What's so great about non can cream?

Worth the price of admission, right there.

 

The entire process of what I call 'fancy shaving', puts the power and control of an often overlooked and important daily ritual, back into your own hands. You dictate what combinations of products will work best, what the costs will be, how thick to make the lather and what razor angle to use.. not somebody else. And I discovered many years ago, the process of lathering has it's own rewards and it really won't be all that time consuming or troublesome once you get it down. So try it.. you'll like it..

 

If you put it this way then I would also add its a good break from daily chore of life and allows you to have some quality time for yourself. At the moment I see you are having quality time with your kids and maybe shaving is not the top priority, so if you are happy with canned foam then there is no need to switch

Eventually the curiosity will kill the cat.....errr...curiosity will kill the can
how long do you think you can fight the inevitable?
this thread will add more fuel to the fire.... come over to the dark side 2

 

Not to be an enabler....but I can face lather Proraso with a brush, enough for 3 -4 passes in about 1 minute or so. Sometimes less time, such as when I'm stuck in a slit trench. When I'm home though I just get up a few minutes earlier and take my time.

 

Agreed... once you get the technique down, it really takes very little extra time.

 

I also have a little one and have taken to shaving at night after she has gone to bed. I find that it allows me to have some time to myself that I wouldn't otherwise get in a very busy day.

 

Alright, so to sum up: tubes/tubs generally last longer, cause less environmental impact, smell nice, and do a better job moisturizing the skin. Also, once you get past the initial learning curve they don't take too much more time to utilize. All good arguments in favor of a switch. My only other issue is that I have heard (mostly in reference to proraso) that the stuff can gum up razors much faster than the canned stuff and tends to dry quicker...I imagine this is not what most people experience, but it has come up often enough for me to want to know what the general consensus is in this area.

 

If it's gumming up a razor, it's been lathered wrong and is too much like a paste. I've never had a razor gummed up unless I was shaving a moustache off and that was clogged by hair, not cream or soap.

 

I figured as much, I have never gummed up a razor even with a lot of cream, so I have to imagine that the people complaining of this just didn't know how to properly lather.

On a slightly different note, I just stumbled onto this shaving stick stuff that looks like it might be a good choice for me. It is easy to control, cheap, and conveniently packaged. I had never heard of this sort of thing until today, but I am interested in trying it out. Does anyone know if it is fairly comparable to traditional soap and if it last a long time?

 

Here are some great threads on a very popular shave stick

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/arko-little-lather-dynamo.23875/
http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/arko-shaving-soap-stick.27515/

And how to turn any soap into a shave stick

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/shave-sticking-it-diy-shave-sticks-and-other-stickisms.29016/

 

Interesting thread here. For the last 4 days I've been using the can of Edge gel that's sat in my shower...neglected since I started wet shaving 8 months ago. I wanted to see if all this "canned goo is of the devil" talk was for real. I've been able to get OK, 2 pass shaves out of the Edge gel. I don't seem to get as close of a shave but there are no nicks and my neck isn't screaming when I apply alum or anything. My face feels significantly drier (not in a good way) afterwards however. It would work in a pinch (maybe traveling?) but I prefer using KMF brushless (just add a bit of water and lather in your hands) or even RazoRock Shave gel if I'm in a mad rush. Also I really don't care for the smell. That's funny because I never minded it before my nose was opened up to other products.

Even if the canned stuff is cheaper (which I am not sure of but also too lazy to try and figure out) I just prefer the shaves I get with the above mentioned products. That's also funny because I thought my shaves were "ok" before as well. Even though it takes only a few (literally a few) minutes longer. I really enjoy my morning ritual now-a-days. It gets my day off on the right foot.

 

I just like the ritual of using a brush to whip up a great lather, be it with cream or soap.
But that's me.

As someone pointed out, I have been known to say (once or twice), "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."

 

My wife and I have three kids. I'm on a tight schedule in the morning to get the kids fed, dressed, and to school. I can shave with a DE in approx. 5 minutes, including the lathering with a brush.

 

All good points here. I gotta re-emphasize the fact that initially yes, it took me more time, but as I get more used to my DE, I cut it down to max 15 min including lathering up and a good 3-pass shave, most times about 12 min. Much better results than can goo for me! I'm sure the Mach 3 would still give me decent results but at 10 times the cost. Also need to point out my old Gillette Fusion use to clog up like crazy because the blade spacing was so narrow. I've rarely had this problem with my DE but I did notice using Arko shave stick required more in-depth rinsing to get rid of all the soap/hair in there.

 

Just to be the Devil's Advocate for this thread, I've been using canned Barbasol exclusively for the last 3 months or so along with Shave Secret oil and have been getting stellar shaves. That's with a straight razor to boot! I think the main problem is people coming into this hobby get terrible shaves from carts and goo is they don't have any technique and consequently their shaves suck. When they learn how to shave properly while learning how to use old school tools it's deemed so much better, when the reality is they learned technique that used to be handed down father to son. I think I could shave with a spoon and a bar of Ivory and have a successful outcome now.




I'm still not getting rid of my brushes and cream though as I've just been expierimenting.

 

Theres nothing wrong with using canned cream. When I first started with a DE I continued using Barbasol for about 6 months, mostly because I didn't have money for a brush and soap. Depending on what equipment you choose a brush and soap is cheaper in the long run but it requires more up front. After having switched I find I enjoy the shaving experiance so much more with a brush and can't imagine going back.

 

When I started DE shaving I wasn't concerned about the cost aspects of it and probably many of you feel the same way. I looked at it as a lifestyle change, a time of enjoyment and relaxation, a time to reflect on how our predecessors shaved, a time to smell the great fragrances of the soaps and creames, a time to throw a hot towel on my face. Its a very nostalgic hobby. If you are in it for cost savings, you will soon find that once you start collecting razors, brushes, soaps, blades, dabble into straights etc, that you will spend more than you thought you ever would and cost savings goes out the window. Steal back some of your time from the hustle and bustle of the rat race, relax and enjoy as who knows what tomorrow brings. Just my thoughts...

 

as for the longevity of the canned cream, keep in mind that most DE users make more than 1 pass (3 in my case, compared to 1 when I used a fusion) so that's gonna cut the lifespan of that can down considerably. Like many of us the road to finding what works for you is a sweet journey, happy shaving.

 

I'm a straight razor shaver and I like to control how moist my lather is, to dry and you don't have the slip you need. By all means if you like canned cream go for it but the stuff is to dry for me.

 

lol after reading all the posts...i feel like we are trying to sell him our shaving lifestyle...just take the dive and 20-30 bucks should be able to get you a vintage de, soap, and brush...try it out and if you don't like it just sell it or pass it on to your buddies who might enjoy it more