Hello all!
Been intensely reading the forums over the last week or so and thought it only polite to introduce myself.
I have decided to take the plunge into DE shaving, as I start a new job soon with a formal dress code- I've gotten through the past few years alternating between occasional shaves and trimmed stubble, but always seem to have a ingrown hair or two, plus redness and hair-induced blemishes, particularly around the adams apple. Gave it a trial run of normal shaving the last week- not very comfortable. Im hoping that DE shaving will be smooth enough to allow me to shave the night before - this is only *just* not feasible with cartridge razors, I get visible growth around 12/1pm if I shave the night before. If that doesn't work or needs time to get technique down first, at least DE should provide less redness/ingrown hairs to allow me to do it in the morning and still look good at work.
I've purchased some basic items to get me going, but I'm eating into my overdraft already so funds are tight (most shopping done on amazon -'prime' items if possible). I was hoping I could get some feedback on my setup, particularly the blades, which I have selected based on positive comments gleaned from perusal of random threads.
SO far I have/have on order:
Edwin Jagger DE89 (amazon 'exclusive' knurled grip- I live to shave mid-shower, then gradually turn down to cold to wake up and close the pores- good practice? )
Proraso white/sensitive soap - seems to tingle/cool (very little though), but no burn or dryness, so looks optimistic.
Nivea Sensitive balm - Chosen as its cheap- my experience with anything moisturising is that it brings up redness and sometimes burns after a shave, hopefully this will be neutral, especially applied on closed pores post-shower.
Omega Pro 49 brush. Gave it a run in today, seemed fine... smell dissipated fairly well after a couple of washes with soap and proraso soap.
Blades, from Connaught shaving:
Crystal,
Gilette 7'O'clock Super Platinum
Persona Platinum (also known as red? Made in Israel I think)
Persona super Medical Prep
So, what do you think?
I didn't pick up any 'feathers' as they don't seem to be recommended for newbies, likewise most of the selection packs I could see in the UK online stores had a lot of what seem
confused1) to be inferior blades with the main ones - other colours of the gilette 7 o'clock series for example.
Other brands I have beard positive about would be Shark, possibly Derby? Also, should I stick with a blade for a week before trying another brand? Are any of the above list more forgiving for an absolute first DE shave?
I'm off into London (a 'trial run' to see what the new commute is like) this week so might even pop into a decent barbers and get it done, so I see how they do things/what the results might be like. Any recommendations?
Oh, and thanks for all the information I have already gleaned before registering!
Been intensely reading the forums over the last week or so and thought it only polite to introduce myself.
I have decided to take the plunge into DE shaving, as I start a new job soon with a formal dress code- I've gotten through the past few years alternating between occasional shaves and trimmed stubble, but always seem to have a ingrown hair or two, plus redness and hair-induced blemishes, particularly around the adams apple. Gave it a trial run of normal shaving the last week- not very comfortable. Im hoping that DE shaving will be smooth enough to allow me to shave the night before - this is only *just* not feasible with cartridge razors, I get visible growth around 12/1pm if I shave the night before. If that doesn't work or needs time to get technique down first, at least DE should provide less redness/ingrown hairs to allow me to do it in the morning and still look good at work.
I've purchased some basic items to get me going, but I'm eating into my overdraft already so funds are tight (most shopping done on amazon -'prime' items if possible). I was hoping I could get some feedback on my setup, particularly the blades, which I have selected based on positive comments gleaned from perusal of random threads.
SO far I have/have on order:
Edwin Jagger DE89 (amazon 'exclusive' knurled grip- I live to shave mid-shower, then gradually turn down to cold to wake up and close the pores- good practice? )
Proraso white/sensitive soap - seems to tingle/cool (very little though), but no burn or dryness, so looks optimistic.
Nivea Sensitive balm - Chosen as its cheap- my experience with anything moisturising is that it brings up redness and sometimes burns after a shave, hopefully this will be neutral, especially applied on closed pores post-shower.
Omega Pro 49 brush. Gave it a run in today, seemed fine... smell dissipated fairly well after a couple of washes with soap and proraso soap.
Blades, from Connaught shaving:
Crystal,
Gilette 7'O'clock Super Platinum
Persona Platinum (also known as red? Made in Israel I think)
Persona super Medical Prep
So, what do you think?
I didn't pick up any 'feathers' as they don't seem to be recommended for newbies, likewise most of the selection packs I could see in the UK online stores had a lot of what seem
confused1) to be inferior blades with the main ones - other colours of the gilette 7 o'clock series for example. Other brands I have beard positive about would be Shark, possibly Derby? Also, should I stick with a blade for a week before trying another brand? Are any of the above list more forgiving for an absolute first DE shave?
I'm off into London (a 'trial run' to see what the new commute is like) this week so might even pop into a decent barbers and get it done, so I see how they do things/what the results might be like. Any recommendations?
Oh, and thanks for all the information I have already gleaned before registering!
