Given the tremendously helpful response to my first post here, I thought I'd follow up with a post about my current shaving gear and technique. As always, all advice is welcome.
My current gear:
Edwin Jagger DE89L
Derby blades (five pack came with the razor)
Proraso Green cream
Truefitt & Hill Ultimate Comfort Shaving Cream
Escali Badger Shaving Brush
A bowl in which to lather my shaving cream
Lab Series 3-in-1 Post Shave & Moisturizing After Shave Soothing Spray (I use one or the other each shave)
I also got a blade sample pack from West Coast Shaving that includes:
Feather New Hi-Stainless Platinum
Crystal or "Israeli"
Red Israeli Personna
Astra Superior Platinum
(haven't tried any of these yet)
Based on some great advice I read on this forum, I'm only switching one thing at a time instead of trying new blades and cream at the same time.
So far, I find the Truefitt & Hill to lather more easily than Proraso. I consider myself lucky to live in Chicago, a 15 minute walk from the only Truefitt & Hill location in the country, so I can get samples and sage advice from their experts.
I've also been to the Art of Shaving location on Michigan Avenue, but I found them totally clueless and rude. One saleswoman knew absolutely nothing about the different razors, blades and brushes they offered. She just pushed some samples on me to get me out the door.
My next upgrade will definitely be my brush. The Escali is quite scratchy and nowhere near as soft as the silvertip badger brushes at Truefitt & Hill. I'll have to save up a bit for that, as this switch to wet shaving is proving to be an expensive but very pleasurable indulgence.
I've been wet shaving for only about three weeks now. So far, so good. It's still taking me far longer than the 10 minute method from Mantic's video on YouTube. Today I got it down to just over 20 minutes with little irritation and only one small cut.
I always shower first, then shave at the sink.
Turning off the radio and listening to the sound of the blade on my whiskers turned out to be very important. It's how I know if I've got the angle right.
Avoiding any pressure on the razor has been the hardest lesson, but I'm getting better. 35 years of bad shaving makes for a lot of bad habits.
I've got dark whiskers and fair skin, so any stubble really shows. I'm using the three pass technique: WTG, XTG, ATG
Thanks to everyone here and to everyone who posts videos to YouTube. Without all of you, I'd have been too afraid of slicing my own throat to ever have abandoned the Schick Quattro I'd been using. I'm never going back, even if it takes me many months to perfect my wet shaving technique. I can already tell the results are well worth all the effort.
Nick
My current gear:
Edwin Jagger DE89L
Derby blades (five pack came with the razor)
Proraso Green cream
Truefitt & Hill Ultimate Comfort Shaving Cream
Escali Badger Shaving Brush
A bowl in which to lather my shaving cream
Lab Series 3-in-1 Post Shave & Moisturizing After Shave Soothing Spray (I use one or the other each shave)
I also got a blade sample pack from West Coast Shaving that includes:
Feather New Hi-Stainless Platinum
Crystal or "Israeli"
Red Israeli Personna
Astra Superior Platinum
(haven't tried any of these yet)
Based on some great advice I read on this forum, I'm only switching one thing at a time instead of trying new blades and cream at the same time.
So far, I find the Truefitt & Hill to lather more easily than Proraso. I consider myself lucky to live in Chicago, a 15 minute walk from the only Truefitt & Hill location in the country, so I can get samples and sage advice from their experts.
I've also been to the Art of Shaving location on Michigan Avenue, but I found them totally clueless and rude. One saleswoman knew absolutely nothing about the different razors, blades and brushes they offered. She just pushed some samples on me to get me out the door.
My next upgrade will definitely be my brush. The Escali is quite scratchy and nowhere near as soft as the silvertip badger brushes at Truefitt & Hill. I'll have to save up a bit for that, as this switch to wet shaving is proving to be an expensive but very pleasurable indulgence.
I've been wet shaving for only about three weeks now. So far, so good. It's still taking me far longer than the 10 minute method from Mantic's video on YouTube. Today I got it down to just over 20 minutes with little irritation and only one small cut.
I always shower first, then shave at the sink.
Turning off the radio and listening to the sound of the blade on my whiskers turned out to be very important. It's how I know if I've got the angle right.
Avoiding any pressure on the razor has been the hardest lesson, but I'm getting better. 35 years of bad shaving makes for a lot of bad habits.
I've got dark whiskers and fair skin, so any stubble really shows. I'm using the three pass technique: WTG, XTG, ATG
Thanks to everyone here and to everyone who posts videos to YouTube. Without all of you, I'd have been too afraid of slicing my own throat to ever have abandoned the Schick Quattro I'd been using. I'm never going back, even if it takes me many months to perfect my wet shaving technique. I can already tell the results are well worth all the effort.
Nick
