About me: Hi all, my name is Josh and I'm just beginning my DE shaving career. I'm eagerly waiting for my stuff to come in the mail. It should hopefully be here by early next week the latest. I'm 23 years old and a grad student, born and raised in Maryland. Have been sporting a beard ever since my facial hair got thick enough. I only go clean shaven less than once a month to treat my girlfriend or for special occasions. But I'm getting ready to graduate in the summer and once I become a real adult with a real job, I want to have the professional clean shaven look. What better time to start then now? My face has always been sensitive, which is one of the main factors for me going with the beard. The hand full of times I've tried to shave on a daily basis in my life my skin became extremely irritated (bleeding, razor bumps, in grown hairs etc.) which would prompt me to go back to the beard. Hoping that taking the proper time and care associated with DE shaving, as well as building the proper technique,will help solve this issue. TLDR: Hi I'm new here. I have a couple pre-first-shave questions. Questions: 1. How much beard growth is too much? Im assuming the closet trim from my beard trimmer is adequate? 2. Can the 5 blades that come with my razor carry me through the 30 shaves rule? I have read 3 shaves per blade, is that a preference thing or a universal thing? Thanks!! .
Welcome, nice to have you here. Usually, when I let my stubble grow too long, I trim it down first then use a razor. As for the number of shaves per blade: use it til it starts to tug at hairs instead of cut them. Good luck, have fun!
Welcome to The Shave Den, Josh! What kind of blades? Just curious. You can get Wilkinson Sword blades at Wal-Mart, 10 for $1.76. Most folks find them acceptable blades. The blades you have might not be good blades for you. We can't really tell you how they'll work nor how long they'll work, for you. Every person is different.
Hi and welcome to the shave den, How many shaves depends on what type of beard you have, which blade you are using, how many passes you need need and even the razor your using will affect the out come, only in time will you be able to answer those questions, there maybe other factors I have failed to mention that will have an impact on the out come. But for me 3-5 shaves but more often than not its nearer to 3 esp when im using Rapira, sometimes I can get 6 from an Astra SP
Welcome. Here is the advice I received when I started with a DE and so I freely give it to new users. The most important things in shaving are, your skin and technique. All other things fall in line behind those two things and to support them. Since the skin is a given fixed item, the next major item is technique. It is called THE 30 DAY RULE. THE 30 DAY RULE is as follows: Find a razor, then a blade that will not cause issues with your skin (that may take a few different blades in a sampler pack to find a suitable choice or it maybe the first out of the gate) and select a soap or cream that is easy to generate good lather. Once you find those, and it may take a couple of weeks to find this combination, order a quantity of that blade enough for 30 days, and then spend 30 days using nothing else until you build up your technique. (Note that only one brand blade is used for 30 days after each blade in the sampler pack is tested to make the decision on the blade brand to use for 30 days.) The 30 day clock starts when you have the right blade for you. You will more than likely need 15 to 20 of these blades to be on the safe side (2 days per blade for the worse case). After 30 days, change one and only one variable and work for another week then change another after another week. At that point you should be able to make better decisions because your technique is now in place. Now if you already have the blade and razor combination picked out then you are ahead of the game and you can get 15 -20 blades and get to work refining your technique. This rule will help you to avoid buying too much gear and stuff too soon without having the technique down to enjoy it all. Good fortune and one more thing ... Welcome to the Den. We know you'll fit right in. So grab yourself a comfy chair, and give our threads a spin! Burma Shave
Welcome to the Den. I usually get between 3-5 shaves per blade depending on what type of blade. I only shave everyother day as my lower neck can't take everyday shaving. So a blade will typically last me about a week or so.
Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to pick up that 10 pack from Walmart. And I think I'll probably be on the every other day schedule as well.
Another piece of advice: in the beginning, don't worry about getting super smooth. Just go at it real gentle and go one pass with the grain. I made that mistake the first time and it took my face awhile to heal because I didn't really know what I was doing.
It seems as though everybody has covered just about everything already. Click on the link in my signature for my impression of the 30 day rule, and other shaving trivia newbies sometimes find useful. There's also a couple of other links in that link that will give you some more useful information and cover most basic techniques and questions.
to TSD JRod22..... Warning once you start to get Wonderfull,Smooth,Irritation free shaves on a daily basis not only will your GF love it, but so will YOU and you will be hooked!! I spent the last 34 years with what I thought was sensitive skin. I'd shave about 10 irritated,painfilled times a month and HATED every minute of it!! I just retired(about 17 months now) after 34 years of service and so I can now look anyway I damn well please!! I had always planned on begining to grow my beard starting my last day at work and to never SHAVE again!!! Then I discovered "traditional wet shaving" and TSD and learned there was NOTHING wrong with my face, but rather with the bad advice I'd been given on how to shave all my life and the over priced crappy equipment(multi blade plastic junk handles,overpriced carts,canned shave cream,etc) that was being sold to me by the "mainstream shaving overlords"! I now shave EVERY morning. I use a "real razor",I can choose the most comfortable blade for my face from many, my shave soap/cream is both protective and smells GREAT !! I enjoy it,I look forward to it,it doesn't hurt, my face looks and feels GREAT(well smooth and irritation free at least "lol"). I only wish I had been young like you when I had started!! ENJOY
Welcome to the Den, Josh! I have not encountered any beard yet which could not be subdued and mown down with a decent DE or SE razor. I have had several times (mostly after vacations) a 3-week old growth which any of the run-of-mill Merkurs in my rotation handled with ease (they were always loaded with a Feather blade). As long as you have a decent prep and a sharp blade, that should be no issue.
I have heard feather blades coming up a lot, will definitely make sure they are in the variety pack I get after my 30. Thanks!
Welcome! I am also new here and waiting for the things I ordered to come in the mail. Best of luck to you, hopefully this shaving method works out great for both of us.
Just thought of a good idea. I can order a blade sampler pack with derby super stainless blades it in. That way I can get through my 30 on the derbys then have the other brands ready to go. Man I feel like a kid in a candy store. So excited!
