Did you ever consider what we used as far as "shaving gear" before the internet came along. I'm from a small town where we didn't have acess to anything but the bare minimum and what you would call a big city is a 100 miles away. If you needed anything for shaving we had a HEB, Brookshires, and a small Wal-Mart. I have had internet for about 10 or 11 years and found B&B by accident looking for someplace to buy razor blades. My basic was always my old Gillette, razor blades that one of the 2 grocery stores or Wal-Mart had, colgate or williams soap with a cheap boar brush, and aqua velva, old spice, or skin bracer. Since the internet and B&B, my whole shaving world has turned arround with all kinds of "goodies". So now I ask........... what were you using and where did you get it before the internet came along?
Before The Days of Internet, What Did You Use
- Thread starter superspot
- Start date
I've had online access since before I started shaving, but only used carts & goo before B&B.
Although I've been on teh internets since the Year 2 B.G. (Before Google - ie: since 1996) I was always a cartridge & goop kinda guy.
B&B put me in touch with the whole other way of wet shaving and, had it not been for the web, I doubt that my interest would have been piqued.
B&B put me in touch with the whole other way of wet shaving and, had it not been for the web, I doubt that my interest would have been piqued.
Same here. Though I did start using (not very good) shave soap and a brush before B&B.
I used mainly an atra, or mach-3 razor, and went back and forth between using barbasol foam, or gel. Usually used afta aftershave balm afterwards. I bought whatever was cheapest. When the cartridge four packs went to eight dollars I switched to good news pivot disposeables. Now that I have internet it seems like I buy everything off of it.
Clayton
Clayton
I used Gillette DE razors in the 60s and 70s, with Gillette foamy cream. I switched to Gillette Trac 2 cartridge razors sometime in the mid to late 70s. Always got my stuff at the local drug store. Just got back to DE razors in the past 2 months, and am loving it. Wish I had never left my DE razors.
Mostly my trusty Atra, a mug of Williams or Colgate, a Burma shave brush (or whatever brush I found at the drug store) and Old Spice, but also AV Ice Blue and Clubman at points along the way. For years however, I really didn't use aftershave that much.
When I wasn't using the mug soap, it was usually Barbasol beard buster.
When I wasn't using the mug soap, it was usually Barbasol beard buster.
In times past I used the Atra, Mach 3 and Quattro. Then I decided as the blade number increased, the shave quality decreased so I went back to DE.
I lived near NYC so there were always plenty of shops that sold good products. The problem I saw was that there were no instructions on how to shave properly. Everything was by trial and error. So, when Gillette came along with 'new and improved' razors, many of us bought them.
When I first started shaving it looked like I was in a battle. My neck would bleed from so many places.
When I first started shaving it looked like I was in a battle. My neck would bleed from so many places.
I used a pencil, a calculator and a library card.
Oh, you mean for shaving?
Oh, you mean for shaving?
When I started shaving in the late 1980s, I started with a Schick Injector, a boar brush from Walgreens, and Williams soap. I used this set up until the mid-90s when I picked up a Gillete Sensor, which I used with the boar from Walgreens and Williams soap. Very soon after, my skin started to become really dry, so I dropped the Williams and started to use various Edge gels. Although Edge gels did not dry my skin, I hated using my fingers and longed to use a brush. When growing up as a child, my father was always a wet shaver, and I enjoyed watching him shave with all his paraphernalia. It just did not seem right, and, most of all, was not as enjoyable shaving with gel. Then came 1997 when I discovered the internet! I purchased a pure badger brush and a tube of Trumper's almond cream, and my whole shaving experience reached a new level. Today, while I still use that same brush, I have upgraded to a Merkur 33C.
G
GLteam
Ever since I started shaving (30 years ago), I was always interested in getting good shaves, and using good shaving products. This came from spending time with my grandfather. So I've always been privy to DE shaving. In my 20's I would get shaved every Monday at Del's barbershop in Omaha, NE; not so much because I needed someone to shave me, more for the luxury aspect of it all (the steam towels, the face prep, and such). It wasn't until a couple of years ago, that I really started developing my DE techniques. I simply bought supplies when I would notice them while shopping. I remember I bought an SS at a local grocery store once, and that served its purpose until Sensor came along, then M3's, and the Fusion. I always veered back to the DE though.
The Internet sure has blown the wet-shaving thing wide open... which is fantastic. Greater accesibility to quality products and anything concerning our way of getting the perfect shave. I try diligently to steer my clients to wet shaving, as I deal with Men's Grooming/Hair Cutting/Styling every single day. Many take the plunge, while others still need more proof to switching to a DE. It's exciting to see college students care about their grooming habits, and The Groom Room is a place where guys are comfortable bringing up these issues.
The Internet sure has blown the wet-shaving thing wide open... which is fantastic. Greater accesibility to quality products and anything concerning our way of getting the perfect shave. I try diligently to steer my clients to wet shaving, as I deal with Men's Grooming/Hair Cutting/Styling every single day. Many take the plunge, while others still need more proof to switching to a DE. It's exciting to see college students care about their grooming habits, and The Groom Room is a place where guys are comfortable bringing up these issues.
Barbasol and Atra Plus cartridges. Just after the internet, I switched from the aerosol shaving cream to Surrey shaving soap and a brush I had seen at the Walgreen's drug store. In February, I was trying to find any sort of review about the Trumper's soap my wife had gotten me three years earlier, along with a Crabtree & Evelyn best badger brush and mach 3 handle, and stumbled upon this site. Then the floodgates opened! I never would have thought to try DE shaving until finding this site. I knew the expensive multiple blade cartridges were bunk, but I thought I would shave with Atra Plus as long as they were available.
OUCH!
Anyone else suddenly feel old after reading that!?
I'll make you feel old too. I started shaving at the same time as I got on the internet, about 17 years ago now. I started with an electric then went to a bodyshop twin cartridge and their cream with a synthetic brush.
OUCH!
Anyone else suddenly feel older after reading that!?
To the OP - Started off with a Sensor and stayed with it (adding a brush and Taylor's shave cream a couple of years later) and went to DEs not long after the Mach3 came about.
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Good question. I'd really like to hear from guys that were using the good stuff before there were discussion boards to enable AD's. 
I started shaving around 20-22 years ago.
Back then I used BIC Disposables and had a wooden bowl (probably Boots), a soap stick (again most likely Boots) and a cheap Boots Board brush. I couldn't lather worth a damn but I tried. I got decent shaves but more often than not would slash my face up as I'd never been given any instruction on how to shave. I also used original Old Spice AS and Burley AS.
I guess I changed over to a Mach3 and canned Goo in the mid-90s when given the new razor a Christmas present or something. It seemed like progress at the time?
Like many others, the internet has been a real boon for me. I have now gone back to wetshaving but this time with a DE. The quality of my shaves is important to me and I can now obtain pretty much anything my heart desires given sufficient funds and time. Certainly DE shaving is nowhere near as big as it once was but I feel confident there will always be a market for it however small.
Back then I used BIC Disposables and had a wooden bowl (probably Boots), a soap stick (again most likely Boots) and a cheap Boots Board brush. I couldn't lather worth a damn but I tried. I got decent shaves but more often than not would slash my face up as I'd never been given any instruction on how to shave. I also used original Old Spice AS and Burley AS.
I guess I changed over to a Mach3 and canned Goo in the mid-90s when given the new razor a Christmas present or something. It seemed like progress at the time?
Like many others, the internet has been a real boon for me. I have now gone back to wetshaving but this time with a DE. The quality of my shaves is important to me and I can now obtain pretty much anything my heart desires given sufficient funds and time. Certainly DE shaving is nowhere near as big as it once was but I feel confident there will always be a market for it however small.
I used electric razors. 
but I started shaving around 1980. Before a couple of years ago, it was all cartridges and canned foam. I started with the Trac II, then went on to the Atra and the Sensor. I settled on the Sensor as my favorite until a couple of years ago.
When I started sometimes I'd use my Dad's old Noxzema brushless shaving cream. I even tried his GEM SE razor a few times (little did I know the old man was doing it right all along).
I kept using cartridges and experimenting with various shaving creams - mostly unsuccessfully - Alba, Kiss My Face, Trader Joes - all brushless but they didn't work that well for me - they clogged up the razor cartridges.
When I started sometimes I'd use my Dad's old Noxzema brushless shaving cream. I even tried his GEM SE razor a few times (little did I know the old man was doing it right all along).
I kept using cartridges and experimenting with various shaving creams - mostly unsuccessfully - Alba, Kiss My Face, Trader Joes - all brushless but they didn't work that well for me - they clogged up the razor cartridges.
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