About three months ago i stood in front of the mirror, shaving cream on my face, and lamented out loud to my girlfriend "i'm so tired of shaving." At that moment, down to the final shave of my last fusion cartridge, i came to the conclusion that what i had once enjoyed had become merely another chore in my day.
Since i started shaving at 15 years old, i'd always enjoyed it. My father had never really taught me how to shave, but the act had always been tied up in my mind with becoming a man. And like any manly task, it seemed worth learning how to do right.
Over years of trial and error, i slowly learned how to give myself a good shave and enjoyed the process the whole way. I tried tons of different disposables and cartridges, figuring out which ones worked best. I also tried all manner of "canned goo" and in college, and finally settled on the right blade and shaving cream combo. A gillette fusion and barbasol aloe became my day to day combo, and for almost 12 years i enjoyed smooth, irritation free shaves twice a week.
I unknowingly picked up things like face mapping and blade buffing (which i didn't know were "things" until i started reading these forums) and generally enjoyed my shaves for over a decade. But somewhere in the last year or so, what i once enjoyed had become rote.
I no longer looked at my time in front of the mirror, razor in hand, as something to be enjoyed. It had become a chore akin to packing a dishwasher or taking out the trash. Just one more impediment between me and doing something i enjoyed.
Part of it was due to the fact that after years of trying, i was still never able to get a true 100% clean (later on this forum i learned the term BBS) shave. It was always about 95%. More than sufficient but never what i thought it could be.
It may have been the plastic surround or the moisturizing strip, but no matter how hard i tried, a true BBS shave never came. The day after i expressed my newfound hatred of shaving to my girlfriend, i found myself in my local Stop and Shop, staring at an 8 pack of gillette fusion cartridges. $35.99. I'd paid it many times before but this time i found myself disgusted at the thought of paying nearly $40 for something i had grown to hate.
As i stood there, i glanced over to my right and saw a smartly packaged vanderhagen razor and 5 blades. $24.99. In retrospect a price gouge, but at the time it seemed a deal too good to pass up. A beautiful looking razor and 5 blades for $11 less than the carts?! I picked it up and happily went home to shave.
After loading up the blade and slapping on some barbasol, i used the same routine i'd practiced for years; 1 pass on the face and 2 on the neck. After i was done, i had become hooked. The skill involved in properly shaving with a DE blade was clearly much higher than with a cart; but i managed not to cut myself of cause any irritation at all. The real revelation was that with a simple change of angle, i could get as close a shave as i dared. A true BBS suddenly seemed possible.
A few internet purchases later, i had a badger brush, shaving soap, a shaving mug and a stand to display all of my cool new s**t. A little later i encorporated some witch hazel and aftershave and i'm now enjoying shaving more than i ever have.
After 3 months of DE shaving i've had some of the best and worst shaves of my life. Each blade and each shave is different from the last, and the enjoyment and variety makes me look forward to something i'd written off as a mere chore.
As my technique has improved (in both shaving and creating lather), i finally feel confident enough to start posting some blade reviews. But i wanted to first write out my story and send a thank you to all the members who (inadvertently) helped me begin my journey into DE shaving.
Reading the posts here has been extremely informative and has only made me more enthusiastic about my newfound "hobby". So cheers to all of you and happy shaving!
Since i started shaving at 15 years old, i'd always enjoyed it. My father had never really taught me how to shave, but the act had always been tied up in my mind with becoming a man. And like any manly task, it seemed worth learning how to do right.
Over years of trial and error, i slowly learned how to give myself a good shave and enjoyed the process the whole way. I tried tons of different disposables and cartridges, figuring out which ones worked best. I also tried all manner of "canned goo" and in college, and finally settled on the right blade and shaving cream combo. A gillette fusion and barbasol aloe became my day to day combo, and for almost 12 years i enjoyed smooth, irritation free shaves twice a week.
I unknowingly picked up things like face mapping and blade buffing (which i didn't know were "things" until i started reading these forums) and generally enjoyed my shaves for over a decade. But somewhere in the last year or so, what i once enjoyed had become rote.
I no longer looked at my time in front of the mirror, razor in hand, as something to be enjoyed. It had become a chore akin to packing a dishwasher or taking out the trash. Just one more impediment between me and doing something i enjoyed.
Part of it was due to the fact that after years of trying, i was still never able to get a true 100% clean (later on this forum i learned the term BBS) shave. It was always about 95%. More than sufficient but never what i thought it could be.
It may have been the plastic surround or the moisturizing strip, but no matter how hard i tried, a true BBS shave never came. The day after i expressed my newfound hatred of shaving to my girlfriend, i found myself in my local Stop and Shop, staring at an 8 pack of gillette fusion cartridges. $35.99. I'd paid it many times before but this time i found myself disgusted at the thought of paying nearly $40 for something i had grown to hate.
As i stood there, i glanced over to my right and saw a smartly packaged vanderhagen razor and 5 blades. $24.99. In retrospect a price gouge, but at the time it seemed a deal too good to pass up. A beautiful looking razor and 5 blades for $11 less than the carts?! I picked it up and happily went home to shave.
After loading up the blade and slapping on some barbasol, i used the same routine i'd practiced for years; 1 pass on the face and 2 on the neck. After i was done, i had become hooked. The skill involved in properly shaving with a DE blade was clearly much higher than with a cart; but i managed not to cut myself of cause any irritation at all. The real revelation was that with a simple change of angle, i could get as close a shave as i dared. A true BBS suddenly seemed possible.
A few internet purchases later, i had a badger brush, shaving soap, a shaving mug and a stand to display all of my cool new s**t. A little later i encorporated some witch hazel and aftershave and i'm now enjoying shaving more than i ever have.
After 3 months of DE shaving i've had some of the best and worst shaves of my life. Each blade and each shave is different from the last, and the enjoyment and variety makes me look forward to something i'd written off as a mere chore.
As my technique has improved (in both shaving and creating lather), i finally feel confident enough to start posting some blade reviews. But i wanted to first write out my story and send a thank you to all the members who (inadvertently) helped me begin my journey into DE shaving.
Reading the posts here has been extremely informative and has only made me more enthusiastic about my newfound "hobby". So cheers to all of you and happy shaving!
