General Tips and Observations

[Wildalaska]

FWIW to Newbies:

1. If you can shave in the shower, do it. You will be amazed at how much better your shave is.
2. Cheap stuff is cheap for a reason. Why scrimp, you only live once.
3. Razors blades are designed to cut hair, therefore, the sharper the better.
4. Irritation is most like likely to occur after your first pass. Thus, either shave with two razors and use the milder one for all work after your first pass, or dial down your adjustable.
5. Lather belongs on your face, not in a bowl.
6. Scent is personal. What you like, others may not.
7. Turning over your blade after a shave makes the blade last longer.
8. Toilet paper is as good as a styptic pencil
9. Formulaic shaving is a waste of time. Its your beard and skin.

 

[7 O Menthol]

Don't forget YMMV on these!!

 

[BubbleBoy]

Is this a joke? I'd disagree with about all of this advice. My advice is to try a bunch of differenf products and a couple of techniques and find what works best for you.

 

[Ulrich]

At least you got #6 right!

 

[dpm802]

Is this a joke? I'd disagree with about all of this advice. My advice is to try a bunch of differenf products and a couple of techniques and find what works best for you.

+1 ... not much here that I concur with.

Here is how I would write this list:

1) Good prep is crucial to a good shave. No razor can do its job properly if you haven't done the preliminary work.
2) Don't judge products by price alone. There are some real gems out there in the drugstores that don't involve $$$ to have them imported from overseas.
3) A good blade is a good blade. Get a sampler pack, work through them all, and find what works best for you.
4) If you're getting irritation, look at your technique, hardware, and software in that order. Don't over-complicate things by trying too many things at once.
5) Judge lather by its QUALITY, not its Quantity. Any lather that doesn't make direct contact with your whiskers is a moot point. If it gives you a good shave, then its good lather.
6) Scent is personal. <---(This one, he got right.)
7) Never mind about blade longevity. DE blades are cheap. DE blades are easily available. DE blades are designed to be DISPOSABLE.
8) Keep a styptic pencil or alum block on hand, but practice your technique so you don't have to ever use it.
9) Formulaic shaving is good for beginners. But feel free to develop your own routines as you gain more experience.

 

[7 O Menthol]

+1 to dpm's awesome reworked list!!

 

[Go West Young Man]

Well, 6 and 9 are indisputable truths. Gonna have to take a pass on the other 7 tips, though.

 

[AABCDS]

I thought you were serious, then I read #7.

 

[brucered]

1. If you can shave in the shower, do it. You will be amazed at how much better your shave is.
Never tried and i have no desire to.

2. Cheap stuff is cheap for a reason. Why scrimp, you only live once.
i use lots of cheap stuff that works great.

3. Razors blades are designed to cut hair, therefore, the sharper the better.
not always, depends what razor i'm using

4. Irritation is most like likely to occur after your first pass. Thus, either shave with two razors and use the milder one for all work after your first pass, or dial down your adjustable.
nope. i get irritation from going over and over an area

5. Lather belongs on your face, not in a bowl.
i bowl lather all my creams, works like a charm

6. Scent is personal. What you like, others may not.
true

7. Turning over your blade after a shave makes the blade last longer.
my blade stays where it is, until it's time to throw it away.

8. Toilet paper is as good as a styptic pencil
the only time i use toilet paper in relation to shaving, is when i'm MAASing my razor and need to polish it.

9. Formulaic shaving is a waste of time. Its your beard and skin.
do what works, 1 pass, 1 pass, 4 pass, blade buffing, whatever fits your needs

 

[Wildalaska]

Here is how I would respond to your list:

1) Good prep is crucial to a good shave. No razor can do its job properly if you haven't done the preliminary work. Excellent point. that should have been on my list
2) Don't judge products by price alone. There are some real gems out there in the drugstores that don't involve $$$ to have them imported from overseas. There is a difference between usability and luxury
3) A good blade is a good blade. Get a sampler pack, work through them all, and find what works best for you. On the other hand, one doesnt shave with a dull blade
4) If you're getting irritation, look at your technique, hardware, and software in that order. Don't over-complicate things by trying too many things at once.Its not how, but when
5) Judge lather by its QUALITY, not its Quantity. Any lather that doesn't make direct contact with your whiskers is a moot point. If it gives you a good shave, then its good lather. By that definition, my point is made
6) Scent is personal. <---(This one, he got right.) Anong others.....
7) Never mind about blade longevity. DE blades are cheap. DE blades are easily available. DE blades are designed to be DISPOSABLE. Waste not, want not. Why kill a blade before its time
8) Keep a styptic pencil or alum block on hand, but practice your technique so you don't have to ever use it. Cheap out on cream and waste money on styptic?
9) Formulaic shaving is good for beginners. But feel free to develop your own routines as you gain more experience. No formula fits every face, even a beginners.

 

[Wildalaska]

I thought you were serious, then I read #7.

I was a doubter too, just started a thread

 

[gwav64]

Interesting observations...I will ponder for a while.

 

[GreekGuy]

General comment about tip #1:

What if you use a straight? Shaving with a straight in the shower seems like a good way to ruin your blade, not to mention potentially remove fingers, toes, and/or other body parts....

 

[syngent]

a rope worked for soap, may help your blade from getting anythng to important on the wat down lol, but not sure i would want to be tester of tht theory, so let us know how it works out for you nick ! lol, no seriously i chuckled a bit

General comment about tip #1:

What if you use a straight? Shaving with a straight in the shower seems like a good way to ruin your blade, not to mention potentially remove fingers, toes, and/or other body parts....

 

[musicman1951]

This is a very funny post. I don't know why you put #6 on the list as that seems like it would be true for everyone - unlike the rest.

 

[chuckr9]

General comment about tip #1:

What if you use a straight? Shaving with a straight in the shower seems like a good way to ruin your blade, not to mention potentially remove fingers, toes, and/or other body parts....

+1 (one fundamental rule is "don't shave naked witha straight razor!"

 

[Vivasanti]

silly post, I disagree with nearly all of it.

 

[Oblique Human]

Is this a joke? I'd disagree with about all of this advice. My advice is to try a bunch of differenf products and a couple of techniques and find what works best for you.

+1.. At-least you got 6 and 7 right.

 

[echotron]

I'm glad to see we all totally agree ... wait a minute, we don't!

I enjoy reading various viewpoints and I appreciate everyone being sorta civil toward each other ...

(..... especially when the other member is completely off his/her rocker on some things! )

 

[barrycv]

Here is how I would respond to your list:

1) Good prep is crucial to a good shave. No razor can do its job properly if you haven't done the preliminary work. Excellent point. that should have been on my list
2) Don't judge products by price alone. There are some real gems out there in the drugstores that don't involve $$$ to have them imported from overseas. There is a difference between usability and luxury

Yes, and some of those very 'usable' items are indeed quite cheap. My personal submission to this is an Arko stick.

3) A good blade is a good blade. Get a sampler pack, work through them all, and find what works best for you. On the other hand, one doesnt shave with a dull blade

Yes, and different blades work better for some than others do. Some don't like Feathers b/c they are too sharp for their taste. They like something else that they feel is less sharp but feels smoother to them. Personally I'm a sharper-is-better guy, but saying this is a universal truth for everyone is presumptuous, at the least.

4) If you're getting irritation, look at your technique, hardware, and software in that order. Don't over-complicate things by trying too many things at once.Its not how, but when

Uh, no, it is how. Run your blade first thing WTG without any water or cream - I'll bet you get burn & cuts. When you do that is irrelevant, the circumstances that let to the irritation are important.

5) Judge lather by its QUALITY, not its Quantity. Any lather that doesn't make direct contact with your whiskers is a moot point. If it gives you a good shave, then its good lather. By that definition, my point is made

No, your point is not made. You insinuated that bowl lathering is a waste of time. A lot of people like doing it & claim good results. Personally I'm a face-guy, but I really don't begrudge others that choose to do it another way.

6) Scent is personal. <---(This one, he got right.) Anong others.....

So in your list of absolutes, you put in a YMMV. Kinda interesting that the one hedge item you put in is the one that everyone seems to agree with, isn't it?

7) Never mind about blade longevity. DE blades are cheap. DE blades are easily available. DE blades are designed to be DISPOSABLE. Waste not, want not. Why kill a blade before its time

Your original assertion was flipping the blade was a good idea. I think most people disagree on this assertion. And 'killing' a blade is prevention of problems using a dull blade, you know, your #3. I find it better to sacrifice one potential shave out of a blade rather than risk getting irritated big time by a dull(ing) one.

8) Keep a styptic pencil or alum block on hand, but practice your technique so you don't have to ever use it. Cheap out on cream and waste money on styptic?

Why is alum a waste? It's an astringent & constricts minor cut areas to stop bleeding. TP does stop bleeding by helping clot, but to say that the other is a waste is not considering the other benefits.

9) Formulaic shaving is good for beginners. But feel free to develop your own routines as you gain more experience. No formula fits every face, even a beginners.

Yes, there is no universal formula. That is why everyone, including beginners, should try out many different things. And when starting out the # of choices can be overwhelming. There is not problem or shame in getting a set of something to start out.