I have been doing a week long experiment using items found only at CVS to shave with, the only exception being the handle. In a sense, I am revisiting how I once shaved, and how many others still currently shave, yet they don't post on internet shaving forums. Drugstore Tool-Kit VDH deluxe brush CVS Injector Blades Williams Mug Soap Pinaud/Clubman AS I realize among the purest this is not the optimal shave, however it works with some fine tuning. So far this week I have used this kit entirely only changing blades and its making me enjoy injectors more than my DE's. In the end, it was fun using these items, its a shame others don't give them a go without discarding them as cheap no-named junk.
Its good to highlight the simple everyday shaving products that work and are enjoyable. Fancy shave gear gives psychological and aesthetic pleasure but in terms of efficacy is no more useful than the stuff at Walmart or from a barber supply house like Appletons. The hobby should be enjoyed fully no matter how a guy enjoys it but many times hot and feverish with shaving gear addiction and wanting the shave stuff that other forum guys want we degrade the readily available product that works for the expensive exotic product thats basically the same thing.
I've used brush and soap for over 45 years. For 35 of them, I used only what could be found at my local drugstore and it worked fine. But then all I had to compare it to was the assortment of canned stuff, also available in the drug store. Now that variety is available via the internet, I do use what I consider to be better quality products (strictly personal preference). But if all I could get was the drugstore stuff, I'd still be content using it.
My earliest recollections of my Father shaving is from the mid 1950's. He used an injector and a brushless or rub on cream. I think it was Palmolive but can't be sure. Old Spice was his A/S. I occasionally shave this way except with a brush and soap or cream. I do have some vintage 1960 Old Spice which I only use once in awhile. It's a comforting nostalgia once a month or so. I think I will get a good brushless cream to complete the picture. Any suggestions?
I've never tried it myself, but I have read Cremo brushless cream is pretty good, and Kiss My Face is also brushless, though many use a brush with it.
KMF is excellent for the price, better than many creams over twice the price IMHO. Threads like this and the positive response they get here are something I really appreciate about this community. We're here to enjoy quality shaves and help others do the same no matter what the price range or trendiness of the products. While I typically use products that cost slightly more than what I can get locally at a drug store, I like that nobody applies pressure to buy the latest and greatest or most expensive items.
Exactly, I'm amazed myself! I guess I'm going to round out my week then with my CVS kit for Friday as well
I agree. Of course, even when we use VdH or Williams soap, $10 boar brushes, and Walmart or drugstore blades, we're still doing something which is exotic and strange to most people. We have an interest in sticking together and sharing knowledge. It's odd to me to think that, until early last year, I really had no idea that there was a serious alternative to canned shaving cream. I suppose I had a vague idea that people would somehow apply soap with a brush "in the old days", but had no idea that it was something that you could still do. I learned with a DE razor in the early 70s, but I'd always used canned cream, like my father. It was online sources like this (no, not the Shave Den specifically) that taught me differently. My first soap was Williams from the local CVS. I still like it.
Great thread. I use drugstore products every morning. It gets the job done and doesn't break the bank. I did finally buy injecter blades in bulk to keep the price even lower. Dan
Something along a similar line would be to find local soap makers in your area. I was in Iowa last summer and saw a local soap shop that carried a line of shaving soaps they made in a variety of scents. Made me start looking in local farmers markets and such in the area back home, and there are a few local resources available to those who are willing to look. Something else to ponder on, no?
Sounds familiar. I have also used what was available at the drugstore for over 45 years. For a few years I worked in a drugstore, and do not remember selling the brushes and soap, it was primarily the canned goo. For a few years I used an electric, but it was too abrasive and the shave was never close enough, always stubble at the end of day. My dad had a straight, but I never saw it used. He was into Noreleco electrics by my early remembrances. So my kit was the Gillette TTO of the day, the ocasional shick injector, and the modern advance - the cartridge. Now it is strictly with brush and soap and sometimes cream. and a Gillette or GEM that was manufactured before I began shaving, and am getting the best shaves of my life. Nothing fancy. Even the occasional soap or cream from todays drugstore works fine. The problem is most of those are going away and what is available is on the internet (thank goodness it IS available). Still does not have to be top of the line to be good. My brushes range from bargin 25 cent wooden handle version to one of the B+B badger products and what seems like an expensive C+E badger, and even one I re built with badger from golden nib. Some are better, but all do a good job.
There is a lot to be said for the simplicity of a Schick Injector. They are not fancy, but do an excellent job. I really wonder why they are not more heavily recommended to newbies, as they feel, and shave very much like a cartridge razor. I have a Hydro-Magic. It doesn't get much play time, as I would rather use my Muhle R89, but it still gives me a great quality shave.
