Hello all, third De wet shave under my belt, thanks in no small part to the great advice from this (and other) website! Been messing about for about a month using brush and bowl lather with cartridges, getting my techniques down and awaiting my first safety razor. Proraso green and an omega brush from local drugstore have been a delightful first foray into my wet shave routine. With a bit of luck, my dad was able to find me a vintage piece, what looks to be a 1951 Gillette Rocket! After thorough cleaning, I tried it out with near disastrous results. So I did the only logical thing I could think of....do it again. This time not blindly, but after reviewing videos and tutorials, adjusting angle and pressure, a much better poor shave. Man this is exciting! Third shave now and all has improved again - this time only 2 passes, not 17 trying to get closer and closer. Patience and time willing, I know I'll get this right sooner than later!
Thanks all for the warm welcomes! Thought it would be interesting to note, perhaps as a point of interest to other newbies looking for a reason to continue wet shaves despite mixed results during your break in period. Despite the unceremonious butchery I've been inflicting on myself so far, I've already noticed a significant benefit which was part of my reason for switching to DE, no razor bumps or ingrown hairs, both of which I usually suffered no matter what I did with cartridges whether new or old, 3 blades or 5. So I feel I've a better shave already, and I know it'll get closer and smoother with practice. Cheers!
Here is the advice I received when I started with a DE and so I freely give it to new users. The most important things in shaving are, your skin and technique. All other things fall in line behind those two things and to support them. Since the skin is a given fixed item, the next major item is technique. It is called THE 30 DAY RULE. THE 30 DAY RULE is as follows: Find a razor, then a blade that will not cause issues with your skin (that may take a few different blades in a sampler pack to find a suitable choice or it maybe the first out of the gate) and select a soap or cream that is easy to generate good lather. Once you find those, and it may take a couple of weeks to find this combination, order a quantity of that blade, enough for 30 days, and then spend 30 days using nothing else until you build up your technique. (Note that only one brand blade is used for 30 days after each blade in the sampler pack is tested to make the decision on the blade brand to use for 30 days.) The 30 day clock starts when you have the right blade for you. After 30 days, change one and only one variable and work for another week then change another after another week. At that point you should be able to make better decisions because your technique is now in place. This will help you to avoid buying too much gear and stuff too soon without having the technique down to enjoy it all. Cheers. Welcome to the Den. We know you'll fit right in. So grab yourself a comfy chair, and give our threads a spin! Burma Shave
Thanks for the advice, I've already ordered a sample pack along with a new brush and razor, and a couple of new soaps too. Good thing my birthday just passed, a good excuse to treat myself! I think my lather techniques are OK as I had been working on that for the last couple of months still using cartridges, but really looking forward to sampling some new blades and starting my 30 days. Cheers!
Shave 4 under my belt. New blade today, or at least an unused blade, a Gillette blue with W 4...not sure just yet what the age of these things are, so I'm really looking forward to my sampler pack et al arriving Tuesday. That being said, overall results are good so I'll just enjoy till the new ones arrive. Feeling good about angle and 3 pass for the most part, save for the chin and sides of the mouth-just can't seem to find my way around a close shave there, but happily had enough sense to leave it alone after 3 passes and not bring on a blood bath scraping away in an attempt to reduce the last bit o stubble. My goal is less razor burn and ingrown hairs after all!
Welcome and your goals are just about right. Less razor burn is always good. No razor burn is better. I haven't had an ingrown hair for a long time.
Ahh, what a shave . easily rivals most of my cart shaves in the past! Took much time, but paid special attention to how the razor felt on my face and keeping the angle correct, especially on corners and tight spots. If not for the area directly under the nose and one spot under my jaw line, I'd call it a fine shave indeed. Question: do u suggest wetting the face between lathers, or just applying new lather right on fresh shaved skin?
Welcome to TSD. Happy Shavings! I always rinse in between. So you'll have a clean canvas to paint again!
