Hello from a wet shaving newbie!

Hi All: New member saying hello!

I'm very new to wet shaving, have been using cartridge razors the whole time since I began shaving (17 years ago!!). They've never given me a good shave, many of them have given me rashes and irritation. Although I knew about wet shaving, I was afraid because of one bad experience: I tried a cheap plastic DE razor once and it removed a chunk off my chin that took a long time to heal

I'm discovering the wet shaving treasures in this forum and others in the Internet; I'm highly motivated to learn and eventually get rid of the cartridges for ever!

 

Glad you found us. You will find this a friendly and helpful community. Enjoy your new-found addiction.

 

Welcome! Much info and help to be had around here!

 

Hi Andy, and welcome to TSD! You've come to the right place!

Sorry to hear about your first DE experience! You might want to check some of the great and instructive Mantic59 video's on the Tube. But at least check you use no pressure, go slow, use no pressure, use soap or cream and a brush, no pressure and a good prep. Oh wait, did I mention no pressure?

 

Hey Andy! Welcome to TSD! I see you already signed up for the Newbie GiveAway! Glad you found us.

 

TSD is full of knowledgable and friendly folks. Enjoy your upcoming journey into traditional wet shaving!

 

Welcome Andy! There are plenty here who will help you move well past that cheap plastic DE!

 

Thanks all for the warm welcome!

I have to admit, I'm still in the process of acquiring all the necessary things. Following advice from other threads helping newbies I got a vintage Schick Krona; I thought I would get a mild razor since I'm not sure about the aggressiveness level I would like.

 

Andy, the community here is awesome, knowledgeable and approachable! Ask questions any time! Welcome to the Den!

 

Greetings! to the Shave Den.

 

Welcome to the Den!

 

Welcome in out of the cold!

 

Since you are new to the Double Edge world, 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.

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.

This will help you to avoid buying too much gear and stuff too soon without having the technique down to enjoy it all.

This really does work.


Oh 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

 

Thanks a lot all, thanks GDCarrington for the advice!

One advice I received from another forum is not to use a blade sampler pack since I haven't learned the correct technique yet. Should I go with one brand of a decent blade (say Astra) until I learn DE shaving properly before I get a sampler?

 

Welcome to TSD! Don't let one bad experience turn you off. One thing wet shaving has taught me and I'm sure many others, patience. Especially when waiting for new razors, brushes, and soaps to arrive in the mail.

 

I think that is bad advice because if you don't like the Astra in the razor you have, then you are stuck with the blades you don't like and prolonging your wait for one that you would. Search for a sampler pack that has a few blades from different companies. Here is an example of a balance but inexpensive sampler.

http://www.razorbladesandmore.com/content/advanced-de-blade-sampler-pack-60-blades

You need to find the razor and blade combination that works for you and sometimes a razor you pick may not work well with a certain blade, but the blade would work great in another razor. That is why I suggest the sampler so that you can get a close enough match of razor and blade so you can stock up on two or three packs of the one blade that you like best and start the 30 day rule.

Good fortune to you in your journey.

 

Welcome to the Den, enjoy your shave.

 

Welcome, hopefully your reintroduction goes smoothly.

 

Welcome, nice to have you here.

 

Welcome to The Shave Den!