It was a year ago today that I received my Merkur HD razor in the mail along with blades, a brush and other goodies and shaved off my 3 month old beard. I was very happy to be DE shaving then and I know for a fact that I am much happier with my decision today. And my wife was happy to see my beard gone but couldn't care less what I used to remove it.
Looking back, I can see that I was a real noob. My technique was bad, the lather I made back then was terrible and I settled for some products (Merkur blades) that I would never use again. It wasn't all bad. I think that over time the pulling of the Merkur blades helped me understand when I had the proper angle and when I didn't. I slowly learned to make better lather and my technique improved. Before, the BBS was elusive and I settled for some shaves where I did a poor job on my neck. Those days are over. While BBS shaves are frequent I learned that they're also sometimes a judgment call. Some days it's simply not worth the irritation and risk just to get incrementally closer. Usually, when I lay off I find it easier to get a better shave the next day.
My choice of products has evolved. My first order included a T&H Lavender soap and Proraso cream. I loved both immediately but soon realized that I was getting better shaves from the Proraso then the T&H. To this day, I use the T&H soap infrequently and don't get that great a lather from it as I do other soaps. Proraso, on the other hand, is still one of my favorites if not at the top of the list. I was pleased over time in picking up some TOBS creams. While they don't give me the cooling that I get with Proraso I do enjoy the different scents (TOBS Rose) and the ease in which I get a thick lather from very little product. I'm also gaining an appreciation for soaps. I picked up some Pre de Provence along the way and not only love the moisturizing properties of it but also the ease of whipping up a thick lather. I'm looking forward to getting more soaps in the future.
As I said, I went from Merkur blades exclusively in a Merkur HD razor to using a few different types of blades including Feathers and Personna Reds in the HD and a SuperSpeed I picked up along the way. The Super Speed is now my go to razor after an adjustment period of a week or two. For some reason I still can't use Derby blades. I'll get a good shave or two out of them before I get massively irritated. I guess my face was not made for them because its the only blade that irritates me that way.
I hope I'm as happy with DE next year as I am this year. In the next year I'm going to need to purge my supplies a bit. I went a little AD with soaps and creams over the past few months and while I have the urge to buy from time to time I make the right call and hold off. I do want to add another razor to my collection. I don't know if I want a Fat Boy or a Slant more. I'm currently leaning towards the latter but may change my mind to the Fat Boy again. I also want to buy another brush but have not made my mind up yet about which one. I guess you'll be seeing more posts from me on these subjects.
Well, that's my first State of DE recap. Thanks or listening!
Looking back, I can see that I was a real noob. My technique was bad, the lather I made back then was terrible and I settled for some products (Merkur blades) that I would never use again. It wasn't all bad. I think that over time the pulling of the Merkur blades helped me understand when I had the proper angle and when I didn't. I slowly learned to make better lather and my technique improved. Before, the BBS was elusive and I settled for some shaves where I did a poor job on my neck. Those days are over. While BBS shaves are frequent I learned that they're also sometimes a judgment call. Some days it's simply not worth the irritation and risk just to get incrementally closer. Usually, when I lay off I find it easier to get a better shave the next day.
My choice of products has evolved. My first order included a T&H Lavender soap and Proraso cream. I loved both immediately but soon realized that I was getting better shaves from the Proraso then the T&H. To this day, I use the T&H soap infrequently and don't get that great a lather from it as I do other soaps. Proraso, on the other hand, is still one of my favorites if not at the top of the list. I was pleased over time in picking up some TOBS creams. While they don't give me the cooling that I get with Proraso I do enjoy the different scents (TOBS Rose) and the ease in which I get a thick lather from very little product. I'm also gaining an appreciation for soaps. I picked up some Pre de Provence along the way and not only love the moisturizing properties of it but also the ease of whipping up a thick lather. I'm looking forward to getting more soaps in the future.
As I said, I went from Merkur blades exclusively in a Merkur HD razor to using a few different types of blades including Feathers and Personna Reds in the HD and a SuperSpeed I picked up along the way. The Super Speed is now my go to razor after an adjustment period of a week or two. For some reason I still can't use Derby blades. I'll get a good shave or two out of them before I get massively irritated. I guess my face was not made for them because its the only blade that irritates me that way.
I hope I'm as happy with DE next year as I am this year. In the next year I'm going to need to purge my supplies a bit. I went a little AD with soaps and creams over the past few months and while I have the urge to buy from time to time I make the right call and hold off. I do want to add another razor to my collection. I don't know if I want a Fat Boy or a Slant more. I'm currently leaning towards the latter but may change my mind to the Fat Boy again. I also want to buy another brush but have not made my mind up yet about which one. I guess you'll be seeing more posts from me on these subjects.
Well, that's my first State of DE recap. Thanks or listening!
