Hello everyone!
Yesterday, I bought a Gillette Mach 3 razor that came with two cartridges just for the fun of it since it was on sale in the store. I've been shaving exclusively with safety razor and brush for almost 10 years now. Right from when I started shaving! For only a brief period of a couple months I used a cartridge razor when I started shaving. The experience at the time was fine but the cartridges wouldn't last very long, but they were store brand so perhaps that had something to do with it.
I switched to safety razors not long after starting and My trusty Merkur 34C has been my workhorse for all those years. Only recently have I acquired a King C. Gillette razor (King C. Gillette blades are awesome btw) as well as a vintage Gillette that I found at an antique market.
Now coming back to the topic:
Yesterday's shave with the Gillette Mach 3 was actually quite pleasant. It didn't feel tuggy and I got a great shave out of it. Perhaps not quite as close as I could get with a safety razor but very much nice and comfortable. The thing I noticed immediately is absolutely no irritation whatsoever, especially on my neck. Usually I do two pass shaves, first WTG, then XTG (this is usually even only a bit of a cleanup pass anyways) On my neck I always get slight irritation when I use my safety razor, and if I shave daily it gets really bad. I've tried so many things that have been suggested on the forums here but none seem to do much for whatever reason.
I was really surprised yesterday, especially after also having tried a Fusion 5 a week or two ago and abandoning it not even halfway through the shave because it was just painful to use (brand new cartridge).
I could see myself using the Mach 3 for the neck area if it works so well.
Some details from yesterday's shave:
- Merkur 34C with King C. Gillette blade (used to clean up some edges)
- Gillette Mach 3 with a brand new cartridge
- Some Omega boar brush that I have long forgotten the name/number of
- Proraso Green Preshave (not sure how helpful this stuff is, I only bought it and used it for the first time yesterday. Smells nice though...)
- Arko Soap stick
- Nivea Fresh kick after shave
So, some questions/discussion points:
- What has your experience been with neck irritation for both cartridge razors as well as safety razors?
- What can I possibly do to stop it from happening when I use a safety razor?
- How long can I expect one of these Mach 3 cartridges to last?
- Are there better cartridge razors than the Mach 3? I've seen this one pop up quite a bit over the years in threads.
I hope you all have a nice Sunday! Thanks in advance
Yesterday, I bought a Gillette Mach 3 razor that came with two cartridges just for the fun of it since it was on sale in the store. I've been shaving exclusively with safety razor and brush for almost 10 years now. Right from when I started shaving! For only a brief period of a couple months I used a cartridge razor when I started shaving. The experience at the time was fine but the cartridges wouldn't last very long, but they were store brand so perhaps that had something to do with it.
I switched to safety razors not long after starting and My trusty Merkur 34C has been my workhorse for all those years. Only recently have I acquired a King C. Gillette razor (King C. Gillette blades are awesome btw) as well as a vintage Gillette that I found at an antique market.
Now coming back to the topic:
Yesterday's shave with the Gillette Mach 3 was actually quite pleasant. It didn't feel tuggy and I got a great shave out of it. Perhaps not quite as close as I could get with a safety razor but very much nice and comfortable. The thing I noticed immediately is absolutely no irritation whatsoever, especially on my neck. Usually I do two pass shaves, first WTG, then XTG (this is usually even only a bit of a cleanup pass anyways) On my neck I always get slight irritation when I use my safety razor, and if I shave daily it gets really bad. I've tried so many things that have been suggested on the forums here but none seem to do much for whatever reason.
I was really surprised yesterday, especially after also having tried a Fusion 5 a week or two ago and abandoning it not even halfway through the shave because it was just painful to use (brand new cartridge).
I could see myself using the Mach 3 for the neck area if it works so well.
Some details from yesterday's shave:
- Merkur 34C with King C. Gillette blade (used to clean up some edges)
- Gillette Mach 3 with a brand new cartridge
- Some Omega boar brush that I have long forgotten the name/number of
- Proraso Green Preshave (not sure how helpful this stuff is, I only bought it and used it for the first time yesterday. Smells nice though...)
- Arko Soap stick
- Nivea Fresh kick after shave
So, some questions/discussion points:
- What has your experience been with neck irritation for both cartridge razors as well as safety razors?
- What can I possibly do to stop it from happening when I use a safety razor?
- How long can I expect one of these Mach 3 cartridges to last?
- Are there better cartridge razors than the Mach 3? I've seen this one pop up quite a bit over the years in threads.
I hope you all have a nice Sunday! Thanks in advance