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Do you remember when you started shaving and what you used?

Age 12 with a 30s vintage Tech then a black handle SS that my Dad bought for me in my Uncle's store where they sold tons of Gillette razors, Schicks, Wilk blades and Personna as well as tons of Foamy or Barbasol. I worked in those stores in the late 70s and early 80's for the Summer and remember those razors like the black handle SS and Super Adjustables at 1.99. If I only knew....They had to be kept behind the counter with the Preparation H. The junkies liked to steal the H to put on needle marks. One of the most pilfered items and if the razors were out so would they disappear. I digress but that was Midtown Manhattan in the good ol days!
 
My sophomore year of high school, fall 1987. I attended a Catholic school which had a dress code that required, among other things, the young men to always be clean shaven. The dirt mustache under my nose finally had become dark enough that the principal stopped me in the hall and kindly informed me I needed to shave before I returned to school on Monday (ironically, he himself had a giant bushy mustache).

That weekend my dad gave me what I think was a Gillette Good News disposable and had me make lather with my hands and whatever bar of soap was in the bathroom for hand washing (probably Dial). By the time I was a senior my dirt 'stache had turned into man-hair and I had started using Edge Gel and some cartridges that had a little button to clear the hair and gunk out from between the twin blades. Then sometime after I went to college in 1990 I bought a Gillette Sensor which I still have. I use it every once in a blue moon for no particular reason.
 
Oh I think I am among the early 90's crowd. I remember being younger maybe 9 in Hawaii with a boys bathroom toy kit that had what would be a DE style razor and practicing with it a couple of times, pretending to be a grown-up. But I do know that there was really no instruction from my dad about shaving, or some hey it's time to shave talk. Just a, you should shave more than you do talk. But I recall maybe a can of barbosol and a Sensor Excel. Then quickly moving on the edge gel because they had a "tough" beard formula. That was pretty much it. Though I did move up the ladder of Gillette multi-blade carts. Having a Fusion at one point. Then back in 2013 I decided I had enough of them and started to think about a SR, ended up getting a cheap brush from Sally's and a tub of Proraso white. Then a year later moved to dollar shave club. Then father's day 2016 I finally jumped on a deal for a Standard Razor DE and have been happy. I just got a flare tip and that may be a better shave than what I have been getting in the last year.
 
That's a good question! When I was a kid (in the 50s and 60s) there was no internet, so any buying would have to be done locally...like at the drugstore or grocery store. You could order stuff from catalogs, I guess, but I don't know if blades were available from places like Sears or Wards. I have no memory of how I obtained blades. I hope others have a better memory than I do.
I remember seeing both razors and blades hanging on the shelves when I went through the checkout line at the grocery store. I never saw anything shave related other than electrics at Sears, or Montgomery Wards.

Clayton

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My first non-electric shave gear was a brand-new Super Adjustable 109 and a can of (probably) Gillette Foamy.
I hang on to the fantasy that the Super 109 is still somewhere in my . . . stuff, probably in a box in the basement, and that I will find it.
 
My first shaved year in the 70s was an electric. My first DE shave gear was this past November, and was a Parker R90 razor, TOBS sandalwood cream, Shark blade, and a Perfecto badger brush.
 
My firts razor was DE. Not a very good one. Pretty sure it was twist-to-open. Perhaps a budget gilette product. I probably used a can of gilette foam as well. I didn't use a DE for very long before I was buying the Gilette Sensor which was a really big deal in the 80s. Then at one point I thought I had the last word in shaving when I bought a Wilkinson product. It was silver. Not a DE, but something with its own special razors. (Wilkinson sword, maybe?)
 
Actually, I just realized that the company itself is called Wilkinson Sword. The product was "The Protector", a so-so shaver
 
First razor was one that I used belonging to my grandfather, a Schick Krona circa 1970. He had Williams soap and some type of brush and bowl to use. Later I discovered shaving creams, various brands. Later I settled on Barbasol and Noxzema. My recent interest is experiencing old vintage razors.
 

ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
First shave was about 1979, a dry shave with my fathers disposable. Horrendous. I had a beard in High School and didn't start shaving properly until November 1983. I bought myself a Schick Super 2/Ultrex and a cheap brush and some canned foam. Still have the Schick and still use it on the occasion. It has always had my back.
 
I started shaving at 14, with a cheap electric razor that had a habit of literally pulling the hairs from my face if there was too much growth. It was like a black brick - none of this fancy pivoting head malarkey. It just plugged into the wall, sounded like an industrial tool, and ripped the hairs out of your face. It could have been sold as an epilator.

My father, who has had a full beard since he was a teenager, insisted that "razors are dangerous and will cut you to pieces, either use an electric one or grow a proper beard and just give it a trim once per month". In retrospect, I wonder whether he gave me the world's worst electric razor as part of his evangelism for the merits of a full beard.

After three or four years of agony and frustration, I threw that thing in the bin - it was just getting less and less effective, and replacement blades were impossible to find (I don't think it even had a recognizable brand name on it). So I switched to cartridge razors and canned foam.

When my wife-to-be moved in with me, she bought me another (much, much nicer) electric razor for use before bed, insisting that my dense forest of stubble was too harsh to share a bed with (she likened it to sleeping with an echidna or porcupine). I still used the cartridge razor of a morning, because an electric razor would give me a 5 o'clock shadow by lunchtime.

Not long ago, I switched to a DE razor because I was sick of the constant trade-off with cartridge razors of either using them until they were totally blunt (and having to mash them into my face), or paying a way too much for a new cartridge each week. I still use an electric razor for a quick 60 second once-over before bed, though.
 
When it was time to start shaving, I recall my mum buying us( twin brother and I) a packet of BIC orange disposables along with a can of Gillette Goo. This was in 2003 with we were 15.



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A first shaved about 1982 with a Blue Good News! razor, an event neither good nor newsworthy! I found the "regular" BIC razors to be a bit better. Schick had a double blade disposable with a sliding blade guard that was my favorite with Edge gel. Otherwise, I used Colgate or Barbasol goo. I had a boar brush back then, but never used it (I think Dad commadeered it when he dropped his in the toilet).
 
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My first shave was with a Gillette tto in 1958, it was my dad's razor. I think the soap was Williams and I remember that I didn't like the scent so I bought a can of shaving cream. I can't remember the model of the razor or which tto Gillette that I bought for myself.

Stuartg74
 
Early 90s, and most likely Gillette Sensor Excel, or whatever cartridge razor my dad was using at the time. From there on, it was just a progression of Gillette carts. I vaguely remember trying some Schick carts along the way and never liking them. Tried all the 5 blade and vibrating nonsense, but never felt anything was much of an improvement over either the Sensor or Mach3. Always using just avg canned goo.

Then stumbled into the wonder world of traditional shaving using DEs last year, and been having a blast.

I remember seeing DE razors at my grandparent's home, but never really looked into it, thinking it was just outdated old school tools. I wish I had been a more curious kid...
 
First 2 months back in 80s was with a Norelco. A lot of irritation on neck and sides of my mouth. Tried the oil but it never helped. Went with the Atra after that. Still use the Atra on those hurry up mornings if I need a 30 second work ready shave.

My wife used my Atra during her most recent pregnancy and now won’t give it up. I had bought her an NOS Lady Gillette prior, which she loved but I think she likes how fast the Atra is and the ease of using that long aluminum handle. Kills me, I spent some cash on that Lady Gillette.
 
Three years ago.
I used Wilkinson plastic DE and Palmolive shave stick.
Really not bad combo to start with. :)

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