UnderpantsGnome42

Rule to go by? Not particularly. I used to exchange a handful of messages then ask for a Facebook, claiming the messenger on OKC is lame (you can see better what they're like there and the messenger is a bit more real time). From there it was a date, usually something silly and fun, bowling or a pool hall are my favourites for first dates as it's hard for the conversation to stagnate when you're doing an activity and it's something fun! Though that may depend on age... This! ^^^ and lol... "you straights"

Alright everybody! I've somewhat fallen off the wagon with this for now. Will be striving to start anew as of Monday though! Life really threw me a curve ball and I'm currently very stressed because of it. My goals: 1. Work out 3 times a week. 2. Quit smoking and soda 3. Have some me time, 1 min/week of the challenge meditation every day or 5 pages read/week of the challenge each day. Everyone's goals are looking good so far. Enjoy your camping and good luck everyone.

Part 3 So you’ve successfully completed my last two quests, time for lunch? Nope, lets turn this up to 11. This is where things start to get even more interesting. Prepare for a mammoth of a post! Your last shave with the safety razor was pretty great wasn’t it? But maybe you nicked yourself a couple times, or the razor didn’t quite glide as perfectly as you expected? Time to make some improvements. Pre-Shave Treatments A little extra lubrication to aid that blade gliding. Oils I’m going to admit now, I’ve never really been a fan of pre-shave oils. But as I’ve said a couple of times in previous posts, this is all very much personal preference so I’ll cover them incase they’re your bag. Pre-shave oils are, as the name suggests, oils which you apply to your skin before lathering up for your shave. They add an extra layer of lubrication to help the blade glide smoothly as well as a bit more of a barrier for nicks and cuts, they also help hydrate those coarse whiskers for easier cutting. There’s no need to be applying loads to your face, more isn’t better, you’re not making sure that broadsword of yours doesn’t rust. You just need a small amount, less is more so long as you entirely coat your beard area. There’s a few different ones I would suggest, different oils used and slightly different consistencies. Truefitt and Hill Ultimate Comfort Pre-Shave Oil. This is beautifully slick oil, it’s quite a thin oil so a little will go a long way and it won’t feel like a chore to apply. Designed for sensitive skin so should cause absolutely no problems with irritation. eShave Pre-Shave Oil. This one comes in a variety of flavours, depending on what you fancy. It also comes in a nice and convenient bottle with a pump on top so you always use the same amount and don’t waste any, bonus! Bluebeard’s Revenge Pre-Shave Oil. One of the newer kids on the block but is certainly starting to make a reputation for themselves. Very large bottle for the price so great value. This is another thin oil, but the quality of the ingredients for the price you pay is fantastic! Creams and Lotions This category covers pretty much all other pre-shave treatments, with one small exception but I’ll mention that later. These are by far my favourite form of pre-shave. Having had bad acne as a teen I’ve never been a fan of putting oils on my face, even though the ones in the products above are non-comedogenic. As with most things there’s various different price brackets, so I’ll do like I did for the shave creams and give a few close to entry level ones then the really high end ones. Entry Level: Proraso Pre-Shave Cream. Like the shaving cream this one come with or without the menthol and eucalyptus. This cream is excellent, Proraso could easily get away with pricing themselves closer to the high end market. Lovely and slick cream to help the razor glide, and the one with the menthol has that nice cooling sensation. This cream is a little bit unique as well, it works great post-shave as well but I’ll get into those soon enough! Entry Level++: Geo F Trumper Skin Food. But wait, I thought that was more of just a moisturiser? Nope, it is actually really good at various jobs. This is a really nice lotion to use as a pre-shave, I’ve heard of people actually applying it before lathering up for each pass as it’s so slick but is mostly removed by each pass. The wonderfully hydrating properties moisturise the whiskers and your skin amazingly. I’ve even had it suggested to me to put a few drops into your brush while lathering up to make the lather even richer and more hydrating. I’ll cover this as a post-shave further down. Max Level: Unsurprisingly... Castle Forbes “The Pre-Shaveâ€. So I’m showing that I’m a bit of a Castle Forbes fanboy here, but the product quality speaks for itself. Their pre-shave lotion is unbelievable. It is water based so unlike some oils it won’t leave a ring in your sink at the water level. Not that that’s the only reason this lotion is great, you should be running a sponge over your sink after shaving anyway! It is a nice and light lotion, offering great lubrication for the blade without clogging it up. Soap This product doesn’t really fit into either of the above categories but still definitely deserves a mention. Musgo Real Pre-Shave Soap. This is an absolutely sublime glycerine based pre-shave soap. Comes in various different scents depending on your taste, my personal favourite is the Spiced Citrus. Just wash your beard area as you would with any normal soap just before lathering up. But instead of washing it off like you normally would, just leave this on your beard and lather up over the top of it. It leave a nice coating on your skin that is nice and slick aiding the razor’s glide across your skin. Post-Shave Alum Block I’m not going to recommend specific brands for this one, an alum block is an alum block regardless of where you get it. The only difference will possibly be the size of it, but that makes little difference anyway. I would actually say and alum block is pretty essential as its antiseptic and astringent qualities are amazing. Used after shaving will stop any bleeding for minor nicks and cuts as well as kill any potential germs that may be residing on your skin. The astringent quality is great for people with oily or breakout prone skin, like myself, as it helps control the oil levels on the surface of your skin and maintain the matte appearance. How to use: Once you’ve splashed the cold water on your face to rinse off the remainder of the lather just run the block over your face. There shouldn’t be any need to even wet the block, the water already on your face should be more than enough. You’ll then want to leave the residue on your skin for a minute or two. I suggest leaving it on your skin while you clean your brush and the sink up. Then splash some more cold water on your face to wash off the residue and you’re done! Post-Shave Cream/Gel There’s so many of these, it would be excruciatingly long to write about them all and a pretty boring to read as there’s not that many differences between a lot of them. So I’ll mention the ones I think are the best and the best value. I doubt my choices will be a surprise to anyone given my penchant for certain brands. Post-Shave creams are another less is more affair. You shouldn’t need to use any more than about the size of a quarter (10p to us brits) in the palm of your hand and gently patted/massaged onto your skin. No need to rub hard or aggressively, you’ve just assaulted the area with a particularly sharp blade it needs a rest! Amazing Value: Proraso Pre-Shave Cream. Wait, what? That’s a pre-shave cream, what is it doing in this section? Well I’ll tell you what, this is a great multi-purpose cream. Like I mentioned in the pre-shave section, this cream can be used both pre and post shave! Why have multiple products if you’re on a budget and one will do both? The fact it can do both of these jobs, and do them well might I add, is why I’d rank this as such amazing value! Entry Level++: Jumping it straight up a notch. Truefitt and Hill No. 10 Post-Shave Cologne Balm. What a monster of a name. Rich, creamy, moisturising, wonderfully clean scent. Everything you could want in a post-shave balm. Not much more to say, the product name actually does most of the job for me. Bluebeard’s Revenge Post-Shave Balm. This one is a bit weird, I really like their branding and scents but this seems to have a very close to petroleum jelly kind of feel to it. Not for everyone, but I’ve not actually heard any bad things about it so I’ll include it for now. Mid Level: Couple of good ones fit in here. Taylor of Bond Street Jermyn Street Aftershave Cream. That same epic scent that the shaving cream has but in a post-shave cream! It’s exactly what you are looking for in a post-shave. amazingly moisturising and soothing without the scent being too overpowering. Geo F Trumper Skin Food. I’ve mentioned this briefly further up as a pre-shave, but this is the job it was designed for and really excels in. Brilliantly rich and moisturising with nice strong scents, Coral, Sandalwood or Lime. The scent lasts for a while but fades fast enough not to clash with any cologne you may be planning on wearing. Max Level: There can be only one! Castle Forbes Aftershave Balm. Surprise surprise! As with the rest of the Castle Forbes range, other than the pre-shave, this comes in three different scents: Cedar and Sandalwood, Lime and finally Lavender. All the scents are supplied by pure essential oils, not perfumes or non-natural additives here! This is quite simply one of the most impressive post-shaves I’ve ever had the pleasure of trying, a small amount goes a long way and it really feels like you are feeding and moisturising your skin. Ok maybe there can be two, an honourable mention in this category goes to the same company as mentioned in the shaving cream section in the original post. Fitjar do some amazing post-shave balms in the same scents as their shaving creams. They are all handmade and completely paraben and preservative free, fantastic for your skin, really soothing and moisturising. Bleeding So you’ve been a little clumsy and nicked yourself quite impressively, but you’ve got that date we were talking about and you’ve got to leave really soon, not to worry! You’ve got a few options. Styptic Pencil. Talk about rubbing salt in the wounds... oh wait, that’s essentially what this is! A styptic pencil is basically a pencil of salt. They’re simple to use and very effective. How to use: Get the tip of the pencil wet and press it into/against the cut for a couple seconds. It will sting, a lot, but will stop the bleeding very quickly if not instantly. Simple as that. An alum block can be used in a similar fashion by using the edge/corner of it. However I find that a small amount of the styptic pencil tends to break off into the cut stopping it faster. Proraso Shave Cut Healing Gel. Not tried this myself and heard somewhat mixed reviews on it. You just squeeze a small amount out of the tube and apply directly to the cut area and it stops the bleeding. The only negative I’ve heard about this is that it can sometimes leave the area looking somewhat shiny, like the spray on elastoplast kind of sheen. As I keep saying, it’s up to your personal preference a lot of the time. Cologne/Aftershave/Eau de Toilette Don’t worry! I’m not telling you what you should wear as a fragrance, that’s entirely up to you. I am however going to make a couple suggestions as to where to apply it. Firstly never apply anything alcohol based directly to recently shaved skin. Alcohol is very drying and will irritate the skin. Instead I find that spraying/applying to the back of the neck as well as on the forearms/wrists and using what you’ve applied there to dab behind your ears keeps you smelling great for hours without the extra irritation of applying alcohol to your neck or face! Further Reading/Shopping If you’ve made it this far through your epic quest you’re well on the way to mastery of the double edged blade and should be proud! If you’re interested in learning some more, though I’ve tried to cover almost everything, there’s a couple YouTube channels I would recommend: Mantic59 - Fantastic tutorials on techniques all the way from basic to advanced, videos say more than I ever could in just words. He also runs a blog over at sharpologist.com. He even appears to have recently become a member of this forum and commented in this thread. Pretty much the main inspiration behind my original journey into wet shaving so deserves some serious kudos. GeoFatboy - Great place to hear reviews of all sorts of different razors, from double edged to shavettes to cutthroats. He runs shavenation.com

Ooooh! I like that stand! looks really nice!

Be sure to give an account of how it goes! Feathers are fantastic! Love them! I've tried a good few different types and kept coming back to them. I started on the Merkur blades and didn't like them, kept nicking myself. Feathers aren't particularly forgiving for a newbie but once you've gotten the technique down they're a dream! This! ^^^

Good choice going with a Merkur, they all have very similar heads on them and are great shavers. Can't really comment on the blades as I've never used them, platinum coated blades tend to be pretty good. The brush looks like a really nice entry level brush! Will do the job fantastically and isn't a massive expenditure if you decide that this style of shaving isn't for you. Can't really go wrong with Col. Conk, the stuff is fantastic quality. And as I've already said above, Proraso is great stuff and they could easily get away with charging much more for it than they do. The pre shave cream can actually be used both pre and post, pre as a lubricant and post as to soothe your skin afterwards! Just be warned, the cooling feeling from the menthol in it isn't for everyone. Hah, yeah. No pressure at all, just hold the razor firm enough that you wont drop it. A double edged razor does have more propensity to catch blemishes/spots/moles/uneven patches than your standard cartridge razor, but if people are careful there shouldn't be an issue. Some people when starting out shaving for the first few times manage to slide the razor sideways slightly, which is when it'll dig in an cut you. Also, you've obviously never tried an open razor... It's unbelievably easy to cut yourself with one of those if/when your mind wanders. Part 3 is a little delayed as I've got some RL stuff going on at the moment, but will be up as soon as I have the chance.

Well, I only own enough weight plates to get to 40kg (including the bar) so going higher than that for a while isn't an option. Unfortunately sh*t has truly hit the fan here... so I'm not sure how well I'll be able to keep up with this, I'll be doing my utmost...

Too right! Workout and relaxation when I get in from work, followed by finishing off my shaving post! Busy man! Hope you're all doing good! I'll be making sure later! Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

Wow! Mantic59 is on this forum and commented on my thread! I'm honoured and a little starstruck! You're one of my big inspirations for wet shaving! You're actually getting a mention in part 3 of this basic guide! Part 3 will be up once I'm back from work tonight and have a chance to finish and polish it up!

Hahah! I am a Warrior after all! I mainly use the little one for hot water on my neck area just before lathering so it's extra hydrated... It's a crappy cheap one I got with a set when I first started. Oh and they're badger I find boar far too coarse and doesn't hold enough water

As I promised, a quick pic of all my kit! Just one or two bits and pieces One of my shaving creams isn't even in there!

Glad I've been of some use! We all want to see your new rack! That sounded so much less dirty in my head...

To spice it up a little you could try using a bit more of a luxury shaving cream, I've suggested a few further up and in the thread in my signature. I actually wouldn't put aftershave/cologne onto your face/neck area. Instead I spray onto the back of my neck and onto my wrists, which I then gently dab behind my ears. It's what the girls do and it seems to work for them! Got to love having an attractive young girl who can wield a blade well... I'm going to guess she gave you a pre-shave oil, after shave balm and maybe a moisturiser? Pre-shave oils, as the name suggests you apply this to your beard area before you lather up. You don't need much as a little goes a long way. After shave balm, after you've rinsed off with cold water gently apply a small amount to the area you just shaved, you don't need much again. As far as moisturisers go, I would suggest applying them after you've washed your face just before bed as they have the best chance to work over night and your applying it to nice an clean skin.

Part 2 So you’re back now, you’ve loaded your razor with the blade that came with it and have the tub of cream in your hand? Time to begin the second part of your epic quest and start using the supplies you’ve gathered, right? Wrong! Remember, preparation is key. Especially when it comes to running sharp blades across your skin. Step 1: Water Fill the bathroom basin with hot water, you want the water to be about as hot as you can stand but not so hot that you can’t keep your hand in it for an extended period of time. You got that? Hot but not HOT! Now that you’ve done that place that nice brush you’ve recently acquired into the hot water, making sure all of the bristles are in the water. Step 2: Shower! That’s right, you smell really bad from all that questing and gathering of supplies! Go for a nice warm relaxing shower, let the hot water run all over that gargantuan beard. A bit more seriously, you’ll want to have the hot water from the shower all over your beard area. This softens up the hairs and opens up your pores allowing for a closer and smoother shave with the razor just gliding through the hydrated hairs. If you don’t have time for a shower or can’t shower for whatever reason, make sure to splash hot water on your beard area for a minute or so. Make sure the water is hot but not boiling, the hot water from the tap is usually sufficient but it shouldn’t be so hot that it’s sore. Step 2: Lather! That’s better! You don’t smell quite so bad now! Time to grab that brush out the hot water in the sink. Take it out the basin and with a single quick flick of your wrist remove most of the excess water from it. Now grab that cream you pondered over for a while but eventually decided on, time to put that to good use. There’s a couple of ways people do this, if it’s a soap in a bowl you’ll run the brush directly over the surface of the soap and decently coat the tips of the brush hair. You can do similar with a cream however I feel this wastes a whole lot of cream so I suggest taking an amount the size of a pea or the tip of your pinky finger out of the tub or squeezed out of the tube and putting this onto the brush. One or two more splashes of hot water on the beard area then it’s time to lather up! You want to put the brush onto your face and run it in gentle circles across the entire beard area, building up a nice thick and creamy lather. You’re looking for about the consistency of firm peaked egg whites. Should take between one and two minutes, not a long time. You're aiming for no bubbles or runs. Bubbles mean there's too much air in the lather than you'll be getting direct blade to skin contact, what we're trying to avoid with this creamy lather. Step 3: The Shave So you think you’re set now? You’ve had your hot shower, you managed to make yourself look like Father Christmas with the lather and think you’re ready to dive in. Yeah, you got this… Hold up, a few things to consider first. Remember how I said at the very beginning that it was like learning to shave all over again? Well I wasn’t just saying that, it’s time for you to unlearn all the bad habits you learn with those fancy cartridge razors that do all the work for you. With a double edged razor, blade angle is very important. Gently grip the razor as you would expect to. You don’t need to grip it hard, it’s not a broadsword. The grip varies a little from person to person but whatever feel natural to you. Now, sit the head of the razor on the back of your other hand with the handle and 90 degrees to your skin. This is how you work out the best angle to use the razor at. Slowly rock the razor down, decreasing the angle between the handle and your skin until the blade just touches your skin. This is usually somewhere between 30 and 45 degrees, depending on the razor head. To maintain this angle it’s a good idea to lock your wrist during the shave and let your shoulder and elbow do the moving. Now you know your blade angle you can go nuts right? Start swiping that cream off like you’re decapitating undead? No... Not quite… Dip the head of your razor into the basin of hot water you have in front of you and while being conscious of the perfect angle you just found out, bring the razor to the bottom of your sideburn (some people like to have wiped some cream away from their sideburns so you can see what you’re doing, I don’t bother) and in a smooth one inch long stroke pull the razor down from your sideburn. No pressure on your skin is required, pushing the razor against your skin is when you start to have a bad day. Look at that! You’ve done it! You’ve taken your first stroke in the quest for a double edged razor shave! You should be proud, now just to finish your first pass off! Lift the razor off and move the head along until it’s just overlapping the previous stroke about the same height as before, maintaining that blade angle we talked about before and take, and take your second, third strokes. Oh, the razor is clogged? Well spin it round and use the other side, it’s double edged for a reason. Once both are clogged, rinse in your sink of hot water. Just repeat this for the rest of your first pass, being careful under your nose and the chin area. Don’t worry about having stubble in places, or it not being as smooth as you’d like, the goal of each pass is beard reduction not elimination. So you’ve conquered your first pass! Go you! Time for your second! I hope you didn’t rinse off that brush! Splash some hot water on your face again, probably out the tap rather than the basin as it’s hopefully full of cream and hair, then grab your brush and lather up again. Assuming you worked up a good lather at the beginning there should be more than enough still on the brush to lather up for another few passes. Circular strokes yet again, light pressure, like you’re painting. This time you’re going across the grain, from your ear to your nose, just like before, keep that angle right and short 1 inch strokes. Before you know it you’ll have just done your first across the grain pass! Woo! This is about the time I would usually call it a day and say it’s good enough for an every day shave, because it is. It is hopefully also the most comfortable and one of the closest shaves you’ve ever had! If you’re really wanting to go that extra mile, say you’ve got a hot date with a Siren or something, you can do another pass. I would recommend not going against the grain for the first handful of weeks that you’re doing this, but I know some of you will. My recommendation would be another with the grain pass, identical to the first one, or maybe the opposite direction across the grain (nose to ear). Step 4: There’s More? I figure the clean-up deserves a step all to itself. Empty your basin of water and give it a quick rinse, don’t want to be leaving a mess behind do we? What if that Siren we’re dating comes back and sees this? Won’t be particularly happy I would think, and we all know how they can be… Nice clean sink, now to clean you off. Time to rinse off any remaining shaving foam and close up those pores. Splash your face with cold water from the tap, as cold as you can stand, this won’t be pleasant but you’ll appreciate it later. If you’ve managed to nick yourself the cold water should help stop the bleeding, if it doesn’t part 3 will cover styptic and other methods of stopping it. So you’re clean now, what about that brush? Still sitting there with soap all over it? Drat… forgot about that. Run some warm water and rinse off the brush thoroughly. Making sure to get all the lather out of the brush. Once it seems clean run it under cold water to close the pores of the hair, same reason a hairdresser sometimes gives your hair a cold water rinse right before styling. Sit that brush on the stand, which hopefully came with the brush, and look at yourself in the mirror. Who's that handsome devil? Looking good!

Haha! You may notice I didn't mention any Art Of Shaving products... Shaving mugs, you can get away without using one. I don't use one when I'm travelling, I just lather up directly onto my face. This was actually going to be in part 3 under "more advanced" as I was aiming at this being more of a bare essentials to begin with then building upon that. As far as availability in the US, there's a whole lot of websites out there that will ship to you. I'm sure if you google "Shaving Supplies" you'll get some US results.Or if you look up Geofatboy he suggests a really good store to get stuff in the states (I'm purposely not linking or saying specifically where to get a hold of things as I don't want to be accused of advertising etc).

already posted the other thread, figured it's easier to direct to that than here... And I have had women buy the stuff for themselves... Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

As far as straight razors go, I've never used an actual straight razor however if you're really interested in one I would suggest sticking to some of the best new brands that are made from Solingen Steel like Dovo and Revisor. Also, as with quite a lot of things you really get what you pay for when it comes to the blade quality and ease of keeping an edge on it. With a straight razor you'll also need to invest in a good quality strop and possibly honing stone for when it inevitably loses its edge. So long as you take good care of the blade, stropping before each use, use good quality strop paste and keep the strop in good condition you shouldn't really need to hone the blade for the best part of year as far as I'm aware. I have however used a Dovo Shavette, they're a straight razor which uses disposable blades. They're pretty good, and much cheaper! The shave is a lot more intuitive than you would think, you're still really crapping your pants when you first go to touch the blade to your skin, but so long as you keep the blade at a 15-30 degree angle to your skin you should be fine. If the blade gets a steeper angle than that, it will remind you that it has teeth. Part 2 of the guide will be up tomorrow!

Remember back to that time long ago when you first ever learned to shave? The intrigue you felt? The pride at actually accomplishing it without, too much, blood being spilled? Learning to shave with a safety razor is that feeling all over again! I’m going to have split this into a 3 part series as it’s quite a lot of information to trawl through! What will I need? I hear you ask, well I’ll start this out simple and mention a few more advanced/specialist products at the end. So for starters you will need: 1 x Badger hair brush 1 x Double edged safety razor 1 x Pack of double edged razor blades 1 x Shaving cream Badger Hair Brush Ok, so right now you’re probably asking why badger hair? Well the simple answer is because it’s almost always been badger, the hair has fantastic water retention qualities so gives a luxuriously creamy and hydrating lather. You’ll see a lot of places selling brushes which can get to ridiculous prices (the one I’m currently pining after is around £150 but that’s another story). However there is some truth to “you get what you pay forâ€. The higher price is generally a better grade of hair, but I’ll give a quick rundown of what ones to aim for and what to avoid while just starting out. Firstly, there’s no need to spend more than about £40 on a basic badger brush, you can get perfectly decent brush for that. You can get one for less, but you shouldn’t pay any more. Secondly, grades of hair. This is where things start to get a little weird. The grade of hair is basically an indication to how soft the hair is and where it came from on the badger’s coat. You know the phrase “as rough as a badger’s…“ I won’t finish that saying but you get the idea, that’s what I’m getting at here. The grades are as follows: Pure < Best < Super < Silvertip < Finest For just starting out, you should stay in the Best to Super range. Safety Razor Not all razors are created equally, though most are remarkably similar. For just starting out I would suggest you use a slightly gentler razor such as the Muhle R89, this is a fantastic German made razor. Beautifully gentle shaver and paired with the right blade, perfection. But I’ll get to that later. Another good choice is the Merkur 33C, another German made razor. Merkur are renowned for their fantastic steel and product quality (assuming you steer clear of the Vision and Futur razors). There’s another couple Merkur razors which use the same head as the 33C but have longer handles with a bit more weight/heft to them if you prefer that. Notice a theme with them both being German? Germans know what they’re doing when it comes to steel and razors. Both these razors should set you back no more than £30-35 each, and they’ll last a lifetime. If that seems a little steep in price, you can pick up a Parker 99R or similar for about £25 if you know where to look. I haven’t used this one myself, but I’ve read reviews and it sounds promising. Blades So like a lot of other parts of this, it’s very much personal preference and there’s a fair amount of suck it and see. This is no less true about blades than any of the rest. I will however make the suggestion of using the blade that comes with the razor first, which will likely either be a Derby or Merkur blade. Once you have your 3-7 shaves from that blades you’ll be wanting some new ones right? There’s a few main ones I would suggest and I’ll put them in the order you should try them in. As the list goes on the blades get sharper and less forgiving, so I really wouldn’t skip ahead unless you want a trial by fire. 1- Derby 2- Persona 3- Feather Shaving Cream This is one that could go on for hours. So I’ll name a few I suggest, ranging from entry level to so fantastically pampering that she’ll want to steal it! Entry Level: Prorasso Shave Soap in Bowl, this one is entry level in price alone. It is a fantastic quality cream, even though it says soap it’s much more of a hard cream. This one comes in 2 flavours, Green or White. The green one is their main one, it contains menthol and eucalyptus so has a fantastic scent and that nice tingling feeling on your skin from the menthol. Though not for everyone might I add. The white one however is their answer to sensitive skin, contains none of the menthol or eucalyptus but has some other nice ingredients which soothe your skin and keep a nice comfortable shave. Entry Level++: Taylor of Old Bond Street Jermyn Street Shave Cream, this one is a bit of a step up from Prorasso. Nice and creamy with a very unique scent to it, not something you’d expect from a cream designed for sensitive skin. Gives a lovely rich lather which hydrates the whiskers nicely and is very gentle on your skin. Taylor’s do a lot of different scents of shave cream, ranging from the pungent yet unmistakably manly Sandalwood to the somewhat understated Rose. A personal favourite for me is the Grapefruit which is very citrusy and refreshing, guaranteed to wake you up in the morning. Max Level: There are a couple I would put in this category but only one which I’ve tried myself so I’ll start with that one. Castle Forbes Lavender Shave Cream, pretty much one of the most luxury shave creams you will ever get the joy of trying. This cream is fantastic, ok it’s a priced a fair bit higher than the previous 2 but the benefits outweigh the extra cost. You use so much less of this per shave than you do of most other creams and the tub is also slightly bigger, should easily get 4-6 months of regular use out of one tub! They do a couple other scents of cream, Cedar & Sandalwood and Lime. None of the creams contain any perfumes or artificial additives at all! It’s all essential oils and natural ingredients and the creams are all produced in small batches to maintain strict quality control and ensuring it matches his tight specifications. So that’s the one I’ve used, but I’ll mention another one that gets great reviews and is another cream which is made in small batches and by hand. Fitjar Shave Cream, all of them are fantastic. They also do a line of shaving soaps in the same scents, if you decide you’d rather use a soap than a cream. Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3!

Ideal, part 1 is done... Just need to tweak it a little and then get started with the second part, might start the thread in a few min

Damn! Really? Well I just halved my strength potential then! Currently concocting a series of 3 posts on double edged shaving, worth starting a new topic over?

Feel like I'm bombarding this thread with my little gnome face! Recently had my chest and back done for going on holiday, I don't see why you shouldn't just go down the street. I am going to recommend you take some strong pain killers first, especially if you have the pain threshold of a small child like me! Oh and definitely don't drink the night before, is not fun whilst hungover...

If you're getting it just on the against the grain pass I would actually suggest not doing one, your skin will thank you! I usually suggest 2 passes for every day and 3 to maybe 4 at a push for going out. Everyday: 1- With the grain (or straight down) 2- Across the grain in one direction (usually ear-nose for me) which gets a nice close shave that doesn't have irritation and will last well into the evening without showing (longer depending on growth) Fancypants: 1- With the grain (or straight down) 2- Across the grain in one direction (usually ear-nose for me) 3- Across the grain in the opposite direction OR Against the grain if only doing 3 passes OR With the grain again if doing 3 passes and get irritation on against passes 4- Against the grain! (south-north pass) This is about the point where you're getting to Babies Butt Smooth... but at the risk of a fair whack of irritation if your skin can't handle it. Any brush is better than no brush in my opinion! Definitely beats all the junk you get out those spray cans!

I'm going to have to say going to electric is probably an even worse move for you skin than sticking with a Mach 3. If you're getting lots of irritation make sure you shave after a shower and also absolutely no pressure on your skin with the razor, if the blade is sharp enough you wont have to "push" into your skin. As far as shaving creams/soaps go. I tend to like/suggest Taylor of Old Bond Street, they've got a nice variety of scents. My go to would be their Jermyn Street shaving cream, they do it in a soap as well if that's what you prefer! Prorasso is also a very popular choice, but I'd say it's more of an entry level brand and doesn't agree with everyone's skin because of the menthol and eucalyptus in it. They do a version for sensitive skin (it's white instead of green) which has none of that in it and some other soothing ingredients too. If you really want to treat yourself for cream I'd definitely suggest Castle Forbes Lime (or Lavender) cream, it's hard to get your hands on but it's made in small batches using pure essential oils no fragrances/alcohol/preservatives! For aftershave... I use the Lime after shave balm by Castle Forbes (seeing a bit of a fanboy thing going on here?) which has witch hazel and some other ingredients to close your pores after shaving and soothe and hydrate your skin. I've used a couple in the past and this is probably one of the best ones I've ever used! There are some other less exorbitantly expensive ones out there so I'll suggest a few of those: Prorasso Post Shave Cream, comes in a nice little tub and can be used both pre and post shave to help hydrate the beard before and soothe the skin after. Also comes in both Green and White, depending if you like the menthol on you skin (I don't). Geo F Trumper Skin Food, this one is a little different it's actually closer to a daily moisturiser in texture and look but preforms the same task as a post shave balm, I've even heard of guys putting a couple of drops of this stuff onto their brush while lathering up to make the lather even thicker and creamier. and an honourable mention goes to the eShave After Shave Soother this is another one that I would consider more every day/entry level than gourmet but it still has its place here. It's maybe a little expensive for the amount you get but it's good quality stuff just not quite on par with the likes of Castle Forbes

Actually shaving with a safety razor isn’t nearly as hard or as time consuming as you’d think, but hey I’m paid to sell them so I’m supposed to say that right? If you prep right it can be one of the closest and most comfortable shaves you’ll ever have! I’m surprised more people aren’t turning back to it, sure it can take a bit longer than just running a Mach 3/Fusion/trimmer across your face but it’s so rewarding. I haven't used an actual cutthroat, I have however used a shavette and that's pretty damn close. It does remind you it's got teeth if your mind wanders though! I’ll take a picture of my kit later today when I get it all out to shave for work tomorrow! It’s got some gadget appeal, I just keep accumulating stuff! I can give a synopsis of my prep if anyone is actually interested? Or you can just peruse the AoM post on How to Shav Like You Grandpa

Day 2 Today is going pretty good so far, though it’s not even 1pm yet. Got minor DOMS in my legs from yesterday so a little stretching wouldn’t go amiss I think. Already don’t my 1min of meditation, I get the impression I’m going to be doing that more often than reading… My stumbling block with the Smoke Dragon has always been about the second or third day when it’s all out my system, meaning that right now I’m really jonesing for a cigarette. But the thought of having to openly admit that I’ve failed on day 2… that’s embarrassing enough that I won’t back out now! So far as fighting the Sugar Demon, all is well! Just drinking lots of water.