the end result was satisfying enough that I (almost) considered shaving the entire beard. That will have to wait until spring though.

For you experienced shavers, how do Derby blades rate in the grand scheme of things? The razor came with some Derbys, so that's what I used, but I also have a sampler pack to try some others out.

I had picked up we shaving about a year ago. It really does take about 4 or 6 months to get a good handle on it. As for my gear, I have a badger hair brush (not silver tip badger, I didn't splurge that much on myself), a 1957 gillette super speed safety razor. As for the blades, I've tried a few. Astro did not work well for me. Mekur was my go to for a long time. After a while it switched to Feather, but that is certainly not a beginners razor. Currently, I've found the safety blades from DorcoUSA to be good (the same guys who supply dollar shave club with blades) and extremely cost effective.

When I first started, it seemed a bit daunting, but I followed the advise of a fellow on youtube by the name of Mantic59 (http://www.youtube.com/user/mantic59...).

I've followed his technique and it has worked for me. I still get the occasional nick here and there, but far less than I have before. Traditionally, 3 passes. One with the grain, one cross the grain, and one against the grain. Last pass is saved for touch-ups that may be required.

After the shave, I avoid aftershave. Imagine if you just got some minor carpet burn and pour alcohol on it. If you cringed at that thought, it's not much different than doing it after you shave. Personally, I use a good facial moisturizer. If you need to have the scent of after shave, combine it with the moisturizer to avoid the sting of the alcohol.

First straight razor shave last night. 1 cut (utterly unexpected - my impatience, some lack of respect. Won't make that mistake again) and 3 nick's in places I was expecting them to be in (a couple of moles, and a really uneven patch on my neck). I only did a WTG pass. One step at a time. Talk about Zen-like focus in the middle of shaving.

Kit:

  • C.O Bigelow Premium Shave Cream - basically Proaso green rebranded for the US. This and a brush I got from my Dad are what I use to build up lather. I was using an old coffee mug, but went with the bowl from the kit below.
  • This set my wife got me for Christmas.. I'm saving the brush as a backup. Everything else got used.
  • Cheap Kroger brand Aftershave. I have to find something better for aftershave.

Things to work on:

  • Building proper lather. I'm ok at it, but it needs to be better.
  • Stropping. I've got the basics, and I'm pretty sure I didn't screw up my blade (no tugging or pulling). Now, I need to get the technique down.
  • More comfortable with WTG, so I can start doing either XTG or ATG and really get rid of the cartridge.
  • Better Aftershave something, and I need to look into pre-shave glycerine soap.
  • Shaving technique. Nothing I can do but shave regularly and practice.

After that shave...I'm a convert to the straight razor. Now, I need to work on it.

I don't get to straight razor shave as often as I would like, but I treated myself to one Sunday morning. The wife was away in NY and I had the bathroom to myself. After a long hot shower, I lathered up and shaved like my grandfather. My tools this time were: 1) an Edwin Jagger Best Badger brush; Mitchell's Wool Fat soap; homemade preshave oil made with castor, tea tree, and olive oils; and my Boker King Cutter 5/8" straight razor. I finished up with an alum block and a nice Kenzo aftershave.

It was a good day.

OldMud wrote:

For you experienced shavers, how do Derby blades rate in the grand scheme of things? The razor came with some Derbys, so that's what I used, but I also have a sampler pack to try some others out.

I am not a fan, I found that they felt dull and tugged a lot. I prefer Shark Super Steel Blades (not the chromed ones) work best on my face. Feather I found gave a fantastic first shave, maybe the second, but seemed to get dull or gummed up quickly. 1 Shark blade lasts me a week, 5-6 shaves.

As with anyone, I suggest nabbing a sampler pack from Amazon. You can try 5-10 different brands for like 10-15 bucks, find those that work for you and order them. And if one is not working for you, you can toss 1 pack.

Shaving? What's that?

http://i.imgur.com/ulcNn.jpg

Second Straight Razor shave. No nic's or cuts. Total time: 30 minutes.

Pre-shave

  • Wash my whiskers with a glycerin soap. Col. Conk's Lime to be exact. Left that on while I made lather.
  • Made Lather with shaving creme that was a late christmas present from a good friend. Sandelwood Creme from Art of Shaving
  • Strop my razor 10 times towards and away.
  • Rinsed the soap off.

Shave

  • Technique with the straight razor was much improved. Funny enough, cutting myself, and getting some nic's the last time, helped.
  • Did a With the Grain pass.
  • Rinsed and relathered to use my Fusion to do clean up, and an Against the Grain pass. When all I used was the Fusion, I'd have a lot of clean up to do. This time...very little. I missed a spot on my neck, under my earlobe, and the straight razor took a chunk out of my goatee so I cleaned that up. 2 minutes.

Post Shave

  • All I used was the Sandelwood Balm that came with the kit my good friend sent me.
  • Cleaned the scales and the blade, and 10 more passes on the strop.

It was a great shave. Now, I need to master the With the Grain passes and start working on Across the Grain with the straight. With the advice earlier in the thread, reddit's wicked_edge subreddit and straight razor place, the transition thus far has been pretty smooth (not that I don't have a long way to go).

I've been letting my scruff grow out for about a week now, and haven't had a good, proper shave in a nearly a month. The other day, while I was gearing up to do some shoveling, my wife told me I was starting to look like a mountain main.

Tuesday evening, while the wife is at work and I have no where to be and nothing to do, I'm gonna shave like it's the last thing I do on this earth.

My accoutrements will be the usual setup of a Merkur razor with blades, Proraso soap and after-shave, and a badger hair brush.

I should probably get a haircut, too, but I'll let someone else do that.

I received 2 DE safety razors and all the accoutrements for Christmas and I love the experience of shaving! I plan on building out my kit over time - I have boar brushes now, so will upgrade to badger eventually. I need to experiment with blades and soaps, and would like to get a nice stand and a more fancy bowl eventually. I'd also like to look into more natural after-shaves, though I like the classic 'manly' scents of Pinaud and English Leather.

Seattle has a fancy men's grooming shop, so I will probably pay them a visit soon to ogle the expensive products.

My buddy AJ and I decided to have a man day. We treated ourselves to straight razor shaves. Felt great.

Got a good tip. With thick beards, put pre shave on before you shower, let it soak as you wash, shave then wash your face. I will experiment with lotioning, then the sauna at the gym, then shaving with a shower at the end.

TekDragon wrote:

After the shave, I avoid aftershave. Imagine if you just got some minor carpet burn and pour alcohol on it. If you cringed at that thought, it's not much different than doing it after you shave. Personally, I use a good facial moisturizer. If you need to have the scent of after shave, combine it with the moisturizer to avoid the sting of the alcohol.

Amen brother.

Any alcohol free aftershave will do the trick. Nivea makes a post shave balm that is alcohol free and it works great. They don't advertise as being alcohol free, but checking the ingredients on a bunch of aftershave products led me to them. I've been using it for years and it's way better than any alcohol based nonsense.

I received some Evelyn & Crabtree sandalwood soap for Christmas. I like how it lathers up much more than the soaps I had been using. I tried to get a super close shave over the weekend though and did too many passes on tricky spots. My neck was noticeably irritated. I need to build up more practice with ATG passes.

Did a 3 pass shave tonight, WTG, XTG and ATG. My face is smooth, and really sensitive. I have a little razor burn and a couple of nic's.

For the first time doing all 3, I'm pretty happy with the shave.

I've started using WTG and XTG as part of the daily routine. Still "dragging" the blade in a couple of spots when going XTG as I forget to switch angles, resulting in a nice "reminder" when I use the aftershave.

Oh, also started shaving my head completely which is a whole different ballgame. I've started off with a cartridge razor (I had extra blades lying around) as they are a little more forgiving on newbies, but intend to switch to the DE in a few months.

athros wrote:

WTG, XTG and ATG.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, spell it out for the normals.

With The Grain
(x)Across The Grain
Against the grain

KingGorilla wrote:
athros wrote:

WTG, XTG and ATG.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, spell it out for the normals.

S0LIDARITY wrote:

With The Grain
(x)Across The Grain
Against the grain

Sorry! What S0LIDARITY said, one With the Grain, one Across the Grain and one Against the Grain, in that order.

Not sure if this has been mentioned but it's awesome for nicks and a general face rub down after a shave. I've tried all sorts of things to stop the bleeding on the occasional nicks when I'm not paying attention and this wins the prize.

IMAGE(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41r%2BpHfEEoL._SY450_.jpg)

http://www.amazon.com/RazoRock-400230-Alum-Block/dp/B003LEXEDW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357667397&sr=8-1&keywords=razorock