SSSR: Simple Standardized Shaving Routine

Discussion in 'General Shaving Talk' started by Engblom, Oct 6, 2020.

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  1. Engblom

    Engblom Well-Known Member

    Welcome to the comradeship of Simple Standardized Shaving Routine (SSSR). The requirements for joining are as following:
    1. You use the same hardware and software almost every shave. You are allowed to use a separate traveling set and you are allowed to sometimes try other stuff out of curiosity. But those curiosity shaves should be exceptions. You are also allowed to alternate a couple of brushes in order to allow them to dry up properly. You are also allowed to consume whatever consumable you have but when you run out of stuff (blade/soap/cream/etc) you only buy what you have standardized on.
    2. You are allowed to own or collect anything, this is just about the shaving routine itself.
    3. You need to report here your Simple Standardized Shaving Routine.
    You might change your simple standardized shaving routine, as long as it is not scheduled/planned change (for example every 30 days). If while doing out of curiosity an exception shave you notice the new gear is better, then do your change and try to stay with your new routine. Just post the new routine here. The idea is to try to stay with the same routine, without having regrets (as in I wish I would have chosen X instead of Y because X is better).

    After you have joined you are free to use the club in your signature.
     
  2. Engblom

    Engblom Well-Known Member

    I have standardized my shaving routine as following:
    Razor: iKon X3 Slant head with light aluminum handle
    Blade: Sputnik
    Shaving cream: Speick
    Brush: Omega Boar
    Aftershave: If I use at all, it is just plain Witch Hazel with some menthol crystals dissolved
    I am shaving in the shower.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2020
  3. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

    I have been using this almost exclusively for the past two years. Or maybe it's three years.

    Razor: Gillette Slim adjustable, occasionally an Edwin Jagger DE89L
    Blade: Gillette Platinum or Gillette Rubie ('cause those are what I have on hand)
    Shaving soap: Mitchell's Wool Fat or Soap Opera Himalaya at home, Arko shaving stick on the road
    Brush: Vie Long Omega horse at home, Omega boar travel brush on the road
    Aftershave balm: Nivea Man Sensitive Post-Shave Balm, if I happen to have any around

    As for 2) I have little shaving gear beyond what is listed above. I have also standardized on not having a bunch of superfluous stuff taking up space.

    A Simple Standardized Shaving Routine was my wetshaving goal from day 1. Besides, gear rotations cause global warming. ;)
     
  4. Engblom

    Engblom Well-Known Member

    Welcome to the club!
    This was my goal from the beginning also. And I am there. To say it honestly, I even own razors I have never tried because I am too satisfied with my own routine. The only thing that changed recently is the brush (and the rest of the brushes ended up in the trash bin).
     
    Ijustmissedthe50s and Shaver X like this.
  5. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

    It looks like we are going to be the only two members, at least for the time being. From what I have seen, many wetshaving forum members, perhaps most, collect stuff like there is no tomorrow. Their goals are the polar opposite of ours - to own and use many different shaving things in rotations.

    I think it likely that the vast majority of traditional wetshavers are simply looking for a better shave - more comfortable, closer, less expensive, and perhaps even a little luxury. Outside of the forums, most mentions of wetshaving I have seen come from a desire to reduce plastics pollution or save money. These folks are not collectors, just average Joes and Janes. Back in the old days, when traditional shaving was the only shaving, the SSSR was the norm. We are really just being traditionalists, like tens of millions of our shaving bretheren the world over. Our club remains the largest by far when it comes to wetshaving.
     
  6. Engblom

    Engblom Well-Known Member

    Already a couple of years ago I put up a goal to get rid of most of my razors. I was even planning to do a big PIF and also to sell a few razors, but then I realized my two sons will soon reach the age when they will need to shave. I decided to postpone the process of getting rid of all extra razors until my boys truly need to shave and until they are big enough to evaluate them. Besides my other razors I am currently buying two sets of my SSSR setup that they will receive for Christmas.
     
    Keithmax and Shaver X like this.
  7. brit

    brit in a box

    enjoy your club gents..:)..i used 1 brush ,soap and razor for 10+ years,canned goo and a razor for 25+ before that.simple is good.while i currently am a primary gillette de user i do have many examples.the brit new rfb is the favorite and most used.once my collection of soaps dwindles off i will return to one or 2 set ups..unused soaps and hardware are being traded off as i write this but will still be a while before my simple shave set up will be achieved.i will always have more than 2 vintage brit gillettes as they were acquired for many reasons as well as using them.but they all shave quite similar.great thread..:)..happy shaves..
     
    Keithmax, Lancre, Shaver X and 2 others like this.
  8. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    No you aren't. Not by a long shot. What you are doing is joining the ranks of millions of wet shavers who joined the hobby to save money. They may be vaguely aware of wet shaving forums. They most certainly do not consider shaving a hobby. At best it's a chore.

    I started my buddy Joey off on this adventure with a Van der Hagen boar brush, 50 feathers, The Body Shop's Maca Root Shave Cream, and a Fatboy about 10 years ago.

    I've tried to get him to experiment with other setups, but he's not interested. I think he may have gotten a new brush since, but I'm not sure. He just waits for TBS to do their seasonal sales and stocks up on the shave cream.
     
  9. brit

    brit in a box

    very cool..you started him off with a proven set up..:cool:..and he's smart enough not to chase down the perfect razor..:)
     
  10. Lancre

    Lancre Well-Known Member

    I may someday thin the herd, but I can't ever see myself getting all the way down to just one of each on a permanent basis. Maybe down to 1/2 dozen each of razors, soaps and blades, but that's it.
     
  11. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

    I meant on the wetshaving forums. Over the last few years, the focus seems to be as much on spending money and having lots of stuff as on shave itself. I don't mean that in a negative way, it's just an observation. A decade or so ago, the focus was much more on cost savings. I was always in it to save money, as well as to have a cool looking razor and get great shaves. It's somewhat of a chore for me, but much more enjoyable than it was before.

    As for the countless millions of traditional wetshavers worldwide, I don't think very many know the forums even exist. A lot might not even have Internet access. Even the owners of one local cutlery store, which has sold straight razors and shaving gear since 1890, had no idea there was an online shaving culture.
     
  12. Engblom

    Engblom Well-Known Member

    This club is more about having a simple standardized shaving routine rather than how many razors there are in your collection. This with wanting to thin out the herd is more a natural consequence of staying with a stable routine. One begin to realize that those razors are not needed anymore and that they might make someone else happy.

    Except for a brush upgrade I have been staying with my routine since the spring 2017. Because I have stayed this long time with almost the same routine I know most of my gear will never see any use.
     
    Keithmax, Shaver X, Lancre and 3 others like this.
  13. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

    Crickets. Perhaps that is to be expected. Once people find their SSSR, they have little reason to stick around. Looking at shaving forums as a whole, that appears to be 90-97% of the total membership. Looking at it that way, several hundred thousand people have joined the club. Factor in the countless others who lurked a bit but never registered, and that figure might well be in the millions. A very large and prestigious club indeed!
     
    Keithmax, Engblom and brit like this.
  14. Edison Carter

    Edison Carter Well-Known Member

    Enjoyable thread.......

    In practice, I find my preferences and habits divided by 3 formats, one of each; DE, injector, and replaceable blade straight. I repeatedly use favored steel in each.

    It would be hard for me to to choose just one. I love your concept.
     
  15. Engblom

    Engblom Well-Known Member

    There is one thing I wish this thread would be about. It is how to improve shave without changing gear. Most members of this forum are chasing better shaves by buying more gears and software. However for the minority belonging to this club, we have to use other means if we want to get better shaves. We still have variable we can play with. Recently I picked up face lathering again, and I really like it.
     
    brit and Edison Carter like this.
  16. brit

    brit in a box

    this thread does 30 day rules with one soap,brush,and razor..teaches technique over tools..
    https://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/november-30-day-rule-focus-pix-discussion.64831/unread
    worth a look..:)
     
    Shaver X, Keithmax, Engblom and 2 others like this.

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