I dedicate this to my friends at The Shave Den. Without their help, support and kindness, this wouldn't be possible. May they all have great shaves, a good cup of coffee, and if they are so inclined, a good smoke and alcoholic beverage to finish their day. OK, so I finally made it to 5000 posts. I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get here. It's been a long road and a lot of fun and the journey will go on but I'm just going to take the leisurely tour from now on. I've made my goals. Consistent BBS or near BBS with a minimum of effort and abuse to my face. It only took several years and a couple of thousand dollars but, what the heck, it's only money that is, until the wife sees the credit card bills and goes nuts. That's OK, she still spends more money on hobbies then I do. So what's this all about? Well, it's not about saving money. Anybody who gets into wet shaving to save money is either a liar, an optimist or ignorant. If you want to do it right, it's going to cost you. Then what is it about? It's about getting the best damn shave of your life day after day and enjoying it while you do it. It's about research and experimenting and trial and error and searching for just the right combination of technique and equipment to get it right. It's about YMMV and IMHO (Your Mileage May Vary and In My Humble Opinion). It's about dealing and negotiating with your significant other when they tell you you are nuts and spending too much money on something they don't understand. Hint: Remind them of their own out of control favorite purchases. If they don't have any well, you're screwed and throw yourself on the mercy of the court. It's your only hope. Now for the fun part. It's the "what have I learned during the time I wrote the first 4999 posts" on the Shave Den. This doesn't include the false start I made on another forum that shall remain nameless but does provide me with the occasional insight. So let's get to it. First, I'm only going to talk about DE Shaving (Doubled Edged Razor Shaving). I do enjoy the occasional Str8 (Straight Razor) shave at home but it requires a whole new level of skill, equipment and commitment that I just can't get into on a daily basis. I do most of my shaving in the locker room at work. But, the main reason is I can get just as good or better shave with a DE razor as a Str8. I do make a compromise though. I use a professional disposable blade Str8 razor when I want to get extra close. It's not a requirement though. A good DE razor and blade combination is all that is really needed. Remember one of the most important things though. It's what works for you. It may be completely different for you and if it get's you the results you want then that's great. Now to break it down: Pre-Shave - Getting your beard ready for "The Shave." The Shave - When you put razor and blade to face and if you do it right, you get a Baby Butt Smooth (BBS) shave with little or no irritation, nicks, cuts, gouges, razor bumps, ingrown hairs or a trip to the Emergency Room because you almost sliced your ear or lip off. Post Shave - The finishing touches to a great shave or damage control and rehabilitation for your face that now looks like a martian landscape. I'm going to keep this simple. I don't have the time or the place for elaborate preparations unless I happen to be at home and the family is not being a pain in the butt about me taking so long in the bathroom. So, I need to keep the shave simple but effective. I'm going to give some personal recommendations as I go along. Remember, it's what works for me. It's my opinion, , my insights, my experience and my circumstances. Pre-Shave - What am I trying to do? Get my beard soft and my beard and face hydrated in preparation for shaving. It will make the job of shaving much easier. I don't use any pre-shave oils or other preparations. I use a mild facial cleaner or wash that rinses off easily to get rid of excess oils and dirt. Then, I use very hot water to break down the facial hair to soften it. If I'm at work, this means that for 45 seconds to a minute, I put the water on very hot, as hot as I can stand, in the shower as the last shower step and soak my beard. If home, I put a layer of shave soap or cream on my face and use a steaming hot towel instead for a couple of minutes. That's it. I'm ready to shave. The Shave - Let's start with equipment. DE Razor, blade, brush and either a shave soap or cream. If you are just starting out, don't buy everything in sight. That was a big, costly mistake for me. I got so excited about wet shaving that I had to have and try everything. If you are like most people, you'll make the same mistake but then that's part of the fun. In truth, 2 razors, several brands of blades, one or two brushes and maybe three creams and three soaps should do you fine for many years to come. The Razor - Personal Recommendations: I would go with either a Merkur HD 34C Classic Double Edged Razor or pick up a nice Gillette Super Speed. If you want to step up then I'd go with a Merkur Progress. A Merkur Slant Bar razor or a Merkur Futur are more advanced. The open comb razors don't work as well for me. The Blade - Get a large blade sampler pack. Every razor and blade combination is different and works differently for each person. Personal Recommendations: Derby, Feather and Israeli Personna. Feathers are not very forgiving and can give you a great shave or the worst. A Feather blade in a Merkur Slant razor is called a Ninja shave for good reason. The Brush - Best badger or silvertip. A great starter brush is the Crabtree & Evelyn Edwin Jagger Made Small Best Badger Brush. I prefer a brush with a little backbone to it in a 21-23mm size with a 50-60mm loft size. Something that will do both creams and soaps and hold a fair amount of lather. Personal Recommendations: The C&E BBB as mentioned above or a nice Shavemac, Muehle Pinsel or Kent. I love my Shavemac brushes. Soaps and Creams - If you like scented soaps and creams then by all means go for it. It's the performance that counts though. I prefer a great performing soap or cream in a light or neutral scent. This is where you can really go nuts and spend a huge amount of dollars looking for "the one." Hint: Buy one soap or cream from a brand like The Shave Den Brand or C & E or TOBS (Taylor of Bond Street) or The Gentlemen's Quarter or QED. I apologize if I left out a number of great brands. Don't buy multiple scents or multiple pucks or tubs. Spread your dollars out. Once you've tried a number of soaps or creams from a large selection of manufacturers then you can go back and try different scents from the manufacturer you liked most or buy multiples. Remember one soap or cream can lasts months of daily shaving. A good soap or cream has good glide, cushion, lathering and moisturizing characteristics. Oh, and it has to smell good too. Personal Recommendations: Forget it. There are just way too many. For top of line performance though expect to pay about $15-$20 for a tub of cream or a puck of soap. There are some great performers for less dollars. Read the reviews in The Shave Den for more information. The Shave Experience - Here is the moment you have been waiting for. OK, well you might have to wait a little longer. I have a few things to say first. Lather Building - It takes some skill but once you get the hang of lather building, it can make a big difference in you shave comfort and performance. there are many fine tutorials and videos to help you make the perfect lather. Many people use a bowl or scuttle to make lather in. Some people lather in their hand (no jokes please) and some people lather directly on their face. I'm one of the lather directly on face people. I soak the brush in hot water for a while and then shake out excess water. If I'm using a soap then I've put a little water on the soap to soften it a bit while the brush is soaking. Then I load up the brush with some soap or a little cream and start lathering it on my face after I splashed a little warm water on it. The lather will be thick and a little dry. I add a few drops of hot water to the brush breach. Lather on face some more. Keep doing that. What I end up with is a nice thick layer of moisture laden lather on my face and a brush full of lather for my second and third passes. If all I have is a small piece of soap left, I wet it and rub the piece on my face like a shave soap stick and start lathering that way. Cream lather is usually easier then soap lathering. It's all about getting a lather that is neither too thick and dry or two watery and thin. Nice, glistening, small bubble creamy lather is the ticket. Personally, I don't like brushless creams. I want to use a brush damnit! Know Thy Face - What's this? Simply that your beard does not grow just in one direction. Even in one small area, it can be growing in several directions. This is where you see people talking about WTG, XTG and ATG (With the Grain, Across the Grain, Against the Grain). Feel your face, use the cotton ball or credit card trick but figure out which way your beard is growing on each part of your face. It will make the results much better and the irritation much less. Stick to WTG and XTG at first. ATG will get you closest but will cause you the most problems. Some people can never do ATG. Technique - LIGHT or no pressure and minimum angles. Go slow. Short strokes. Follow your facial contours and beard growth patterns. You are trying for beard reduction on each pass not, beard wipe out in one pass. Clean up should just be that, cleanup of the last few stubborn stubble patches that you usually find under your jawline and in your neck hollows. If you did it right, you should be able to run your hand over your face in different directions and feel no or very little whiskers left with almost no redness. Do it wrong well, lets not go there just yet. OK, you've built your lather, you know your face and you have a good idea on technique. What the hell are you waiting for? Start shaving! This is what it is all about. Something that has been going on for millennia. You're freeing yourself from the bonds of corporate disposable cartridge razors and lousy shaves. Note: You can still get a good shave with a cartridge razor with the right technique. I personally use a Gillette Sensor on trips with carry on luggage. You're done with the shave. I do a WTG pass and then a XTG pass finishing up with an ATG cleanup pass. Now what did you get? Shave nirvana or that aforementioned trip to the ER with your ear packed in ice in a Ziploc bag and a towel pressed firmly to the side of your head? Hopefully, the former but chances are you got something a little less then nirvana. That's OK. With practice you'll get better. I found that it took some time for my skin to just get used to DE shaving even with all the right things being done. I still on occasion have a weeper, nick or cut or a neck hollow razor burn. It goes with the territory when you're experimenting or just not paying attention. Focus People! Now what? OK, I'll tell you. Let's move on to Post Shave after rinsing off, wiping down and drying off your equipment. Post Shave - What did you get? Good or bad? If your shave was good then this is easy. I rinse my face of any leftover lather, pat dry, apply a nice moisturizing balm or toner and then an aftershave. Done. OK, if I'm using a cologne then not done. Here is what I found. Unless the shave soap was something like Tabac then the scent will not last much beyond the shave itself. I keep my post shave products scent neutral if I'm using cologne. If I'm not using cologne then the aftershave is going to be my scent of the day. If I'm using cologne, then the aftershave will also be scent neutral and the cologne will be the scent of the day. Balm, aftershave and done or balm, aftershave, cologne and done. Maybe a pat or two of a nice talc if I feel like it but certainly not necessary. Now, the bad shave. I've had my share of them. It's all about damage control. First is stop the bleeding. My Nik is Sealed, styptic pencil, alum block, toilet paper. Whatever, get the bleeding stopped, clean it up and sanitize it to minimize the chance of infection. Do not run a razor over that spot again. There are all kinds of products on the market for razor bumps and ingrown hairs. Most of the time though, you're going to be dealing with razor burn. Aloe Vera Gel, Anherb Gel and Shea Butter are your friends. Use liberally and often. Take a day off from shaving if really bad. If you can't do that, then use the kindest, gentlest razor and blade combination you've got and go extra light on technique. Summary - Keep it simple, keep it enjoyable and don't break your piggy bank. Technique is more important than equipment IMHO. Read and enjoy the postings on the forum but remember that with anything shave related, YMMV. With the right technique you should be able to get a half decent shave from a clam shell picked up off the beach. OK, I'm exaggerating but you get the picture. Pre shave is about getting your beard and face ready for the shave. The shave is using the techniques you learned and the right equipment to get you the best shave possible. Post shave is icing on the cake or damage control. You don't need a room full of shaving equipment, soaps, creams and everything else associated with shaving but don't listen to me on this one. I set a very bad example. Don't believe me? Go look at my shave locker some time. Remember, if you are having problems, go back to basics. Do not keep mixing and matching your equipment. Get your techniques back down. Once the shaves get back on track then you can experiment again. Don't get discouraged if it's not working out right away. This stuff takes time, skill and patience. If you are looking for a 5 minute shave then this is not for you. A typical shave start to finish takes me about 20 minutes give or take a few. Epilogue - It's been a great journey! I've learned a hell of a lot and the people on the Shave Den Forum have been wonderful help and great friends. I've collected way too much stuff and there will be a purging I promise you. Just the TOTL stuff alone will last me for years to come. It's certainly not over but I'm at a point where I'm very happy and miles ahead of where I was. Will I get full time into Str8 shaving? No, I have 15 or so years before retirement and then end of locker room shaving. I'll stick to my occasional weekend Str8 shave with my pride and joy Bill Ellis Custom Str8. I have the Feather ACD-N for everyday throat cutting to practice with. I know this was long winded but I figured it needed to be done. No telling when I can get to 6ooo posts. Enjoy!
.........Hey, dont feel bad, Wilbur was the only one who sent me congrats when I hit 4K ! :taunt002 Thanks for hanging with us for so long, SM ! Always a pleasure to see you around here
[Hands tissue to JayKay] There, there it's OK, they still love you. [Mutters under breath....what a _______] You know you want to do it! Be one of the cool people. Really? Wow, talk about slipping through the cracks. I'd penalize them 1 shave soap apiece for that.
