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Variety versus Consistency

They say variety is the spice of life, and many folk on this board regularly change the variables of their shave - razor, blade, brush, soap or cream.

But does the face and therefore the quality of the shave respond better to a consistent approach?

I did a lot of experimenting to begin with and settled on a Slant with Swedes using the only brush I have with Palmolive (Green) cream.

To my great annoyance Swedes became unavailable. After I had used all my Feathers (sharp enough but a bit rougher) I stared to look around. Feathers, Iridiums and Yellow 7 O'Clocks recommended. I seem to be settling to the 7 O'Clocks and may find myself in another rut.

But, what do others find? Is consistency better than variety?
 
I'm beginning to like consistency. A bit mundane, yes, but when the results are a clean, close, comfortable shave every time, I'll take consistency.

I have found a setup that provides repeatable results, and am a happy shaver because of it.
 
But, what do others find? Is consistency better than variety?
Both. Personally, I have settled on a small number of blades/creams/razors, and withing the confines of my choices there is a small amount of daily variety. Overall, I have found that limiting my selection of blades and razors (and techniques) to those that yield consistently good results–while discarding those that do not–has been the number one factor in my achieving an excellent daily shave.

Sticking with what works works.
 
Both. Personally, I have settled on a small . . .

Yes, that's the answer. I will stick with my Slant and probably the Yellow 7 O'Clocks. I use the Palmolive Cream and my own mix of Palmolive Shave Stick and the Wilkinson soft soap in the blue tub (I grate then together); but I quite like to get an expensive cream as a present, to add a little variety.
 
I'm with Dex. "Variety is the spice of life", but I take that in a limited way with my shaving. The products that get variety in my routine are creams, aftershaves, and EdT's. I've found TOBS creams to be the best bang for the buck and have several. Of those, the avocado stands out, while several others seem very similar (other than their scent). I have a couple T&H creams that are also close....so I find the variation to be minimal.
I guess what it comes down to is that, from my vast storehouse of gear, I tend to pick 4-5 of each cream and a/s and rotate them. EdT's are a different story.
 
I worked with a guy that was so consistent, if he got delayed and showed up at the sandwich shop 10 minutes late, the folks there started worrying about him. Needless to say, he always came back quickly because they already had his lunch waiting for him.

Personally, I hate to eat the same type of food more than once a week.

Variety vs. consistency? Shaving is like lunch.
 
Consistency with razor and blades, variety with creams. There are a lot of creams with the necessary attributes.
Larry
 
I'm still new to DE shaving, and haven't found a consistent routine yet, still experimenting with number/type of passes, etc. I seem to have settled on razor (Merkur 38C) and blade (Feathers), still tweaking the shave parameters. The goal is to settle on a good technique/routine, stick to it, and cycle through the set of creams I have already acquired. At least, until AD sets in again..
 
I'm still way too early in the game to narrow things down yet.

My RAD in combination with the blade sample pack has left me with months of combinations yet to try in the DE world, not to mention SE, injector, Rolls, Durham Duplex, you get the picture.

It seems to me that there's a pretty high cost involved with multiple creams and soaps. I started with four Mama Bear soap pucks (not realizing how huge they were) and have only ventured to add a VDH deluxe to that end of things. In the same spirit, I've never used a cream and have no temptation to try for now.

So it seems I'm odd man out. Fixed with the soft stuff and all over the map with the razors and blades, for now. :smile:

- Chris
 
I settled on a consistent setup for a while, then traveled and decided to bring some samples with. Now I'm using a new setup and probably will for at least another week, maybe through the month. I like slow variety, I guess.
 
Both. Personally, I have settled on a small number of blades/creams/razors, and withing the confines of my choices there is a small amount of daily variety. Overall, I have found that limiting my selection of blades and razors (and techniques) to those that yield consistently good results–while discarding those that do not–has been the number one factor in my achieving an excellent daily shave.

Sticking with what works works.

Well stated. This describes my situation to a T. And I'm lovin' it.
 
I believe if you have your technique down...you can get a good shave with just about any cream/soap and aftershave. Most DE razors...particularly with a safety bar, appear to provide consistent shaves for me. Even slants, when treated with a light touch, gave off basically the same good shave.

I've found Open Combs to be a bit more aggressive and requiring slightly different attack angle to get a good shave however.

So, I would say that consistency in blade, variety most of the time in DE razors (wont go into str8s) and constant consistency in soap/cream, AS and Edt.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I like to change things around a bit with different razors and soaps, but I have one or two razors that are in rotation a LOT more than others. Some I have only used once, but the President and my Red Tip SS are used much more frequently.
This is another YMMV thing, and I think, like blade choice, you'll never get a consensus on this.
 
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