Buying lots of stuff

[Maximus2]

Hey guys. I've been DE shaving for about a month and I'm really starting to get the hang of it. I think my current routine is a bit too aggressive, but that also might just be a residual angle issue, and my lathering still isn't quite up to par, but I've pretty much got the basics down. I'm getting very good shaves every day with very little irritation.

Anyway, now that I don't really need to control for variables quite as much I think I'm ready to start branching out into other products. The problem is that there are so many different things I want to buy. Can you guys help me decide what is worth going for at this point and what I should leave aside?

My current setup:

Razor: Merkur 180 Long Handle
Blades: Walgreens DE blades... I believe these are rebranded Personnas
Brush: Shea Moisture thing from Target
Cream: Proraso
Aftershave: Proraso Liquid Cream Aftershave
Prep: Kyle's prep with the Proraso

- I'm not thinking about getting a new razor, though I want to try a straight at some point (but that's in the distant future).
- I think a blade sampler pack is probably the most important thing for me to get right now. I'm thinking about the $10 option from West Coast Shaving.
- My brush has too much loft and I think that also may be impacting my lather. Since an entry-level Tweezerman isn't all that much, is it worth upgrading to something? Any suggestions?
- I want to try both Musgo Real and TOBS Avacado. But I feel like one thing of each of these will last me forever. Should I wait until I finish my tube of Proraso and then just get one of these? Also, if CO Bigelow is just repackaged Proraso, I'm going to want to pick some up at Bath and Body works during their sale...
- Is it worth getting Witch Hazel? Which one? There seem to be like 20 different options from Thayer alone.
- Kyle's prep doesn't really seem to be doing a lot for me. Maybe I'm just not noticing it or not doing it quite right, but I also kinda want to try some other prep. Any suggestions? How are the Proraso/Musgo pre/posts?
- Also, my current bowl seems like it's a little too tall. Is it worth spending money on a new one to fix this or am I being too much of a perfectionist?

Anyway, I'm a college student and so don't really have a fortune to spend on this. With that said, I'm also not poor and can probably get away with using some of my parents' money, so I can definitely afford to get some nice stuff.

Thanks guys.

 

[Vlad]

First, it's not worth getting another razor. Second, since you don't really know what you like in soaps or creams, or bowl-lathering vs. face-lathering (or both), I suggest you stick with your current brush. It's not worth spending money until you know what you're looking for.

So I suggest spending your money on the 'software'. That said, I bought a latte-style cup for $3, and I enjoy it much better than the small cereal bowl I was using before, but in aesthetics, not efficacy. As far as Thayer's goes, I'm enjoying the no-alcohol Rose, but I think it's lots more fun to try soaps and creams. That $10 will get you a sample pack from Trumper or Trufitt and Hill, or a puck of good soap.

 

[Maximus2]

Apparently Proraso splash is very highly-thought-of here and contains Witch Hazel, so I may try that.

 

[Mr. Igg]

A blade sample pack is a good idea, and I'd suggest upscaling to the largest pack (more options = better). You'll be surprised how much difference blades can make, even if only to confirm that your Walgreen's DEs are the ones for you.

I haven't used the Shea Moisture brush, but if you're unhappy with your lather, the Tweezerman is actually a pretty serviceable little brush at $15ish. For that matter, although my experience with boar brushes is very limited, I'm sure others will recommend some good quality boar brushes that won't break the bank. If you decide to move up beyond, say $25ish, which should get you a very respectable boar, come back and we can point you toward some good badger brushes, too.

CO Bigelo = Proraso (for all intents and purposes). If you like Proraso, go nuts at the sale.

Finally, in terms of soaps and creams, you can get some great soaps from our boutique vendors (e.g., Honeybee Spa, Mama Bear, and so on). Also, if you've got a Rite Aid handy, grab a tube of The Real Shaving Company cream, which is made by the folks behind the higher-end 3 T's" creams, and is an absolutely steal of a product.

Oh, the witch hazel: it's my daily splash; I prefer it to more heavily alcohol based splashes. I don't have an uber-schnozz, so I can live with the scent of the basic brands (e.g., Dickinson); but, some find that scent off-putting, and prefer Thayers. If you've got a functioning sense of smell, you might just let your nose lead you in that dimension...

Have fun!

 

[DoctorTattoo]

Where do you live Maximus? I have the remanants of 2 sample packs I could help you out with. I was able to pick my favorite blades fairley quickly so I have quite a few left. PM me for details.

Shawn

 

[jwhiskercut]

Man that's a lot of ground to cover in one post but I'll do what I can.


Your brush is fine for lathering. Are there other brushes you might like better? Yes. Do you need another brush? No. I have a Vulfix, 2 restores with Golden Nib knots and the Shea Moisture brush. The Shea Moisture brush gets the most use. I use it with Proraso (CO Bigelow branded) and I get plenty of nice useable lather. I would wait until you can buy something above the Tweezerman. You can get a lot of nice brushes in the $50-$100. You could even restore one yourself for less than that.

I will say my Truefitt and Hill creams lather slightly easier than the Proraso, but not by much. For the price difference, I can swirl my brush a few extra time. I bought different creams because of their scent, not because they outperformed the Proraso.

If you're interested in trying some different creams/soaps/aftershaves, T&H and GEO Trumper offer nice sampler packs that won't kill the budget. You can try most of both companies line up, for ~$20 combined. My T&H sampler lasted close to a month!

Definitely get a blade sampler from West Coast. My shaves didn't really hit their mark until I found the right blade for me (feather... YMMV).

I bought regular whatever brand of Witch Hazel that Walgreens had. I didn't like the smell at first, but I've gotten used to it, and it fades within minutes, so it doesn't matter to me. Family Dollar has some for $1.75 I plan on trying next.

I lather in an old $1 goodwilll bowl. Dollar tree has some decent options too.

 

[Maximus2]

Man, you guys must be much better at finding things at local brick-and-mortar shops than I am. I've checked a couple Walgreens pretty thoroughly and have never seen Witch Hazel, though I guess it's worth trying to find a bigger store. I'll see if I can find a Rite Aid.

I just saw the thread about the $3 shave bowl from Target. I'm going to see if I can track that one down.

Cream samplers sound... fun. I just wish I didn't have to order all this stuff offline and could just walk into a drug store and get it.

DoctorTattoo: Wow! Thanks for the offer! With that said, it's probably easier to just order from WestCoastShaving, and I'm a little excited to have my money go to support a shaving supply company rather than Amazon.com, so I think I'm going to go for that.

 

[mdevine]

I agree with the advice above. For about $20, you can get a decent blade sampler ( by far the most important thing to get), a bottle of inexpensive WH which will perform as well as anything else (so you can see how well you like it), a tube of C.O. Bigelow SC and an inexpensive lather bowl. This will last you quite a while and you will get top notch shaves. I used the cheap drugstore WH for quite a while and the scent never bothered me and it dissipates rapidly. Eventually I stumbled across Speick and it is now my go-to AS. I would wait on changing brushes until you have tried the above items. At that point, there are many brushes in the $25-45 range that members seem to really like. This price point seems to bump up the brush quality quite a bit and you have to spend quite a bit more for minor incremental quality improvements beyond that. I would look at the reviews and maybe even post a question about brushes in this price range. I'm sure you will get a lot of constructive advise.

 

[amspratt]

Some excellent advice has been offered. I would also recommend picking up a bottle of some kind of aftershave. I really like Aqua Velva, which is available at any drugstore along with many other excellent, cheap AS's. I'd also recommend trying out a soap. Van Der Hagen is quite good, and is widely available at Wal-Mart and Walgreens. Oh, and witch hazel usually isn't located with shaving equipment. More often I've found it by the rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide.

 

[Mr. Igg]

Man, you guys must be much better at finding things at local brick-and-mortar shops than I am. I've checked a couple Walgreens pretty thoroughly and have never seen Witch Hazel, though I guess it's worth trying to find a bigger store. I'll see if I can find a Rite Aid.

You might try the first aid section, too. It'll be in a generic-looking bottle. Although, come to think of it, I'm not completely sure my Walgreens carries the generic WH; I think it just has a massively overpriced bottle of Dickinson's.

 

[apologeticus]

I bought Dickinson's WH last week at Walgreen's in the skin care section on sale for $3.99

 

[manchambo]

I would buy everything.

But if you don't want to do that: Getting a pot of TOBS (rose or avocado would be good choices) would be a great improvement over the Proraso, in my opinion.

I don't like the straight witch hazel due to smell. The CO Bigelow has witch hazel and other good ingredients, and it is part of the big sale, so I'd definitely pick that up, too.

 

[DESkydiver]

I would agree that obtaining another razor is not necessary, and that you should get at least one sampler pack. I would check West Coast Shaving and Bullgoose Shaving for their packages that have the best selection for samples IMHO. Some samples have the same blades as others, so you want to get the best assortment you can find, even if you wind up buying different samplers from different vendors.

If you feel your Shea Moisture brush has too much loft, you could try a Tweezerman’s. I have not tried either, so I cannot say how it would respond, but it is cheap enough that it will not ‘break the bank’ if you don’t like it.

Personally I do not like Proraso in any named product. I break out bad whenever I used Proraso or CO Bigelow. I would renew thought on obtaining a sample pack from various vendors and try each sample both as face lathering and bowl lathering to get a feel for what works best for you. The Truefit and Hill sampler can be had, and make sure you use the Discount Code of BB10 to get a 20% discount.

I like Thayer’s Witch Hazel and have tried the Rose, Violet and Unscented and I prefer the Unscented with Aloe, as it does not conflict with any splash I add after. I also have an alum block, which I used after each shave to ‘test’ my shaving method / technique. Once I finally reached the level that it no longer stings after each shave, I returned to using only Witch Hazel after the shave and only use the alum block when I get careless and get a weeper.

I have tried different pre-treatments, oils, Kyle’s, hot towel, etc. and find that just soaking my face with warm water is sufficient and at a much lower cost.

If you really want to look at different bowls, etc. I suggest going to the local Salvation Army, Goodwill, or other similar donation sale center and look at their houseware section for different bowls and mugs. I have found some really cool mugs for soaps and for mixing, and was lucky enough one time to find a set of 4 Old Spice mugs for $2.50.

Good luck with your continued search and enjoy the fun of finding what works best for you. Also, before spending your money, look at the reviews for the various products and keep your eyes open in the PIF and BST forums for good deals. Timing is everything to get the best deals.