Hi There,
First time poster on the forums. Mini primer: & I'm just into my 7th day of using a safety razor. My awareness of traditional safety razor shaving has been for less than a month. I thought that shifting over from the only razor I know of, a gillette mach3, would be tough & slightly dangerous, but not-so-strangely, the transition has been pretty smooth. My "quest" for alternative products began just under 3 weeks ago when I was sick of my gillette white plastic face poking brush. I was frustrated with the plastic mass scratching against my face & creating more facial pores.
A few lazy inquiries later at stores nearby, & I realized that I was surrounded by gillette in every form and everywhere. A few online searches later & I was shocked to find that there were forums exclusively dedicated to shaving. The discovery & the subsequent information:- badger, boar, safety,nonsafety, balm, creams, preshave - was so overwhelming, that I did not bother to look more into it..........that's until two weeks ago, when my friend was coming to India, where I stay. Since I had 5 days left, a quick glance at the forums, some mantic videos, a cursory glance at Corey Greenberg's blog (shaveblog.com) later & ..I was confused further
.
Anyways, as a starter kit, got a merkur long handle, an astra platinums 100 pack, lots of feather blades (which I'm apprehensive about, after reading Corey's post on his blog & how they felt on his face after prolonged usage), an omega badger brush, proraso, VDH soap to last 3 generations & a billy jealousy gel (based on a personal recommendation). In retrospect, I would have surely got a few more things, but I was so pressed for time, that I did not think more into it. I was more worried whether things would reach my friend on time.
I used to absolutely loathe shaving & was a bit skeptical after looking at some of mantic's videos, expecially one where he described "the satisfying sound of hearing the blade cleanly cut through the hair" which I thought was amusing...at least initially. Now after 12 obsessive shaves within the first 6 days, I totally agree with what he says. Nearly of them have been slightly uncomfortable, with a burning sensation near specific areas of my jawline, but overall, it's been pretty good & it's undoubtedly been some of the best shaves that I have ever had. I don't ever remember looking in the mirror and thinking "what a great shave"...until now..that is. I still can't navigate below the nose properly (something to do with the arc on the top of the merkur) & use my mach3 in that area. I don't think I'll even try going against the grain...but looks like I'm permanently off my disposable razors. Again, not because I was unsatisfied wit the mach3 or the price of the cartridge or other variables concerning my shave, these razors just feel better & I do, at least now, understand the ritualistic nature of a safety/straight razor. It does take a little more time & I cannot do my super fast mach 3 shaving, but the trade-offs (if any) are small.
Present mix: one old plastic mug + a small dollop of yardley cream+ a small dollop of proraso + (this miight seem weird, since it's supposed to be done before the shave) 4-5 drops of a test-run mix of [extra virgin olive oil, castor oil, almond oil, pure glycerine, clove, cinnamon, aniseed(?!!)]. Whip everything up with the brush, get a smooth lather, wash my face for 30 seconds with warm water, apply the lather for a little over a minute & half & I get a comfortable shave with 2 passes (no BBS however). Wash off lather, rub alum block, 30 sec wait, wash/pat dry, a plain jergens moisturizer rub and I'm done. No gooey after effects of lather-mixed pre-shave. It feels nourished even if I do not apply the jergens cream & I feel smooth (not BBS-but not a problem).
Figuring out bear growth direction is my task for the next week when I revert back to the traditional 1 shave a day routine.
I know it's fairly traditional up to my jawline. Below that - no clue. I've been impatient and have not allowed the stubble to grow with my 2 shave a day regimen...but I mainly do a first total N-S pass. The second pass is nearly the same, except that I go diagonally from my sideburns to the tip of my mouth. Never have I experienced such a clean pass across the stubble. The tip of my chin and just below, is slightly annoying & I invariably get a burning sensation around some areas of the jawline...but still ..fine.
Apologize for the long long written primer about my non-traditional priming techniques involving mixing the preshave goo-mix into the lather, but I thought it would put things into perspective before I ask my question(s). I have already searched for it on the forum. I assume that someone must have mentioned it already, but I'm unable to find it.
A) People mention about blade life. anywhere from 2-5 shaves per blade with 3 passes. I am exclusively used to shaving with the the mach 3 (did have one satisfying shave at the barber's place), I don't ever remember trying to flip the gillette and shaving, since the only thing that I would end up with was probably a laterally inverted gillette logo. I use one side exclusively for 3 shaves (2 passes) & 3 days later, 3 more shaves with the other side. So, I get 6 comfortable shaves with the blade without even trying to experiment on it's longevity. Is it a routine commonly used amongst veteran shavers or do most people use both sides casually during a shave? It's nothing to do with being frugal. Blades are very cheap. I'm just curious.
B)I have already asked this to (user:beyboo), who's been very helpful and answered all my questions patiently, but are there any vendors here that have shipped cosmetic goods (shaving creams, after shave balms) to India on a regular basis. I might order things rather than depend on friends and relatives coming to India, but I'm worried that I might end up paying a fortune with shipping and extra custom duties. 'beyboo' mentioned that he had never paid anything..but I thought that asking it here on the board might get me responses from vendors who have shipped to India. The final recipients might have let the vendors know if any duties had to be paid. All I want to do is receive my items on my doorstep after just paying for shipping..and of course the price of the product. I sent something similar to nancy boy on the friday of last week, but I did not receive a reply.
Thanks! for all the assorted tips from badger&blade forums, thanks mantic, thanks beyboo, thanks corey (shaveblog).
Now, after seeing this video yesterday, posted by Joel of badger & blade, I'm really curious to try out a straight razor...Probably in a few months time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W44WFTfqzA&feature=player_embedded
Thanks!
First time poster on the forums. Mini primer: & I'm just into my 7th day of using a safety razor. My awareness of traditional safety razor shaving has been for less than a month. I thought that shifting over from the only razor I know of, a gillette mach3, would be tough & slightly dangerous, but not-so-strangely, the transition has been pretty smooth. My "quest" for alternative products began just under 3 weeks ago when I was sick of my gillette white plastic face poking brush. I was frustrated with the plastic mass scratching against my face & creating more facial pores.
A few lazy inquiries later at stores nearby, & I realized that I was surrounded by gillette in every form and everywhere. A few online searches later & I was shocked to find that there were forums exclusively dedicated to shaving. The discovery & the subsequent information:- badger, boar, safety,nonsafety, balm, creams, preshave - was so overwhelming, that I did not bother to look more into it..........that's until two weeks ago, when my friend was coming to India, where I stay. Since I had 5 days left, a quick glance at the forums, some mantic videos, a cursory glance at Corey Greenberg's blog (shaveblog.com) later & ..I was confused further
. Anyways, as a starter kit, got a merkur long handle, an astra platinums 100 pack, lots of feather blades (which I'm apprehensive about, after reading Corey's post on his blog & how they felt on his face after prolonged usage), an omega badger brush, proraso, VDH soap to last 3 generations & a billy jealousy gel (based on a personal recommendation). In retrospect, I would have surely got a few more things, but I was so pressed for time, that I did not think more into it. I was more worried whether things would reach my friend on time.
I used to absolutely loathe shaving & was a bit skeptical after looking at some of mantic's videos, expecially one where he described "the satisfying sound of hearing the blade cleanly cut through the hair" which I thought was amusing...at least initially. Now after 12 obsessive shaves within the first 6 days, I totally agree with what he says. Nearly of them have been slightly uncomfortable, with a burning sensation near specific areas of my jawline, but overall, it's been pretty good & it's undoubtedly been some of the best shaves that I have ever had. I don't ever remember looking in the mirror and thinking "what a great shave"...until now..that is. I still can't navigate below the nose properly (something to do with the arc on the top of the merkur) & use my mach3 in that area. I don't think I'll even try going against the grain...but looks like I'm permanently off my disposable razors. Again, not because I was unsatisfied wit the mach3 or the price of the cartridge or other variables concerning my shave, these razors just feel better & I do, at least now, understand the ritualistic nature of a safety/straight razor. It does take a little more time & I cannot do my super fast mach 3 shaving, but the trade-offs (if any) are small.
Present mix: one old plastic mug + a small dollop of yardley cream+ a small dollop of proraso + (this miight seem weird, since it's supposed to be done before the shave) 4-5 drops of a test-run mix of [extra virgin olive oil, castor oil, almond oil, pure glycerine, clove, cinnamon, aniseed(?!!)]. Whip everything up with the brush, get a smooth lather, wash my face for 30 seconds with warm water, apply the lather for a little over a minute & half & I get a comfortable shave with 2 passes (no BBS however). Wash off lather, rub alum block, 30 sec wait, wash/pat dry, a plain jergens moisturizer rub and I'm done. No gooey after effects of lather-mixed pre-shave. It feels nourished even if I do not apply the jergens cream & I feel smooth (not BBS-but not a problem).
Figuring out bear growth direction is my task for the next week when I revert back to the traditional 1 shave a day routine.
I know it's fairly traditional up to my jawline. Below that - no clue. I've been impatient and have not allowed the stubble to grow with my 2 shave a day regimen...but I mainly do a first total N-S pass. The second pass is nearly the same, except that I go diagonally from my sideburns to the tip of my mouth. Never have I experienced such a clean pass across the stubble. The tip of my chin and just below, is slightly annoying & I invariably get a burning sensation around some areas of the jawline...but still ..fine.Apologize for the long long written primer about my non-traditional priming techniques involving mixing the preshave goo-mix into the lather, but I thought it would put things into perspective before I ask my question(s). I have already searched for it on the forum. I assume that someone must have mentioned it already, but I'm unable to find it.
A) People mention about blade life. anywhere from 2-5 shaves per blade with 3 passes. I am exclusively used to shaving with the the mach 3 (did have one satisfying shave at the barber's place), I don't ever remember trying to flip the gillette and shaving, since the only thing that I would end up with was probably a laterally inverted gillette logo. I use one side exclusively for 3 shaves (2 passes) & 3 days later, 3 more shaves with the other side. So, I get 6 comfortable shaves with the blade without even trying to experiment on it's longevity. Is it a routine commonly used amongst veteran shavers or do most people use both sides casually during a shave? It's nothing to do with being frugal. Blades are very cheap. I'm just curious.
B)I have already asked this to (user:beyboo), who's been very helpful and answered all my questions patiently, but are there any vendors here that have shipped cosmetic goods (shaving creams, after shave balms) to India on a regular basis. I might order things rather than depend on friends and relatives coming to India, but I'm worried that I might end up paying a fortune with shipping and extra custom duties. 'beyboo' mentioned that he had never paid anything..but I thought that asking it here on the board might get me responses from vendors who have shipped to India. The final recipients might have let the vendors know if any duties had to be paid. All I want to do is receive my items on my doorstep after just paying for shipping..and of course the price of the product. I sent something similar to nancy boy on the friday of last week, but I did not receive a reply.
Thanks! for all the assorted tips from badger&blade forums, thanks mantic, thanks beyboo, thanks corey (shaveblog).
Now, after seeing this video yesterday, posted by Joel of badger & blade, I'm really curious to try out a straight razor...Probably in a few months time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W44WFTfqzA&feature=player_embedded
Thanks!
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advice taken. I just had one shave today. The DE shaving experience has genuinely been very different in a positive way. I'm trying to convert my cousin on to this practice, but he seems to be weird-ed out by my new shaving obsession. To irritate him further, I keep stroking my face in front of him (faceturbation as Corey calls it!). I even told him that one effortless slide across the chin would be enough to permanently convert him. But he's not buying any of my non-profit sales pitches.
