Well I did it I couldn't wait and picked up the Shaving Factory Razor and a pack of Derby from Sally Beauty Supply. Today was my third shave and I am happy with the results. So much better than the shave I got from my old cartridge. Less tugging and no irritation so far. I've also been lucky and haven't cut myself yet. Thanks for all the tips everyone provided. Looks like I'm off to a great start.
You may have seen this floating around but you will soon be at the point where this is applicable. It 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. This really does work. Good fortune and enjoy your shaves!
Mr. Carrington's patented 30 rule is a sound plan. If any of the dreaded acquisition disorders should strike during those crucial 30 days, resistance would not be futile lol. Happy shaving..
I'm so glad to hear things are going so well. Many people, when first starting, end up with cuts and razor burn. I think it's great this didn't happen in your case. Makes the whole wet shaving transition so much nicer and it will only get better and better.....
Awesome, you're on the road to the good life. That razor you got from Sallys will shave as well as any onher with a descent blade. The 30 day rule is sound advise. I would change only 1 thing, the blades. If you dont want to wait for your sampler pack (and I dont bpame you) the dollar store has a much better blade, their store brand are Personna and much better than Derby. They are very smooth coated blades. They will serve you well while you wait on your sampler pack.
My neighbor said that the 99 cent store around the corner carried DE blade. I might walk up there. He said that they carried several differnt brands for 99 cents. The 30 day rule is correct.
Thanks again for the great tips, especially on the blades. I may try to pick some up tonight just to see the difference. I'm not getting as close as I'd like on my neck and I really don't want to try to apply pressure just to cut closer. I've seen a few videos on neck technique but even after 3 passes there seems to be a little stubble left. Hmm, I guess I'll have to check to see which store has them. We have: Dollar General Dollar Tree Family Dollar Everything a dollar Don't laugh they are about 10 stores in all. And my city is not that big.
Blade Sampler Packs are readily and widely available through the internet as well, whether from TSD's own online store, or one of several other options. Congratulations on finding success so far.
Map your growth. My atg pass on my neck is like a spinning compass. Some is south to north , east to west. And northeast to Southwest
In future if you ever decide on another razor, you may be able to run the whole gamut of DE's with 2 razors. From the very mild , your Shaving Factory Razor, to the most aggressive DE , the R41 2013. This version is aggressive enough for the toughly bearded like myself but manageable. For me the secret with this razor was pairing it with the right blade and I found the Gillette 7'o Clock SharpEdge was the one. http://www.shaving.ie/products/muhle-r41-grande.html
Chuck, I'm a month in and have yet to get the neck clean. I get a little better each time, but still not smooth right after the shave. I discovered that my neck whiskers grow up and away from my adam's apple, so WTG is from the adams apple toward my ear. XTG is still a mystery and ATG is from the ear to the adam's apple.
Welcome. I started with a blade sampler pack. The only thing that stayed the same for 30 days was the razor. Enjoy your new adventure.
