Shaving News: Proraso at Target!

Feb 8, 2006
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Regular "Off Topic" readers may remember a number of posts here over the past few months regarding "traditional" wetshaving. Target department stores in the US are now carrying the Proraso line of wetshaving products in a new "spa" isle (probably next to the women's cosmetics isle). Proraso is a well-known (in the wetshaving community) Italian company, known for their products with Eucalyptus, which makes for an incredible cooling effect after rinse your face off. Great stuff, especially in the summer. So if you've ever been curious (or skeptical) about traditional shaving, here's a great (and inexpensive) opportunity to try it. Pick up either the shaving soap ($4)or the tube (not can) of shaving cream ($6), and the shaving brush ($12). Use the razor of your choice.
 

DainBramaged

Lifer
Jun 19, 2003
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Originally posted by: mantic
Regular "Off Topic" readers may remember a number of posts here over the past few months regarding "traditional" wetshaving. Target department stores in the US are now carrying the Proraso line of wetshaving products in a new "spa" isle (probably next to the women's cosmetics isle). Proraso is a well-known (in the wetshaving community) Italian company, known for their products with Eucalyptus, which makes for an incredible cooling effect after rinse your face off. Great stuff, especially in the summer. So if you've ever been curious (or skeptical) about traditional shaving, here's a great (and inexpensive) opportunity to try it. Pick up either the shaving soap ($4)or the tube (not can) of shaving cream ($6), and the shaving brush ($12). Use the razor of your choice.

No guys, this guy is legit. See?? No black guy avatar!
 
Feb 8, 2006
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Originally posted by: mugs
Answer my damn question!
Wetshaving is shaving using a brush and cream or soap, with water, to generate a lather. Not the junk from a pressurized can. You don't have to use a straight razor (I started with a Mach3, though these days I use a Merkur safety razor (like the old-fashioned Gillettes from 40 years ago).

--Mark
 
Feb 8, 2006
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Originally posted by: ggnl
pre-post cream??
Its a funky cream that you can use before shaving to help moisturize the skin before you shave (always with generous amounts of water, of course) and you can use after the shave to tone skin and calm irritation. It has an intense cooling effect much like the aftershave balm mentioned above.

--Mark

 
Feb 8, 2006
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Originally posted by: kermalou
what, do you work for this company and started a new account just for this?
Nah. I'm just a raving advocate for wetshaving and want to pass the word that a good product is in a "mainstream" department store. Up to now you pretty much had to go to an e-tailer to get any of this stuff.

--Mark

 
Feb 8, 2006
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Originally posted by: torpid
If they don't carry the badger brushes, then what's the point??
Proraso's boar brush is decent for what it is, but you're right, there's nothing like a good badger shaving brush. Actually I did see a badger brush in a shaving set at Target in the same "spa" area as the Proraso. It was a badger brush, Mach3 handle, and a stand from some company called Calda (never heard of 'em up to now). I have no idea what the quality is though. *shrug*

--Mark

 

Feldenak

Lifer
Jan 31, 2003
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Originally posted by: kermalou
what, do you work for this company and started a new account just for this?

Nah, he's legit. I've been looking at getting into traditional shaving and on the boards I've been using for info this is big news.
 
Feb 8, 2006
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I don't know about the rest of the country, but the Target ad in my Sunday paper said all Proraso (and Caldo and Sharps) products are 10% off this week.

(Oh sure. *Now* its on sale!)

--Mark
 

Feldenak

Lifer
Jan 31, 2003
14,090
2
81
Originally posted by: mantic
I don't know about the rest of the country, but the Target ad in my Sunday paper said all Proraso (and Caldo and Sharps) products are 10% off this week.

(Oh sure. *Now* its on sale!)

--Mark

I'm set for now. Got a tub of Trumpers last week and my Merkur HD & brush should be here today. :)
 
Jun 19, 2004
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I might have to start shaving again, sounds interesting. I'm lazy so I just use a beard trimmer to keep that 5'oclock shadow look. I've got a bunch of old mugs and brushes that used to belong to my grandfather but I've never tried them, maybe this would be a good way.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
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so would this help with someone wh gets major "burn" after shaving?

Every time i shave my face turns red and it hurts for hours. I have tried diffrent razors and gells and nothing seems to work. Granted the Mach 3 turbo has been the best so far. So now i don't shave very much but prefer the clean shaven look.

 
Feb 8, 2006
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Originally posted by: waggy
so would this help with someone wh gets major "burn" after shaving?

Every time i shave my face turns red and it hurts for hours. I have tried diffrent razors and gells and nothing seems to work. Granted the Mach 3 turbo has been the best so far. So now i don't shave very much but prefer the clean shaven look.
Well, it wouldn't hurt to try. The main reasons for razor burn are not enough hydration on the face, too much pressure on the razor (or incorrect technique), and (often) too many blades in the razor (it may only take one blade to cut a whisker, but a multi-bladed razor shoves across more blades whether you want it or not).

Hydration: Shave after a nice, steamy shower (when you towel-off, don't dry your face), or at least wash your face with a gentle soap and rinse with hot water. Then splash hot (not scalding) water on your face for a good 30 seconds, or, put a hot towel on your face for a couple minutes.

Avoid a shaving cream/gel/foam that comes out of a pressurized can. The ingredients can actually dry the face (and then they have to put in artificial lubricants which themselves can cause irritation). Neutrogena Shaving Cream and King of Shaves gel are OK products you can probably find locally; Sharps Kid Glove, Molle', and Cremo-Cream are excellent products. The *best* products, and the best for your skin, are the "old school" creams and soaps that require a shaving brush: Williams Shaving Mug Soap, Surrey shaving soaps, and Polmolive lather cream (red label) are widely available and OK to start with; Proraso is a big step up, and then there is the "high-end" stuff like Art of Shaving, Truefitt & Hill, Trumper, etc. (I put "high end" in quotes because its really not that much more expensive per shave). The Proraso shaving brush is OK; its made of boar hair, which is not nearly as good as the badger hair used in better brushes, but it'll get you on your way (just make sure you shampoo the brush or soak it in a mild Borax solution--the "20 mule team" stuff--before you use it for the first time, as the smell can be reeeeeally nasty if you don't).

Technique: OK, you're ready to shave. You want to gently shave with the grain of your beard, using smooth strokes and just enough pressure to keep the razor on your face. Don't hack or swipe at your face. Avoid going over the same spot over and over again. After you're finished, re-wet your face with hot water and relather. This time shave at a right-angle to the beard, again using smooth strokes and light pressure. Then rinse off with cold water to close the pores and clean off the remnants of the lather. Use just a dab of an alchohol-free aftershave rubbed into your face.

(If you can't figure out the grain of your beard, or it goes all over the place, try just shaving straight down for the first pass, and straight up for the second.)

See also:
MSNBC Story
Shavemyface.com
Badgerandblade.com

Good Luck!

--Mark