Shower shaving with a DE is very possible. You just have to do it slowly and by feel.
Trying not to quit
- Thread starter RGBlack
- Start date
I use both, when I don't have a beard. For work mornings when I need to get BBS in 1-2 minutes, I'll always use a cart or disposable. For days off or extended time off, I'll use a DE.
Sounds to me like you have a pretty good system in place, as I have been there, done that, and I also put a lot of value on the final result (BBS) and (at times) mindlessness. I also enjoy the focus, ritual, and greater challenge of a DE shave, and while I enjoy the variety of alternating I can see how some folks would choose one path and never look back.
For a while I tried to find the DE tool that could deliver a mindless shave, but never found one. The Henson probably came closest, but if I don't pay attention I either get bitten or I don't get a good result.
I'm chiming in to see if you have ever tried ways to squeeze more shaves out of the Fusion carts, such as buffing (towel, denim, or RazorPit), soaking the cart in alcohol to get all the water off and minimize corrosion, etc. I'm able to easily get about 20 shaves per cart and there are some on the forum that get many more than that.
For me, a Superspeed or Post-War Tech loaded with a FlyDear is about as close to a "mindless" BBS shave as it gets. They are very mild and comfortable razors, and FlyDears are very smooth without being overly sharp.
To be honestly, for most people Mach 3 is more effiecent and easy to reach bbs. And the tech you learned in modern razor like mach 3 maybe useless even harmful.
My advice is that:
1 Forget your experience
2 Don't pursue BBS
3 Henson is alright but you can try some razor more aggresive
My advice is that:
1 Forget your experience
2 Don't pursue BBS
3 Henson is alright but you can try some razor more aggresive
Different strokes for different folks. I happen to believe a straight razor gives me the most comfortable shave, but that’s me. You do you. Good shaves ahead!
I don’t chase BBS.
I am trying to get a shave with no nicks or irritation.
My easiest razors are the TRC aluminum, Merkur Progress 500 and 510, Merkur 38C, Merkur 34G, some of my Techs, two out of four of my GEM Flying Wings, TRC titanium, TRC stainless steel, Dovo Primo (I can’t remember which one), some of my SuperSpeeds/Rockets…
Out of over 100 razors, I usually shave with about 30 of them.
My worst razors are my Aylsworth Apex, Greencult 2.0, Yates Winning and my Henson. They all want to cut me.
My 34G shaves so much better than my 34C.
I am trying to get a shave with no nicks or irritation.
My easiest razors are the TRC aluminum, Merkur Progress 500 and 510, Merkur 38C, Merkur 34G, some of my Techs, two out of four of my GEM Flying Wings, TRC titanium, TRC stainless steel, Dovo Primo (I can’t remember which one), some of my SuperSpeeds/Rockets…
Out of over 100 razors, I usually shave with about 30 of them.
My worst razors are my Aylsworth Apex, Greencult 2.0, Yates Winning and my Henson. They all want to cut me.
My 34G shaves so much better than my 34C.
You should join the Century Circle, @Edgelord!
Century Circle - 100 Razors
Have you shaved with 100 razors? Do you want to eventually shave with that many? Have RAD bad? Like a lot of variety? Then this is a group for you! The century circle welcomes anyone, post what you've shaved with and let's chat. High five those who have hit this number or cheer on those...
www.badgerandblade.com
I like to shave with a straight razor when I have enough time. On my early morning commute mornings I shave in the sink with a DE using bar soap. Takes less than 10 minutes soup to nuts. What I have found is that the choice of blade is much more noticeable when shaving with bar soap.
Have you tried using different blades? Might be worth buying a sample pack of blades.
Have you tried using different blades? Might be worth buying a sample pack of blades.
- Thread starter
- #50
I was a Fusion shaver in the shower exactly like you for years. The short answer is, as many here have already said, if you have no more time to devote to shaving in the morning, you should probably stick with that. Or shave the night before. DE shaving with a good soap and brush has helped my skin immensely, but it takes much more time.
I may be misunderstanding your post, so just to be clear ...... what I do is "strop" after every shave (<10 seconds), and dunk in isopropyl alcohol after every shave (<10 seconds). Quick, easy, and worthwhile for me, but like everything else here, YMMV.
Up to about 4-5 years, I was a shower shaver, with Gillette Fusion and no soap or anything. Water and cartridge, beautiful shaves in 5 minutes. No ingrown hairs, no irritation, nothing wrong. I convinced myself that I wanted to try DE to be eco friendly, but I guess I wanted the heft of metal in my hand and be a bit less viking with my habits. It took me a while to get the hang of it, because my first DE razor was a 10 dollar crappy thing that was as smooth as my garden rake. Then I tried the Rockwell 6c and I found a way into DE. Many, many razors later, I found that the RazoRock Lupos and the Yaqi Sentinels are perfect for my face and beard, and I love taking the time with them. But there is no such thing as just converting to DE shaving... you need to find the specific razor or razor style that fits you. I imagine the Henson is not the answer for you. Turns out that DE is not that eco friendly or cheap if we keep buying stuff over and over. But it is a fun ride. I still do soapless shaves in the shower with a Lupo or the Yaqi Ghost for old time sakes every now and then.
Happy shaves!
Happy shaves!
It depends on your value proposition.
I just checked the Gillette web site and it looks like their "Fusion 5 Proglide" cartridges are $4 apiece if you buy a 64 pack. If you shave 10 times per month (120 times per year) and each cartridge lasts 6 shaves, that's about $0.67 per shave or about $80 or so per year (about 20 cartridges/year). More if you buy fewer carts at a time, of course.
Compare that with DE blades, say $0.10 each. If you shave 120 times per year and each blade lasts 3 shaves, that's about $0.04 (rounding up) per shave--under $5/year (about 40 blades/year).
Only you can decide if it's worth it.
I just checked the Gillette web site and it looks like their "Fusion 5 Proglide" cartridges are $4 apiece if you buy a 64 pack. If you shave 10 times per month (120 times per year) and each cartridge lasts 6 shaves, that's about $0.67 per shave or about $80 or so per year (about 20 cartridges/year). More if you buy fewer carts at a time, of course.
Compare that with DE blades, say $0.10 each. If you shave 120 times per year and each blade lasts 3 shaves, that's about $0.04 (rounding up) per shave--under $5/year (about 40 blades/year).
Only you can decide if it's worth it.
Does people really go through so many cartridges? I got 20 shaves with each cartridge at least
I was basing this on the OP's earlier comment:
I don't use Gillette cartridges, but I can get about 18 good shaves from the Schick Hydro Sensitive 5-blade cartridges, and about 16 shaves from Defender cartridges. I agree that 6 seems a little low. (It might be that the OP is letting the blades stay wet or storing them somewhere wet, shortening their life span.)
Even if you get 18 shaves from a cartridge that costs $2.50, that's still a 250% increase in per-shave cost over a $0.10 DE blade that gets used 3 times. If you only get 8 shaves from a $2.50 cartridge, that's a 700% difference ($0.04 vs $0.32 per shave).
Each consumer can decide if they want to pay the cartridge premium or not.
I don't mean this in a bad way or disrespectful but why is this an issue? OP has decided cartridges are the way to go and looks at shaving as a PITA and something he wants to do as fast as possible to just get it over makes me not understand WHY anybody is trying to convince him to "shave better". I can tell you from the little time i've been here that most of us enjoy the lather, the brushes, the blade choices, the aftershave, the toner and finally the shave. it's something we look forward to, not something that we say "well crap it's time to shave so i'm going to allow the same amount of time or less than I wash my hair with shampoo, so it's done."
to the OP: If you want to quit, simply quit. It doesn't sound like something for you. go to your holy grail of hair removal and pick up that plastic piece of crap and be happy. That is what your looking for, it gives you everything you need. no need to try and change your mind, you obviously don't enjoy shaving, you seem to look at it as an inconvenience rather than something you look forward to and rewarding to you. You could even look at hair removal products or laser hair removal so you wouldn't have to waste even that extra minute you use on the cartridges. Problem solved.
to the OP: If you want to quit, simply quit. It doesn't sound like something for you. go to your holy grail of hair removal and pick up that plastic piece of crap and be happy. That is what your looking for, it gives you everything you need. no need to try and change your mind, you obviously don't enjoy shaving, you seem to look at it as an inconvenience rather than something you look forward to and rewarding to you. You could even look at hair removal products or laser hair removal so you wouldn't have to waste even that extra minute you use on the cartridges. Problem solved.
Henson Al-13 razors come in 3 models:
1) Mild for ladies and/or very light beards.
2) Medium for everyday shavers such as myself for example.
3) Aggressive for, presumably, shaving every third day (?).
I’ve got two mediums.
I use good blades (Mühle, Personna, Gillette Nacet, Treet 7 Days etc.) and I shave perfectly in the same amount of time I would use with a cartridge razor.
Avoiding lathering the soap and using a canned foam it would even be a faster process ..
Note: I threw the RK blades which came with the razor into the bin after using one ..
He doesn't want to quit, he is trying not to! I think that secretly, he was asking for alternatives to the Henson
The Henson is a beast of a razor .. if it doesn’t work with it I can’t imagine shaving with anything else nowadays frankly.He doesn't want to quit, he is trying not to! I think that secretly, he was asking for alternatives to the Henson
Similar threads
