Can I switch to DE after 25 years with an electric? One man's dilemma

[HeadlongFlight]

Well, I'm 20 shaves in now. I'm slowly coming along. Been a few days since a nick, but I often get a couple weepers. Usually doing two passes, sometimes three, but a lot of touch ups probably turn into a pass of their own. Or something like that. The neck still isn't looking as calm as I would like, but at least it feels better than it did after those first few shaves.

I have added a Merkur 38C and Edwin Jagger DE89L to my Merkur 34C. I think I like the longer handles a bit better, but the 34C is hardly too short. At 6'3", I have big hands.

I am a dork, so I maintain a complicated spreadsheet that tracks all my hardware and software combinations used each day, and keeps a running total of various thing. Let's hear it for array formulas in Excel!

Far too early to declare favorites, but happy so far with: RazoRock Bee's Knees/Zi' Peppino and Proraso sandalwood; Astra SP; and I'm liking Aqua Velva Ice Blue and Brut. Even Pinaud Clubman! I received a batch of samples yesterday, and...Lilac Vegetal? I don't think I'm among The Chosen.

Most weekdays, I'm using cheap Noxzema cream for a preshave, with the Proraso on the weekends. Guy's gotta rein in costs somewhere, right?

During this honeymoon phase, I am changing blades after the second or third shave.

A few days ago, I shared the news of my wetshaving foray on Facebook, and as expected, most were perplexed and amused by this curious and seemingly complicated change in routine. One relative was in fact rudely dismissive of the whole endeavor. Oh well.

I did discover a college friend, whom I knew to be a long-time electric shaver like me, went DE last year, so that sparked a nice email conversation with him about various aspects of all that. He has been far more sane in his purchases, sticking with a couple soaps, Feathers, and a Merkur Futur.

I may or may not have some acquisition disorders underway, but as of this writing, nothing huge is tugging at my wallet. I brought out all the goodies for a "family photo" while my wife was gone today.

I continue to enjoy the many conversations here on the forum. Lots of information out there. Thanks again for reading.

 

[mrb7]

I brought out all the goodies for a "family photo" while my wife was gone today.

View attachment 455864

Yeah, that's the ticket. Jump right in with both feet.

 

[cb91710]

I spent nearly 40 years bouncing between electric, various cartridges, and simply not shaving.
Primarily because of the poor and irritating shaves that I got from each.
I "settled in" back in 2005 or 2006 when I switched to the Fusion, and started shaving my head.
I joined this forum, tried DE for a couple of months, then moved to straight razors and love it.

 

[mkiraly]

Welcome aboard!
Nice collection!

 

[gdawg55]

Awesome!! I thought I was bad.

Yeah, that's the ticket. Jump right in with both feet.

 

[HeadlongFlight]

Now I have some Stirling items on order, and of course, I had to get in on the recent frenzy at Italian Barber with the RazoRock replenishment going on there.

Today, I couldn't turn down the $2 Barbasol Pacific Rush aftershave at the grocery, and I even bought two wooden boxes at the cigar store.

 

[HeadlongFlight]

Thread revival!

One year ago today, I put my electric razor in the drawer, and haven't used it since. On May 12, I stared wet shaving. I've now completed 355 shaves/10 days off.

I'm glad I switched! Looking back, the learning curve (ie, my neck!) was a little rough at first, but things finally settled down as my skin got accustomed to the process. It's relaxing, it's a closer shave, a longer-lasting shave. I enjoy the time, even if I get up a few minutes earlier now to accommodate it. I love the various scents of my "soaps and potions," as my wife calls them.

The geek in me likes it, too, because I've recorded the time (like morning, midday, etc.), whether accompanied by a shower, preshave (gave up on that in November), cream/soap, blade, razor, shave count on blade, aftershave, and comments about the outcome for all of them.

I've used 37 different soaps/creams, and 35 after shaves, both including quite a few samples. My Merkur 38C and 34C rule the roost, with 237 and 91 shaves, respectively.

I've used 84 Voskhod blades for 250 shaves, and multiples of 15 other brands of blades for the other 105 shaves. Astra Superior Platinum is my second favorite, with 41 shaves.

A tub of RazoRock Freedberg or Don Marco will last me about 55 shaves each (the only two tubs I've completely finished). 100 ml of Proraso Green will splash my face about 100 times (I refilled it from a 400 ml bottle before it was completely empty).

But I am definitely not among The Chosen. Lilac Vegetal is not for me.

So, gents...if you're on the fence like I was, give it a shot! Just hang in there at first if you haven't been a blade user.

 

[PMT]

Congrats bro!

 

[Red One]

Great story and enjoyed this thread. I'm only about a month in and jumped in with both feet like you did. Switched from carts myself and still have some technique to work on but it's going well. Congrats on your success.

 

[Teppanyaki]

Congratulations!

 

[pakmode]

Great thread and story line - really enjoyed reading it.
Great data analysis as well.

 

[JaredB]

Fun thread to follow. Congrats.

 

[HeadlongFlight]

Five years later...six years in...still loving my DE shaves!

I gave up on the spreadsheet, but I kinda miss the data it provided.

I pretty much use Voskhods exclusively, though I still have a variety in my six-year-old stash. Merkur 38C is the daily driver, with occasional appearances of the 34C or Edwin Jagger DE89L. Mostly using RazoRock soaps and the big Proraso 400ml bottle of aftershave. Love that stuff.

The recent change...and it’s a big one...is that I’ve begun shaving my head. Four times since last Sunday. Humbling all over again. Couple very minor nicks, but I’m slow. Haven’t needed any blood transfusions yet! A lot more territory to cover now in a shave. And it’s so hard to see well, and reach comfortably. Too close for glasses and too far for no glasses. The empty hand is doing a lot of exploratory tactile reconnaissance during the head shave. Today I didn’t really attempt to use my wall-mount articulating mirror; just the main vanity one.

Ordered an inexpensive synthetic brush today because my main badger one is starting to shed a bit.

Toying with the idea of a facial hair experiment this fall to complement the shaved head look. Never worn facial hair. Would be a strange thing to try, but then again so was shaving my head despite the receding and being really short already.

Happy shaving, gentlemen!

 

[dmshaver]

It's fun reading your journey, thanks for posting an update so others can read it. I've never tried shaving my head, can't imagine myself clean-shaven up there. I say go for it with the facial hair. I've got a mustache & I love not having to worry about what others say is such a hard part to shave. Enjoy your journey!

 

[BigJ]

Welcome aboard!

Some great advice above! In your shoes, I would just go for it!! ’Traditional‘ wet shaving is more fun and it provides better shaves! Well worth investing a bit of time and effort given the returns.

 

[Clay S]

I would definitely try facial hair if I were shaving my head. Most bald men look better with facial hair IMO.

 

[JCarr]

Welcome aboard. All good thoughts. When I was a young guy and started into the whole shaving experience, I would tear up my neck with disposable type razors. I switched to an inexpensive double edge razor and basically had the same results. I switched to electric for a long time and finally decided to give double edge safety shaving another go. I learned a great deal from these very forums. I get a good to great shave just about every day now and my neck is fine. You learn as you go. I look back on what I wasn't doing and what I didn't know and I can honestly say that those things lead to problems; irritation, razor burn, nicks, cuts weepers. Not to say that that could never ever happen again, but what I know now helps me to minimize those instances into anomalies rather than every day experiences. A few members spoke about the rabbit hole...this can get addicting...razors, blades, soaps, creams, aftershaves...you name it! My first lesson learned was through the loss of money. Get something good up front from a hardware perspective and from a software perspective try something that's fairly reliable and known to be of good quality. Plenty of time to explore other things. But this will actually save you some money up front. As far as razor blades...get sampler packs to see what works best for you or go to tryablade.com and order two of ten different blades to see what your face likes. Use the forums...search for topics that are on your mind and you'll find a plethora of info!

And most of all...Happy Shaves!

 

[JCarr]

Welcome aboard. All good thoughts. When I was a young guy and started into the whole shaving experience, I would tear up my neck with disposable type razors. I switched to an inexpensive double edge razor and basically had the same results. I switched to electric for a long time and finally decided to give double edge safety shaving another go. I learned a great deal from these very forums. I get a good to great shave just about every day now and my neck is fine. You learn as you go. I look back on what I wasn't doing and what I didn't know and I can honestly say that those things lead to problems; irritation, razor burn, nicks, cuts weepers. Not to say that that could never ever happen again, but what I know now helps me to minimize those instances into anomalies rather than every day experiences. A few members spoke about the rabbit hole...this can get addicting...razors, blades, soaps, creams, aftershaves...you name it! My first lesson learned was through the loss of money. Get something good up front from a hardware perspective and from a software perspective try something that's fairly reliable and known to be of good quality. Plenty of time to explore other things. But this will actually save you some money up front. As far as razor blades...get sampler packs to see what works best for you or go to tryablade.com and order two of ten different blades to see what your face likes. Use the forums...search for topics that are on your mind and you'll find a plethora of info!

And most of all...Happy Shaves!

I take it all back...looked at your picture. You're no novice!

 

[Benzadmiral]

Headlong,

I'm glad to hear about your shaving adventure. I too was a Braun shaver until the foil bit me, and a Norelco man, until I happened to try some disposable razors and Barbasol when bugging out for a hurricane. Best shaves I'd had in years, and when I got back I started researching DE shaving. I'm glad I did.

 

[allyourbasearebelongtous]

shaving with a de razor or a straight razor is like making love to a woman. the first time is not always peachy keen. but once you learn what to do, you know what time it is.