For twenty years I removed my facial hair daily with an electric razer. A Phillishave that gives a perfunctory shave. Around the new year, I decided I would try wet shaving again and I really like shaving now!
I bought a shaving brush, could not find a shaving jug/soap so I bought some nice (But expensive) ‘Maca Root’ shaving cream from the Body shop. I didn’t go all the way with cut-throat and strop, I have the cheapest 4-blade razer I found (Schick). Do these blades ever go blunt?, I changed the first one after 5 weeks, because I thought I should, but my current blade has been in use for ~6-7 weeks now.
I look forward to my new daily routine:- hot flannel to face, lather up, shave, rinse, stroke my smooth chin…
Not me - even though I shave once/week, its still one of those ‘oh crap, I need to shave this morning’ episodes every Monday morning.
While my beard would be full if I let it grow out, it grows a little on the slower side, and I’ve found that I cannot shave within a few days of the last shave without problems - either ingrown hairs or an uneven shave. I think part of it is that the hairs under my chin grow at quite an angle - so I have to wait for them to grow out long enough for the blade to catch them.
I find that the blades (either the mach 3 or whatever the fancy shmancy iteration of the week is) last about 3-4 shaves before they start being problematic and causing nic’s. I’d guess that my facial hair is fairly coarse (even when using shaving cream), and that is why the blades dont last too awful long - but I’ve never had the inclination to compare.
I shaved for a short span when I left my electric at home… I just couldn’t get the hang of it, and after a shave, it would never be as smooth as with an electric razor.
I’m probably doing it wrong, since my pappy never taught me
I don’t usually shave. An electric might be okay for the cheeks, but for the throat, nah.
I grew a goatee, and I was shaping and trimming it with the sideburns thing on my electric. I thought, ‘Hey, this would work on the rest of the face, too!’ So I kinda trim the rest with the sideburn thing. It gets pretty close and isn’t nearly as irritating as the electric/I don’t have to hassle with the blade.
There is an in-between, you know. And an excellent compromise, IMHO. And that is a double-edge (DE) safety razor. I got one recently, and it has turned shaving from a dreadful chore to a pleasant ritual.
So yes, I now enjoy shaving. And it’s because of the new hardware. I get less irritation than with my old Mach 3, and the shave is at least as close. It takes a little more time to do it right, as it requires a couple passes to allow for gradual stubble reduction. There is a short learning curve to master the technique, but nowhere near as long to learn as a straight razor. (#1 rule: don’t press against your face!) But the tradeoff for that slight investment of time and effort is that I’m no longer scraping my face with a glorified cheese grater. It adds 5-10 minutes to my morning routine, but it’s enjoyable and time well-spent.
Oh, and quality blades cost around 20 cents each, not $2 or more like modern cartridges. Sure, you should replace DE blades once a week or so, and not every few weeks like most people stretch out their cartridges. But at 1/10 the price, you’ll come out far ahead no matter what.
Hope y’all enjoy shaving your vaginas with your girly razors and creams. Me, I’ve discovered the joys of old-school Marine Corps style dry shaving with a straight razor. With a trouble spot, like my chin, I just hawk a loogie; you liberal environmentalists should be thanking me for its “green” qualities.
Seriously, seconding DE razors. After three weeks of DE shaving, though, I got my first nick today, when the blade became loose. Ouch!
I enjoy shaving just slighly more than I enjoy getting food stuck in my beard, and I pretty much have to shave every other day at the very least before I start looking grubby. But I get to pee standing up and don’t have to deal with the isochronal mess caused by owning a uterus so I figure I still got the better end of the deal.
Meant to address this earlier. I’m pretty slow on the uptake here—Spike TV has a program called “1000 ways to Die.” It’s nine episodes old but I’m just now catching it.
Anyway last night they had this episode:
A Las Vegas showgirl shaves her legs with a rusty razor blade. When she cuts herself, she contracts Group A streptococcal infection, which develops into necrotizing fasciitis (“flesh-eating” bacteria) that eats away her face after surfacing in a pimple.:eek:
I’m not sure how long she waited before seeking treatment.
I HATE HATE HATE shaving. There are always hairs that won’t cut and instead get very painfully plucked. I always manage to cut myself despite using an electric razor.
One of the joys of dating my last girlfriend was that she was a nurse in a rest home. She was used to shaving the old men there. She was happy to (quickly and painlessly) shave my face so she could experiment with different styles.
Urgh, I hate shaving. Electric razors irritate my skin, and Gillette razors rip my skin apart and cause me to break out. Not shaving results in an unattractive bread that itches like hell. I may try the DE blades, though, that looks like a possible solution to my hatred for shaving.
I’m with you Blimey. I enjoy my new morning shaving routine. Like you I now have a nice boar bristle brush and after my morning shower I lather up with some good shaving cream I lather up and it leaves the smoothest shave ever. There is something very soothing about lathering up with a brush. It’s a small luxury.
Crabtree and Evelyn has a nice selection of shaving stuff, brushes, razors, shaving cream and the old fashioned soap. The shaving cream has matching cologne so there are no clashing scents.
