[Closed] few questions about DE razor shaving......

dave, have you actually used that code?

i just messaged them cos my missus didnt register an account when she bought the goods, so i asked if they could transfer the 'shave points' over to me for future use. i mentioned the code and they said its only for US customers, for claiming VAT back.

if you already ordered then all well and good, if not you may not be able to use it.

Yes I did, saw it on a voucher site, thought it was "us" pay the vat, and had no probs. whoops.

Got all the kit and had my first DE shave last night. Managed not to cut my head off and found two passes gave me a really close shave. How long do the blades last or are they single use? Used the freebie that came with my merker but have a selection to play with.

think the blades last around 4 or 5 shaves, so i believe. happy to be corrected on that tho?

the only thing I miss about the gillete things is the single blade trimmer thing on the back which was awesome for getting up under your nose which is more tricky with a DE

Interesting. I've got the vibratey black and orange Gillette razor at the moment (Fusion?) and whenever I've tried to use the 'trimmer' bit on the back/top of the blade cartridge I've just sliced into my face.

But...I'm all out of cartridges and am struggling to think of things to ask for for Christmas so I'm tempted to ask for a DE razor.

I only really shave the area under my jawline (and use the razor to keep the edges of the stubbles in check), the rest of my face gets a 'beard trimmer' every couple of days so that I keep a bit of stubble/fuzz on it. Is the neck particularly difficult to do with a DE razor vs a cartridge one? Am I going to cut myself to ribbons on my neck without the satisfaction of at least doing the easy bits on my face with a DE?

I've used my DE four times now and I must say it does give good results, if you do get one take your time and be prepared to alter your current technique as I did find I was using way too much pressure the first time.

toofarwest - Member

I've used my DE four times now and I must say it does give good results, if you do get one take your time and be prepared to alter your current technique as I did find I was using way too much pressure the first time.

So you get good result eh!

Now for Xmas upgrade get the Feather AS-D2 asap!

😆

£164.99 😯 😯

The kit I have was a Christmas prezzie but I was allowed to have it early as I've been a good boy 😀

toofarwest - Member

£164.99

The kit I have was a Christmas prezzie but I was allowed to have it early as I've been a good boy

I am planning to get one soon [url= http://www.shaving.ie/products/feather-stainless-steel-razor-asd2.html ]from here for £143.19 (incl VAT) plus Free delivery [/url]

😀

I finally got my badger hair brush (first one got lost in the post).

It does produce more lather than the boar bristle one, making it best for a hard water area. Very soft on the skin.

Bloody stinks of, well, badger I suppose, until after a couple of shaves...

well, as expected, got all me DE stuff yesterday. merkur razor (its heavy!) and all the associated brushes, creams, soaps, balms, blades and a shavette.

first impressions were.....underwhelming im afraid. tried the soap first, and think i need more work with the lather, it was probably too thick? blade seemed to glide over my face a bit too much leaving a bit of foam still, rather than that 'scratchy' sound as the blade totally clears the area.
dont get me wrong, after 3 passes it was still closer than ive had before, but i was expecting 'magic' 🙂

as the blade didnt totally clean my face of foam, and seemed to glide in areas rather than cut, i reverted back to my usual technique of going over the same area 2 or 3 times, rather than just the once which i believe is the correct way of DE shaving.

so, more practice definitely required. if anyone can link me youtube vids of 'loading the brush' from soaps and creams id be grateful too. i saw a load a few weeks agao and thought i could remember it all, but i need to revisit some i think, and a quick google didnt find what i looked at before.
FWIW this first time i used proraso soap and bluebeards revenge brush. soaked the brush in hot water, squeezed the water out so it was just damp, then swirled it around in the soap for a couple of minutes, so all the foam was still on top of the soap. should i have transferred it to a different bowl and kept mixing?
also kept dabbing the brush in water to mix it a bit wetter from time to time.

any more advice gratefully received.

I've been DE shaving fur a couple of years now, but I'm no expert! I've found that depending on your hair type, thickness and length etc you may get away with one pass, but it's not a given. I shave a couple of times a week and allow a bit more growth as I suffer room ingrowns a bit. So I have at least 3 passes before I'm done.
I never shave against the hair growth, always with it. It helps to study your facial growth direction so you can share with it the right place. With time you'll find what works best for your face and hair.

Lots of good info from https://www.youtube.com/user/geofatboy

Sadex, stick with it.
Been using mine for a couple months, deffo technique and choice of creams / blades...
I prefer cream ( rather than soap), 3 pass here, with growth, against and sideways.
Found that my preferred blade is Gillette 7 o'clock.
Have tried feathers but they seem too thin / flexy for me....and get blunt quickly.
I change blade after 2 shaves, but I have a really tough beard.( got blades for 8p each which helped)
I have hated shaving for 20 years, now it's a grooming pleasure!

Whatever you shave [u][b]Do Not [/b][/u]apply pressure or you will get razor burn ... like me yesterday very red face and itch like hell ... 🙁

If you do get razor burn do these:

1. Wash face with cold water
2. Put some witch hazel plus a drop tea tree oil in cotton wipe.
3. Wipe face.
4. Apply after shave balm (non alcohol type).

If you have non of the above then apply some honey instead let it dry and wash off, then apply after shave balm.

That will teach me for trying to get super smooth face ... was thinking of not to shave for few days ... 😯

if anyone can link me youtube vids of 'loading the brush' from soaps and creams id be grateful too.

I'm glad you asked. I've got a bowl (which came with soap in a few years ago) and got some new cream for Christmas. How does one use these two items together?

See link above.

How does one use these two items together?

Grate the soap into the bowl using a soap-grater.
[img] [/img]

I'm glad you asked. I've got a bowl (which came with soap in a few years ago) and got some new cream for Christmas. How does one use these two items together?

its the soap im not so sure about.

toofarwest, ill have a look at the link above when i get a bit of time, thanks.

well, just had my second shave, and i think this one was worse!!

firstly i tried the 'cream, no bowl' loading up method, blob of coconut luxury cream to face, worked it in with brush. made a right mess, splashed all over the place so thats out the window now. will use bowl when i use cream in future.

onto the shave, i couldnt believe how much the blade was tugging! its a derby blade and felt so rough! i decided after a few strokes to replace with a feather, which instantly felt better. but, it cut my face to shreds 😀
used balm afterwards but sat here now, face stinging away with styptic pencil dots all over, feeling like ill have the mother of all razor burns tomorrow.

sticking with it tho, early days yet, still looking forward to each shave. weirdly enough cant wait to try my shavette, but i think ill have to get better at DE first 😀

Morning all.

Mrs Beamers bought me a Merkur 34c razor, Taylors of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Cream and an Osma Alum bloc for Christmas.

Complete surprise. I suspected that DE shaving might fit with the STW demographic and having just read this thread my suspicions have been (happily) confirmed.

Great thread with some top tips / ways to spend or save money!

First shave last night to clear off a week's worth of growth. I normally shave every other day with Mach3 Turbo / Clinique shave gel combo during the working week.

I watched the vids from geofatboy (linked above) a couple of times before taking the plunge and was very impressed with the results.

I did nick myself a couple of times round the neck, more so than I would have done with my mach 3, but I am putting that down to not quite enough lather round the neck and it might have been drying out slightly.

Sadex - do you have an Alum block? When I ran mine round my face it tingled / stung apart from where I had nicked myself where it felt like my neck was on fire! Rinsed it off and the "feedback", as geofatboy calls it, disappeared along with any trace of nicks / blood. No razor burn either.

Mr Woppit - your description of your Sunday morning routine had me in stitches.

Overall - great result. Face still smooth this morning, much more so that an against the grain shave with the Mach3 after a week of not shaving.

DE all the way for me now I think.

Sadex - do you have an Alum block? When I ran mine round my face it tingled / stung apart from where I had nicked myself where it felt like my neck was on fire! Rinsed it off and the "feedback", as geofatboy calls it, disappeared along with any trace of nicks / blood. No razor burn either.

just to mention also, i love the smell of the taylor of old bond st sandalwood after shave lotion. gambled on it and prefer it to my 'name' after shaves, JPG, boss etc. ive been bought those for xmas too, so ill still use em, but if i ever buy any myself now itll be classic sandalwood stuff i reckon. wife doesnt like it, but she'll come round. wont she? 😀

find im impatient for my next shaves now, cant wait for stubble to appear so i can try my next technique. ill mix lather in a bowl next rather than soap bowl or face. ill also try just once over an area instead of 2 or 3 swipes to clean the area of lather. ive found that heavy tho it is, just leaving the weight of the razor against my skin doesnt clean the face of bristle/lather, so im still having to use a bit of pressure, which isnt helping the razor burn or cut total.

Sadex it sounds like you have too much water on the brush. You shouldn't need to keep dipping it in the water. Once loaded you should get three passes without adding soap or water to the brush. Also face lathering shouldn't make a mess, that's what makes me think you have too much water on brush.

If you have a selection of blades see if you have Personna platinum or Astras they are more forgiving gir the first few months. And only go over the area once and never without lather on it.

With the stiptic pencil are you wetting it first? And only applying to the area you have nicked?

Also the lather should have no bubbles and should be like a light whipped cream consistantcy

For those of you trying to face lather have a go at lathering up the side of your hand first, make it into the shape of a fist and then experiment with various amounts of soap and water on your brush.

You will when you have the right amounts because the lather comes up a treat; nice and slick almost a bit like a Mr Whippy ice cream 🙂

Sadex it sounds like you have too much water on the brush. You shouldn't need to keep dipping it in the water. Once loaded you should get three passes without adding soap or water to the brush. Also face lathering shouldn't make a mess, that's what makes me think you have too much water on brush.

If you have a selection of blades see if you have Personna platinum or Astras they are more forgiving gir the first few months. And only go over the area once and never without lather on it.

vid here.[/url]
been surprised firstly how 'draggy' and blunt the derbys were, but even with feathers, i cant get it to make my skin really lather free with each pass, so i maybe try a bit harder and thats probably where im cutting myself.

With the stiptic pencil are you wetting it first? And only applying to the area you have nicked?

well, another shave gone, experimented with the cut-throat this time 😀

bluebeards revenge shavette. bought a little bowl too for whipping up the lather, looked to have it about right, so gave it a go. interesting. yes i cut myself a few times but in the main it wasnt as bad as i expected. started well, the strokes down from sideburns were easy, its just all those contours! i even cut my cheek above the moustache line just trying to get it into 'start position'.
that was the hardest bit i found, getting your arm/hand in the right position for the stroke. left hand or right hand? and in a lot of places my arm was blocking the view in the mirror so i couldnt actually see what i was about to cut, so change hands and that made me a bit cack handed and i wasnt happy with how i was positioned. i think id be better shaving someone else than myself because of this. looks easy enough on youtube, but it really does take all your concentration.
in the end it was taking so long the lather was starting to dry on my face.

after the first pass i thought thatd do for my first go, so i did last passes with DE razor. swapped my feather for an israeli blade and this seemed to glide lovely on my face. could be cos id done most of the work with the shavette, but im gonna try a shave from scratch with israeli next time. cut-throat can be every now and then when ive got loads of time.

in the meantime, if anyones got any advice on the arm position/mirror thing please fire away. ive seen all the vids, got a pretty good idea of how to do the shave, but i just couldnt position my arm/face/hand to effectively see in the mirror all of the time. anyone else have that problem?

thanks for sticking with me, its a work in progress 🙂

[too late for edit]

also. how do you clean a shavette during shave? the vids show them being wiped after each cut on a towel beneath the neck. i was just swishing it around in the sink with a little finger wipe.

[/too late for edit]

sadex, are you making sure that the safety blade razor is at the correct angle against your face? Ideally, it should be at about 30dg, shallower than you might think.

My best lathering results are with a dollop of Proraso tubed cream in a bowl, give the brush a couple of shakes out of the water soak so that it's just wet but not waterlogged and mix it into the cream thoroughly - should take about ten seconds of strong mixing/pumping (don't forget, you're in a hard water area). "Paint" the face after lathering to even out the layer of foam.

I changed from Derby blades to Feathers myself. The feathers give a much better shave and I find I can make one blade last for six shaves although the sharpness does fall off a bit. I leave the face to rest on Saturday (before my Sunday morning ritual comedy 😀 ). I use some pre-shave oil for the longer growth.

I make two of my 3 passes against the grain, using short repetitive strokes. Any rawness is calmed by the post-shave balm.

Make sure you use just the head weight of your Merkur, don't press.

EDIT: Plus, the skin-stretch gurning is always good for a laugh...

Second DE shave for me last night.

Went much better that the first one in terms of less burn from the Alum block.

My Proraso [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0082BYLS6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00 ]Pre and Post Shave Cream[/url] and [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009VZNV3I?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00 ]Aftershave Balm[/url] arrived yesterday morning so I slapped both on after the shave and felt great.

Next shave will be tomorrow night which will fit my real world / working week routine of shaving every other day.

sadex, are you making sure that the safety blade razor is at the correct angle against your face? Ideally, it should be at about 30dg, shallower than you might think.

My best lathering results are with a dollop of Proraso tubed cream in a bowl, give the brush a couple of shakes out of the water soak so that it's just wet but not waterlogged and mix it into the cream thoroughly - should take about ten seconds of strong mixing/pumping (don't forget, you're in a hard water area). "Paint" the face after lathering to even out the layer of foam.

I changed from Derby blades to Feathers myself. The feathers give a much better shave and I find I can make one blade last for six shaves although the sharpness does fall off a bit. I leave the face to rest on Saturday (before my Sunday morning ritual comedy ). I use some pre-shave oil for the longer growth.

Make sure you use just the head weight of your Merkur, don't press.

thanks

New DE'er here thanks to santa bringing me a nice Edwin Jagger for cribo.

The instructions say to dry disassembled which makes sense.

How do you all clean/dry/store your razors?

Er, disassemble and use a tea-towel... "Store" on a Bluebeards Revenge razor-and-brush stand.

i just swill the razor in hot clean water after the shave, and ill use a toothbrush and toothpaste i think to clean it properly when i disassemble to change blades.

btw, whats the best thing for healing cuts fast? 😀 ive got a few nicks on my face, (a couple that i made worse by going over them with my second shave), so i want to make sure theyre healed this time before i wet shave again. witch hazel? anything else? ill be using a leccy razor for the next few days til theyre healed 🙁

Alum Stick for nicks then witch hazel.

djambo - Member

How do you all clean/dry/store your razors?

I've got one of these and I just give the razor a wipe over whenever I put a new blade in.

[img] [/img]

Alum Stick for nicks then witch hazel.

then balm, then aftershave lotion? and then witch hazel cream each day til cuts healed?

Isn't the last post enough proof to move on to modern shaving equipment? I can't remember having a nick in ages - if you need that much contingency planning/equipment, why bother?

Now a nice shaving brush and soap is a different matter!

Rinse with cold water once you've done your last pass then run the block under the cold tap and rub it all over, you'll feel it tingle where you've used too much pressure or too many strokes without lather and it'll sting like a bugger on the cuts. Leave on for about 30 seconds then rinse with cold water again.
After the balm you might notice cuts starting to bleed again, I just wet the corner of the block again and apply to the cut and leave it like that.

w, whats the best thing for healing cuts fast?

[url= http://www.shaving-shack.com/proraso-shave-cut-healing-gel-10ml.html ]Healing gel.[/url]

sadexpunk - Member
ive got a styptic pencil, or do you mean an alum block? and how do you do it so the block isnt covered in blood? wet the block, quick wipe of face with a cloth then wipe the block over the whole shaving area quickly?
and then when the bloods stopped smear witch hazel cream over the whole shave area too? or just the cuts?

then balm, then aftershave lotion? and then witch hazel cream each day til cuts healed?

Mine is alum block so easily washable. I just wet the alum block a bit then apply to cuts. Press it to the cut for a while until blood stop. Wash alum block then apply to other area quickly (optional but just a habit of mine) then apply witch hazel (the one from Boots as I don't have the cream type). Leave it for a minute or two then apply aftershave lotion. Yes, apply witch hazel everyday or as require until healed.

Styptic pencil will do too but it tends to suck up blood so you may need to wash away the blood after use. If you apply styptic pencil you only apply to the cut area. Press it for a while until blood stop. I don't apply to other area like alum block as styptic pencil is a bit rough. Then witch hazel as above.

😀

PSA - 20% off sale at [url= http://www.lookfantastic.com/home.dept ]lookfantastic[/url] for2 days only.

ive just bought an alum block and a tub of proraso pre/post shave.

thanks for the advice gents, much appreciated.

another PSA - i cant quite work out whether its a mistake or not, but....

[url= http://www.tesco.com/direct/search-results/results.page?catId=4294967294&searchquery=bluebeard&SrchId=4294967294&_requestid=6829008 ]bluebeards revenge eau de toilette half price gift set offer from tesco[/url]

didnt even know they sold BR stuff, my daughter told me. im confused tho that the EDT/ shower gel gift set includes 100ml EDT. if you look at their other products, the same 100ml EDT is for sale on its own at £14.99. if you look further along, the same 100ml EDT is for sale at £19.99.
ive looked at all the info on them and they seem to have different dimensions/weights/product codes, yet a quick look on the bluebeard site shows they only make one EDT anyway, so its got to be the same one?
bonus points if anyone can make sense of it, but anyways, ive ordered 2 gift sets just for the EDT's 🙂

if you look further along, the same 100ml EDT is for sale at £19.99.

One's a bottle, the other's a spray?

you say that, but they both say

Presented in an atomiser spray for easy and efficient use,

well, 2 more shaves down, and im slowly getting there 🙂

israeli blade a couple of days ago passed without incident, tonight i upped the ante to a feather again. not one drop of blood 🙂

my proraso pre/post stuff came, so did the alum block. that proraso stuff is ace! feels so tingly. forgot the alum block at first so wiped it around my face on top of the proraso which is wrong way round i think, but no harm done. just need to get the routine dialled now, i can see me totally ignoring all the other balms and creams ive got and just using proraso, really impressed with it all.

my other PSA, bluebeard EDT, came as well, cant believe its a big bottle of decent aftershave for £7.50!! ive ordered myself another two sets, plus 2 for my lads christmas pressies next year.

ill have another couple of shaves, see if i can get my lather perfect, then ill try the cut-throat again 😀