Shaving

Yea, this thread has been amazing. So much so, that I ordered a DE safety razor and brush and it should be here tomorrow. My face is so hard to shave that the least amount of time I can go between shaves is 3 days. And even then, my skin bleeds a bit. I have been using Mach 3 turbos which are good, but I don't want to keep having to choose between eating and shaving.

I haven't been so excited to shave my face before. Not sure what that really means.

 

That we're a bunch of queers acting like this is a Tupperware party? And you know what? It's fabulous and I don't care who knows it.

 

I'd say thats pretty fair. But its a very masculine tupperware party.

 

I've got a big mug, a shaving scuttle, and an immersion heater because my house water is the same way. I heat a cup of water with the immersion heater, pour it into the scuttle, and make my lather on top of the scuttle with the extra water from the mug. Took a bit of getting used to adding to my routine, but it is worth it.

My scuttle is like this:

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.georgetownpottery.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=GTP&Product_Code=SHAV0001&Category_Code=Shaving" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.georgetownpottery.com/store/ ... de=Shaving</a>

Immersion heater:

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/NORPRO-559-Immersion-Warming-Liquids/dp/B000I8VE68" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.amazon.com/NORPRO-559-Immers ... B000I8VE68</a>

 

This thread is amazing. I had no idea shaving was so complicated. It makes me wonder if I should explore with different razors and techniques.

 

There are whole forums dedicated to the art, science and passtime of shaving.

 

Here's my follow up question, since my original question helped spawn this whole mess:

Can I get one of these ultra-manly double edged safety razors, and still shave with my usual stuff/general in-the-shower method (http://www.kissmyface.com/product/item/52)? There's literally a zero percent chance I start shaving outside of the shower. If shaving "better" also means shaving for more than an additional 60 seconds, I'm just not going to do it. My stepmother even gifted me a shaving kit with a badger hair brush and some other fancy shit over the holidays, and there's still no chance I'm fucking around slathering shit on my face for 5 minutes daily. But if these razors aren't so picky about how my face is lathered, I'm game to try them.

Thoughts?

 

Personally, shaving takes me a while - but I like to take it slow and easy; it takes just long enough for that first cup of coffee to cool down, and morning grogginess to fully fade away.

If it meant you could save 60 seconds off of your shower would you stop soaping your taint? If an entire minute could be eliminated from your morning shit would you stop wiping? You could probably save at least an hour a week if you didn't do laundry either; or how about just eating off of dirty plates and never soaking your silverware! This is a quality (not quantity) of life issue - just suck it up and go to bed a few minutes earlier in the evening if you're going to bitch about how long it takes you to pull off The Best Shave Ever (TM).
/Rant

Yes, the methods and procedures described herein will work perfectly well in the shower, although the lack of a mirror could throw you off. Then again, it might help because you would only have the sensation of touch to guide you.

 

You can if you get a shower mirror... there is no way I'd trust myself to do it blind. Just lather on the face in the shower with a good cream.

I have to shave every day for work (like most people), and wet-shaving makes the act far more of a pleasure than it used to be. I used to cringe at the thought of dragging a cold Mach3 across my face. Some people get up a few minutes early to make coffee, I get up a few minutes early so I have a good 5 minutes to shave. I find that I take about 90 seconds longer, start to finish, than the other guys at work that use a Fusion and gel, and much, much less time than people that use an electric.

I will say this: the lather is what wet shaving is all about, not the razors. Properly prepping your face is what allows you to use a razor that can produce a closer shave, not the other way around. To make an analogy, a face improperly prepped with crappy gel is like an icy road, and a Mach3 or Fusion is a four-wheel drive truck with chains and snow tires. It's the best tool for the job, but on a well-paved road on a warm sunny day, it's not going to out-run a Ferrari.

 

They do make safety straight razors. They were the first safety razors developed, I think Feather continues to make them. Try that out first, as straight razors have a bit of a learning curve. Maybe first off only shave your cheeks with them, using your other razor for the rest of you. Then, the chin, jawline, moustache, etc.

 

Just had my first successful shave with the new safety razor. It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. I didn't cut myself at all. It did take a little longer than my previous shaves but not enough to keep me from using it. My skin is not as irritated as it used to get after the Mach 3.

 

Dude, thanks so much for all the time saving ideas! Sarcasm aside - I am at least intrigued. Especially given Brian's suggestion that I can still shave in the shower. That saves me a ton of time.

 

think of it as if the weight of the razor is doing the work rather than you applying pressure.

 

For me it's like using a scalpel. You just sit the razor on your face and pull. The weight of the thing was plenty. That little blade is scary sharp. I actually cut my thumb by accident when I put it down on the sink. No cuts on my face though. Got lucky this time.

It is the closest shave I've had in a long time. My dad is getting one now too. We are both sick of spending so much on mach3 turbo blades.

 

As said by the previous poster, you need very little pressure at all; in fact, with a sharp blade, it should basically feel like a glide. Every pass you make, just feel the spots that need more work... and then lather your face up again and try it from another angle. I generally do two complete passes (with the grain, then against the grain) and then do one more with my chin until it's baby-ass smooth.

On-topic: Where I am, the water is VERY hard. I have a difficult time making a decent lather; in fact, I've gone back to using Barbasol because it's so frustrating to make a good lather. Any suggestions? I'm about to just go get a few gallon jugs of spring water, but if there's some easy way to soften water, I'd be much obliged.

 

While you assholes determine how to get your faces perfectly clean, I've gone the other direction.

Over vacation I grew out a beard, and came back with it fairly burly. Then I tested how long I could let it grow before I got the stink eye to test the limits.

<winning>Now I don't even shave. I use a beard trimmer once every week or three, and then clean it up with a buzzer every week or two. </winning>

 

Switch to a soap rather than a cream, and let it soak in hot water (regardless of how hard it is) while your sink fills / while you wash your face / while you shower, whatever.
It'll be plenty soft and easy to lather after that.

I've done the soap and the cream thing, I find you get a lot more value out of soap (a puck can last literally over a year for like $5) and it's not too hard to get used to. The lather is a bit thinner but it works fine.
I'd reccomend not soaking it unless you have difficulty lathering though. What I do is I toss my shave brush in the sink while it fills and that moisture is enough for me to load soap onto the brush and lather with.