Shaving with a safety razor.

[TwiceOver]

I just recently went back from the DE razor to multi-blade disposables after about a year of the DE shaving.

I just wasn't ever satisfied with my shave. Tried several blades, soaps, lotions, just never smooth. I thought the bumps and ingrown hairs would go away, and they did somewhat, but not fully.

I also got tired of taking so long to shave. Even after a year it was over 10 minutes just to shave not including prep and cleanup. If I didn't shave for 3 days, no matter what blade I used, shaving was pure torture. Also, I like to shave in the shower. DE shaving is not really made for this environment.

Whatever makes you happy and gives you a good shave!

 

[alfa147x]

The Art Of Shaving is an expensive ass place but I like their stuff

 

[NetWareHead]

www.classicshaving.com i like to order from. Its been 2 years since I ordered anything from them but I always had excellent customer service.

 

[Numenorean]

I really like this shave cream:

http://www.qedusa.com/trumper-trumper-shaving-cream-25oz-tube-p-41.html

Sandalwood. Good stuff.

 

[TheVrolok]

www.classicshaving.com i like to order from. Its been 2 years since I ordered anything from them but I always had excellent customer service.

I do all my ordering there, as well. I love my DE, and would never go back.

 

[qliveur]

In my experience Fusion > *.

 

[Zargon]

/uses same razor and blades as OP.

 

[irishScott]

I just recently went back from the DE razor to multi-blade disposables after about a year of the DE shaving.

I just wasn't ever satisfied with my shave. Tried several blades, soaps, lotions, just never smooth. I thought the bumps and ingrown hairs would go away, and they did somewhat, but not fully.

I also got tired of taking so long to shave. Even after a year it was over 10 minutes just to shave not including prep and cleanup. If I didn't shave for 3 days, no matter what blade I used, shaving was pure torture. Also, I like to shave in the shower. DE shaving is not really made for this environment.

Whatever makes you happy and gives you a good shave!

Just curious, what technique(s)/blade(s) were you using? If you were just going against the grain from the start with no reduction passes, it would produce what you described. I usually use 5 passes (2 downward, 1 upward, 1 against-grain, 1 detail) for the neck and 3 for the mustache area (downward, cross-grain, detail).

 

[silverpig]

The Art Of Shaving is an expensive ass place but I like their stuff

It's actually not that bad. I bought a can of shaving cream from them and use just the tiniest bit. I think I spent $22 and have been using it for 2.5 years now. I don't use it every day, but if I did, it'd still last a year I'm sure. That ain't bad for some high-quality shaving cream.

Their other stuff is pretty expensive though.

 

[LinuxIdiot]

I no longer fully shave with a safety razor except on my neck through the week and my face I run a beard trimmer on the lowest guard.

On occasions that I feel like it, I treat myself to a full-shave experience with the razor and some Ogallala Bay Rum with Limes and Peppercorn (good stuff)

Found derby blades to be best for my face (feathers cut me up like a cat went to my face)

 

[SViper]

I just recently went back from the DE razor to multi-blade disposables after about a year of the DE shaving.

I just wasn't ever satisfied with my shave. Tried several blades, soaps, lotions, just never smooth. I thought the bumps and ingrown hairs would go away, and they did somewhat, but not fully.

I also got tired of taking so long to shave. Even after a year it was over 10 minutes just to shave not including prep and cleanup. If I didn't shave for 3 days, no matter what blade I used, shaving was pure torture. Also, I like to shave in the shower. DE shaving is not really made for this environment.

Whatever makes you happy and gives you a good shave!

I am also curious about your technique. I met the guy who promotes the method shaving for a private shaving session (http://www.enchanteonline.com/) and he gave me some good pointers. Because of how coarse my beard is, I have to shave at least every other day, preferably everyday. I notice that if I go longer than that, my face looks like chopped beef when I shave.

I also stick to the shaving form chart as well (http://www.enchanteonline.com/pages/faqs/cuttingforms.pdf). If you notice, you don't ever shave directly against the grain, which also helps me as well.

I don't mean to sound like a spammer promoting this guy's stuff, but he helped me in my shaving. His products are quite expensive though. The entire setup costs about $150 and that's without the DE razor that I already had. I'll probably just stick with regular shaving soap after I get my beard completely under control.

 

[TwiceOver]

Just curious, what technique(s)/blade(s) were you using? If you were just going against the grain from the start with no reduction passes, it would produce what you described. I usually use 5 passes (2 downward, 1 upward, 1 against-grain, 1 detail) for the neck and 3 for the mustache area (downward, cross-grain, detail).

2 WTG, 1 XTG, 1 ATG was always too much for my face. It was the only way I could get an even somewhat smooth feel. The best shave I could get was 2 WTG 1 XTG and it would yeild acceptable results without having a face that felt like raw meat. 5 Passes? I don't have that much time to shave every day.

I tried every blade in the sampler pack from one of the places. The best blade I had was the Feathers that come in the yellow package. None of them could tackle 3 days of growth without tugging though. Extremely short strokes helped, but not enough.

Now I use whatever name brand triple blade disposables. 1 WTG, 1 ATG and I'm smooth. Blades don't last long though so definitely a higher cost. For a while I had that feeling of how awesome the ritual was. Then after having our first child and being half asleep all the time, the "ritual" seemed tedius and annoying. I guess I never really fell in love with the "prep" like so many others have.

 

[Imp]

I use a Mach 3 once a week because some idiot in the house decided to not connect/fix the bathroom outlet when we redid the electric wiring a year or two ago. Feels good, but meh, I don't have much facial hair, and can get it done quicker with my electric. Way quicker too. Should score me a new wireless electric; one I've been using is 10 years old.

 

[mvbighead]

DE and some cheap old Barbasol for me. Shaves better for me than the MACH, and takes a few minutes. I should probably buy some better blades though.

 

[alfa147x]

How much does the quality of the razor matter? Or is it all about the blade?

 

[SViper]

How much does the quality of the razor matter? Or is it all about the blade?

It's mostly about the blade, but still somewhat dependent on the razor. The razor is what will bend the blade to get a good shaving angle. Some razors allow you to adjust this bend of the blade, while some have a fixed bend it gives to the blade.

I personally have a merkur that isn't adjustable; although you can adjust the angle of attack using your hand/wrist.

 

[alkemyst]

Seriously this is a new trend mostly with guys that could go a week without shaving and most wouldn't notice.

If you lack manly things to talk about with your friends enjoy.

I get a pretty damn good shave with a fusion powered cartridge system...I can shave without a mirror and in the shower. A few seconds as opposed to minutes.

I don't get the whole craze.

I could see getting shaved with one professionally...that's always great, but again it's a big time sink for the day to day deal.

 

[TheNinja]

I use a gillette sensor excel and shaving gel. I wet my face with warm water, put on the gel and shave with the grain mostly. I know shaving with the grain doesn't cut quite as close as shave, but it's worth it to avoid in grown hairs. Plus I'm not a hairy man beast who has to shave 2x a day.

 

[Farang]

I used a safety razor for a long time when I lived abroad, it was all they sold at the store.

At first glance it seems very similar to a disposable bic. A single blade mounted in plastic and attached to a handle. But I think the blade must be more exposed because with a slight side motion you could cut yourself more easily.

The big advantage I remember was that it could plow through beard better than anything I'd ever used. Especially because you could clean it out a lot easier.

I've always meant to go back but laziness has kept me from doing so. I'd recommend a safety razor to anyone.

 

[SViper]

Seriously this is a new trend mostly with guys that could go a week without shaving and most wouldn't notice.

If you lack manly things to talk about with your friends enjoy.

I get a pretty damn good shave with a fusion powered cartridge system...I can shave without a mirror and in the shower. A few seconds as opposed to minutes.

I don't get the whole craze.

I could see getting shaved with one professionally...that's always great, but again it's a big time sink for the day to day deal.

People like myself who have extremely curly hair have a problem where the facial hairs begin to curl before protruding from the skin. If I use a razor that cuts the hair below the skin like just about every multi-blade razor does, I get horrible in-grown hairs.

On top of that, I have sensitive facial skin. It doesn't take much for me to get irritation bumps without proper skin preparation/hydration, especially if I want to do a few passes to get a close shave. Since my hair grows fast, I always want to get a close shave.

 

[ManBearPig]

i too like shaving with DE razors with feather blades, but stopped mainly because the way my hair grew back was getting annoying--my face felt like freaking sand paper.

i switched back to regular cartridge razors and find i can shave faster and with an even cleaner shave, and my hair grows back much nicer/softer.

i first switched to DE razors because i was getting bad ingrown hairs and razor burn with cartridges. well, i dont get that anymore with cartridges. since i had to learn patience and proper shaving with a DE, it carried over to cartridges. (although cartridge razors still cant make my skin look as nice as DE)

really the most important part of shaving is the technique, not so much what device youre using.

 

[Malak]

You can shave if you want to, you can leave your beard behind....

 

[Fenixgoon]

got a merkur 34c...love how much better it cuts than my previous gilette 10,000 blade razor.

 

[irishScott]

2 WTG, 1 XTG, 1 ATG was always too much for my face. It was the only way I could get an even somewhat smooth feel. The best shave I could get was 2 WTG 1 XTG and it would yeild acceptable results without having a face that felt like raw meat. 5 Passes? I don't have that much time to shave every day.

I tried every blade in the sampler pack from one of the places. The best blade I had was the Feathers that come in the yellow package. None of them could tackle 3 days of growth without tugging though. Extremely short strokes helped, but not enough.

Now I use whatever name brand triple blade disposables. 1 WTG, 1 ATG and I'm smooth. Blades don't last long though so definitely a higher cost. For a while I had that feeling of how awesome the ritual was. Then after having our first child and being half asleep all the time, the "ritual" seemed tedius and annoying. I guess I never really fell in love with the "prep" like so many others have.

Huh. Were you using an adjustable razor? Blade angle could be an issue. Don't get me wrong I'm not trying condescend or anything, you're just the first person I've met who got significant experience with a safety razor and said their shave got worse. Maybe it is just your face lol.

As for the time, that's why I have an electric on standby. Gets me a passable shave (at least from a visibility standpoint) in a minute. I like to get up early and take my time in the mornings though, so I can usually allocate 30 minutes for a good shave.

 

[waggy]

I have a gellet DE and a Gem JR. I love the Gem for its fat handle though its a single blade and getting hard to find them.

as others said its not the razor (though it does help some) but the technique. slow it down and enjoy it.