Keep the blade sharp by drying it thoroughly after rinsing it off.
I’ve puttered around with this and that. End of the day, I have a hard time shaving more than every other day; for whatever reason, shaving on two consecutive days makes for a thoroughly unpleasant experience, with lurid bloodspatters slashed across the mirror and then delightful ingrown hairs to squirt pus on the following day. No matter the razor–and I’ve tried the double-bladed cartridges, the Mach 3, the classic DE, and now a four-blade–the result is the same.
So I’ve settled in on cheap and effective in the form of Dollar Shave Club. You can’t beat their prices, and their blades, while perhaps not f*cking awesome, are good enough for government work. I was even more impressed with their “shave butter” when they sent me a sample, so I’ve added an order for that. When I do feel like gettin’ fancy, I like Taylor of Old Bond Street’s Sandalwood shave soap or Proraso’s classic mentholated stuff. Also nice, though I haven’t used it in ages, is Nancy Boy’s shave cream, preferably lathered and applied with a brush. The Replenishing (cucumber) scent in particular is lovely.
Gillette Foamy shave cream and Gillette Sensor 3 disposables.
If I rinse them well, I can get a weeks worth (5 days) of shaving out of one blade.
I shave In the shower using Barbasol shave cream and a triple or quadruple blade safety razor like Gillette or Schick (whatever my wife finds with coupons). I’ve tried higher-end stuff but I find it just doesn’t work as well. My only real strong opinion about shaving is that shave gels are far inferior to shaving cream. I think shaving gels are a marketing scam. I have tried the brush and soap and find that works as well as shaving cream but it is too much trouble.
I also believe that thoroughly drying the razor and storing it outside the shower increases it’s shelf-life. It also helps to strop the razor backwards on the smooth part of your forearm before shaving.
For aftershave I use Eternity for men because that’s what my wife likes. I prefer Old Spice probably because it reminds me of my dad but my wife says it smells like bug spray.
Yeah, it’s really nice stuff to use. Though I’ve just bought a pot of their lemon and Lime and I have to admit it smells like a cleaning product to me, awful. I do like the sandlewood, the lavender and the almond versions.
I use two shavers, an old Merkur 45 Bakelite travel one, which I find great for getting really close and some cheap Chinese thing I bought a few years ago. The cheap crappy Chinese razor actually gives a really good smooth shave, feels about the right weight and I would recomend if I could remember what it was called. But it does take a couple of runs to really get a smooth result.
I’ve been growing a beard over the past couple of months though so I’m only really shaving my neck area. Beards are great.
Shaving is one of those things I wish I didn’t have to do, and I am sure as hell
never going to spend any more damn money on it than absolutely necessary.
Fortunately, I have a beard of apparently unique quality when it comes to shaving:
I can use the same razor (Schick ST2 disposable twin-blade) for months,
yes months.
When the blade starts getting a little rough it helps to lather my beard with a
layer of soap under the (Barbasol) shaving cream.
OK, OK- so I now almost always go at least two days in a row without shaving,
but back when I did shave daily it was still months. Honest, I think each blade
is good for 50 shaves minimum.
I mostly use an electric, since to me, it’s just a chore to be dealt with as quickly as possible. For special occasions, though, I’ll use a blade (whatever I have handy that’s still sharp) and shaving foam (whatever I got for cheap or free), since it seems to give a closer shave than the electric.
Incidentally, I join everyone who says it’s a chore. I like it when I get that perfect shave, but if I had money to blow, I’d just have my face lazered and be done with it. 
The best razor I have ever found is the generic version of the bic sensitive skin disposable. Both Family dollar and dollar general sell them in packs of 12 for $1. The best cream tends to be gel, foam doesn’t work as well on me.
Thats all I got. Glad I could help.
I shave my head and am currently eschewing facial hair (contradicting a post of mine from several years ago in which I claimed that a shaved head required some sort of facial hair, lest the head look like a lightbulb).
Gillette Mach 3, Barbasol Soothing Aloe shaving cream.
Great thread. Could you please help me understand how a brush helps over hand-lathering on gel or foam?
Also, is it easy to keep from cutting oneself when moving from disposable to d/e safety razor?
Last, do you get a lot of shaves out of these safety blades?
I’ve been using the Schick ST2’s and get fewer reps the older I get, I try drying when done but still not much luck. I’m looking for the perfect fit between cost, comfort, and shave quality. I have semi-heavy beard to tackle every other day.
This is all just either my opinion or knowledge I have picked up from others. I can’t testify as to its accuracy.
As I understand it, there are several keys to getting a good shave, and most of them have to do with softening your stubble and lifting it away from your skin. So, the important elements, are heat, moisture, and agitation, all of which are aided by: hot water or steam, oil, swishing of a brush.
And using a shaving soap instead of a foamy substance gives you a better view of your face and better control of the blade, I believe.
I have used electric (rotary) razors, disposable cartridge stick razors, and double-edged blades with safety razors all since I began shaving as a teenager, and as a result, I switch between them with no problem. I really don’t know what I’m doing differently in using one or another type of razor, so in my view, whatever the differences are, they are pretty minor and easily learned.
The only advice I can really offer is to get a good, heavy razor with a sufficiently wide grip and sharp, clean blades and just make sure you are well lubricated and moisturized and practice carefully.
I think the main difference is that with a disposable cartridge razor, your hand and wrist has to do less of the work in maintaining a proper angle between the blade and the skin. With a safety razor, you have to adjust the angle continuously as the blade moves down your face.
I have a very heavy beard and I could probably shave three times during a two-day period, but I find I get the most comfortable shave if I skip at least one day between shaves.
I don’t mean to be a thread-shitter but I would like to offer an alternate view (although others have said roughly the same thing). Shaving is just like brushing your teeth or even wiping your ass. It is utilitarian and not really something that men should be connoisseurs off especially when the objects of delight are way less practical than cheaper and faster alternatives. You can hurt yourself badly with a straight razor. The reason you shouldn’t use one now is exactly the same as the reason you shouldn’t have a 9 inch black and white TV in your house or a Model T in your driveway as a commuter vehicle. They are all completely antiquated.
Let me explain it to you this way. I have a heavy beard and need to shave at least once a day if I want to look respectable. I go to the wholesale store once a year and buy a box of 52 razors in bulk (total cost, about $15). I also buy cans of shaving cream at the dollar store when needed. It probably ends up being three cans a year for a total cost of $3. It takes me literally less than 60 seconds to shave every morning because I have been doing it for so long.
Every single swipe is efficient and effective. I don’t worry about aftershave or skin care because I don’t abrade my face in the process because I am the world’s foremost expert on this particular task. If I need to smell nice afterwards, that is what true cologne is for.
I don’t understand the fascination with gourmet shaving for men. It is hopelessly twee and both more expensive and less effective than obvious alternatives. I can understand not liking electric razors because they have their own problems but simple disposable razors plus any shaving cream or even shampoo or bath soap in a pinch should more than do the trick for any real man.
I rub vinegar over my whiskers and let it stay there for the few seconds while the shower warms up. Then I rinse it off, spread Burt’s Bees shaving cream in its place, and shave with a Gillette Mach 3. Wash with soap and water. Nothing fancy. The vinegar softens the whiskers a bit. I’ve gotten a smoother, easier shave since I started doing it, and the razor doesn’t gunk up as much. (There’s enough calcium in the water here to leave limestone traces everywhere, and it can play hell with razors. I don’t care to shave with a stalagmite.)
I don’t use aftershave. If I want a scent, I’ve got a blend of dragon’s blood and leather oil to wear.
Then you failed. I think it was pretty obvious from my OP that this thread is about talking about shaving as something different than wiping your ass or just plain utilitarian.
I wasn’t sure if talking about electrics was verboten but I’m guessing it’s OK.
I don’t have what could legitimately be called a “beard.” Even now that the hairs are long enough to easily measure (a bit more than .5"/15mm), to say it’s scraggly would be generous. Were it a lawn, it would be in desperate need of reseeding. So maybe if I had an actual man’s beard rather than whatever this pussy boy shit is I would feel differently. IDK. But I’ve always managed to get away with using electrics even though most of the time I have to admit I never got a close shave. I could always feel some slight stubble afterwards, it just didn’t really matter that much.
Recently however I got a Panasonic foil razor that has really impressed me. I think this model is discontinued despite it currently being listed on amazon. I do have to cover every square inch multiple times, which may have to do with some hairs not knowing which way they’re supposed to grow, but if I’m thorough, I can honestly say that it gives me a close shave.
The trimmer is useless if you let the hair get too long. For that I have to rely on an old Braun. But once I weed whack things down to normal, the motor, which is faster than any previous electric, just hums away.
It also has a head cleaning system that IIRC is less expensive than competitors since it is detergent based rather than alcohol. I used to have an issue with breakouts, especially on my neck, so that was an important consideration. For whatever reason it’s no longer an issue, but the dormant OCD part of me still likes that feature.
Am I the only one (manual 4 blade) who shaves against the grain? I get a much closer shave that way, but a friend I discussed this with looked at me like I was crazy when I said I shaved like that (and he’s the one with eternal 5-oclock shadow, not me).
Addendum: the grain of my beard below my chin goes every which way, I’m always having to glide the shaver in a bunch of different directions down there to get all of the stray stubble.
Whenever I’ve tried shaving against the grain I have regretted it the next day. Much easier to get cut, razor burn, ingrown hairs, etc.
It does give you a closer shave though.
I’m surprised I’m the only one so far doing the Dollar Shave Club*. I get the 4x (four blades) every other month because I shave maybe every other day because I like a little second day scruff. The quality of the blades are equal to the Mach 3 for about 1/2 the cost. I have tough skin except my chin which is very sensitive and the reason I still do the goatee. That said, I usually either just use the humidity of the shower steam to shave or if it’s been too long between shaves I’ll break out the Barbasol.
*Link disclosure, this is a referral link which would benefit me as opposed to just linking to the full website.
If I don’t shave against the grain, I don’t get a shave–I get a trim, at best. If I wanted stubble, I wouldn’t effing shave in the first place. Not shaving against the grain (after an initial pass with the grain, mind you) defeats the entire purpose of getting a damned razor out in the first place.
I’m surprised I’m the only one who bothers to read the thread, or at least do a Ctrl-F…