(note: all costs mentioned are at the time of writing and obviously subject to change.)
Ok. If you've hung around Badger and Blade for any time at all you've noticed a number of things. We're all sort of crazy here. Many of us have a disorder where we have to acquire blades, after shaves, soaps, blades, creams, razors or whatever. A lot of us have spent a lot of money for shaving.
It doesn't have to be this way. YOU can get started turning the drudgery of shaving into a Zen experience for a fraction of the cost we've spent.
Now, there are guys who have said, "If I had to start all over again, Cella shave soap would be the one I would buy." And they are often right. The trouble is, Cella shave soap is mostly only available online. So you usually have to pay shipping plus the cost of a (not the cheapest) soap. This is true for after shaves, blades and EVERYTHING associated with DE shaving. Their are few enough of us - or the market wants to get profits from cartridges - such that local stores seldom carry quality products and low cost stuff for shaving.
So I'm going to post low cost alternatives for shaving products that should be available to anyone in the U.S. that is near a Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Rite-Aid or CVS store. And I am NOT going to include canned goos like Barbasol or Fusion, etc., or cartridge blades. You can use your cartridge razors til you find a good DE alternative, but I'm focusing here on getting a GOOD (possible very fine or great) shave with minimal starting costs.
So. Step 1 Pre-shave prep) Many folks suggest you shave after you shower. The time spent in the water and washing your face in the shower hydrates your beard and face. (By the way, watch as many tutorials here at Badger and Blade as you can. They're FREE and contain more information than you may have thought possible about shaving.)
SOME people suggest that a pre-shave oil helps prep your face and whiskers but many others say it's not necessary. Some also say the oils gunk up your blade. You can go to Google Shop and look up Pacific pre-shave oil and others, but I'm going to suggest you skip them for now. (We're not spending unnecessary money at startup.)
For your pre-shave prep, either shower and cleanse your face, OR splash Hot water on your beard several times, then hold a washcloth with hot water - wrung out some so it doesn't drip too much - against your face for 2 minutes. You'll have to resoak the washcloth 2 or 3 times to keep it hot.
(Note, some guys swear by COLD water shaving. They are really strange and probably eat their own young, but they might have a point. I don't know. I haven't had sex with my mother, either.)
Step 2 lather) Here we go. You can choose a Gel, a soap or a cream to create the stuff on your face that sets up your beard to be cut and lets your blade glide over your face with the least amount of irritation.
GELS: I started out with King Of Shaves Gel because it was locally available and didn't need a brush. You massage your face with it, then shave. It is available from Rite-Aid for $5.99 and CVS for $6.29. This is a trend. Rite-Aid is usually cheaper than CVS, and Walgreens or Walmart may be cheaper still.
There are other gels. Zirh makes a well-respected one for 4 or 5 times the price of KOS. The Real Shaving CO. (more later) makes one for a little more. My suggestion, if you don't have a brush and are trying a gel, King Of Shaves is the cheapest and does the job. Spend a minute briskly massaging it into your face and it'll get the job done of prepping your whiskers and providing a gliding place for your blade.
Creams: Most gels don't need a shaving brush. SOME creams explicitly say they don't need a brush, but actually, you can lather up any cream without a brush. We'll talk about brushes in a moment, but the following creams really don't need one:
Kiss My Face is a great value. For $6.99 at Walgreens for 11 oz. or $7 or $8 from most U.S. drugstores, it is about the most affordable shaving cream. It's available in a variety of scents, though many complain that the scents aren't very strong.
No problem. What we're looking for in a cheap cream is a good shave, and KMF provides it. Now, you should know that Proraso (5.2 oz for $11.00) and Bigelow (the same product from other outlets, like Bed and Bath) are also very popular. Actually, VERY popular, because of their menthol "hit." And, if you look on the forums, Proraso (with Bigelow being a different brand of the same) is one of the most popular creams.
There is a brand called Cremo Cream that has also gotten very high marks from shavers. I see it at $7.79 for 6 oz. at Rite-Aid, though I have never seen it in my local store.
By the same, no, wait! a different token, there is a product called The Real Shaving Co. shave cream that owns several prestigious English companies. Truefitt and Hill, Taylor's of Old Bond Street and Thumpers are - I believe - all owned by Creighton's, which makes Real Shaving Co. shave cream. But Real Shaving Co. shave cream is available for $5 or less at Rite-Aid and it's about the SAME cream (minus some of the scent) as those very respected British brands. They are all made in England, and The Real Shaving Co. stuff is worth a try at that price. Again, though, it is not scented like its more expensive counterparts.
Now it gets tougher, because in discussing SOAPS you almost always need a brush. So let's get to after shaves and then come BACK to other stuff.
Step 4 After shave) Look, Old Spice, Mennen, Brut and others are classics and still carried in most stores because men keep buying them. You can get these at Walmart, Walgreens, etc. But you should know that one of the favorite after shaves EVER on Badger and Blade is Pinaud Clubman, NOT the vegetal. . . that is either cat pee or bliss, but why take a chance? The point is that Pinaud Clubman is an after shave reminiscent of that old barber shop fragrance that is VERY affordable (cheaper than even the Proctor and Gamble Old Spice, per ounce) that many, many men and women enjoy. About $1 per ounce in a plastic bottle.
So, Clubman is often available at Rite-Aid, Walgreen's and Sally's Beauty. Meanwhile, "classic" scents like British Stirling, PG Old Spice, Mennen and others are available at Rite-Aid, Walmart and others. And there are a lot of "knock-off" scents available at dollar stores. Personally, these knock-offs don't fit the bill for me, but they might be ok for you. I've found that I can go into a dollar store or a Walmart and twist the top off a scent and sniff it and then put it back without getting beaten up by store security.
Remember though, after shaves are pretty short-lived, as far as fragrance. They're mostly supposed to close your pores, or provide an astringent. They are not all-day long fragrances. Most wear out in an hour or so.
(That said, after shaves are a favorite part of my shave routine. I have lots of them.)
One last after shave deserving of special mention. Remember, we're trying to get stuff at your local stores so you can look at them and smell them and not pay shipping charges. Superior 70 is a Bay Rum after shave. It is available at many Walgreens. Go to their website and select the store locator to see which ones have it. It will be in the Mexican area of the store, NOT the shave section. It is a very pleasing Bay Rum after shave, though not as strong or long-lasting as others. BUT, it is only $2.99 for 11.8 oz (though my store charged me $3.99 - still, a GREAT value.) If you EVER think you want to try Bay Rum, go to your Walgreen's, unscrew the top and sniff this stuff. I think it is one of the greatest values in shaving, PERIOD.
<inhale> ok, so, we covered inexpensive and locally available gels, creams and aftershaves that you can hopefully find at stores near you.
Now, soaps.
Step 3 lather with a bowl? On the face? Lather again) Lots of guys swear by soaps over creams, but now we need to consider shave brushes. Brushes are GOOD to use with creams but are just about mandatory with soaps, whether you choose to bowl-lather or face-lather.
So, cheap brushes: Tweezerman Badger, $14.99 at Rite-Aid. I've seen this on the Rite-Aid online store and it's supposed to be available in local stores, but I haven't seen it.
VDH Boar Brush. This has been available at CVS and Rite-aid for about $6.99. Boar brushes get short shrift from the guys who buy $100+ super Badgers, but they perform quite well, particularly (I'm told) with soft Italian soaps like Cella or perhaps Mitchell's Wool Fat.
So, if you're gonna go brush and soaps, why not pick up a great deal? Rite-Aid has a VDH (Van Der Hagen) wooden bowl, soap and brush set for $12.49. Many wooden bowls alone cost more than that from other places.
And a lot of guys are really into whipping up soap lather. I have only ONCE whipped up a lather in a bowl instead of on my face. I figure face lathering helps prepare my whiskers for getting shorn off. But the one time I bowl-lathered? WOW! Thick, copious lather.
But that still leaves the question: Cream or soap? Bowl or face? The CHEAP suggestion: Gel or KMF (or other) lather with no brush to start out with. It's cheaper.
Brushes are very "your mileage may vary," like blades and razors - which are coming up. But you can get into brush-shaving and face-lathering and soaps for less than $10 for a starter brush, so please consider that before spending beaucoup dollars on the bay for a pig in a poke.
Now. Razors.
This is where the rubber meets the road. It's not rocket science, but it may as well be, because adjustables, combs, heavies, etc. can make a WORLD of difference on the shave you get.
So I can't suggest a cheap alternative that you can sniff at your local drug store. More, your local store probably doesn't even CARRY a DE razor, unless you happen to live in Manhatten or some other lucky place.
Worse, even if you could SEE and TOUCH a razor locally, how can you tell what kind of shave it will give YOU, no matter how hyped it is on a forum like this?
There are lots of theories. I'll briefly describe 3, but you'll have to choose.
1) Pick a popular modern winner. The Edwin Jagger DE59 has many, many fans. Look it up and read about it. Also check out the Merkur and Feather. Consider spending the minimum $ for your first razor. Remember, in your dad's or grandad's time, razors were around 5 bucks.
2) Pick an adjustable. I'm now 60, and had shaved with electrics, "throwaways," etc., for years, but never really understood my beard and sensitivity. So I chose a Merkur Progress that Mer here modified to become a "Mergress." I figured an adjustable razor would let me experiment with aggressiveness, and I knew Mer - as a Badger kinda guy - would treat me right. It was expensive, but I didn't want to goof around with other chancy stuff.
3) Buy an older DE on EBAY or the BST forums here. This is probably the most cost-effective solution, but you have to know what you want, beforehand. Check out the Wikis and stuff about razors here on Badger and Blade. Get a good feeling if you need a mild or aggressive razor, or a comb or an adjustable. Then post in the "Want To Buy" forum, or wait for a deal in the BST forum or on EBAY.
FINALLY! Blades.
Not much to say here. Well, probably more to say here about differences than anywhere else, but not much about local, cheap stuff. I live in Pinole, California, (near S.F.) and have yet to see ANY double-edge blades in a Target, Walgreen's CVS, Rite-Aid, Walmart or my local food store.
Even if you find DE blades in your local store, it's questionable whether they are this or that manufacturer or process.
So, for blades, I break my vow of looking locally and suggest you go to West Coast Shaving or Razor Blades and More, or some other vendor here and get a sampler pack. As much as I'd like to suggest that 100 of this or that blade at under 10 cents a blade is best, it is just too much of a subjective experience.
Besides, when you have a razor-thin edge against your face, why take my word for it?
So. Get your gel/cream/soap and maybe a brush, locally. Use them with your cartridge razor as you study razors and look for a deal on YOUR razor on the BST forum here or on EBAY. Meanwhile, order a DE sampler pack from one of the vendors here or elsewhere.
It will all come together one morning when you realize, "Hey! That was pretty neat!" And you'll go to your significant other and swipe her fingers over your smooth cheeks or rub your wonderfully scented face near her nose and you'll both smile at a shared experience.
And you'll have shared something with the men in your family.
Ok. If you've hung around Badger and Blade for any time at all you've noticed a number of things. We're all sort of crazy here. Many of us have a disorder where we have to acquire blades, after shaves, soaps, blades, creams, razors or whatever. A lot of us have spent a lot of money for shaving.
It doesn't have to be this way. YOU can get started turning the drudgery of shaving into a Zen experience for a fraction of the cost we've spent.
Now, there are guys who have said, "If I had to start all over again, Cella shave soap would be the one I would buy." And they are often right. The trouble is, Cella shave soap is mostly only available online. So you usually have to pay shipping plus the cost of a (not the cheapest) soap. This is true for after shaves, blades and EVERYTHING associated with DE shaving. Their are few enough of us - or the market wants to get profits from cartridges - such that local stores seldom carry quality products and low cost stuff for shaving.
So I'm going to post low cost alternatives for shaving products that should be available to anyone in the U.S. that is near a Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Rite-Aid or CVS store. And I am NOT going to include canned goos like Barbasol or Fusion, etc., or cartridge blades. You can use your cartridge razors til you find a good DE alternative, but I'm focusing here on getting a GOOD (possible very fine or great) shave with minimal starting costs.
So. Step 1 Pre-shave prep) Many folks suggest you shave after you shower. The time spent in the water and washing your face in the shower hydrates your beard and face. (By the way, watch as many tutorials here at Badger and Blade as you can. They're FREE and contain more information than you may have thought possible about shaving.)
SOME people suggest that a pre-shave oil helps prep your face and whiskers but many others say it's not necessary. Some also say the oils gunk up your blade. You can go to Google Shop and look up Pacific pre-shave oil and others, but I'm going to suggest you skip them for now. (We're not spending unnecessary money at startup.)
For your pre-shave prep, either shower and cleanse your face, OR splash Hot water on your beard several times, then hold a washcloth with hot water - wrung out some so it doesn't drip too much - against your face for 2 minutes. You'll have to resoak the washcloth 2 or 3 times to keep it hot.
(Note, some guys swear by COLD water shaving. They are really strange and probably eat their own young, but they might have a point. I don't know. I haven't had sex with my mother, either.)
Step 2 lather) Here we go. You can choose a Gel, a soap or a cream to create the stuff on your face that sets up your beard to be cut and lets your blade glide over your face with the least amount of irritation.
GELS: I started out with King Of Shaves Gel because it was locally available and didn't need a brush. You massage your face with it, then shave. It is available from Rite-Aid for $5.99 and CVS for $6.29. This is a trend. Rite-Aid is usually cheaper than CVS, and Walgreens or Walmart may be cheaper still.
There are other gels. Zirh makes a well-respected one for 4 or 5 times the price of KOS. The Real Shaving CO. (more later) makes one for a little more. My suggestion, if you don't have a brush and are trying a gel, King Of Shaves is the cheapest and does the job. Spend a minute briskly massaging it into your face and it'll get the job done of prepping your whiskers and providing a gliding place for your blade.
Creams: Most gels don't need a shaving brush. SOME creams explicitly say they don't need a brush, but actually, you can lather up any cream without a brush. We'll talk about brushes in a moment, but the following creams really don't need one:
Kiss My Face is a great value. For $6.99 at Walgreens for 11 oz. or $7 or $8 from most U.S. drugstores, it is about the most affordable shaving cream. It's available in a variety of scents, though many complain that the scents aren't very strong.
No problem. What we're looking for in a cheap cream is a good shave, and KMF provides it. Now, you should know that Proraso (5.2 oz for $11.00) and Bigelow (the same product from other outlets, like Bed and Bath) are also very popular. Actually, VERY popular, because of their menthol "hit." And, if you look on the forums, Proraso (with Bigelow being a different brand of the same) is one of the most popular creams.
There is a brand called Cremo Cream that has also gotten very high marks from shavers. I see it at $7.79 for 6 oz. at Rite-Aid, though I have never seen it in my local store.
By the same, no, wait! a different token, there is a product called The Real Shaving Co. shave cream that owns several prestigious English companies. Truefitt and Hill, Taylor's of Old Bond Street and Thumpers are - I believe - all owned by Creighton's, which makes Real Shaving Co. shave cream. But Real Shaving Co. shave cream is available for $5 or less at Rite-Aid and it's about the SAME cream (minus some of the scent) as those very respected British brands. They are all made in England, and The Real Shaving Co. stuff is worth a try at that price. Again, though, it is not scented like its more expensive counterparts.
Now it gets tougher, because in discussing SOAPS you almost always need a brush. So let's get to after shaves and then come BACK to other stuff.
Step 4 After shave) Look, Old Spice, Mennen, Brut and others are classics and still carried in most stores because men keep buying them. You can get these at Walmart, Walgreens, etc. But you should know that one of the favorite after shaves EVER on Badger and Blade is Pinaud Clubman, NOT the vegetal. . . that is either cat pee or bliss, but why take a chance? The point is that Pinaud Clubman is an after shave reminiscent of that old barber shop fragrance that is VERY affordable (cheaper than even the Proctor and Gamble Old Spice, per ounce) that many, many men and women enjoy. About $1 per ounce in a plastic bottle.
So, Clubman is often available at Rite-Aid, Walgreen's and Sally's Beauty. Meanwhile, "classic" scents like British Stirling, PG Old Spice, Mennen and others are available at Rite-Aid, Walmart and others. And there are a lot of "knock-off" scents available at dollar stores. Personally, these knock-offs don't fit the bill for me, but they might be ok for you. I've found that I can go into a dollar store or a Walmart and twist the top off a scent and sniff it and then put it back without getting beaten up by store security.
Remember though, after shaves are pretty short-lived, as far as fragrance. They're mostly supposed to close your pores, or provide an astringent. They are not all-day long fragrances. Most wear out in an hour or so.
(That said, after shaves are a favorite part of my shave routine. I have lots of them.)
One last after shave deserving of special mention. Remember, we're trying to get stuff at your local stores so you can look at them and smell them and not pay shipping charges. Superior 70 is a Bay Rum after shave. It is available at many Walgreens. Go to their website and select the store locator to see which ones have it. It will be in the Mexican area of the store, NOT the shave section. It is a very pleasing Bay Rum after shave, though not as strong or long-lasting as others. BUT, it is only $2.99 for 11.8 oz (though my store charged me $3.99 - still, a GREAT value.) If you EVER think you want to try Bay Rum, go to your Walgreen's, unscrew the top and sniff this stuff. I think it is one of the greatest values in shaving, PERIOD.
<inhale> ok, so, we covered inexpensive and locally available gels, creams and aftershaves that you can hopefully find at stores near you.
Now, soaps.
Step 3 lather with a bowl? On the face? Lather again) Lots of guys swear by soaps over creams, but now we need to consider shave brushes. Brushes are GOOD to use with creams but are just about mandatory with soaps, whether you choose to bowl-lather or face-lather.
So, cheap brushes: Tweezerman Badger, $14.99 at Rite-Aid. I've seen this on the Rite-Aid online store and it's supposed to be available in local stores, but I haven't seen it.
VDH Boar Brush. This has been available at CVS and Rite-aid for about $6.99. Boar brushes get short shrift from the guys who buy $100+ super Badgers, but they perform quite well, particularly (I'm told) with soft Italian soaps like Cella or perhaps Mitchell's Wool Fat.
So, if you're gonna go brush and soaps, why not pick up a great deal? Rite-Aid has a VDH (Van Der Hagen) wooden bowl, soap and brush set for $12.49. Many wooden bowls alone cost more than that from other places.
And a lot of guys are really into whipping up soap lather. I have only ONCE whipped up a lather in a bowl instead of on my face. I figure face lathering helps prepare my whiskers for getting shorn off. But the one time I bowl-lathered? WOW! Thick, copious lather.
But that still leaves the question: Cream or soap? Bowl or face? The CHEAP suggestion: Gel or KMF (or other) lather with no brush to start out with. It's cheaper.
Brushes are very "your mileage may vary," like blades and razors - which are coming up. But you can get into brush-shaving and face-lathering and soaps for less than $10 for a starter brush, so please consider that before spending beaucoup dollars on the bay for a pig in a poke.
Now. Razors.
This is where the rubber meets the road. It's not rocket science, but it may as well be, because adjustables, combs, heavies, etc. can make a WORLD of difference on the shave you get.
So I can't suggest a cheap alternative that you can sniff at your local drug store. More, your local store probably doesn't even CARRY a DE razor, unless you happen to live in Manhatten or some other lucky place.
Worse, even if you could SEE and TOUCH a razor locally, how can you tell what kind of shave it will give YOU, no matter how hyped it is on a forum like this?
There are lots of theories. I'll briefly describe 3, but you'll have to choose.
1) Pick a popular modern winner. The Edwin Jagger DE59 has many, many fans. Look it up and read about it. Also check out the Merkur and Feather. Consider spending the minimum $ for your first razor. Remember, in your dad's or grandad's time, razors were around 5 bucks.
2) Pick an adjustable. I'm now 60, and had shaved with electrics, "throwaways," etc., for years, but never really understood my beard and sensitivity. So I chose a Merkur Progress that Mer here modified to become a "Mergress." I figured an adjustable razor would let me experiment with aggressiveness, and I knew Mer - as a Badger kinda guy - would treat me right. It was expensive, but I didn't want to goof around with other chancy stuff.
3) Buy an older DE on EBAY or the BST forums here. This is probably the most cost-effective solution, but you have to know what you want, beforehand. Check out the Wikis and stuff about razors here on Badger and Blade. Get a good feeling if you need a mild or aggressive razor, or a comb or an adjustable. Then post in the "Want To Buy" forum, or wait for a deal in the BST forum or on EBAY.
FINALLY! Blades.
Not much to say here. Well, probably more to say here about differences than anywhere else, but not much about local, cheap stuff. I live in Pinole, California, (near S.F.) and have yet to see ANY double-edge blades in a Target, Walgreen's CVS, Rite-Aid, Walmart or my local food store.
Even if you find DE blades in your local store, it's questionable whether they are this or that manufacturer or process.
So, for blades, I break my vow of looking locally and suggest you go to West Coast Shaving or Razor Blades and More, or some other vendor here and get a sampler pack. As much as I'd like to suggest that 100 of this or that blade at under 10 cents a blade is best, it is just too much of a subjective experience.
Besides, when you have a razor-thin edge against your face, why take my word for it?
So. Get your gel/cream/soap and maybe a brush, locally. Use them with your cartridge razor as you study razors and look for a deal on YOUR razor on the BST forum here or on EBAY. Meanwhile, order a DE sampler pack from one of the vendors here or elsewhere.
It will all come together one morning when you realize, "Hey! That was pretty neat!" And you'll go to your significant other and swipe her fingers over your smooth cheeks or rub your wonderfully scented face near her nose and you'll both smile at a shared experience.
And you'll have shared something with the men in your family.
