Shave like a man, why don't you!

[ellismc]

Ok, I've decided to take the plunge. I'm sick of spending ridiculous sums on cartridge razors that do a poor job anyway. So this Christmas I decided I'm going back to the old ways. I'm going to shave like God intended: with a double-edged razor (straight-edge razors are for maniacs) and a brush. I ask you to join me in this quest to regain our masculine heritage and shave like men, not women with aloe strips on our razor cartridges. Who's with me? These are my tools:


Pure Badger Brush


Merkur HD


Colonel Conk's Almond Shaving Soap

[PM4HIRE]

Funny, I got a Merkur 23 double-edged razor for Christmas. Man, blades are
dirt cheap, as low as 10 cents a blade. Merkur double-edged razors are
made in Germany and last for many years.

Click http://westcoastshaving.com/ and order a sample pack of blades
and see what happens.

[GaryS]

Wow. Children.

Been there, done that. You can have 'em.

Shaving brushes and double edged razors are a good reason to grow a beard.

[ellismc]

I've ordered my sampler pack, and I'm looking forward to it! I had my first shave last night: No cuts, but I did have some razor burn. I think that was because my lather wasn't up to par. I did really enjoy the shave, though.

[maverick]

from the time i started shaving almost 20 years ago, i have used cartridge razors. from the gillette fusion to the mach 3 to many more before that.

i recently started shaving with this merkur double edged safety razor.

all i can say is wow!

i wish i had discovered this system earlier!

i used to shave every 3 days with a cartridge razor. i thought that my skin was too sensitive and that was as often as i could shave without my skin getting irritated. i would also shave against the grain on my neck in order to get a closer shave. i know that isn't good for your skin and can cause in grown hairs.

with the double edge safety razor, i have been able to shave daily and with the grain. i get a closer shave than with a cartridge razor and my skin does not get the least bit irritated. in fact, it feels better than it ever has!

i am using this moisture shave from kiss my face (free of animal products). just a little, about the size of a dime, makes plenty for more than two applications.

i was bringing water to a boil for heating up a bowl for making the shaving creme. that was fun, but i've found that it is sufficient to use really hot water from the tap.

you can use a pre-shaving oil, which i believe is made from olive oil and castor oil. i shave after i shower and soak a washcloth with hot running tap water and place it on my face before applying the shave creme.

afterwards, you can use an after shave. i use witch hazel, which is a great natural after shave.

i don't know how well a safety razor works if you shave your head or your legs.

but i highly recommend it for the face!

also, while the cartridges from cartridge blades end up in the land fill, you should be able to recycle double edge razor blades since they are made of steel. i haven't tried it yet, but came across this.

[timothy]

I have sensitive skin (inherited), and am picky about razors; surprisingly, I find that Gillette's disposables are not so bad, and a year's supply (52) was something under $15 at CostCo. Esp. with shave oil, I've actually decided that shaving's not so bad ...

The double-edged razors look dangerous to me, though I like the idea of the shaving brush and lather. Could you also use them (without catastrophic injury) with shave oil?

timothy

[mplsnst]

Go electric, my peoples. We have the technology.

[keb]

I ask you to join me in this quest to regain our masculine heritage...

Shouldn't we just not shave at all then?

Personally I am once a week whether I need it or not. Which should tell you how pathetic my "beard" is... Schick Extreme3 when I do, with the Aloe strip thank you very much. Those little fins on the Gillettes rip my face apart. If I ever need a weapon, I'll get one of those double-edge thingys...

[sammyz]

I have sensitive skin (inherited), and am picky about razors; surprisingly, I find that Gillette's disposables are not so bad, and a year's supply (52) was something under $15 at CostCo. Esp. with shave oil, I've actually decided that shaving's not so bad ...

The double-edged razors look dangerous to me, though I like the idea of the shaving brush and lather. Could you also use them (without catastrophic injury) with shave oil?

timothy

The d/e razors are actually a lot less dangerous than you'd think. When learning to shave with them, you can get some nicks and cuts, but since they are only one thin blade rather than 3,4, or 5 you only get a really fine cut and mine always stop bleeding by the time I splash some cold water and witch hazel on my face.

Your Gilette disposables aren't that expensive but they aren't necessarily very good for the environment either. Stainless steel blades are recyclable and produce very little waste. I spend $12 a year on blades (and I throw mine out after only 2 shaves due to my sensitive skin).

After years of suffering through shaving due to my extremely curly hair and proclivity for getting ingrown hairs I took up wet shaving and never looked back. I've had ingrowns from every other razor I've ever used, including electrics.

[pretzelb]

I'd like to be able to shave this way but I think it's impossible for me. Every so often I try with a disposable razor but it just cuts me up. I'm not sure I have any "grain" on my beard so it seems like no matter what I do it's the wrong direction. Plus, I have to shave daily. I've had people accuse me of trying to grow a soap opera 5 o'clock shadow when in fact it was the growth from shaving that morning and not something I trimmed to get that effect.

For me electrics work well but I still carry a disposable to get the curves on my face. Seems like no matter what I do I can't get some areas with the electric.

I did find that hair conditioner worked pretty well for shaving cream. I used to use some stuff from Paul Mitchell and mixed with a little water it did a nice job for shaving.