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(This post was last modified: 11-10-2021, 04:15 PM by don'tfeartheweeper.)
I've been shaving with DE razors for more than twenty years. I've been using straights and shavettes for about five years. And in the past few months I've been using injector razors, though I've used GEM-style razors off and on for about five years. Regardless of the equipment--and I include the razors, blades, soaps, etc.--every shave I learn something new. So what I'm about to say is not intended as gospel. It's based on my experience. And one of the points below is that in this hobby, every face is different.
Tips
1. You get what you pay for might hold true in life but not in wet shaving. I've found that I can get a great shave using an inexpensive safety razor and blade, with inexpensive soap and an inexpensive brush. Often, the expensive razors, soaps, brushes, etc. are more fun to use and look better, last longer, but don't necessarily provide a better shave.
2. Tallow-based soaps are not better than vegan soaps. As one of the owners of Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements explained, tallow is desirable because of its stearic acid content. You can now have stearic acid in a soap without tallow. So if you prefer to avoid soaps that contain animal products, you can do so secure in the knowledge that there are rock 'em sock 'em vegan soaps that work as well as or better than tallow-based soaps. Also, remember that no matter which soap you're using--including things like brushless creams--slickness is vital and slickness comes from using enough water. You'll have to experiment to get the amount of water right. Hint: if your shave cream looks like you've put spackling paste on your kisser, add some water. Add it little by little until you get the slickness you need for a great shave.
3. Synthetic brushes aren't as good as boar brushes. This might have been true twenty years ago. No longer.
4. Wet shaving will save you money. Yes and no. It will spare you having to buy ridiculously expensive cartridge blades, true. But if you catch the fever, like most of us, you might find yourself spending $$$ on stainless steel or titanium razors, soaps that retail for $30 to $80, $300 straight razors and the paraphernalia they require, etc. Of course, you could also buy one DE razor, a puck of Williams or Arko, a great synthetic brush, and only buy blades. In which case you will be an exception and you will save $.
5. Facial prep is important. This is true. Usually it means washing your face with warm or hot water to make sure your whiskers are saturated. A hot towel helps and feels great. Whether to use a preshave is your call. I find them useless, whether they're soap or oil or cream. Others swear by them. Give it a try.
6. Be patient. Some shaves will be bloodless and great. Some won't. Have fun and enjoy improving your skills with every shave.
7. Move the blade up or down. This should go without saying. But in case you don't know this: think of the blade in your razor as if it were a knife. If you wanted to slice a piece of fruit, you would slide the blade across the apple, the pear. You would not scrape the blade up or down the surface. When you shave, you want to scrape, for want of a better word, that blade up and down your face. Even if you shave across the grain, you're still moving the blade up and down but on a horizontal plane. The point is, if you move the blade along its length, you will slice yourself. Do this with a straight razor and you will need stitches or a mortician.
8. Have fun! When I was a kid, men used to commiserate about how much they hated to shave. I never understood why. I couldn't wait to shave. I still can't. By making a chore a hobby you look forward to, you're way ahead of the game and have a great way to begin your day.
9. YMMV. Your mileage may vary applies to every aspect of this hobby. Never be unduly influenced by anyone's opinion of a product, a way of shaving, etc. For every person who loves FILL IN THE BLANK blades, soap, shave cream, razors, brushes, aftershave, etc., there are those who will swear they're the most hellishly terrible products ever. Consensus is only a guide.
10. When trying new hardware, give it at least three weeks. When you get a new razor, new blades, etc. try to use it for at least three weeks every time you shave. This will give it and you a fair chance to decide whether it works for you. Software like soaps usually require a shorter trial period.
Tips
1. You get what you pay for might hold true in life but not in wet shaving. I've found that I can get a great shave using an inexpensive safety razor and blade, with inexpensive soap and an inexpensive brush. Often, the expensive razors, soaps, brushes, etc. are more fun to use and look better, last longer, but don't necessarily provide a better shave.
2. Tallow-based soaps are not better than vegan soaps. As one of the owners of Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements explained, tallow is desirable because of its stearic acid content. You can now have stearic acid in a soap without tallow. So if you prefer to avoid soaps that contain animal products, you can do so secure in the knowledge that there are rock 'em sock 'em vegan soaps that work as well as or better than tallow-based soaps. Also, remember that no matter which soap you're using--including things like brushless creams--slickness is vital and slickness comes from using enough water. You'll have to experiment to get the amount of water right. Hint: if your shave cream looks like you've put spackling paste on your kisser, add some water. Add it little by little until you get the slickness you need for a great shave.
3. Synthetic brushes aren't as good as boar brushes. This might have been true twenty years ago. No longer.
4. Wet shaving will save you money. Yes and no. It will spare you having to buy ridiculously expensive cartridge blades, true. But if you catch the fever, like most of us, you might find yourself spending $$$ on stainless steel or titanium razors, soaps that retail for $30 to $80, $300 straight razors and the paraphernalia they require, etc. Of course, you could also buy one DE razor, a puck of Williams or Arko, a great synthetic brush, and only buy blades. In which case you will be an exception and you will save $.
5. Facial prep is important. This is true. Usually it means washing your face with warm or hot water to make sure your whiskers are saturated. A hot towel helps and feels great. Whether to use a preshave is your call. I find them useless, whether they're soap or oil or cream. Others swear by them. Give it a try.
6. Be patient. Some shaves will be bloodless and great. Some won't. Have fun and enjoy improving your skills with every shave.
7. Move the blade up or down. This should go without saying. But in case you don't know this: think of the blade in your razor as if it were a knife. If you wanted to slice a piece of fruit, you would slide the blade across the apple, the pear. You would not scrape the blade up or down the surface. When you shave, you want to scrape, for want of a better word, that blade up and down your face. Even if you shave across the grain, you're still moving the blade up and down but on a horizontal plane. The point is, if you move the blade along its length, you will slice yourself. Do this with a straight razor and you will need stitches or a mortician.
8. Have fun! When I was a kid, men used to commiserate about how much they hated to shave. I never understood why. I couldn't wait to shave. I still can't. By making a chore a hobby you look forward to, you're way ahead of the game and have a great way to begin your day.
9. YMMV. Your mileage may vary applies to every aspect of this hobby. Never be unduly influenced by anyone's opinion of a product, a way of shaving, etc. For every person who loves FILL IN THE BLANK blades, soap, shave cream, razors, brushes, aftershave, etc., there are those who will swear they're the most hellishly terrible products ever. Consensus is only a guide.
10. When trying new hardware, give it at least three weeks. When you get a new razor, new blades, etc. try to use it for at least three weeks every time you shave. This will give it and you a fair chance to decide whether it works for you. Software like soaps usually require a shorter trial period.
