First off, Welcome to The Shave Den Batness! A great community of guys and gals that enjoy wet shaving, I hope you enjoy your stay! Be sure to sign up for the May Newbie Give-Away for a chance to win some great shave gear! While its not required, how about you hop over to the Newbies Section and give yourself a proper introduction thread, I'm sure you'll receive many warm welcomes from the friendly folks of this community. Now to answer your questions, the razor below is the one you are talking about: They also came in a Pink and Champagne color, which usually seem to be pricier. The wonderful lady that helped to start this fine forum, JoAnna our very own Queen of Blades uses a Gillette Long Handled Super Adjustable, like below, or a straight razor:
Update! Just got a Merkur 34C, I lost the Ladies Gillette auction. But oh well; the Merkur was from someone here and I'd rather money go to members anyway. So far so good!
Products and such So! It seems the Merkur works fantastic for me! Although I didn't care for the Merkur blade. Graciously, TSD member who sold it to me sent along some other blades. I was using a Treet Durasharp. First time: didn't really even do anything different! Used a coconut oil and clay based slab I made, rubbed it over my skin to make a little lather, then put the blade ATG and shaved away. The only things that were different from my regular routine and the DE shave were I had to be slower and more patient....and I didn't press much. I just let the weight of the razor itself glide over and shave. Despite my education here, I decided to be a smartass and go ATG first and used long sweeps. It actually went well; I didn't need to go over the same area much and it was quite smooth after one pass. No cuts and no nicks! My kneecap is a little stubbly, but I really just wanted to try the blade and see how it went before doing a more serious experiment. For my after-shave routine, I usually use a blend of BLISS and LUSH products. To prevent ingrowns I use Bliss Ingrown Eliminating Pads on irritating areas, then I put on some Get Out of Hair! After a little bit when the Get Out of Hair is dry I slather on The Soft Touch by Lush. This seems to work *exceptionally* well with a DE. I only shaved ONE leg last night with the Merkur and it's fantastic feeling. Can't wait to show the boyfriend.
Pretty sure eshave has a green one, but I think I'd look at one of our local brushmakers sites first.
:rofl I seriously did not read this before my previous post. Say the word, and I'll refrain from sending him any more menthol until he complies.
LOL. Just saw this thread and had to reply. You'll see from my intro that this is my 'second go around'. Not too long ago I noticed that my blades were not lasting as long as they did back in Jan. I finally said something to my HH6 about my concern of the beard getting thicker, or the blades getting cheaper. she: "Oh honey, didn't I tell you that I've been using your razors. So much better than mine". me: "Do you realize what I've been going through?:happy102 she: I'm sorry, can I make you dinner. SERIOUSLY!
I am wanting to surprise the Wifester once I get my technique down & pamper her a bit. Prior to reading this thread, I had not considered knees or ankles. Now I am slightly terrified. I see that Sharp blades & TOBS Avocado or KMF is recommended, however I have a few additional questions. What kind of prep is recommended/necessary for ladies' legs? Should the shaving commence after a shower, or is the hair generally soft enough not to matter? How important is knowing the grain on legs? Any reason alum/styptic should not be used on legs? Any special AS recommended for legs? Stay away from splashes & stick to balms? Any tips for shaving someone else since I won't be getting direct feedback (other than a yelp if I cut her)? Thank you in advance for any advice, ladies & gents.
No need to be terrified. Just be attentive and focused during the shave. I don't do any "prep" per se, I just shave in the shower, after I've washed my hair and body. So, yeah, the water has had some time running down my legs, but I don't really feel that's prep. Just like gents, womens' leg hair will differ from one lady to the next, but generally womens' leg hair is soft. From what I know, most women just shave their legs against the grain (ankle to knee). There are no rules on aftershave. The skin on legs is not generally so delicate that you have to be careful what skin products you put on them. Moisturizing products are generally a plus for legs. Splashes can be just as moisturizing as balms, etc. Can't help with the last question, as I've never shaved anyone else.
It's the easiest if you do it in the shower. The water will plump up your skin, the soap is easier to rinse off and so is the hair.
Firstly, congrats on wanting to get your wife involved! It's definitely another layer of shared experiences you will have together. While I am new to the Den (joined in September), Jeff (stingraysrock) introduced me to wet shaving in May of this year. I gave up the canned goo months ago and haven't looked back since. Some pointers I can give you: - Hair types are as different as hair color. I am of Native American descent and have extremely coarse hair on my legs. I HAVE to exfoliate each time I shave because of this. Otherwise, I get irritation. So hair-type is very important when prepping the legs. Exfoliation for me is as simple as using a stiff brush and the first layer of soap is applied in a circular pattern and that is followed by a painting pattern. But only one pass with the blade. - The Blade. I have used Dorco 301 (my favorite). Feathers (more aggressive) and for my injectors I have used Personna's and Pella's (the better choice IMO). I can't use a blade more than three times, it will drag and cause irritation, but depending on the hair type, many more shaves can be obtained. - The Soap. Jeff has acquired so many different soaps, creams, etc., I have tried them all. For a quick shave (always in the shower) I will load KMF straight into the brush and lather directly into my hand. Otherwise, I have a rubber mug (made by Marvy) that I whip my creams in. I have tried soap pucks, but for my skin type, I don't prefer them, the razor tends to drag. I prefer the creams ... ANY cream. Erasmic, Godrej, Arko .. they all work great for me and the scent doesn't stay once I am out of the shower. - My legs are super sensitive to what is applied after the shower. I have never tried any alum, I see Jeff wince and KNOW that it will break my legs out. TSD offers a large variety of ASM .. they are all awesome. I tend to prefer the spicy ones, Florida Water and Bay Rum are my favorites, but whichever ones you choose, they all soothe the same. Also, any lotion, body butter, etc., will work. - As for knees and ankles, well that's all part of the fun! Depending on the razor/blade combination, it just takes practice to get it right. I have "donked" the ankle area so many times making a new pass it's not funny, but I HAVE learned from it and haven't done it in a while!! Although, cutting my toe was a new experience ..and there is no explanation for that one other than, it happened and I have moved on! Good Luck with the venture and hopefully your enthusiasm for wet shaving will be contagious and she will acquire AD just as much as you have!!
My girlfriend watched me wetshave for the first time the other day and was terrified the entire time. For some reason she thought I was going to peel my face off and go for the jugular. The conversation went thusly: "Nathan, please be careful, that looks so dangerous!" "Sugar, I assure you its not as long as you're careful and know what you're doing. Trust me." "That razor just looks so heavy and tool-like it scares me..." "Well, in case you wanted to try it out, I bought you your own ladies' razor", I said as I unveiled the '66 Lady Gillette I got for her. "AWWW!!! That's so cute! Look! Its got little blue stars on it!!" - Mission Accomplished
I've got my wife using KMF, but even after a couple years, she won't try out the DE (me or her doing the shaving). Even offered to use the gunmetal Weishi that made her reply "OOOh that's shiny - I like it".
Thank you trois Madames for your advice. Her hair is awfully stubbly/scratchy when she hasn't shaved in a while, so I am assuming it is on the coarser side of the female leg hair spectrum. She is currently using a Venus & nothing but body wash (Oil of Olay) for shave cream...& only regular lotion as aftershave, so when I treat her I am hoping she will be positively overwhelmed. Now, if she takes to this, how do the rules change for the armpits & bikini area?
I'm currently working on getting my wife to switch over. She likes lathering with the scratchy brush I let her use, but doesn't want to take the time to concentrate on shaving. She's in a hurry in the morning, and I guess shaving the legs in the shower just isn't the same experience as shaving your face with some hot water in the sink and some Puccini playing on the iPod.
My wife at first just got tired of me talking about this new "shaving" thing. Day and night, wanting to shave twice a day, wanting to buy more and more things etc. Eventually she got interested and in a small ebay lot I won I picked up a pink handled "tech" styled de. Ever since then she's been hooked, now onto a shick injector and I made her an ebony handled brush she really likes the arko sensitive cream. I'm just glad I got her sold on it otherwise I would have had to start thinning out my stock lol. She's now got quite a few of her female friends interested including my mother in law who is now a regular customer.
