Yeah, some days it seems like I just started and other days it seems like I've always shaved this way. But reality is it's been a year. Thought I'd share some of the stuff I've learned. Technique: -Preparation is critical. You can hurry a shave and the results aren't terrible, but NEVER rush preparation. -No pressure means NO PRESSURE! The lighter your hand the better the shave -Learn to tailor your after shave routine to your skin. Everyone is a little different. Razors & Blades: -Any good condition razor can delivery a good shave with the right blade -Most blades can give a good shave in the right razor -Finding a great blade and razor combination for your face is a great experience -Listen to advice on razors, get a sample pack of blades and figure it our yourself Brushes: -Quality makes of boar brushes are as good or better than entry level badger brushes for a lower cost. This is a fairly recent discovery for me. So far I'm favoring my Vulfix boar, which doesn't seem as popular as some others. -Don't get worked up about the whole "soap brush" and "cream brush" thing. Soaps and Creams: -Cost and quality have nothing to do with each other regarding soaps and creams, except for milled soaps deserving to be more than glycerin and cold pour soaps. -Soap of the same type (glycerin, cold pour with clay, soft soaps, triple milled vegetable, triple milled tallow based, etc.) are similar but not identical in how they shave. -I really like MWF. In fact, I'm a Fat Lover. Aftershave: -Aftershaves need to match your skin. -Oily skin works well with alum, and alcohol based splashes with added moisturizers. General: -Being part of a community like TSD really adds to the experience. This is my 1200th post, so about 100/month. It keeps things exciting and the members here have been great. -It's best to control the rate of your AD's. I've acquired stuff much more slowly than most who stick around here. It's allowed me to limit the items I've purchased and not liked. Early on, it also help you to focus on technique which has a bigger impact on your shave than the products.
Sounds like it's been a great year. Some excellent words of wisdom, to boot! Here's to many more shaves (and posts) to come!! :eatdrink047
Nice post! I see you've been wetshaving for a year, but only a member of TSD for 11 months....hmmmm (just messing with ya)
Happy year anniversary. Started a year ago in mid-august myself. And yes Jim, I just lurked here for 6 months... I was busy elsewhere during those first 6 months...
Eric,thanks for posting your experiences.Im sure that by reading them could help a lot of people (including me) cuz you have the most important,which is experience.
really enjoyed you,r thread on a year of shaving full of good usefull info, for us so called newbees thank,s for sharing you,r experience
Happy B'day Happy birthday Dude. This is a nice place to be and chat/read other member's experiences. I for one, have learned immenselly in only one month.
Congratulations. I've been wet shaving for over 45 years but I wish I'd found a place like TSD when I started. But Al Gore hadn't invented the internet back then. I've learned more about it in the last few months than I was able to stumble across in all those years.
A truly excellent post. I recently celebrated my first anniversary of wet shaving too, and I couldn't agree more about these points. It takes time, patience, and no small amount of effort, but sticking with it makes me wonder why mankind ever started using cartridges.
Thanks for the reminders... Most of them are pretty basic things. When you get back to the basics, good things happen! Thanks again!
