Grooming and Hygiene
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Thanks for the suggestion d666. I am making all 3 passes with/against/across, and certainly don't need to shave daily. Whilst I have time I'm making the most of it to help master the process. I'll likely drop down to every 3rd day or so in a few weeks, but am still in that experimentation stage. Christ, it's like I'm talking about drugs :|
Just remember this is probably the closest shave you have ever got. Your face needs to rejuvenate. I just don't want to see you end up with razor burn.
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Just thought I should offer some thoughts on DE shaving.
I am going to back you guys up, best move I ever made with regard to my shave routine. My skin ( and of course the good lady wife ) have benefited from the move from mass marketed cartridge style razors.
Razor burn and ingrown hairs are a thing of the past. I could not move back to a cartridge style razor again. I now really enjoy shaving and look forward to it.
My staple go to products are Proraso. You can't IMHO get much better bang for your buck than with the Proraso products. I did buy an expensive tub of Acqua Di Parma shave cream for the occasional shave, it is very very nice but nowhere near as good value as the Proraso.
Current razors used are the Merkur Futur, Merkur Vision, Feather AS-D1 and a straight Feather Artist SS.
The Futur is nice as it has a handy blade gap adjustment, you can extend it for attacking a few days worth of stubble or wind it down for multi pass daily shaving.
I would recommend the Futur over the Vision. While the Vision looks pretty amazing it is has quite a large head and is awkward to negotiate tricky parts of your face such as under your nose.If you shave every day and need a mild razor then the AS-D1 is a seriously good tool. It does need some perseverance though as the blade angle you need to maintain is much steeper than with the Merkur's. I nearly gave up on mine after the first week of poor to average shaves, stick with it and learn the angles and it becomes a very nice shaving tool.
Do not try and use any other blade than a Feather in this razor. In any other Razor a feather blade can be a bit of an animal and needs a careful touch against your face. A feather blade in the AS-D1 is a much easier proposition, you will actually struggle to purposely nick yourself with this combination. Any other blade in the AS-D1 would probably dumb it down to the point where it would not efficiently cut the beard.Feather blades are my favourite blade for most DE razors. Israeli Personna platinum blades are also very nice, not quite as sharp as the feather but a bit easier on your face. Again, blade choice is very personal, buy a variety pack and try a few different ones out to find what works for you best.
A top tip, if you find the first couple of shaves with a feather blade a bit harsh, carefully,…....... I repeat,.....................carefully!!,........... run the blade across a piece of cork a couple of times to take some of the aggressive nature out of the blade. I find that with a Feather blade the shave quality improves and gets more comfortable on the 2nd or 3rd shave.
For attacking multi day stubble I have been using a straight razor. I played around with various straights but got fed up honing and stropping etc. I was never any good at it and it was a bit of a faff that I could do without out.
I bought a Feather Artist DX open razor where you can replace the blade. What a tool this is, if you have a dense beard then this bad boy will hack through it extremely easily. I have recently picked up the newer Artist SS razor from Feather. I prefer this to the DX razor, it has a slightly different ( milder ) blade holder which helps protect your skin more effectively.If you don't fancy the hassle and upkeep of a straight then try out the Feather Artist SS, great tool.
What I would say with either the straight or the Artist style straights, take your time. I would not be using them as a quick 5 minute shave before heading to work. A nice leisurely weekend shave in a quiet bathroom with no kids running round or other distractions, is where you need to start with straight shaving. If you get your technique down then a quicker shave is possible.
I wrote a small guide to DE shaving for some work colleagues. I am pleased to say that the few who tried DE shaving are also now converts.
If any of you would like a copy of the guide please feel free to PM me and I can e-mail you a copy.
Happy shaving !!
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Thanks for the awesome contribution, ddtrash. I'm a huge fan of wet shaving, and couldn't back you up any harder.
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Joe
pleased to see the folks on here giving it the thumbs up too. I think the traditional wet shave with it's history, tooling and techniques lends itself to the IH community quite well.
For those of us who are keen on details with, dare I say it,…...............a slightly obsessive nature, can really appreciate it's benefits.
Glad somebody else is spreading the wet shaving good word.
I have now converted two of my work mates over to DE shaving and also IH gear.
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For those of you who may not be familiar with the Feather Artist style straights I have attached a couple of photos of the DX razor.
Feather make specific blades which fit into the razor head, blades are usual Feather quality and extremely sharp. Feather also make a safety blade to use with this system, the safety blade has some fine wire loops moulded around the blade acting as a minor barrier to give some stand off between your skin and the blade edge. I would use these first while you get your technique down.
The pictures are of a non-folding Japanese style Feather Straight. Feather also make folding versions of all their Artist series Razors. The blade picture is of the safety style blade with the wire cage around the blade.
If you are thinking of trying this system out then I would recommend the newer SS style razor, it offers a much easier shave than the DX or RG versions.
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Snowy
I find myself having these justification conversations with my wife with regard to a great many things, including my IH purchases.
She is used to this now and expects nothing other from me. Fortunately we have a good laugh about it.
She does appreciate a clean shave and can turn a blind eye to the cost of the tools, so all is good!
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just grabbed some beard balm and oil off etsy
i'll report back to you guys after some tests
http://www.etsy.com/listing/111556820/honest-amish-beard-balm-mens-leave-in?and the oil i bought i guess i got there last bottle so i'll just flash up the description
A manly beard oil for a manly beard. The great scents of cedar wood and bergamot collide to leave your beard smelling like a crisp early morning in Virginia. While the grape seed oil, jojoba oil, castor oil and vitamin E feed your beard to leave it soft and full.Approx. 2 oz
Ingredients: Grape Seed Oil, Jojoba Oil, Castor Oil, Vitamin E, Tea Tree Oil, Rosemary Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Ylang Ylang Oil, Cedarwood Oil and Bergamot Oil
Try all of Soapbox Gypsy products for a unique grooming experience.
Please contact us here at Soapbox Gypsy for wholesale prices.
j.johnston [!at] soapboxgypsy.com -
Nate I like Brooklyn Grooming & Burrough's Beard oil
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Jeff is that highlife and uppercut pomade?
Sent from my iPhone
Yes, also I have American Greaser Supply, American Pomade, Murray's, lucky 13, rumble59, grants, suavecito
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I'm glad we both wear the same cologne. Brothers from different mothers.
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