Shaving

Lejina

Lejina

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Ingrown hair and razor burns have been the bane of my existence. I must shave every day and I tried everything under the sun. What worked best for me has been the good old straight razor.

The key tips of shaving all have been said: after the shower, with the grain, 90 degrees and finally against if you need a real close shave. To get a good aftershave is pretty important too. For that I use some cream, Loreal Vitalift 5, not an aftershave per say, but it does the job just fine.

If you ever intent to go the straight razor route, realize the tricky part of the whole process is not so much about shaving without cutting yourself (the first time is pretty scary, but you get the hang of it quick enough) but rather how to hone your blade. To get a true razor edge is something else entirely than merely honing your Buck knife until it can cut the hair off your forearm. For some guys it truly can be a pain in the ass to master at first.
 
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Cowman

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Fidlen_sl said:
Looks like they do ship to Canada. Any suggestions on what to pick up for a first time DE shaver? I have the razor and blades and thats it thus far.
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When it comes to soap, I have a hard-on for Razorock Classic. It has a Cherry Almond scent and lathers like a motherfucker (not to mention its pretty cheap). When it comes to brushes, I'd go with badger (there are several grades, Silvertip being the best and most expensive, not too sure about how the rest works, I went with a cheap one). They have boar brushes (yes the piggy) but they are typically coarser. Also take a note that the brushes soften with age, so they are kinda tough to start. More importantly, remember they're from actual animal so they usually have a smell which really is apparent when the damn thing is brushing under your nose. To remedy this lather up the brush and leave it to sit overnight and rinse it thoroughly before the first use.

Aftershave is important as it does clean your face a bit and helps to quickly close your pores to prevent shit from getting in there and fucking your skin up. Here I'm gonna say I love Old Spice. Heres the kicker, the Old Spice in stores sucks dick and they have a "new" formula that smells like shitty hipster deodorant. The one on Westcoastshaving is made in India, comes in a glass bottle, and has the old school smell. Its a bit pricey for the size, but its worst it IMO. I'm probably forgetting to recommend something else but half the fun if trying different shit for yourself and finding something that you like best. Hope this helps!
 
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Nostrovia_sl

shitlord
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After reading this thread I've been thinking about getting a safety razor set.. the complete package. Birthday's coming up figured I'd spoil myself a bit.
Any reviews on these? or any other recommendations?

http://www.classicshaving.com/catalo...42/9624398.htm
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http://www.classicshaving.com/catalo...60/6081555.htm
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Convo

Convo

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I did the safety razor for a bit. It was ok but i still had irritation. I read something a while back that made some sense with ingrown hairs. If you have curly hair you're more prone to them. Your facial hair tends to want to curl. Not sure how true it is but my hair does curl lol. If you're not required to shave I recommend an electric razor that leaves a stubble. That's been the best thing for me by far.
 
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Cowman

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Convo_sl said:
I did the safety razor for a bit. It was ok but i still had irritation. I read something a while back that made some sense with ingrown hairs. If you have curly hair you're more prone to them. Your facial hair tends to want to curl. Not sure how true it is but my hair does curl lol. If you're not required to shave I recommend an electric razor that leaves a stubble. That's been the best thing for me by far.
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I get ingrown hairs if I shave against the grain on my neck area, I just avoid doing that (and accept that I wont have a perfectly smooth shave in that area) and its no longer an issue
 
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azeth

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cowman_sl said:
I get ingrown hairs if I shave against the grain on my neck area, I just avoid doing that (and accept that I wont have a perfectly smooth shave in that area) and its no longer an issue
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My "clean/smooth" shave lasts all of like 3 hours til my stubble comes back enough where it's not baby's butt quality.

For that reason, i just don't bother going against the grain.
 
Sardaan

Sardaan

Trakanon Raider
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I thought I had sensitive skin until I switched to a safety razor, with a nice brush and real shaving cream. World of difference, I picked up all my shaving gear from west coast shaving and I have never looked back. Big fan of the feather de blades and a nice bar of shaving soap.
 
McCheese

McCheese

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Azeth_sl said:
My "clean/smooth" shave lasts all of like 3 hours til my stubble comes back enough where it's not baby's butt quality.

For that reason, i just don't bother going against the grain.
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I'm in the same boat. I've accepted the fact that I'm pretty much always going to have a "Fred Flinstone" effect going on.
 
Dioblaire

Dioblaire

And now my Watch has ended...
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I've been contemplating getting either a straight razor or a safety razor for a couple of years now. Can't make up my mind on which one I want to go with, and the fact that it can be a bit expensive to get it started at first. I wind up shaving like 2 to 3 times a month because I don't want to go through my razors that damn fast, and they keep raising the prices on them (seems like every few months I'm paying more for the same shit). So, for those that have used a straight razor, what are the pros and cons of it vs. a safety razor?
 
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Cowman

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dioblaire_sl said:
I've been contemplating getting either a straight razor or a safety razor for a couple of years now. Can't make up my mind on which one I want to go with, and the fact that it can be a bit expensive to get it started at first. I wind up shaving like 2 to 3 times a month because I don't want to go through my razors that damn fast, and they keep raising the prices on them (seems like every few months I'm paying more for the same shit). So, for those that have used a straight razor, what are the pros and cons of it vs. a safety razor?
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Theres a lot more maintenance involved with straight razors as opposed to safety razors. With a safety razor all you gotta do really is change the blade every few shaves. With a straight razor you gotta strop is before and after each shave, oil the blade and hone it occasionally. Straight razors also include a higher startup cost, not only are they more expensive by themselves, you have to buy the strop (which isnt too bad) and a honing stone (if you wanna take the time to do it yourself, sending it out to get honed costs even more).

But on top of all that, I'd recommend starting with a safety razor just to get the hang of the blade angles and technique before you make the switch to straights, since you have a better shot at cutting yourself with a straight.
 
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Cowman

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So I tried something recommended on the Badger and Blade forum, regarding using glycerin while making your lather. Put a few drops in while I was lathering and the end result was fantastic. It was like I was cheating, it was so easy. The end result was like a glorious cloud of meringue that I spread across my face. Try it, its great.
 
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Disp_sl

shitlord
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Agripa_sl said:
http://www.harrys.com/

Yeah it looks hipster but the blades are 1.50 a piece.
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Why not just get a safety razor and a 100 pack of blades for $8 shipped (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...e=UTF8&psc=1)?I got myself a nice Edwin Jagger safety razor last August (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and it's been great. I had never shaved with anything but an electric razor before, but it's been awesome so far, and I actually look forward to shaving now instead of dreading it.

I recently bought some of Mike's natural soaps because everyone raves about them on that badger and brush site, and they're right.http://www.mikesnaturalsoaps.com/Mik...ard_Bar_2.html. The smell, texture & moisturization, and shave you get with these soaps is A+. I got the pine & cedarwood, and barber shop, and he sent me a free sample of the lemongrass. You could spend $80-$100 and get a nice safety razor and soap setup that'll last you probably 2 years.
 
chaos

chaos

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How do those soaps work? you just lather the brush directly on the soap like in that pic? Wouldn't that be horrifyingly messy?

I've been using my safety razor for about 6 months now and I pretty much have it down. Never going back. I think I want to try some new razors, I was thinking about getting the sample from Amazon that people have recommended a few times.
 
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Disp_sl

shitlord
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chaos_sl said:
How do those soaps work? you just lather the brush directly on the soap like in that pic? Wouldn't that be horrifyingly messy?
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You load your brush while holding the bar. I didn't know how it would work out either until I got the bars about a month ago, but it's actually not messy at all. I usually get a little on my hand that I have to wash off after building up the lather in my bowl, but otherwise you just leave the bar in a soap dish or the wrapper and the suds dry right back into the bar within 5 minutes.

I definitely recommend the Mike's stuff though. I've only tried those 2 types I mentioned, but the pine and cedarwood smells and feels great, and lathers like a mother fucker. The scent is awesome because it smells like the real outdoors instead of being pumped with a ton of fake pine scent like I was expecting. Just has a real great outdoors tree and dirt smell to it. After I'm done shaving with it I use the excess lather as a moisturizer for the rest of my face, and my skin has been looking tighter and smoother than it ever looked even using $10/bottle moisturizers. The stuff takes barely any rubbing and just melts right into your face.

Edit: Hadn't seen but looks like they do tins with the same scents, just costs a couple bucks more perhttp://www.mikesnaturalsoaps.com/Mik...shave_tin.html
 
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