Well, I couldn't wait for the rest of my shaving supplies to arrive, so I just finished up with my first shave using a badger brush. -hot towel twice -Bigelow cream -Tweezerman brush. AMAZING LATHER by the way. Definitely a "wow" moment Then here is where you shake your heads at the n00b Galette disposable razor (as I said, my merkur 33C and blade sampler isn't here yet) And I don't have anything to use as aftershave treatment other than some decent moisturizer. Lubriderm men's. So, even though I didn't use a high quality razor, or have a good after shave treatment, I still did 3 passes, re-applying lather each time. Aside from the one time I had a straight razor shave, this was the best shave I can remember. So all-in-all, I'm pleased, and can't wait for the rest. So here's a question for the more experienced guys out there. What kind if after-shave wild you recommend, bearing in mind I'd like to be able to buy it OTC at a Walgreens etc? Thanks again.
Witch Hazel if you don't want scent. Take a look here for pre shave and after shave stickies. http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/preshave-aftershave-master-sticky.27550/
Brush alone and good cream actually made a huge difference for me all in itself. I like Master's bay rum (what I'm using now). You can find it at Sally's Beauty Supply believe it or not. I also think a lot of guys like Florida Water that you can pick up at WalMart, though I've yet to try it myself.
Well, since you are waiting for your DE to come in let me give you advice that 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. Cheers. 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 aboard! Thayer's witch hazel is good stuff and carried by most health food stores or in the that section of some grocery stores. Every pharmacy carries aqua velva, I like the classic blue. If you are an old spice fan the after shave can be found just about everywhere. Adidas moves is a pretty good a/s too.
All day. Well the aftershave only lasts a couple of hours. I recommend using witch hazel before applying after shave. Ignore the directions on the witch hazel and just use it like a splash. I don't know of anyone who uses it with cotton balls.
Well I just got the Merkur 33c and I decided to give it a go with the sample blade that came with it. I actually got a decent shave with it. Had a few places that it pulled instead of shaved, but I attribute this to my lack of anything even resembling technique. Had 3 weepers from bumps, but no nicks. All in all a good first experience. A thousand times better than anything I got from a multi-blade cartridge. Even tried some Nivea for men aftershave balm. Can't wait for the blade sampler to come in.
Welcome to the club man. Here's to great shaves! The sampler will be a big help. Guessing the blade your 33c came with was a Merkur blade, they are pretty infamous around here for being a poor quality blades.
to TSD Aedan382.... OTC after shaves are actually fairly plentiful. Here's a list of what I've used and liked: Aqua Velva Ice Blue, Ice Sport and Musk Mennin Skin Bracer Barbasol Brisk(I don't care for the "Pacific Rush" much) Brut Old Spice Pinuad Clubman Murray and Lanman Florida Water I've never seen a Bay Rum OTC other than Old Spice. The Mennen and Aqua Velva have store brand knock offs of course, you just have to try them,sometimes they are good and sometimes not so much! [Edit] It's a really good idea to get a "Large" blade sampler pk. You can't really know what blade works the best for you until you try.... Plus its just nice to have a fair size selection of blades for the different razors your going to wind up with... I shouldn't have told you about the AD's yet!!
They are not poor quality, every one I've used has been consistent. Each and every one was dull as . A blade can be a high quality blade and still have a dull edge.
Well, the sampler comes with 2x 5packs of Dorco ST300, Supermax platinum, feather, and Astra blades. The razor also came with a 5 pack of derby blades. I'm going to start with the derby, and go through each manufacturer and take notes. Taking some of the advice I've received so far, and conveniently since I've become fond of it, I'm going to stick with the Bigelow green tube of cream through this whole experiment phase. Since I don't have any other fancy equipment, I'll stick with my tweezerman badger brush, ceramic coffee mug for lathering, and my Merkur 33C. From the things I've read, I figure if I can't find a blade I like from those 5 then I might just be doing something wrong.
All those that my friend just listed can be found locally too. I personally don't use them because alcohol irritates my face too much. I just splash on some alcohol free witch Hazel and I'm good to go.
No head shaking here, even if thats what you use when youve tried the Merkur, we all came to this site to get the best shave we can regardless of the hardware. I hope you get it soon and its even better for you.
I suggest trying out Lucky Tiger aftershave. It has an awesome citris smell that doesn't last long, so you can still apply for favorite cologne and it won't clash. There is no alcohol so it doesn't burt either. Apply a small amout of witch hazel and then apply some lucky tiger aftershave on top. If you have really dry skin you could apply some of the moisturizer you already have on top of that.