How to not sound like a Crazy Person?

[Quintus]

Alright, I've been using awesome soaps and badger brushes for about three months now, and I've been going the DE route for the last six weeks, upping my blade game one pack at a time (Derby->Wilkinson->Personna, right now). In that time, my skin has gotten cleaner, clearer, smoother and softer. My beard comes in better without ingrowns or the all-directions problems I had when I used an electric.

But any time I try and relay this information to an M3-and-canister shaver like my brothers in law or my dude friends, I might as well be trying to convince them that 9/11 was an inside job or that the moon landings were faked.

The experience has been so transformative, it's difficult to put into words. I love to shave now. I do it every day, where previously it was once a week and oh, the burning. So I need a methodical approach to it, a way to form a persuasive argument. So far all I have is:
'Shaving with an X-blade razor is not a good thing. The first blade cuts the hair and removes the lather. Every blade after that is just passing over raw, fresh-cut skin.'
and
'An X-blade razor only has little tiny slivers of razor in it. No leverage, you have to press. A full-blade razor has a lot of heft behind it and will not bend or give against your skin, but glide smooth right against the surface.'
and my current favorite
'DEs and Luckies won World War Two.'

So I put it out to the community: what would you say to a skeptical generic shaver to convince them to try DE or, at a minimum, a better soap that blue can-goop? The financial angle? The comfort angle? The skin care angle? Does a lot of it depend on your subject?

 

[OtherMoe]

I don't try to convince anybody, they are either interested or they're not.

BTW, I know exactly what warehouse the moon landing was faked in ;-)

 

[NexlevMM]

LOL! I feel your pain brother. Its pretty much either you get wet shaving, or you dont. Ive been trying to convert my father, to no avail, even though he see's the benefits of it.

Its almost like the Matrix, no one can be shown what wet-shaving is, they must experience it for themselves...


Since we are talking conspiracy theories.....There was a 2nd shooter on the grassy knoll.

 

[cubert]

I wouldn't.

All this 'converting' is a bit patronising in my eyes.

 

[Debrushman]

What is this obsession people have with trying to get people to shave the way they want. Live and let live. Besides if they don't use DE, more vintage razors for us.

 

[BlackBard]

I don't try to convince anybody, they are either interested or they're not.

BTW, I know exactly what warehouse the moon landing was faked in ;-)

+1. But I did have a girl friend in the '60's who was a computer programmer. She actually made the Lunar Surveyor move. When she told me about it, I thought it was awesome.

 

[Debrushman]

"Converting" is weird and creepy.

 

[taco8slo]

I don' worry about these things, some people are interested and others are not, no big deal, there is plenty more to life than our 10 to 20 minute shaves, though those minutes sure are nice.

 

[eth]

Its almost like the Matrix, no one can be shown what wet-shaving is, they must experience it for themselves...

Very true. This is really a red pill thing.

I don't try to convert anyone. My parents visited me some time ago, they didn't ask a single question about all the stuff in my bathroom cabinet, or my DE razor and Semogue on the counter. And I didn't ask them if they noticed anything. If someone asks me, I'll gladly tell them what traditional shaving is about. If they don't, I'll leave them to follow their own path. As I do with audio equipment, religion, and any other subjective matter.

 

[Nova316]

Converting is weird and impossible especially if they are stuck in there ways, some of my friends see my DE on my table and ask about them
If they don't seem to be into it oh well, if they do I usually lend them out a set

Either they're interested or not, no point trying to convert

 

[taco8slo]

On a lighter note, guess this movie: "Big gulps huh, well, see you later."

 

[Brent]

I have "converted" someone but don't actively go about it. Friends and co-workers find out in one way or another that I wetshave with a straight - I'll tell them the benefits for me and why I converted. This leads to conversations about why I don't use multiblade, the cost and how I feel better doing it. I don't tell them that they are blowing money or ruining their face. I just let them know why I do it when they ask the question.

My "conversion" was do to a friend that kept asking me about it and said he wanted to try. Didn't push him, didn't always talk about it, etc. I ended up buying him a razor and a blade sampler and gave it to him. This was kind of selfish as I was trying to get free shipping on an order anyways. I gave him a cheap cream I had and an old brush. He's been using it since.

I guess the moral of my story is I'll talk about it when asked and help out when someone is interested but don't beat the drums.

 

[denim]

You can tell them about it, but that's about all. When I told my dad and uncles that I was switching over to a DE, they were flabbergasted. "WHY?!?" was the standard question. Best I could tell them was that the blades have improved a lot since they learned to shave in the late '50s and early '60s. And the lower incidence of irritation, better skin condition, etc. Thing is, I'm not going to attempt to sell this to them. They have their own bad experience with it back in the day (blue blades and such), and they're not interested in giving it another go. They prefer at least some of the cartridge systems which replaced DE. My brother might try it at some point, maybe. So be it.

I had them handle my 38C, which has a very solid feel to it. They were surprised by how heavy it was. So much nicer than the light plastic handles.

I've tried to suggest getting a brush and better shaving soap. That hasn't worked either. OTOH, I've managed to get some people at work to try it, and they love it. One guy tried it to get rid of razor bumps and is very pleased that it worked. But family? Oh well.

What I've been told by a professional computer salesman, is that it's about persuasiveness. To me, it's also about passion. If you can project passion and be persuasive, they'll at least hear you. Whether they actually buy into wet shaving, is up to them. You really can't push them too hard or they'll just consider you annoying.

 

[PugslyCat]

Unless somebody asks, I don't think this hobby of ours is something we can talk much about without sounding crazy. The key is to move on to another topic at the first sign of disinterest.

I've had some natural openings such as:

Questions when packages come to the office.
Discussions with the father of a teenager just starting to shave.
​

The only time I really forced the issue was with my nephews. I started by asking what they shaved with. One used a mug and brush with a cartridge razor but had an interest in straights. The other was still using canned goo and carts, but thought his brother was getting into some neat stuff. I pushed some starter gear on them and the one that was interested in straights has been a DE shaver since January. The other is still on the fence, but interested.

I suspect that many of us feel the urge to bring other people into DE shaving because of how significant the improvement was for our shaves. We've discovered this wonderfully secret and want to let our friends in on it. Others may want to stick it to "big shaving" for having mistreated us as customers.

 

[turbo tom]

Don't try, because it really will make you sound like a crazy person. You may be trying to help someone save money, protect the environment, or get a better shave but it's going to sound like you're selling a time-share or save their soul.

Over the last 25 years I've had a handful of times I've suggested it to someone, but it's always been after they've complained about the cost of carts or foam, ingrown hairs, or "the disposable society we live in." In those cases, I simply say "well, I just ....." and leave it at that.

 

[72plymsatellite]

What is this obsession people have with trying to get people to shave the way they want. Live and let live. Besides if they don't use DE, more vintage razors for us.

the part in red is how i feel about it. everyone at work knows that i wet shave but i dont force it on them. they ask about it but never ask a question that leads me to believe that they want to try it. i have only given away one set cuz he said he was interested in trying it. i havent talked to him about it since about it and that was last summer i think.

 

[Osborn Cox]

On a lighter note, guess this movie: "Big gulps huh, well, see you later."

Dumb and Dumber


I don't try to convert anybody, but if it comes up in conversation like someone complaining about cartridge prices I will tout the benefits of wet shaving with traditional tools. Lots of people are happy with the canned goop and 5 bladed wonders and that's fine, only the unhappy will be interested in a better way.

 

[Maxime D.]

I hate it when peoples try to convince me about politic, religion, civil rights etc etc I don't imagine myself trying to convince somebody else. I'll talk about it if it come to but I won't start a conversation by "Hey what razor are you using ? Huh A Fusion ? Oh boy, you're getting fooled ! They made money with you, DE is better, it's cheap and effective and anything that isn't a DE is the Devil !! ''.

This is more like me:

Friend: Hey Maxime, do you have any advice about shaving ? I'm using a Mach 3, it do the job but I have very sensitive skin and sometime it burn.
Me: hummm I use Merkur.... some precision razor from Germany, quite effective.
Friend: Is it new ? Never saw that at Shoppers Drug Mart.
Me: You know, it's quite popular in Europe...

XD

 

[darkxshiki]

kinda hard sometimes not sound like a crazy person. i did an active convert with one of my buddy. told him the benefits and such of wet shaving. why not at least try to get them to try a soap and brush for a month or two. that where i did a good starting point for converting some one over is.

 

[El-a-Menthol]

I have "converted" someone but don't actively go about it. Friends and co-workers find out in one way or another that I wetshave with a straight - I'll tell them the benefits for me and why I converted. This leads to conversations about why I don't use multiblade, the cost and how I feel better doing it. I don't tell them that they are blowing money or ruining their face. I just let them know why I do it when they ask the question.

My "conversion" was do to a friend that kept asking me about it and said he wanted to try. Didn't push him, didn't always talk about it, etc. I ended up buying him a razor and a blade sampler and gave it to him. This was kind of selfish as I was trying to get free shipping on an order anyways. I gave him a cheap cream I had and an old brush. He's been using it since.

I guess the moral of my story is I'll talk about it when asked and help out when someone is interested but don't beat the drums.

IMO, this is the best way.