so, my gf wants to try DE shaving. Any pointers?

[c2k]

Shrugs,

not exactly my area of expertise for the ladies.

so some pointers would be helpful?

Im thinking about getting her a merkur long handled hd some cheap synethic brush? I dunno? However, she did say that she doesnt want to smell 'manly' and would prefer to smell more femine.

*shrugs*?

 

[Luc]

Not an expert and my other half is scarded of the straights/DEs but she did steal my boar brush...

My understanding was that a Lady Gillette was made for them. It's supposed to be a Tech head with long handle. I never got one, so I can't confirm...

The long handle is a good idea, I think the Merkur should be good.

Omega brush should be perfect. For the smell, well, depends on the lather. I would think that TOBS/GFT Roses would be good. I don't know if an AS is recommendable but my other half uses the Nivea sensitive. She said it smells like men a bit so she doesn't like it 100%.

She would need something unscented which I think nivea produces (or did when I was a kid). My mom had that obsession that I had sensistive skin and I don't think it's that bad...

 

[DFrancis]

I would suggest looking for a superspeed, that's what my wife uses, and can be had for much less than a merkur. Just post a want to buy and I'm sure somebody will be able to hook you up. She also has an Omega boar brush and a tub of Almond TOBS cream.

 

[vitaman]

My wife uses a Lady Gillette and she loves it. She also loves my badger brushes and TOBS avocado is one of her favorite creams. She has used my HD and she prefers the mildness of the LG. Hope that helps.

 

[Gustav]

Ask for her hand at ounce!

 

[Duamuteffe]

I've been using a DE to shave since January, so hopefully some of the following rambles will be useful to you.

I use my husband's Merkur 11c, since it's here and easily available, and it works just fine. I can see where for some bits a slightly longer handle would be handy, but it's not necessary. I found the transition from cartridges to DE quite a bit easier than DH did, but I think that's just because legs are hardier than faces and have less complicated planes to run a blade over. You do need to pay a bit of attention to the angle when doing one's armpits, but that doesn't take too long to figure out. It didn't take very much time before I was shaving at normal speed. I did learn that you can't just swipe back over an area without at least dabbing a little lather back on it first, something you can kind of fudge with a cartridge, but at the same time, my shaves have been closer and more neat and even, so there are far less touch-ups required. A nice shave cream does wonders for the skin, too, far more so than that crap in a can. DE's also rinse clean immediately and don't clog, which was always my major hatred with cartridges (well, that and the price, and the short-livedness...)

 

[Geordon]

Ask for her hand at ounce!

+1. Also, don't let her try out the TABAC! on herself. Or, for that matter, The VEG! That way lies madness.

Seriously, though, might want to hit the grocery store shave aisle and see about some Kiss My Face shave cream. SWMBO just mentioned that she was having a bugger of a time with dry/irritated skin on her legs and that she has been using nothing but water. A couple of the ladies here suggested KMF, so I picked her up a bottle of lavender (and something, can't remember) to try. Definitely not one of the manly scents.

Good luck, you lucky man you! (Oh, and make sure to get her a brush of her own so that she doesn't appropriate yours!)

 

[Go West Young Man]

My understanding was that a Lady Gillette was made for them. It's supposed to be a Tech head with long handle. I never got one, so I can't confirm...

It's a Superspeed, actually.
My wife uses one, but never got into any creams, brushes or other products. I've left a few different cream options out, but I think she just defaults to soap and water. TBH, it seems to work pretty good for her, very smooth skin and no irritation.

 

[flycbyrd]

My wife uses a Lady Gillette and she loves it. She also loves my badger brushes and TOBS avocado is one of her favorite creams. She has used my HD and she prefers the mildness of the LG. Hope that helps.

The avocado was highly recommended on another forum for women, by a women, so i would go with it. and the superspeed, you cant go wrong with.

 

[c2k]

Excellent responses on here!

Now, the question is when shaving, do you still have to use short strokes or is it different for the legs?

 

[flycbyrd]

Excellent responses on here!

Now, the question is when shaving, do you still have to use short strokes or is it different for the legs?

Honestly I do not know. But i would think that you would want to map it according to terrain. What i mean by that is like what we do with the chin. like depending upon the bone and the calf area. I think that it would be a good idea to do short strokes . But thats just me.

 

[Defend Tacoma]

My wife now has 2 lady gillettes. She is slowly working on getting all 4 colors! She also bought a couple more for her girlfriend's birthdays. KMF patchouli seems to be her current favorite cream, but vanilla and lavender are also in the rotation.

As far as the stroke length goes, in my experience (shaving the little ladie's legs), longer strokes are fine, as long as she pays attention to blade angle. Once she gets comfortable with the DE, she can probably get away with whatever she was doing before.

 

[falkor27]

SWMBO's setup is a pink Lady Gillette, feather blade, TBS synthetic brush (since she leaves it in the shower), and her choice of anything in the soap cabinet — though she usually uses one of the soap sticks I picked out for her (MB Chanel 22 and PC Rose). She doesn't seem very interested in experimenting but likes it when I occasionally whip up some TOBS rose in the scuttle for her.

 

[simon1]

Whew...I don't have to worry about any of my stuff getting appropriated. I asked the SWMBO if she wanted to try my '52 SS with a red personna and it was an adamant "NO!".

She said that she had cut herself with those things when she used them several years ago.

I think my "stuff" is safe.

 

[mankini]

Shrugs,

...so some pointers would be helpful?

*shrugs*?

Hide your gear while you still can

 

[Duamuteffe]

Excellent responses on here!

Now, the question is when shaving, do you still have to use short strokes or is it different for the legs?

As far as leg-shaving, I started out with shorter strokes until I was sure I understood the blade angle I needed, but now use the same length of stroke I used before, i.e. ankle-to-knee or what have you. I'm a mite more careful with underarms, but that's such a small area the length of stroke doesn't matter.

 

[Gammon]

I used to give my wife the 3-bladed cartridge that came in the pack of 2-blade ones. I told her she won't be getting anymore of those, and that she should try a DE and get rid of the 5-blade thing. I figure leg shaving has to be a piece of cake. There are no jaw lines or Adam's apple's! She said no, she would cut herself too much. I said I'd find her a pink one. I got no response. That's as good as an "OK I'll try it", I guess. Now I just have to find her a pink, girly DE, and some flowery soap.

 

[Klopstick]

For soaps I think you couldn't go wrong with looking to Mama Bear's, there are a ton of possibilities there, from the uber-pleasant and unisex Elements of Bamboo, to the more floral or even women's cologne. Samplers are good to get along with a tub.

Of course, if you are in the mood to go mad, and the scent of roses does the trick for her, then you may have to dig deep and spring for SRD's Bulgarian Rose Otto soap. Be advised, it's not a wimpy rose. Imagine a jello-wresting match between Queen Victoria and Catherine the Great and this is the flavor jello they would have used! Yes, it's that amazing!

A brush that holds a lot of lather would be good, there's a lot of real estate to cover. I'll let the ladies chime in on what works best for them. My SWMBO uses an Omega boar or one of my Jagger badgers.

 

[Luc]

It's a Superspeed, actually.
My wife uses one, but never got into any creams, brushes or other products. I've left a few different cream options out, but I think she just defaults to soap and water. TBH, it seems to work pretty good for her, very smooth skin and no irritation.

Is it? I thought it was a 3 pieces and the head was the same than a Tech... Oh well, thanks for the info.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Nope, definitely a TTO on a longer handle