Your #1 piece of advice for a noob - in 3 sentences or less

I say just pack it in and go with the Fusion and Edge Gel, while saving yourself the headache.

 

The 30 day rule is to find a razor / blade combination that will not cause issues with your face, and a soap or cream that is easy to generate good lather.
Once you find those, spend 30 days using nothing else until you build up your technique.
After 30 days, change only one variable, and work for another week to continue refining your technique.

 

I started the beginning of September, and am more or less running with the 30 day rule, except for trying a few different soaps. With so much sage advice already in this thread, this may be redundant, but my $0.02 worth in only two sentences (words in parentheses don't count against the word limit) :

Make the experience as complete and enjoyable as possible (or as time permits). Include time for face prep (hot wet towel on face), lathering (yes and amen on face lathering, it feels so nice!), shaving (the main event), and post shave (hot rinse followed with a cold wet towel on face to cool things down, alum and/or witch hazel as an astringent to close the pores, finishing with nice post shave balm or after shave).

I have no idea what a good barber would charge for a quality barber shop shave, but when I complete the whole process, my face feels like a million bucks!

 

my wife says the same thing

 

or, Holy Necro-Post, Batman!

a.k.a. I can't believe I've been a member of this site for nealy 4 years. this thread makes me feel old.

 

Go with the "beginner" razors that is, a late Tech, black handle SuperSpeed or, adjustable set on 1.
If you are young, start out using "with the grain" shaving only.
Until your face gets used to "shaving" use Hydrocortisone Cream 2% as an aftershave balm.

(Hydrocortisone Cream is way a bigger deal that you might think, shaving is pretty ruff in your skin on the micro level. The cream keeps the skin's reaction to the event under control as skin is a semi open loop system).

 

Always take your time. Take all recommendations with a grain of salt, as it is a YMMV thing. Enjoy every shave.

 

It's your shave.
Enjoy it your way.
It's your shave; enjoy it your way.

 

Don't have my glasses on Mike, so I had to enlarge that to read it.

BTW, yeah me also.

 

1. Go slow with the proper angle and no pressure.
2. Water on the face and neck before and after the shave only helps.
3. Don't eat the yellow snow.

That is all.

 

A good shave is like the average supermodel or celebrity pop-tart: hot, quickly lubed, but rather slow.

Hot water, lather-soaked whiskers and slow passes are key. Given those, it don't much matter what razor or blade you use because you'll probably get at least acceptable results.

 

While I agree with what you claim to be the key to a good shave, I can't say that I buy into getting good results no matter what blade or razor you use. I've been at this a while and can say that I DO NOT get good results (defined as results that I am happy with) from Derby blades. I fully understand that that is just me, as others do enjoy Derby blades, but to say that someone (newbies excluded) can grab any blade/razor combo and get good results... nope. Not buyin' it.

 

You are correct and I've altered my post to reflect your thoughts. Derby always did OK for me but, as I've often said, I'm not the most discerning shaver. I prefer as smooth (not so much "sharp") a blade as possible. But as long as a blade doesn't tear me up no matter how well I prep or how slow I go, I'm happy with it.

 

That I'll buy :biggrin:

 

I've been doing this for a year. I haven't yet made it through any one of my soaps. Most are still about 75% full! Same goes for my aftershaves. The only part of my kit that gets reduced overtime it seems are my blades, but then i bought a 100 blade box so i must be set for a while!

Throughout my first year, I made it a rule that I could only make one shaving related purchase per month. Now, that doesn't mean i could only buy one thing, just one purchase. My latest and last purchase was a Gillette Slim Adjustable that unfortunately was advertised as a fat boy but I like it all the same.

What a fun year it has been!

 

Preparation, patience, mapping your face.

 

For a first time DE Shaver: 1. Take a Mantic59 crash course on youtube. 2. Do a dry "wet" run - hydrate, lather and shave WITHOUT the blade in your razor to get the feel of it and practice your angles -aim for a light touch thats just enough to skim off the lather without bearing down - this is great training for the essential zero pressure technique. I'm having my 15 year old transition to wetshaving this way and he's feeling more confident and less anxious - and so will you. Just remember you may need a slight angle adjustment when you go live with a blade installed. DE Dads: bring the wet shaving tradition to your sons - the bonding is priceless!

 

1. take your time and enjoy yourself
2. buy a sampler pack of blades
3. you don't need to buy everything reviewed all at once. Get a simple kit, and work at it before you branch out to every cream, soap, and preshave in the universe.

 

Bite the bullet, buy the best equipment money can buy and go for it. That way when you bleed you can feel good about the products that did it to you. Now, pay no attention to what I just said. There is no best. Only what works best for each individual.

I think my main suggestion for a first time DE user would be, let the razor do the work. It's not your Trac II/III razor. DO NOT apply pressure to the razor or you will take off more than you bargained for.

 

Expect and embrace new fav's of razors and blades...and their combinations...

Enjoy!