What I've learned after a month of DE shaving

[FiTxAg04]

So, I have been DE shaving now for right at a month. While being quite apprehensive at first, I believed I picked up the 'art' pretty quickly. I sometimes find myself having to slow down since I'm almost too comfortable and, thus, inattentive at times with my Progress. In the relatively short time I've been involved in classic wet shaving, I've learned the following things (some of which are only applicable to my equipment, face and shaving style).

-Though one of the touted advantages of wet shaving is reduced cost, I have spent (and enjoy spending) more money on shaving than ever before.
-I spend more time in the bathroom now than ever before (and THOROUGHLY enjoy every minute of it), and thus take better care of myself, in general.
-The shaving bug has translated into searching for the best grooming products all around (luxury shampoos, body washes, face washes, etc.)
-I LOVE AOS lavender soap; makes a very thick, luxurious, slick lather and moisturizes quite well.
-Truefitt & Hill Trafalgar shaving cream has one of the best scents ever that just explodes when being whipped up into a lather. I find, unfortunately, that it is not nearly as slick as my AOS soap and dries my face making for a slightly uncomfortable shave. I really wish T&H would manufacture their soap in multiple scents.
-Crystal blades are the smoothest shaving blades I have tried, to date.
-Gilette blades are almost as smooth as the Crystals, but cut a bit closer.
-Feather blades suck (I should've listened to you guys when you said go easy with those things...).
-Nivea after-shave balms are great and cheap to boot.
-Styptic pencils sting like hell (even though the package said "sting-free"
-Did I mention Feather blades suck?

In summary, I am hooked. I look forward to trying out other soaps/creams/balms/blades in the future in search of the perfect products. Unfortunately, I believe it will be a futile journey. There will always be something new and different out there that I will have to give a whirl but one certainty I'm sure of is that the experience will be fun and rewarding.

 

[CRuzin]

Great post. One of the reasons I started wet shaving was for the reduced cost as well, but that went out the window the first time I saw all the cool old razors and amazing assortment of creams and soaps. Like you, I think it's worth it since I am enjoying shaving again.

 

[netsurfr]

Thanks for the great post.
I thought that feather blades sucked too when I first started. Use them exclusively now...

 

[michaelskar]

Nice post...I agree with you about Trafalgar...amazing, wonderful scent...lathers like a champ...but just doesn't seem as slick as other offerings. Lately I've been tempted to try it again and double the water I use (I think this might be the problem as it is such a "dense" cream).

If you haven't tried the Proraso ASB, you really really should...a better version of Nivea (in performance and scent) IMHO.

 

[FiTxAg04]

Thanks, guys. I will definitely be keeping the Feathers for a later date. I think I just wasn't ready for them, even though I believed I was. I need to further develop my technique before I give 'em another try. I didn't really have a problem with them on my face, but I'm hooked on getting a BBS shave on my neck since I was never able to achieve this before switching to DE. In order to achieve this, however, I have to shave ATG. This is where I had my problems with the Feathers. They really tore my neck up ATG. I've been experimenting with blade buffing and other techniques to get that close neck shave without the irritation/nicks.

As many good things as I've been reading here on Proraso products, I will definitely be giving them a try. I'll have to check Target next time I'm in and pick up whatever they have (does Target still carry Proraso?). I'm glad to hear that it has a better scent/feel than Nivea. I like Nivea for the feel, but the scent leaves much to be desired.

 

[BroJohn]

I'll have to check Target next time I'm in and pick up whatever they have (does Target still carry Proraso?).

FYI, Target stopped stocking the Proraso product line in January, 2007. Shortly thereafter, existing stocks were closed out at a steep discount. There are a number of e-tailers that carry the Proraso products.

-- John Gehman

 

[Kairtane]

As John said, Proraso is no longer available at Target. You can, however get C. O. Bigelow shave cream at Bath and Body Works. It is made exclusively for Bigelow by Proraso.