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First time with DE (on the legs!)

I thought I'd come out of lurking now and finally say hi. First off I'm a gal who has been interested in getting a better shave for quite some time. I'm sick of throwing dollars down the drain on expensive cartridges that only irritate my skin and really like the idea of shaving in a more traditional style.

Several years ago I wised up to the fact that most shave creams and gel (read: canned goo) dried my skin out and made my legs feel terrible and itchy after a shave. But I didn't think about a brush and traditional soaps/creams for quite some time. Instead I used hair conditioner. Besides the fact that it's sometimes hard to see where you've already shaved I thought it worked pretty well. Plus it was a heckuva lot cheaper than the other stuff. My razor (a Schick Quattro with the vibrating doodad in it) didn't seem to get clogged as much as before.

Besides spending so much cash on the cartridges I've been frustrated at how quickly the hair on my legs grows back. Within several hours I feel stubble! Not appealing to me. So I started researching how men shave and what works best for them. My personal thought is men's shaving products should work just as well if not better than stuff geared towards women. The commercial shaving products for women seem to be all marketing hype... The differences in design make no real difference in the end result, IMHO.

Mantic's videos on Youtube really got me started and into this. :biggrin: After watching quite a few of his I went out to Walmart and bought an el-cheapo Van der Hagen boar brush and glycerin soap. I tried using those with my Schick instead of the usual hair conditioner and didn't really notice a difference in smoothness (in fact I thought it was a little less smooth than my normal shaves) but I do think there was less irritation. I also followed up the shave with an alcohol-free lotion, something I didn't do in the past.

I like the soap but the brush is only ok. I'm not really concerned with softness since I think my legs could use some exfoliating :)tongue:) but I don't like spending such a long time trying to whip up a lather. I think I need to find a better brush that doesn't leave my wrist cramped!

Anywho, after lurking on the B&B forums I decided to buy a DE Razor and try that out. Got a Gillette Lady Blue Star from Ebay that's in great condition and a pack of 100 Derby blades to start out with. I usually only shave once or twice a week so I'm thinking 100 is too many to start out with but I couldn't pass up the deal! :redface: When the blades came in they also send a tube of their lavender shave cream. It doesn't really smell like lavender, more like some medicinal cleaning product.

So today I tried my first DE shave with the glycerin soap and the shave cream mixed together. I think I did okay making the lather (hate the time it takes with the boar brush) but I'm just not sure on the soap/cream/water/air ratio especially since all the tutorials are geared towards how much lather is needed for the face, not the legs! I had to make more lather when I was done with the first leg just to feel like I had enough.

I decided I wanted to do just one ATG pass on each leg. I know some have recommended WTG and then ATG but I was kind of lazy. :blushing: When I first put the razor to my leg I was trying to super careful. Everything I read on the board suggested I would tear my skin up if I shaved I did using a pivot-head cartridge razor. And I also read that for the ladies the fresh Derby blades were maybe too sharp and a used one was better on legs. To be honest I think reading those might have been to my detriment. I normally don't apply pressure with my cartridge razors, I just let the blades do the work. So I was actually using negative pressure with the DE and things were not as close or smooth as I think they could have been. However after the first leg I felt more confident using the razor and actually let the weight of it do the work like it is supposed to.

I only ended up with one or two nicks near the top of my legs but they were very tiny and stopped bleeding almost immediately. So I'm feeling pretty good about the whole experience! The shave still was not my smoothest but it was by far the least irritating and moisturizing I have ever had, and my skin doesn't itch at all like it used to. I'm excited to continue this style of shaving and hope to improve my lathering and shaving technique. I also want to invest in a decent brush. For now I'm fine with the VDH soap but eventually I'd like to look into something else. My goal is to have BBS legs that stay smooth for at least 24 hours. We'll see how this goes! :smile:

For parting words, I'd like to chime in on the suggestion of creating a ladies' subforum. There really is just too little information out there on how women can get a proper shave for their legs. Most of the info I have found comes from commercial sources looking to market their latest shaving gadget, gel or cream for women. We need real solid research, not myth and speculation!

Sorry for such a long post but I just had to talk about all of it. Thanks everyone! Can't wait to see how things go from here.
 
Welcome!

Half the guys here, who are married, just jumped off the computer to grab their wives just to prove girls do exist on here.
 
What's really ironic to me is my fiance uses an electric razor that leaves his face all red and seems to miss quite a few spots. I find myself in the predicament of trying to convince him to switch to wetshaving! :lol: I don't mind the rough hair (I really like facial hair on a guy actually) that much but I just think it would be nice if we both could enjoy this "hobby". :biggrin:
 
I almost fell out the day my wife asked me to "make some of your good lather for me" She now won't use anything else. She is not real fond of blades but uses a shick injector E type and calls it her razor! :001_smile
 
What's really ironic to me is my fiance uses an electric razor that leaves his face all red and seems to miss quite a few spots. I find myself in the predicament of trying to convince him to switch to wetshaving! :lol: I don't mind the rough hair (I really like facial hair on a guy actually) that much but I just think it would be nice if we both could enjoy this "hobby". :biggrin:

Good for you!!!
 
Welcome to B&B. For me anyway, I find making lather with glycerin based soap easier using Scotto's method: #1 and #2
Have fun!

-Clarke
 
For parting words, I'd like to chime in on the suggestion of creating a ladies' subforum. There really is just too little information out there on how women can get a proper shave for their legs. Most of the info I have found comes from commercial sources looking to market their latest shaving gadget, gel or cream for women. We need real solid research, not myth and speculation!


I will +1 on that.. i would love to learn more and get my wife in here..(she wont do it on her own)
 
t I don't like spending such a long time trying to whip up a lather. I think I need to find a better brush that doesn't leave my wrist cramped!

You might find you're better off with a cream rather than a soap - especially as a beginner, cream is a lot easier to lather. I'd also suggest almond or violet scented cream as I don't think those scents would seem out of place on a female. Mama bear www.bear-haven.com has some soaps specifically for women when you get a bit more experienced.
 
The shave still was not my smoothest but it was by far the least irritating and moisturizing I have ever had, and my skin doesn't itch at all like it used to.
Welcome to B&B! Sounds like you're off to a good start, and I'm sure you'll get smoother shaves as you get more practice.

On legs going against the grain right off isn't as bad as doing it on facial hair. From what I've gathered from this forum (and girlfriends) beard hair is tougher and the skin on the face is more sensitive so being careful is more important for us guys. :)
 
Dent

welcome to B&B Glad you found the place .

One thing I have to say for you to try is Mama Bears Tahitian flowers soap My wife uses it all the time .

The lather is great and the scent drives me crazy . It is by far one of my favorite ladies soaps .

the soaps scent is so sweet you just want to eat it up .

I will tell you the same thing I have told others buy it and if you dont like it send me a PM and I will buy it from you . Thats how sure I am of that scent .




Nick
 
Welcome to the board. I would recommend ditching that boar hair brush. I happen to like boar hair brushes but that's because they're good for small surface areas and great control. Get a big badger hair brush. Especially since you're dealing with a larger surface shaving area and if you're gonna use shaving creams (which are quicker and easier). Shaving soaps are good too but if you're looking for ease and speed, shaving creams are the way to go. The Vulfix Super Badger shaving brush comes to mind. You can cover more surface area quicker. Badger hair is alot more softer and fluffier than boar and this allows the brush to mix air and water into the shaving cream for quick and smooth lather. Get a large lather mug and try Lee's for shaving creams. Of course there are other fine sites for creams and brushes but these two come to mind at the moment. You might cut corners and still get a good quality badger hair brush but get the best shaving cream you can. Splurging on fine shaving creams pays off because a good cream will provide a layer of protection between your skin and the razor. So get the best cream you can.:tongue_sm. These are my recommendations and they're worth everything you paid for them.
Ernest
 
Welcome Dent!
My wife uses a schick injector and shave soaps.Although she doesn't use a brush (unless I whip it up for her) she normally just lathers up the soap with her hands.She claims she will never go back to a cartridge razor.
Thanks for chiming in with your experience,maybe it will get some more ladies interested who are now just lurkers.
 
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