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The Ah Ha moment vs. Acquisition Disorder

Many of us have AD in various aspects of our wetshaving endeavors. I thought it would be fun to discuss which areas you have had an "Ah Ha! moment and what it was, and which areas you still suffer from AD!

I'll start:

Preshave: Ah Ha=Shower w/ neutrogena bar face wash; kiss my face moisture shave (both in that order works marvels for my skin and shave)
Brush: AD still persists (still looking for the one!)
Soap/Cream: AD here too Although I know I prefer soaps!
Razor: Ah Ha=Merkur HD
Blade: Ah Ha=Derby Extras (Finally had my Ah ha moment this morning when I had to double check to see that I was actually shaving! After going through 5 other blade types I stopped my search and ordered 100 derby pronto)
AS: Ah Ha=Witch Hazel followed by Nivea Extra Soothing Balm (small rotation here, but this is my go-to AS routine)
 
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Interesting post, though I am guessing many will have both "Ah-Has" AND AD in the same category. E.G.:

Preshave: Ah Ha: Shower w/ Noxzema
Brush: Ah Ha w/ my vintage Trumpers, but could easily fall prey to AD
S/C: Ah Ha w/ TOBS Avocado, but still persisting AD for potential 2nd place or new 1st place
Razor: Ah Ha w/ Merkur 12c, but bythbook keeps sending me razors!
Blade: Ah Ha w/ Crystals, but I am on the verge of getting a hundred red packs
AS: Total AD, although I LOVE Musgo, and know I need a balm of some type
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Yes, great post...

Preshave: Ah ah - Proraso Pre or Kyle's technique
Brush: Ah ah - Men-U bristle (if it dies, I will get an Omega bristle)
Soap/Cream: mmm, AD... Soap and creams, more soap.
Razor: Ah ah - NEW as a main (I would say a bit of AD as I am picking up a few spare NEW to fit the bull mastiff handle... ) Hoffritz as travel but it goes out while I'm not travelling...
Blade: Ah ah - Feather and Astra - AD - I am curious to try something else so I buy small quantities of what I can find...
AS: Ah ah - Proraso White...
 
razor: 40's superspeed - my fatboy, HD, 47 US Aristocrat (grandpa's razor) British tech and Aristocrat Jr all sit idle these days
blade: red pack personna / gillette sharpedge
cream: too many, too enjoyable.
soap: trumper sandalwood, Cade, Proraso White
AS: Aqua Velva Ice Blue - who knew this old stuff could be SOOO good??
ASB: Nivea Extreme Comfort ASB
 
Preshave: A-ha = I don't need more than a shower and a face-washing
Brush: A-ha moment = I only need a few: Rooney 3/1, Shavemac 177, B&B Essential, Omega 6215
Soap/Cream: A-ha = who am I kidding? Still "suffering" from AD. Tabac will be one of the a-has when I get there
Razor: A-ha = Gillettes (sorry HD...you served adequately, but...); I'm trying to narrow down whether I have an "a-ha" among the Gillettes, and so far, I'm pleasantly surprised with my 60s Flair Tip
Blade: A-ha = Derby
AS: Still have some AD; but, closer to that "a-ha". Any a-ha I ever reach will include a broader assortment here than anywhere else, but it's still a smallish list of primarily low-priced, high-value offerings: witch hazel, Old Spice, AV, AOS Sandalwood, and at least one homebrew ASB
 
Preshave ah-ha: Barbasol after shower (this may change - I'm using the gooinacan for pre)
Brush ah-ha: Burma Boar, works fine for me...
Razor ah-ha: Slant 37c, and E type Injector
Blade ah-ha: Dorco St-301, believe it or not, this was my first blade
AS ah-ha: AV, Nivea Extra Cooling, Proaso
Soap ah-ha: VDH glycerin, Williams
 
Preshave: No ah-ha yet
Razor: Loving the Tech, but no true ah-ha yet
Soap: TGQ the frontrunner, but still AD
Cream: AD
Blades: AD
AS: Somewhat of an ah-ha with my home made stuff; 2/3 witchhazel, 1/3 aloe gel, trace amounts of peppermint EO
 
I have had one ah-ha: Noxzema wash as a pre-shave.

the rest are all AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAS! more or less...

razors - Gillettes, one of each. Or maybe two. In all available styles/boxes/configs/colors. Not there yet. Just getting started on Merkurs. Been through my GEM acquisition phase.

Blades: ok, Ah-ha! Red Pack IPs, Crystal IPs, Derby Extras.

Soaps & Creams: you gotta be kidding. I haven't even tried them all yet!

AS/ASB: ditto

EdT/EdC: ditto (but Pen's Blenheim Bouquet & English Fern are pretty damn near Ah-ha!)
 
Preshave - water, face wash, more water
Brush - still searching
Razor - Merkur HD
Blade - Derby Extra
Soap/Cream - Various
After Shave - Thayers and Nivea
 
Preshave: Ah-ha - Proraso Pre with Kyle's Prep (instead of the lather)

Brush: Not really an Ah-ha, but I'm not yet willing to out lay more $ on them - C&E BBB, BaBE, Omega 10049

Soap/Cream: Definite SC AD . . . but soaps and I don't get along too well

Razor: Ah-ha - Gillette Tech (I do have an urge to try a Merkur HD or Classic someday)

Blade: Ah-ha - Israeli Super+ Platinum (I did just buy 100 Red Personnas to try, but this is the last blade I'll try)

AS/EdC: Mild AD here - I have a number that I like, but I'm interested in acquiring the occasional new scent
 
Only having two wet shaves under my belt I have no Ah-ha moments yet, but am building up some serious AD. Wetshaving is not going to be good for me. I have a natural tendancy to acquire stuff. Normally, it's not a big deal because I keep it out of view from my wife. This is going to be interesting.
 
I'm nearly done with my AD's. After spending years of my life and vast pots of my money on it.


Preshave - Ah Ha: hot water, a small amount of soap/cream rubbed in to the beard area.
Razor - Ah Ha: 40's Gillette Superspeed or Merkur HD. Dead tie for me.
Blade - Ah Ha: Derby.
Brush - Ah Ha: Vulfix Best Badger in the small size.
Soap - Ah Ha: Old Old Spice. What i'll do when i've exhausted my supply is currently on my mind, but that's another thread.
Cream - Ah Ha: Proraso.
AS - Ah Ha: Old Spice Original or Old Spice Whitewater, depending on my cologne choice. I have a big 200ml bottle of Paco Rabanne Pour Homme AS that I really dig, but i'm not sure I will replace it - it smells amazing to me, but I think i'd rather just use OS or Whitewater. I love Floid, but the scent sticks around too long on me.
Cologne - Sort of AD, and kind of my downfall. I'm going to try and get it down to 5 - two warm weather (Paco Rabanne Pour Homme and Guerlain Vetiver), two cold weather (Old Spice Cologne and ???) and one formal (Dunhill 1934).
 
Preshave: A-ha = Lots of hot water followed by Lime skin food.
Brush: I've only used two but I'm very satisfied with my silvertip from Golden Nib.
Soap: A-ha = L'Occitane Cade.
Razor: Merkur HD. Just about an A-ha but I can see myself trying others. I still like SS, NEW...
Blade: A-ha = Crystal.
AS: LOL I will have ASAD till I die.
 
PreshaveAS: Somewhat of an ah-ha with my home made stuff; 2/3 witchhazel, 1/3 aloe gel, trace amounts of peppermint EO

How funny...I just last night, without having seen your response, made this exact same homebrew of 2/3 WH, 1/3 AG (no EO...none at home). It worked like a champ this AM!
 
Nice thread. Here's my Take (On Me) on A Ha:

Preshave: Ah Ha = shower, never really effected by AD here

Brush: Ah Ha = Merkur Silvertip that came with my Futur set, never affected by AD here (yet)

Soap/Cream: AD still, Tabac is my favorite, but I want to keep trying new things; will try more creams too, only used Trumpers Rose so far, which I really like

Razor: Ah Ha=Merkur Futur

Blade: Ah Ha= Gillette Yellow 7s, Feathers (alternate, but use GY7s more because they are cheaper

AS: My favorite AD category, I switch up every day. I use witch hazel or osage when I want to wear cologne, or use Aqua Velva, Generic Family Dollar Old Spice, Pinaud Clubman, Pinaud Bay Rum, Pinaud Lilac Vegetal, TOBS Mr Taylor--as you can see, AD still in full effect
 
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How funny...I just last night, without having seen your response, made this exact same homebrew of 2/3 WH, 1/3 AG (no EO...none at home). It worked like a champ this AM!

It's great, isn't it? So far it has beat out any and all commercial contenders. I've tried expensive ASBs, too, but I keep coming back to the WH/AG concoction.
 
It seems like I have an aha moment every few months... Here's my current lineup

Preshave - T&H Oil
Razor - Merkur Slant - this one aint going no where...
Brush - Shavemac 177 23mm Silvertip
Cream - T&H 1805
Blade - Gillette Swede
Soap - Irish Moos
Aftershave - SCS Milks and Proraso Splash
 
Hey, if everyone had a full set of ah ha moments then B&B would be at least half its present size. Where's the fun in that? :lol:
 
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