Well I figured this would be the place to introduce myself. I just bought my first DE safety razor today as an early birthday present. I have wanted to ditch my Mach 3 and Fusion for sometime now and today was the day. I had a tough time picking a razor but after reading several post on here I ended up buying the Merkur 38c HD. I am going to buy a sampler pack of blades because that seems to be the advice that is given to every newbie and it makes sense. I look forward to turning my shaving experience into something I enjoy instead of something I just have to do.
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
to TSD Joel......I hope you like it here as much as I do..... for giving traditional shaving a try. The 38c is a nice razor,but don't let that stop you from buying others.. Definately get a large blade sample pack,the more different blades you try the better. You didn't mention shave soap so let me suggest Van der Hagan Delux soap. It's inexpensive,works well and is readily available at most drugstores. Also Nivea sensitive Post Shave Balm very soothing and not greasy feeling. You will also need a brush there will be a cheap boar hair one next to the Van der Hagan soap or you could order a #6 Turkish Horse hair from bestshave.net for around $5 shipped. That will get you started in good style then all you have to do is wait for the various AD's to kick in... Remember Time,Technique,Practice and Patience will get you to your goal of close, comfortable, irritation free shaves!!
I was looking online for a new brush I will check that one out. As far as shaving cream I got C.O. Bigelow from Bath & Body Works. I have liked other Bigelow products I have used in the past so I thought I would give their shave cream a try. I have always used Nivea so I already had that.
