Definitely a therapeutic exercise. Sure, dampening a brush and puck, and going to the trouble to whip up a thick lather isn't as convenient as the gels or canned creams. I would echo what others have mentioned about the natural benefits using the natural ingredients found in the quality soaps as well as the enhanced skin treatment. The dedicated wet-shaver is not only interested in getting top-flight results from the shave, but to many, the journey is half the joy. Cartridge shaving with ready-made goo is certainly more easier, but wet-shaving is not all about convenience. It is time well-spent deciding upon the razor, choosing which blade, selecting the proper brush, and putting to use a good, high-quality soap or cream, and finishing with the ideal post-shave balm or aftershave.
better for the environment (less waste) more natural ingredients moisturizers helps support small businesses cheaper (in some cases) lasts longer than a can (ymmv) nostalgia factor using a puck of soap is how our ancestors shaved for many many years. There are way more reasons to choose soap over canned goo than vice versa. The problem is that the media does not educate people about things like this so most people out walking the streets have no idea what wet shaving is. Because of this a lot of people find our hobby to be strange and cant understand why we would have enough shaving products to last years. The best part of wet shaving (IMO) is that it took a chore and made it much more enjoyable and peaceful.
My eight year old daughter does. I give her a razor sans blade, and she lathers up and shaves with me. It's great daddy daughter time and it's good for her skin.
This all started when I googled "how to get a good shave" BOOM! All the reasons mentioned above got me to start wetshaving. I like the ritual and that no soap is the same. It's natural, not chemicals. I wanted to get a better shave and I ended up with many new friends. I like the community, the kindness, helpfulness, the generosity, the humor and everything else. Sometimes we don't need "New and improved" we need to go back to the old days
No reason you can't enjoy it no matter what you shave. I tell my sister- in-law it would work on her mustache. She doesn't make pecan tarts for me any longer.
As was said above...shaving with a good quality soap is all part of the ritual. There is nothing so nice as lathering up some suds and rubbing it on your cheeks and neck. There is nothing that can make you stand just a little bit taller than a good shave. Shaving is classic "me" time...a form of meditation before I take on the world in the morning.
My younger daughter will lather up with me every now and then. My son does it all the time, and she just has to do it with him.
It's a riot when our kids have to be just like us. My grandson now has an ASAD like his Dzia Dzia. His favorite is Aqua Velva. I mixed some witch hazel, Prorasso blue AS balm and just enough AV for fragrance; put it a travel bottle. He walks around his house and mine asking everybody to smell after he had his best shave ever.
My daughter was complaining that she has nothing to put on that smells good. All we have is boy stuff. Ah.. The joys of being a single dad. 30 minutes later we're in Bath and Body Works picking out some perfume.
My son is the same way! Every time we go to a drug store now, he wants to get his own AS. I will let him wear whatever I am putting on, then he runs to his mother or sisters and asks them to smell him. My wife is pregnant now, and has what my kids all call the "Super Sniffer" so this drives her crazy, since she is so sensitive to smells now.
