PS: Regarding the hard water/lather problem, I changed to a cream in a tube, instead of the ready-bowled “soap/cream” and this has improved things a bit, but not by much.

I’m using a boar bristle brush and this may be compounding the problem.

I’ve ordered a badger bristle brush (sorry, badger but hey). I’ll report back on the results.

sadexpunk – Member

do balms retain their smell on your face all day? and er…..while we’re talking balms and lotions, are there ‘body lotions’ in the same smell too? im now thinking alternatives to sprays such as lynx.

Balms should not retain their smell all day and should fade fairly quickly.

In terms of longevity the scale is:

balms / aftershave
eau de toilette
eau de cologne
eau du parfum

However, fragrances are such a personal thing that the above can only be taken as a guide as an EDT on one person may last longer than an EDC on the same person.

As you go up that scale you will also notice a general increase in price as you things like moisturiser and alcohol are replaced with more of the proper smelly stuff.

The smell only lasts for the length of the application.

looks like ill have to use the usual aftershave type stuff after the balm then yep?

Sandalwood is subtle, but gorgeous.

any recommendations for sandalwood stuff thatll last all day?

I recommend http://www.shaving-shack.com/

thats where ive ordered most of my stuff from, thanks 🙂

In terms of longevity the scale is:

balms / aftershave
eau de toilette
eau de cologne
eau du parfum
sandalwood eau du parfum for the win?

thanks

R U in today, sad?

No brush delivery yet. In the meantime, I’ve tried rinses with clean water and it does feel better than using the stuff in the sink. Just put enough in to swirl the razor about between passes so you can run the hot tap for a clean water swipe.

Also, don’t dry your face and hands after the final cold rinse. Apply the balm. Feels much better…

yep, im about mate

ie got all my gear through in the post, but its christmas pressies, so all wrapped up and i cant touch it or see it grrrr…. 🙂
wifes said i can have it all now if i want and got to admit its tempting, but thats getting away from the christmas spirit a little….

i may give in before long tho 😀

looks like ill have to use the usual aftershave type stuff after the balm then yep?

Balms/Splashes

I use a Mach3 razor, but have been using a brush and shaving soap/cream stuff for a few yrs.

I just got myself a cheap BodyShop brush which works OK and some of their shaving soap – Maca root or something?
When that was running out, my Wife got my some Taylor’s of Old Bond St Sandalwood soap in a pot. It’s great. Not lasting as long as the Body Shop stuff, but smells great and works nicely.

Should really try a fancy razor, but reckon I will slice myself to bits…not sure I can be bothered.

In the meantime, I’ve tried rinses with clean water and it does feel better than using the stuff in the sink. Just put enough in to swirl the razor about between passes so you can run the hot tap for a clean water swipe.

Also, don’t dry your face and hands after the final cold rinse. Apply the balm. Feels much better…
thanks, ill give that a go.

I use a Mach3 razor, but have been using a brush and shaving soap/cream stuff for a few yrs.

I just got myself a cheap BodyShop brush which works OK and some of their shaving soap – Maca root or something?
When that was running out, my Wife got my some Taylor’s of Old Bond St Sandalwood soap in a pot. It’s great. Not lasting as long as the Body Shop stuff, but smells great and works nicely.

Should really try a fancy razor, but reckon I will slice myself to bits…not sure I can be bothered.
as alluded to earlier, its probably only a minimal improvement to use a DE over cartridge, and more about ‘the overall pampering experience’. taking your time to mix the lather, using that perfectly weighted sculpted razor, hearing it scrape as it cuts the stubble away, applying the balms, splashes, lotions etc etc etc. sort of the male equivalent to a womans bathtime pampering routine. (hark at me and i havent even tried it yet! :-D)
tbh, i never spent that much on cartridges really, its not a financial decision. itd probably take a long time to claw back the money spent on the initial set up before you started ‘saving’ money on razor blades. and again, i think i could see me personally maybe spending more overall anyway as i try different smells, creams, brushes, maybe even extra razors, its probably more of a ‘mini-hobby’.
if you dont get (or are interested in) that, then its obviously fine to stick with cartridges/disposables. while im waiting for santa, im actually using some ‘gillette 2’ disposables over my mach 3 turbo. i forgot the turbo when i went away a few weeks ago and had to buy these as an emergency. once id got over the shock of them not cutting my face to shreds i actually found them really good and preferred the fixed head and ‘scraping sound’ of the shave, so theyre my razor of choice til i unwrap that badboy xmas goodybag.

Not sure about that sadex, I think there are a lot more advantages.

I find I can tune my shave, where I used to get a rash from multi blade doesn’t happen now because I can do couple of light passes with the single blade in that area. I’ve not had a single ingrowing hair since switching, I don’t feel like I ever need to use a dull blade because the mach12’s are £XX a pop and I need to get my money’s worth out of them, etc.

I think they are a lot more controllable than a multiblade, 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

yep, i accept i probably simplified it a little there, i was just basing it on my own thoughts after shaving with a disposable. i used bog standard foam, did 3 passes in a DE stylee and thought ‘well, you cant really get much better than that surely!’
ill report back when i try it for the first time.

Clobber – Member
Not sure about that sadex, I think there are a lot more advantages.

I find I can tune my shave, where I used to get a rash from multi blade doesn’t happen now because I can do couple of light passes with the single blade in that area. I’ve not had a single ingrowing hair since switching,

Is that down to the razor or the rest of the stuff?

I found that using a scrubby face wash before shaving, using a brush and a decent shaving soap seems to have stopped all my ingrown hairs and cured a lot of the rash that I used to get at the base of my neck.
I think this is the reason that I haven’t tried a different razor yet.

Perhaps I should just bite the bullet, spend £25 or so on a razor and some blades and give it a go. Perhaps I should put it on my Xmas list.

Do it stumpy, doesn’t take long to get the hang of it, get good blades though, like Astra’s there are some nasty ones out there, I hate Derby’s for instance.

You’ll save the £25 in blades in no time.

PSA : Use code USVAT2014 for 20% off at shaving shack.

thanks dave, wish id known that a week or so ago as thats where we bought all my clobber from, but ill mebbes be buying some after-shave stuff soon too.

Sorry sadexpunk, only bought myself this week after reading this thread and dabbling with cheapo DE razor for a month now.
Had my first shave last night and didn’t need one this morning… And that’s from someone who needs to shave twice a day if going out at night too !
Got feather blades as I have a mega tough growth, well impressed with them.

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 from here for £143.19 (incl VAT) plus Free delivery

😀

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 Do Not 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.

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?

cougar, i think with cream you just plop an almond sized blob in the bowl and keep mixing with a damp brush for a minute or two til you get the ‘whipped cream’.
i also believe you could just load the cream straight to face (no bowl used) and brush it around for a minute or two for the same effect.

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.

no i dont mate, i have a styptic pencil which left big white patches on my face. i just figured the block is just a bigger, unwieldy version of a stick, made of the same stuff. that not the case? ill look at getting a block if itll be better for me.

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.

could be right there. i soak it in hot water, then just hand wring it out and start loading from there, whether that be soap or cream. seen on the vids tho that they keep dabbing in water, but they maybe have a bit less on the brush in the first place.

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.

got 2 lots of derby, 1 box feathers and 1 israeli.
ideally im looking to make clean passes like geofatboys vid here.
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?

yep, i just wipe the blood away and quickly apply the damp stick to the area.