What are the pros and cons of traditional wetshaving in your opinion?

[weekly]

To me, the biggest advantage of wet shaving is that it can be anything you want it to be.

1. If you want to shave in the shower with a battery powered electric shaver and call that wet shaving, you can do so, although such razors are hardly old enough to be called traditional.
2. If you want to shave with a disposable razor and canned foam, that can also be called wet shaving. Since disposable razors have been around since 1970, almost 50 years ago, it is not much of a stretch to call them traditional at this point.
3. If you want to shave with a straight razor and a puck of Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap as some did in 1893, you can do so.
4. If you want to be a minimalist and shave with one razor, one blade, one soap and one brush, you can do so.
5. If you want to collect razors, hones, stops, soaps, shaving brushes, and aftershaves, welcome to the club of those with multiple acquisition disorders.

I would consider the biggest negative of wet shaving to be those who disparage others who have not chosen their particular method of shaving. Many have fallen into that trap from time to time, including me.

How about that magic shave powder
You do have to add water to it and
And use the Back side of a butter knife.
Since political correctness is in style
Let's all put this powder on a Pedestal.
Just for the heck of it.

 

[RayClem]

How about that magic shave powder
You do have to add water to it and
And use the Back side of a butter knife.
Since political correctness is in style
Let's all put this powder on a Pedestal.
Just for the heck of it.

Well, the dipilatory process might be removing beard hair, and it does use a very small amount of water, but I am not sure that qualifies as "wet shaving".

According to Wikipedia, "Shaving is the removal of hair, by using a razor or any other kind of bladed implement". Since the dipilatory process does not involve a bladed implement, I am not sure it qualifies as shaving. However, if that is you preferred means of hair removal, that is fine by me.

 

[cleanshaved]

Pros:

• Variety of product.
• Better more comfortable shave.
• B&B Great people.....oh and can talk shaving stuff as well.
• AD's - Fun

Cons:

• Takes a bit more time
• Wife complains with all the courier deliveries.
• Still have not saved any money.
• AD's - Expensive.

 

[Bobbyv8]

Pros; fun’s to shave, closer shave, variety of soaps, cream, after shave.
Cons; bought to many razor, starting with a cheap Rockwell, merkur futur,razorock slant+ game changer, fat boy, and now à Rex ambassador. Caught my eyes on timeless.

 

[Levue]

It's the best hobby/discipline I ever had.
I feel really passionate about it, but rationally I cannot explain why, in the end it's just a razor, a blade, a soap.

There are only two cons:
-not able to shave more than once a day
-compulsive buying of products.
This could be avoided with some personal discipline, but the mindset won't change and the desire won't be suppressed.

 

[Levue]

..another con for us located in Europe is paying too much for shipping from the States and the fact that most BST sales are for CONUS only

 

[Gryffindor]

My only current con is not yet being able to shave daily. I want to. My face doesn't want me to.

 

[Tallships]

Pros: No razor burn or ingrown hairs
smooth close feel good shave
after all these years I still enjoy my shave
Cheap shave, as a minimalist
Cons: Beard grows too slow, can only shave once a day, unless I take my wife out at night

 

[sarge6000]

Pros and cons depend on your life philosophy.
A proper wetshave requires a number of tools and requires time, and not necessarily for so much better results.
For those that enjoy taking their time, wetshaving is great. For the minimalists like me who just want their shave to be efficient and done as quickly as possible, wetshaving can be too much.

Personally I think the ultimate wetshave is about using a perfectly sharped cutthroat razor on yourself, but that's obviously not for most mainstream people who shave in the morning when waking up before work...

 

[razorboi]

pogonotomy: the cutting of beards, or the art/science of cutting beards
pogonotomist: one who cuts beards, or is skilled in the cutting of beards
pogonotrophy: the growth or cultivation of beards
pogonologist: one who studies beards
pogoniasis: excessive beard growth, or beard growth in females
pogonophobia: fear or dislike of beards
pogonic: pertaining to beards
pogonotomia: French equivalent of pogonotomy, and has attained some very recent limited currency in English
pogonotomiaist: no such word!
The first five words are accented on their third syllables. This should assist with pronunciation.
Pogonophobia is accented on the first syllable.
Now I dare you to go out and use even one of these words in public and report back on your encounters!

 

[njpaddy]

Pros: after shaving with electrics, injectors and carts from 1963-2009, I now enjoy my DE haves.

Cons: can be expensive at first, while zeroing in on what works.

 

[Potrzebie]

It's the best hobby/discipline I ever had.
I feel really passionate about it, but rationally I cannot explain why, in the end it's just a razor, a blade, a soap...

Roger that! It's the quest for unattainable perfection that has spanned tens of thousands of years and billions of men; it is man-vs.-beard. It's also a lot cheaper than golf, and you can play in the winter.

 

[Potrzebie]

pogonotomy: the cutting of beards, or the art/science of cutting beards
pogonotomist: one who cuts beards, or is skilled in the cutting of beards
pogonotrophy: the growth or cultivation of beards
pogonologist: one who studies beards
pogoniasis: excessive beard growth, or beard growth in females
pogonophobia: fear or dislike of beards
pogonic: pertaining to beards
pogonotomia: French equivalent of pogonotomy, and has attained some very recent limited currency in English
pogonotomiaist: no such word!
The first five words are accented on their third syllables. This should assist with pronunciation.
Pogonophobia is accented on the first syllable.
Now I dare you to go out and use even one of these words in public and report back on your encounters!

Don't forget pogonophilia and pogonophile: affinity for beards and a lover of beards, respectively.

 

[RayClem]

Roger that! It's the quest for unattainable perfection that has spanned tens of thousands of years and billions of men; it is man-vs.-beard. It's also a lot cheaper than golf, and you can play in the winter.

For many pursuits in life, feedback is delayed, sometimes for a long time. With shaving, feedback is instantaneous. You either got a great shave or you didn't. If you did not get a great shave, you can always try again tomorrow.

 

[zenex]

For shaving enthusiasts there are only pros.
For those who hate to shave there are only cons.

 

[njpaddy]

I spent almost 45+ years hating to shave with electrics, injectors and carts. Fortunately I always had jobs which didn't require me to shave more than once (or twice) a week.

Wetshaving Pros: I enjoy my wet shaves every 2-3 days. I shave more often being retired than I did when I worked.

Wetshaving Cons: #1: Mastering lathering with my well water was troublesome at first.
#2: Brush, cream and soap AD's were expensive the first few years, but I'm much better now.

 

[RayClem]

I spent almost 45+ years hating to shave with electrics, injectors and carts. Fortunately I always had jobs which didn't require me to shave more than once (or twice) a week.

Wetshaving Pros: I enjoy my wet shaves every 2-3 days. I shave more often being retired than I did when I worked.

Wetshaving Cons: #1: Mastering lathering with my well water was troublesome at first.
#2: Brush, cream and soap AD's were expensive the first few years, but I'm much better now.

For most of my working life, I shaved with either an electric razor or a cartridge razor. For the last half of my career, I traveled about 8-10 nights per month, some by air, some by car. I was more concerned about convenience when traveling than I was about comfort. Once I retired, I started shaving using straight razors and DE razors with great soaps. It is not as convenient, but it certainly is more comfortable.
My wife and I are rennovating our bathrooms, so right now the only sink in the house is the kitchen sink. Thus, I am back to shaving in the shower with a cartridge razor for the next couple of weeks. I got a socially acceptable shave, but nothing as close or as comfortable as I have been getting with traditional shaving methods. I am looking forward to getting my shave den back.

 

[Jakebullet]

Pros
The shave, there’s nothing like it.
Choice, a thousand types of soaps and DE’s and blades and brushes and straights and strops and stones and aftershaves etc etc none of which you’d ever find in any supermarket or high street store.
Quality over quantity.
Knowing the manly art of shaving your face.
I use a straight razor so I now spend nothing on blades but they’re so cheap it doesn’t matter anyway so try them all.
Being you’re own man, finding your own way and being different from the herd.
The hour of quiet, misty, meditative peace every morning.
Using aftershave which is actually aftershave, kind to my face and and not the cologne which is all they sell in the shops.
Looking younger from using a quality soap.
Smelling different from everybody else.
Shaving like a man.
I could go on all day.
Cons.
No cons as far as I can see... wait, one, but it’s not for the faint hearted. So if you read on you’ve been warned.
I have a younger girlfriend so I have to keep up bear in mind. I own straights and a Muhle r41 none of which I’d put anywhere near my private parts to keep things smooth that is one area where cartridges are the only option.

 

[Sabre]

There are no cons with my traditional shave with my favourite cart, soap and brush.

 

[TinyTim]

Pros

I don't meditate or do Tai Chi or yoga. Shaving is so relaxing I don't need the others.

Cons

I spend too much money, unnecessarily, on wet shaving.