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Education I want to get into wetshaving [Update: I got into it]

Discussion in 'General' started by DragunovHUN, 4 Oct 2010.

  1. Fule

    Fule The letter D

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    I've been using a Merkur for a few years now. Once you get used to it and let the weight of the razor do the work, your face will love you for it. A good brush (badger, natch) will see you right on the soap front. Take it easy and no rash moves:lol:

    /gets coat
     
  2. Smilodon

    Smilodon The Antagonist

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    Shower, dab on some foam and shave with the grain. (Against the grain is only for when you want a really close shave, but ten you need a fresh blade)


    Oh, and don't wait until you look like a hobo. If you wait too long skin will get irritated.





    BTW, real men can handle the irritation. ;)
     
  3. DragunovHUN

    DragunovHUN Modder

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    Foam dries out my skin. According to the wetshaving propaganda i've read lather from a shaving soap or cream should be far superior. Apparently i'll impress all the ladies.

    Real men can also decide to cut their face off with old-fashioned tools in an attempt to avoid irritation. ;)
     
  4. smashie

    smashie Cupid Stunt

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    Hi,

    I've been wet shaving for 24 (ish) years now and I've tried a lot of different products.

    1. don't bother with the foam in can, it's crap and you will never get a good shave with it. Geo. F Trumper, Trufitt & Hill, The Art of Shaving, D R Harris or Edwin Jagger (soaps, creams or gels) they cost from £7.50 to about £35 in a nice wooden bowl. £35 might sound alot but that soap in a bowl will last for months.

    2. Badger, badger, badger, cheap synthetic or boar's hair brushes are easy to find and will whip up a quick lather, but to quote 'wetshaving.net' "after that you may as well go outside and gather up a bunch of twigs with which to apply that nice frothy lather"

    3. Gillette Mach 3 or Merkur (or both) and forget everything else. Yes I'd like to be able the use a straight razor but I can't and nor can most people. Some people seem to like Fusion razors, again whatever works for you.

    4. A bowl to get a good lather in, also keeps the lather warm and you'll need that.

    5. Once you've decided that you are going to wet shave, but before you rush out and start buying, go to the bathroom and get your face wet and learn which directions your beard grows in. This will save you so much time and pain and missery and going to work with bits of bloody paper stuck to your face. Oh and for when you do cut cut yourself get a styptic stick. You will cut yourself a fair bit to start with but to be honest I don't remember the last time I cut myself shaving.

    6.Shave more than once, everyone here has said shave in the same direction the beard grows in, yes very true. Now that still warm lather you have in the brush and bowl, use it to lather your face up again and shave at right angles the direction of the beard. After a while, when your face gets used to it you can go for a third time against the 'grain' as they say. You will either get a very close shave or end up looking and feeling like a cat has shredded your face.

    7. Take your time, if your the sort of person who gets up 10 minutes before you leave the house don't bother wet shaving. It takes time, practice and patience or see above for reference to cats and shredding.

    8. Pre shaving oils, creams etc. Up to you. If it works for you then fine, personally I shave after having a hot shower so the pores open up and the beard stands up. Aftershave again is somthing that is highly personal, but it shouldn't feel like you've splashed acid on your face after shaving! A lot of aftershave is alcohol based hence the ohmahf***ingg**myfaceisfallingoff screams that are often heard (this assumes you don't just faint like a girl). Something that works for me is Trumpers Limes Skin Food, nice smell and no searing pain.

    Have a search on youtube you will soon see which tecniques work and which dont. I personally like http://www.gentlemans-shop.com/index.html Although at the moment I'm using Aqua Di Parma Soft Brush Shaving Cream which they don't sell, it was about £35 if memory serves.

    Cheers,

    Mark
     
    liratheal and DragunovHUN like this.
  5. DragunovHUN

    DragunovHUN Modder

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    Mark,

    THANK YOU, that seems like excellent advice, and in fact i've already implemented some of it, i figured out my hair direction (it's allover the place) so that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

    Initially i used to use a rather strong aftershave, at least it woke me up :D but once i realized that i'm getting irritated by shaving i switched to something more tame. Maybe i can switch back now.
     
  6. VipersGratitude

    VipersGratitude Multimodder

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    Why is it that every time I read the thread the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy theme pops in to my head? :p
     
  7. Squallers

    Squallers Meat Puppet

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    Bloody hell! I never knew shaving was such a complicated business. I've always just used the mach 3 I was given for xmas many moons ago and a can of nivea gel applied with my hands, never really thought that much about it. I will concede that my facial hair is neither the densest nor the coarsest and I do always shave directly after showering.

    Just goes to show you can be a nerd about anything I suppose
     
  8. Sloth

    Sloth #yolo #swag

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    Because:
    REAL men don't shave at all. Lumberjacks anyone?
     
  9. freshsandwiches

    freshsandwiches Can I do science to it?

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    I don't have a particularly heavy growth despite my 31 years. However I keep it very simple.

    I use a Wilkinson Sword Quattro razor and King of Shaves gel http://www.semichem.co.uk/p-93-king-of-shaves-alpha-shave-gel-sensitive-plus-menthol-175ml.aspx. It doesn't foam up.

    I always aim to shave after a shower. Fill a bowl of warm water, apply a good amount of gel. Wet razor and shave going with the grain, not against it. This helps avoid irritation and drying your skin out (which I'm prone to, more so as the colder months come in).

    Then I repeat, this time going against the grain, and try to get everything I can.

    I prefer using gel as you don't use as much product and it doesn't foam up, therefore you can actually see what your doing.

    I never dry shave, it just feels clammy afterwards. You just need to practice and you'll get there.
     
  10. GregTheRotter

    GregTheRotter Minimodder

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    Oh, one tip from me. Not sure if everyone else hear already knew it, but I used to just splash some hot water on my face, slap on the shaving foam, and away I went. Since about a few years now, I wash my face with one of those nivea face gel washes before hand, wash the soap off, apply shaving foam. It just makes for a much smoother shave. I'm guessing it softens the hair more than just going for the shaving foam and then the razor.
     
  11. KayinBlack

    KayinBlack Unrepentant Savage

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    I feel sorry for all of you who do not grow a full, luxurious beard. I'm somewhere between Gandalf and Gimli right now.

    Nowadays, I shave just to clean my neckline, I can have as much beard as I want.
     
  12. outlawaol

    outlawaol Geeked since 1982

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    Gillete mach 3 turbo blades are nice and last a long time. I shaved with electric for years and just got sick of chewing up my face everyday with it. Went back to blades about a year ago. Good gel cream and sharp new blades Cheesecake. Shave up for ultra smooth, or down for less smooth and likelyhood of having to shave sooner. I have a goatee and moustache that I havnt shaved off since I started to grow it when I was younger. I dont think there is any perfect means to shave without some sort of discomfort, unless you shave every single day. Which you will find is easier said then done (especially if your like the freaking wolf man and grow hair like one).
     
  13. Jumeira_Johnny

    Jumeira_Johnny 16032 - High plains drifter

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    Yes, but the techniques they use to prep, froth, apply and shave are the same. A good barber will steam you, check the grain....all that stuff.
    Word.
     
  14. The_Beast

    The_Beast I like wood ಠ_ಠ

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    Shave like a REAL MAN

    [​IMG]
     
  15. Jumeira_Johnny

    Jumeira_Johnny 16032 - High plains drifter

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    I call BS. Any axe sharp enough to shave with would chip when swung against a tree. While sharp, axes rely on a very different grind to achieve a good wood chip.

    and yes, I know this picture is staged
     
  16. The_Beast

    The_Beast I like wood ಠ_ಠ

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    Maybe that was the camps "shaven axe"
     
  17. VipersGratitude

    VipersGratitude Multimodder

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    REAL men...wax :jawdrop:
     
  18. Xir

    Xir Modder

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    Naah...it's the standart way of shaving, haven't you learned anything from the boyscouts? :D

    If your skin is easily irritated...DON'T use aftershave.
    There are after shave balms out there with next to no smell that'll moisturize without irritating.

    I'm a seventies kid though, i shave like my father before me...slapping the Brut on :rolleyes:
    and MAN has THAT been out of fashion:rock:
     
  19. Modsbywoz

    Modsbywoz Multimodder

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    you could always do one better, run a chainsaw on the floor and just bend down and lower your chin onto it.










    DISCLAIMER: DO NOT DO THIS, IT'S A JOKE!!!!
     
  20. Smilodon

    Smilodon The Antagonist

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    Now where did I put my chainsaw... :worried:
     

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