I am new to the world of safety razor shaving and looking for insight on where to begin. I first started shaving with an electric razor that left my skin very dry and red. I then moved on to the Mach3's which is what I currently use, but it leaves my skin beet red and major ingrown hairs/bumps all over my neck. So as you can tell shaving is not a fun experience for me and I only shave when it is necessary usually every 3 days. The only thing I am afraid of is that I had a hot shave at my local barber and for a week I wanted to dunk my face in ice. Can you please suggest what type of razors I should look into buying as well as soap and blades? I don’t want to spend a whole lot of money because I don’t know if I am going to like this.
Welcome to TSD! This is the best wet shave board on the planet! Many people will be along in a little bit to weigh in on your questions. Typically, what I have seen most new wet shavers do is go to Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreens etc...and grab a Van Der Hagen Boar Brush and a Puck of Van Der Hagen Shave Soap and/or a puck of Williams Shave Soap, a bottle of Witch Hazel and a pack of generic store brand blades. For the razor, you cannot go wrong with a vintage Gillette Super Speed, Gillette Ball End Tech or a Schick Krona, which pop up from time to time on our own classifieds board, but you can also find hem locally at antique store, flea markets and junk shops. Plus there is always Ebay..... There are new razors available too, such as the Weishi sold by our very own TSD Board Member iamdarkangel. I suggest you have a look HERE if you have not done so already. This is the TSD Shave School and it helped me and many others get started. Once again, welcome to TSD!
Welcome to the Den! Check out the Shave School link that Jeff posted, above - it's the right place to start andd has lots of great information in one place. FWIW, that nasty shave you got at the barber shop was likely caused by the barber not knowing what they were doing to you. You'll be much nicer to yourself. It's not tough to get the hang of a DE if you start slow and do a bit of research first. You won't ever have to worry about a week of razor burn again, as long as you stay away from that barber! It may seem backwards, but most folks really enjoy shaving every day after they've switched. I never really hated it before, it was just an unpleasant chore had to be done. Now though, I hoestly look forward to my shaves. I hope you will too!
Welcome to TSD! Good advice so far, I'll just add a couple tid bits. I'd recommend a vintage Gillette DE razor over the Weishi - not that the Weishi is bad, but they don't seem to have the "last a lifetime" quality that the old Gillettes have. One of the items in the link Jeff gave is for Shave videos. Watch the videos by Mantic - you might find some ways to start getting a better shave even before getting new stuff. If you can get a shave brush and soap/cream right away you'll find it's better than using canned goo even with a Mach 3. The Shea Moisture Shave brush Target recently started carrying has great initial reviews for a brush under $10 and you should also be able to pick up some Van Der Hagen shave soap there (the green box).
Hi Zimmy I too once hated shaving and avoided it until I had to. A year ago I found out about wet shaving and as stated above by others it has become something I look forward to. I looked everywhere for a DE razor and only found blades. I ended up after some reading here on the interwebs with ordering a Merkur HD, some Paraso soap and their preshave (like it better as a aftershave) and a badger hair brush. Short of the long, no more irritation, bumps, and redness. Now that I'm more comfortable with it I'm ready to try different products and better techniques. I'm confident that if you give a good try you'll be looking forward to it too.
Welcome to the Den. Jeff and Erik have given great advice, give it a try and I am sure you will not turn back. Phil
Thanks everyone for the warm greetings. I will be placing my order tomorrow for razor, blades, soap etc... Are the Gillette's recommended above adjustable razors?
The good news is that there are many excellent razors to start with. The bad news is that there are so many excellent razors that you can get paralyzed with indecision, or go the other way and have a collection before you know it. The Fatboy, Slim, and Super Adjustable are the main Gillette adjustable models. The Super Speed and the Tech, mentioned above, are non adjustable, as is the Schick Krona. You might not want to learn on an adjustable, as it only adds an extra bit of complication. That's just an opinion, and you might come to appreciate having the extra flexibility. I'll stay away from recommending a specific model this time, but maybe stay away from the Weishi. Questionable QC, and way too mild, IMHO.
Approaching DE Shaving With Trepidation... When I first started to think about "using them old-fashioned razors my dad used" I was quite anxious myself. They were all silver looking and reminded me of dental and antique medical equipment, especially for some reason, that big silver syringe with the thumb grips and thumb handle that the dentists use for giving you that Novacaine (or whatever it is they use now). Like me, you might have been used to seeing black or some colored plastic and equating it with modernity, which further equates, but not always necessarily, into safety. With the DE Razor, I would like to assure you, once you get get used to it, your fears will be assuaged. I recommend using very short, slow, and gentle strokes until you gradually start to feel more comfortable with your new "old-style" razor. You know, kind of like "testing the waters" so to speak, and go from there. At first if you nick yourself or get cut, please don't get scared off of it, just go even slower and gentler the next time. DE shaving is more time-consuming than the modern cartridges but the rewards pay off for paying more attention to detail and being patient. You will find that if you work just a little harder for something, there is greater satisfaction in the end. Like you I hated shaving, just plain drudgery and I wouldn't shave for a week sometimes. Now I wish I could shave everyday, but I shave every other day to let my whiskers grow in completely and then shave it off. Gives me something to actually look forward to! I hope this helps some.
Welcome! The advice above is great...I have nothing to add. This is a great place to learn and talk over your technique and to get recommendations for everything wet shaving and lots of other things as well!
Don't want to spend alot of money ? You're in luck...I got my Ming-Shi for $5 new, and its a wonderful razor, I've gotten some of the best shaves of my life with one of these...I've had many great vintage razors which I highly recommend, but at this stage of the game and from what you have said, I really don't think you could go wrong with a new Ming-Shi, and put together your own razor sampler kit from the Shave-Den Store. Follow the links to the Shave School and check out the Mantic videos, they are fun as well as great...I also would recommend an Omega Boar Brush, usually under $10, and they are fantastic, I have a 10029 Baby Pro, that I got for $5 aswell, and its Super...not just for the money but really super...And last but not least, an Arko Shave Stick is one of the best soaps on the planet and it just happens to be probably the cheapest soap on the planet...Good luck, let us know how things are working out for you...
I'm sitting here trying to figure out how I missed greeting you earlier? :think002 Welcome to The Shave Den, a great community of guys and gals that enjoy wet shaving, I hope you enjoy your stay! Oh yeah, now I remember, Jeff did such a fine job of welcoming you, there really wasn't much I could add! :ashamed001
Welcome! We're glad you are here! I started wet-shaving a little of a year ago and have never regretted it I had very little trouble mastering the techniques; but a lot of trouble unlearning bad habits acquired during 30+ years of shaving with Edge and disposable razors Sounds like you have gotten a lot of good advice I started out with a shave cream (Proraso) and a soap (Tabac) I haven't heard of many shavers that don't like these I also ordered a Merkur HD; another product with very few detractors The one piece of advice I'd add is to pick a razor; brush; blade; and either a soap or cream and *stick with them for awhile*! I wanted to try a lot of things and the constant switching made starting out harder than it needed to be If you go with a Merkur and start out with the free blade; don't be discouraged Some folks like Merkur blades; but many do not If I had to pick one blade to recommend to a newbie; it would be a Red Pack (Israeli Personna): many guys love them; and at $10/100; I know of no other blade that can compete with them (price-considered) Don't forget to get a styptic pencil! Read all the tutorials you can find; watch Mantic's videos on YouTube; then start right in I found that it helped to go back and re-read (or re-watch) all the tutorial stuff a month or so after beginning Most important of all: have fun and give yourself a break starting out Be sure to let us know how things go and; when you become proficient; don't forget to help out other converts!
All of the advice above is very good. As a new wetshaver my biggest "Eureka" moment cam when I realized "do not apply any pressure on the razor". Let the weight of the razor do the work. This stopped the irritation and many of the nicks. Paul
Update: I just received my Gillette 1953 Super Speed in about 5 minutes ago and my grandfather cannot put it down lol. For the past two days I have been itching to get started with my de, so I started wet shaving with my Mach 3. I went to Target and picked up the shea brush and Williams Mug soap. Honestly I wasn't look for more than working on my lather and pre shave techniques, but wow my face feels so good after each shave. So tomorrow morning is when I say adios to expensive cartridges and electric shavers. One question should I go to CVS and pick up the de blades to begin with or wait and order higher quality blades online?
As long as the blades say made in the USA, they will be made by U.S.R. (Personna), and they would be fine to start with. Fact of the matter is you may get lucky and they may be the only blade you ever need.
Well no cuts or nicks the first time shaving with my super speed but....slight razor burn around my neck area:ashamed001. All I know is I got the closet shave that I have ever had once I got over the fear of cutting myself and really worked the blade. Thank you everyone for your help!!!
