which razor??

[keithdapher]

Ive been shaving for over a year now or there abouts with an electric razor, but I always have really painful shaves! I use pre-shave currenly Anthony Electric Pre-Shave Solution & mouristurie after, but I still get a reall painful shave. I been recomended to start using a DE razor or by someone who recomended i take a look at this site, either the 2 blade Gillette Sensor or 3 blade Mach 3.

Do you agree, disagree or have any more suggestions about which i should go for?

 

[ouch]

Welcome aboard. I suggest you keep reading. There's a whole world out there waiting for you.

 

[HeadandFaceShaver]

Hmmm, starting out I'd put the money in the brush. Most people agree that shaving prep is the single most important component of wet shaving. Get a badger hair brush (a pretty good one can be had in the neighborhood of $35). Then a relatively inexpensive soap or cream and you have won half of the battle. If you are starting out consider skipping the cartridge razors as they just help one to develop bad shaving habits that will have to be relearned later when you plunge in the the DE world. Just remember, even though the razor itself is a modest investment the blades can last a week and cost just pennies!

-Brandon

 

[roughrider]

A C&E Best Badger brush will run you $35 and a Merkur HD will run about $30. You can also get 100 Derby blades for about $20. This setup will serve you well for quite some time.

 

[Kyle]

Welcome, Keith. I second roughrider's advice.

 

[yasuo200365]

Keith,

Your posting on SMF shows you to be located in the Belfast - I posted the following response which takes that very much into account.

I mentioned a 1940's superspeed - it just so happens a picture of one has been posted on this forum:

http://www.badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2979

OK, I posted the following response on the SMF forum (the offer is for one razor not two):


Nothing wrong with the Mach3/Sensor razors but I would skip them and go straight for a DE. If you want to PM me I will send you a Gillette No66 for free..., there is a picture of one on a current posting. An all metal DE razor will last you a lifetime.

http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8468

If you want to go and purchase your own razor I would either look on ebay for a vintage Gillette Superspeed from the 1940's or buy a new Merkur such as this nickel razor (IMO avoid a Merkur adjustable or their comb razor):
http://www.executive-shaving.co.uk/shaving/safety-razors/nickel-safety-razor-42.php

If money is tight get yourself down to Boots and buy their cheap DE to try out, but look to replace it with one of the above at sometime should you like this DE shaving lark.

You'll need DE blades and the most popular brand in the UK is Wilkinson Sword..., they're expensive & not particularly good. If John Lewis's is close-by they stock Swedish Gillettes (Blue packing card, packs of 5) which are a superb blade and very reasonably priced at around £1.40 a pack. Should JL not be close to hand, then the ubiquetous Tesco's sell their own (mystery) blade - even cheaper at £2 for 10 and possibly even better than the Swedes.

Dr Moss is right, without good prep you'll never experience a great wet shave. You must purchase a brush (boar hair will do for starters) and some decent (not necessarily expensive) shaving cream.

Tesco's sell a Wilkinson Sword boar hair shaving brush for around £3. Later on I would suggest you invest in a nice badger hair brush - don't buy a big one though, medium/small is better IMV so aim for one around the same size as the WS brush. John Lewis's is a good place to purchase a Kent - they're a good value brand.

Taylor's shaving cream is great stuff, and just about universally praised on the forums. No need to pay the full price though because they sell it regularly in T.K. Maxx for around half the normal price. T.K.M is a good place to pick-up quality toiletries when on a budget - shaving balms etc at less than half the normal price. No T.K.M close-by, well OK pick-up a tube of Palmolive shaving cream just about anywhere at about £1.50 - it lathers as good as Taylors.

John Lewis also sell an alternative to Palmolive for about the same price - Ingram (blue writing variety) contains menthol (which some like) and lanolin ..., that last ingredient will produce an extra slick lather.

Finally what follows is a classic shaving method - it works:

The steps to a good shave

1. The best time to shave is after a bath or shower. Your beards bristles are more prominent and softer.

2. Soak your shaving brush in hot water. Use an old clean coffee mug or buy a shaving mug at sometime.

3. Soften your beard by washing your face with soap & warm water.

4. Remove the shaving brush from the water, stand it up on its handle and let it drain naturally. Should you find that your shaving lather is regularly too runny you might need to shake your brush slightly to remove a small amount of water.

5. Wet your face again with warm water and lather up a wet foam using a pea-sized amount of shaving cream on your brush. The lather keeps the face wet and lubricated. Ideally the lather you're trying to create needs to be as wet as possible, as close to the limit of wet without it dripping off your face.

6. Wet your razor and shave in the direction of the grain of the beard (generally North to South on the face, South to North on the neck). Use lots of short (1&#8221 vertical or diagonal strokes and rinse the razor periodically. DO NOT MOVE THE RAZOR PARALLEL to the blade edge, unless you like the colour red. DO NOT PRESS THE BLADE HARD AGAINST THE FACE; press lightly, use the weight of the razor. Manoeuvre the handle so that the blade edge is always in contact with the skin. In some areas (for example around your cheeks) make the bristles more pronounced by stretching the skin with your fingers. All the above isn’t as complicated as it may appear in print.

7. For a really smooth shave lather up again and repeat.

8. Once you are confident handling your razor look to improve your shave by moving the razor head ‘diagonally’ across your face, but keeping the blade edge horizontal – a chevron cut. A nice analogy is “like a snow-plough blade is angled, going up the street”. Also don’t forget to "stretch that skin", think of shaving as a two handed activity.

9. (Optional) Rinse your face with cold water and rub a block of ‘alum’ around the area just shaved. This may sting a little, as the alum is an astringent. After about a minute or so splash your face with cold water again. Always store the alum block in a dry condition otherwise it will dissolve.

10. Splash your face with cold water (this closes the skins pores), pat dry with a towel and moisturise. Do not splash on aftershave as this can irritate the skin.

11. Rinse razor head (loosen if need be) and shake out moisture. Do not wipe the blade as this blunts them. Change the blade approximately every week to fortnight.

12. Wash out your shaving brush in warm water and nothing else. SHAKE EXCESS WATER OFF and store in an upright position. NEVER STORE LAYING FLAT. It may take a couple of weeks to ‘break in’ a brush.

13. Give your face a rest by not shaving at least one day a week.

Well that's DE shaving in a nut shell for a UK resident...., sorry it is long posting Gentlemen.

Regards
John