After about 35 years of shaving with Gillette’s latest and greatest, I found that I was extremely unhappy, and often in pain. A little time on the internet (including this site) revealed that some intrepid time travelers were finding fulfillment with DE’s, brushes, and lubricants that don’t squirt out of cans. So in I jumped.
About six weeks ago, a Merkur HD, a Vulfix brush, and Taylor’s lavender soap arrived from Lee’s Razors and Classic Shaving. The most-noticeable advantage was the intoxicating aromatherapy effect of the lather. Next was the vast improvement in lubrication as compared with the canned gel I had been using. Finally, the result was by far the closest shaves I have ever had. The only down side was the time required to get a good lather. So, on work days, I reverted to the gel, but the DE continued to deliver a better shave than the Sensor Exel.
My next area of inquiry was whether creams could solve the time problem on rushed workday mornings. As I’m sure most of you know the answer was yes. So I went nuts at the local mall, and here are the results:
The most disappointing cream was AOS lavender. It smells nothing like the Taylor’s soap, and it doesn’t lubricate as well as the other creams. Anthony Logistics’ cream lathers up almost as soon as it sees the brush and lubricates almost as well as the soap. The Body Shop shaving cream has a nice scent and delivers a terrific shave. And finally, Crabtree & Evelyn’s Sienna cream seems to be just as good as The Body Shop, with a different nice scent.
Thank you all for lots of great advice, and Happy Lathering!
About six weeks ago, a Merkur HD, a Vulfix brush, and Taylor’s lavender soap arrived from Lee’s Razors and Classic Shaving. The most-noticeable advantage was the intoxicating aromatherapy effect of the lather. Next was the vast improvement in lubrication as compared with the canned gel I had been using. Finally, the result was by far the closest shaves I have ever had. The only down side was the time required to get a good lather. So, on work days, I reverted to the gel, but the DE continued to deliver a better shave than the Sensor Exel.
My next area of inquiry was whether creams could solve the time problem on rushed workday mornings. As I’m sure most of you know the answer was yes. So I went nuts at the local mall, and here are the results:
The most disappointing cream was AOS lavender. It smells nothing like the Taylor’s soap, and it doesn’t lubricate as well as the other creams. Anthony Logistics’ cream lathers up almost as soon as it sees the brush and lubricates almost as well as the soap. The Body Shop shaving cream has a nice scent and delivers a terrific shave. And finally, Crabtree & Evelyn’s Sienna cream seems to be just as good as The Body Shop, with a different nice scent.
Thank you all for lots of great advice, and Happy Lathering!