YES!
I always shave with a brush and soap now, though I do use a mach 3 razor. I am scared of a safety razor.
The key to a good shave is to get your face very damp with nice warm water, to help stimulate the hairs into the shaving soap. That is the key.
I love using the brush to put on foam.
Been there. Done that. Your skin isn’t my skin, and your beard ain’t my beard.
Edit: One thing I’d add is that as I’ve gotten older, my skin has gotten drier and my beard faster-growing and tougher. This actually worked very well for quite a while when I was young, using a brush, soap and a good razor. But over time, it stopped working. Pretty much an electric razor is the only thing that keeps me from cutting my face now at the frequency I need to shave. So outside of electrolysis, this is it.
You guys are shaving noobs. Start with this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjhIy9rgWQU then watch most of his other videos. After that start hanging out at http://www.badgerandblade.com
This thread makes me happy my girlfriend loves my beard, heck, she doesn’t even like it to be trimmed super neat, as then its not manly enough for her.
I like the word “manscaping”
You are a reading noob.
Rimbo, that sucks about your skin and beard. I wish you luck with finding a good electric razor. I used electrics for a few years, but those actually cut my face, which is why I switched to wetshaving. Maybe we’re like face-skin inverses.
Are you showering before you shave, using a scrub a couple times a week, and using a moisturizer twice a day? I know it sounds homosexual and librul and all that, but these things have made a huge difference for me in terms of face-bleeding.
I love how there’s always at least one post in every advice thread here that basically says, “I completely reject the premise of your question! Do something else entirely! And by the way, your question is a sign of weakness of character/lack of masculinity/stupidity.”
Oh, and Rimbo, I support you, because I know how a babe like you needs to stay smooooooth.
How does this compare cost-wise? I was gobsmacked by the cost of disposable five (or however many) blade razor heads, Fusion I believe.
Does anyone remember the old SNL parody commercial where they made fun of three-blade razors by introducing then-fictional four- and five-blade ones?
Next up: real-life Colon Blow.
This was the other reason I switched to wetshaving. I think I calculated that my cost per shave with the Mach 3 or whatever it was something like $1-2 because the blades went dull so fast. Wetshaving with a safety razor has a much higher initial cost, while the ongoing costs are minute. When I started, I bought a Merkur Hefty Classic, a jar of Taylor of Old Bond Street Avocado shaving cream, and an Edwin Jagger brush from Crabtree and Evelyn. I picked up a bowl from a local potter for $5 and bought a sampler of various blades. All together, I spent about $100 to get started. I picked a couple other shaving creams along the way, but I have yet to come even close to using all of any of them. I think I might have made my way through a single cannister in two years. The only other ongoing cost is blades, which cost less than $.50 each and last 5-10 shaves, depending. I calculate my cost per shave after four years at about $.10.
And secretly, I’ve been really lazy for the last few months and have just been using Kiss My Face unscented shaving cream, which I just rub on my face by hand after making sure it’s thoroughly wet. This route would save the cost of a brush and bowl, and KMF is pretty darn inexpensive.
I’m starting to think that this picture turns you on, jerri.
But yeah, I like how the answer to my question is, “Don’t use an electric you numbskull!” I admit that the “traditional wet shaving” stuff has an appeal to it, but right there in the linked video there’s the “Oh, and get one of these pens for all the times you’re going to cut yourself.” Not gonna happen, folks.
I can’t let my beard grow because I have seventeen different unmatched bald spots in my facial fuzz. Plus I have the three-point beard shape to what beard I do grow. Hideous.
I’ve found that Norelcos don’t cut me at all, and since they are (to an extent) self-sharpening, they last a long, long time. And even a high-end Norelco doesn’t cost much once amortized over time, although I don’t know if any of the high-end features (e.g. the electric shaving goo) are worth the money.
The goo isn’t worth it. My last electric had the goo, and I never got more after I ran out of what came with it. It simply didn’t make a difference. I would, however, get a waterproof one, as I had the most luck using my electric in the shower.
Don’t fear the safety razor. Unless you have a habit of rubbing it side-to-side on your neck, you’ll be fine and you’ll pretty quickly be shaving much smoother than you ever have before.
I remember describing what this meant to one of my friends (a girl) she was very interested in how the whole process worked.
Am I the only guy who shaves in the shower? I have pretty sensitive skin and a tough beard. I’ve never had problems with razor burn or acne since I made the switch. I bought a mirror for the shower and have never looked back.
Oddly no, I have a non-fogging mirror that sticks on my shower tile, and I only use running water, no shave cream at all. With the warm water running over the skin, the razor does an amazing job, I’m currently using the same Mach 3 blade from 5 years ago, and it stays nice and sharp somehow, it may be haunted, I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of gheists in my razor.
I shave in the shower and don’t even use a mirror. I use my hand to feel for the hair. I go with the grain for everyday shave and against if I’m going out on a date. For the black males get some Black Opal. It’s a line that helps with ingrown hairs. I use Nivea shaving gel for sensitive skin a Fusion Blade and black Opal for my after shave and I’ve not had a razor bump in 4 years.
Not SNL, but still funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omTCrwHQMcw
I’ve tried both electric and cheapo plastic manual razors. The manuals worked great for several months, but suddenly starting giving me tons of red bumps. I’ve since switched back to an electric, which I don’t like as much, but doesn’t generate redness. I do have a problem with some ingrown hairs as my facial hair likes to curve inward, unlike any other hair.
I brush my teeth in the shower!
It makes me feel like I’m not “running the water while I brush my teeth” which would be wasteful. Technically I’m just borrowing some of the running water that I would already be using in the shower anyway.
Of course, keep in mind that if you keep your toothbrush in the bathroom you’re basically brushing with aerosolized toilet water kicked up into the air when you flush the toilet.*
<tom>* I swear I heard this in an NPR interview a few years ago.</tom>