My first 43folders response. A topic close to my heart. Truly. I have a very thick beard and have to shave in both directions in order to get the smooth finish I am looking for (and that the girlfriend desires). Because of this I have tried a number of shaving solutions. None of which have been as successful of a combination of final result with ease of use as my current Mach 3 Turbo. Now, I don’t really know if the vibration actually does anything to help my situation, but I swear that the blades are different somehow. They last much longer than the original Mach 3! Plus, the hyper-green color just sets me off. For an after shave I like Nivea’s Sensitive Skin formula. I usually just buy the cheapest Shaving Gel (usually Edge) but I may up the investment in that part of the solution. Also, as far as the water temperature goes, the hotter the better!

“Neckal” was a nice touch.

All of that matches my shaving experiences, though I haven’t tried the high-end shaving creams and haven’t tried aftershave since I was twelve. I’m quite happy with the Ambrosia shaving lotion from Lush.

I still gaze longlingly at my Merkur. The retro-chic value is undeniable, but it just takes to freaking long to get a decent shave.

“I recently moved up to a moderately-priced badger shaving brush, and I love it.”

You can’t beat it, especially if you have a lot of badgers to shave.

(Oh, sorry, Philishave electric, but only once a week or so. Clippers on the lowest setting first if it’s been long enough to need them.)

Personally, i’m a scruff. For me its strange to shave more than once a week and I use whatever i’ve got to hand, be it the Gillette Mach 3 or the “freshly blunt from the packet” £1 razors from my local shop.

The one thing I do spend alot on is the shaving gel, while I was on holiday I found the amazing Original Source range of bathroom goods. Since then i swear by the Mint and Tea Tree shaving gel, gives you a smooth, comftable finish to every shaving session. I’d highly recommend it to anyone!

I agree on just about all of that. I haven’t ever used the witch hazel though. I’ll have to try that. And I am a safety razor guy. I love them, and the blades are dang cheap. When I saw Gillette was coming out with the fusion, I swore I’d stop giving them money. My Mach 3 is retired, in the rocking chair, sitting on the porch waxing about the good ol’ days.

Safety razors are wonderful - but you need to know how to handle one. These are not razors like those made by Gillette, which even a mal-coordinated idiot can use without slicing chunks off his (or her ;) face. Gillettes and the like are designed for people who aren’t that skilled, who push the razor down hard on their skin in the misguided belief that this means a closer shave - it doesn’t.

Safety razors and their bigger brother, the cut-throat (which is more difficult to use on oneself because of the angles you need to hold it at) are best used with delicate motions, never twice over the skin without water and soap in between and the shave is much closer and much smoother.

Not to mention the cost of the blades. Supermarket blades tend to suck. My faves are the traditional ones made by Gillette (ha) in India - my father brings me batches back at a time - and one double-sided blade will easily last me two weeks. You can snap them in half to place in certain types of cut-throat razor handles too.

Witch hazel is great - but try an alum bar - wet it and smooth it over after you’ve rinsed your face with cold water and it’ll keep your face from falling off…

Do yourself a favor and read through Aidan Gill For Men’s description of their shaving ‘best practices’. It’s a little much as a daily routine, but it’s a really solid shave and there are some good ideas to extract from it.

If you ever find yourself in New Orleans, you ought to make an appointment for a shave there. They book about two weeks in advance.

Last I was in there they recommended this Trumpers Skin Food as an aftershave. It’s not cheap, but it really seals things off without leaving a residue or clogging up your business. It’s particularly useful in hot, muggy climates.

For during-shave lubrication at home, I use King Of Shaves Alpha Gel shaving gel. They’ll send you free samples.

All the shaving tips, etc., fit right in with the Retro themes that continue to come about on this wonderful site. I am a converted follower of the Retro Road.

My wife and I visited friends in Wales, UK last month. While there the one outrageous treat I afforded myself was a visit to an apothacary/gift shop in Abergavenny. The shop carried “Kent” shaving brushes, soaps, travel shave dishes and other shaving toys.

Following the advice of http://www.classicshaving.com/Home.html , I opted for the best treats available. Great brushes, great soap and soap dishes (a duplicate set for travel).

Kent brushes are the ‘bomb’ ….. they hold gobs of water and look just like the brush my grandpa used.

I saw the Shaveblog site a while back and decided to try this all out and I’m delighted at the results. I always suspected I was doing the whole shaving thing badly and now I know I was. I stuck with the Merkur razor - despite the non-existent instructions, nearly killed myself with it until I discovered that ‘1’ was the safest setting and ‘6’ was the most dangerous (I started with it on ‘5’). Now I am used to it the Merkur is way better than any other razor I’ve tried, and I can’t go back to paying almost £1 per blade for a Mach 3 when the safety blades are a mere 30p for TWO shaving edges. Make sure you put decent blades in the razor, Merkurs or Swedish Gillettes are good, strangely these blades seem to need ‘wearing in’ and I think I get a better shave after the third one. The whole morning shave is now a far better experience, I use a good badger brush with the Taylors Avocado shave cream and Taylors or Trumpers after shave balms (essential after the shave). Its a great start to the day, very civilised - I feel the public ought to be doffing their caps to me as I promenade with my now almost ceramic complexion.

Cheers.

Get a fog free mirror and shave in the shower! It really softens up the whiskers and makes for an easy shave. The Mach 3 works great for me although the blades are a little pricey (less than the fusion though).

I use Arber Aftershave from the Body Shop. Nice cool feeling and smells good without being too intense.

I too am a scruff. If I average out over the ~10 years I’ve been shaving, the frequency would lie somewhere between fortnightly - monthly.

I think it’s for this reason, and the fact that I use shampoo and conditioner on my face if I have more than a week’s growth, that I’ve managed to keep a remarkably soft beard. If I do shave, I use a Mach 3 and whatever shaving gel happened to be on special at the super market. I’ve been tempted by the old school shaving equipment such as the brushes and soaps mentioned, but I’ve get to get around to purchasing any of it.

The biggest “ah-ha” I’ve ever had in regards to shaving I must credit the movie “Good Morning Vietnam” for…no really, I’m serious. At some point during the movie there is an annoucement that comes over the radio in the background reminding soldiers to shave with cold water for less irritation. As skeptical as I was, I decided to try it, and have shaven with cold water every time since.

The hot water of the shower is great for softening up the hair, but you don’t really want your pores gaping open when you go to actually shave. I put cold water on my face before the shaving cream/gel and also rinse my blade in cold water. The cool water settles any irritation right down, and I rarely have issues with irritation after shaving is complete.

Trumpers and Taylor and both pretty cool - I use Taylor’s cream. I booked a shave at Trumpers in Mayfair one morning after a particularly harsh couple of weeks at work, and while it was quite enjoyable, the shave just wasn’t that great (and for £30, I expect better).

They don’t use full-on cut throats, for health and safety reasons, but snap-blade cut throats. The whole hot and cold towel routine was fun enough, but I get a better shave at the Middle Eastern barbers for only a tenner.

Their moisturizer is totally overpriced, BTW - it’s near as damnit the same stuff as E45 cream, except it’s £16 vs £4.

Your mileage may vary…

Great tips!

I really do believe the product makes a difference, and I have very sensitive skin. I love the Art of Shaving line. It seems pricey, but it goes an awfully long way … I think I only replenish about every six months. That plus an ordinary Mach3 suit me just fine. And the Mach3 really does seem to be the best razor. 4 blades seems silly; I think 3 is the sweet spot.

I thought the hip lifehacking thing to do these days was to skip the shaving cream entirely.

Not being a human equipped with facial hair, but still interested in renegade, lifehacking type behavior, I wonder you guys think of this article.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/tucker/tucker65.html

That said, I do in fact use shaving cream on my legs, and I’ve really been enjoying Trader Joe’s Mango Shave lately. Wonderfully smooth, gooey, yummy-smelling stuff.

I have the most jacked up neck hair known to man. These omnidirectional short and curleys are the bane of my shaving existence. I have tried everything on the face of the planet to “sooth the irritation and breakouts caused by shaving”. Here’s my cure and recommendation. Based on the cost of today’s Battery powered super shavers with 24 blades, go with the laser hair removal. I had 2 treatments @ $180 each and the hair volume has dropped about 70%. If you do the math, this probably pays itself back within a few years. This solution may seem a bit metrosexual..but when shaving is this painful and ugly, you have do take extraordinary measures.

Try putting a little baby oil on your face before lathering up. It really makes the shave even smoother.

‘Neckal’ has got to be the best word I’ve heard in a while! (Kinda goes along with my own word, ‘chestal’, as in - to my wife - ‘Babe, I love your chestal area..’)

Anyway, thanks for the insights Merlin. I’ve been toying with a better shave for a while and haven’t gotten to it. The other option being, my friend’s new laser hair removal clicnic…getting my neck permanently clear of whiskers…ah, that’d be the life!

I’ve recently discovered the products from ZIRH, Particularly their “Erase” and “Soothe” concoctions. I used to have awful razorburn, but since I’ve been using those it’s all but cleared up totally. They’re pretty pricey, but for me it was worth it.

I too was a Gilletteer until I read that same MSNBC article last October. After 20 years of weak shaves and chin bumps (and now that I have some gray whiskers — more ingrown hairs), I took a modest work bonus and took the plunge. I procured a Vulfix silvertip badger brush, a Merkur razor, Taylor Sandalwood soap and alcohol-free aftershave gel from ClassicShaving.com. It made all the difference in the world.

For the first time, shaving is something I look forward to. When my wife complained about my ooh-ing and aah-ing over the experience, I informed her that I was now into “Tantric Shaving.”

It took a while to get used to the Merkur, but I’m happy I endured the nick-rich learning curve. Not only is my shave better, but I’m saving a mint on Gillette’s true cash cow — the cartridge refill. When I’ve been traveling or in a hurry, I’ve used my old Mach 3, but then the bumps, etc., return with a vengeance.

Also, the Taylor of Old Bond Street creams and potions are well worth the price (and they last forever). Every time I smell the ancient aroma and look at the stately aftershave label (“Since the Reign of Queen Victoria”), I start talking like a British ex-pat touring colonial Hyderabad. This is how I discovered that I do a really crappy British accent.

My routine:

Shave in the shower. Agreed about Jonathon Davis about the temperature of your skin when shaving - too hot and your pores are wide open and you have to be EXTRA careful. BUT, having your razor as hot as possible helps big time - “hot knife through butter” and all that. Plus rinse the blade often (especially if you use a multi-blade razor). Keeping everything constantly wet definitely helps and is easier to do in the shower.

Use a conditioner to shave with. I’ve tried a number of different things to shave with - my second favorite is Kiehl’s Ultimate Brushless - Blue Eagle. My ultimate favorite, however, is Bumble and Bumble’s Super Rich Conditioner.

Use a toner after shaving. For this I really like Kiehl’s Alchohol Free Herbal Toner.

Oh, and the razor - like many here, the Mach 3 still works great. The one thing I’ve tempted to try is putting the razor in a solution or a something to keep calcium deposits off it, etc. This supposedly WAY extends the life of your blade.

For the truly lazy among you, just quit shaving. I keep a very close beard, trimming three times a week with the shortest setting on my trimmer. Low maintenance and looks clean enough for government work.

This is the perfect opportunity to point out a lively Metafilter thread in which the efficacy of shaving cream is debated, largely due to this article on the reputed shaving cream racket (which Dan mentions above).

I’ve been meaning to write about this at GRS, but doubt I’ll ever get around to it.

Me? I’m partial to some pink gunk my barber sold me on. It’s shaving cream for old men, but who cares? I’m almost an old man. I think it’s called “Gabel’s brushless shave cream” or something like that. It comes in a small tubs for about $5 or $6 each. My barber in rural Oregon has to special-order it from California, but I don’t mind. The stuff saves me from razor burn and in-grown hairs!

Also — I like the idea of using cold water during the shave. I’ll have to try that.

I use a pre-shave oil from TheArtOfShaving.com and it works great! A little goes a long way, the bottle usually lasts me about 5 months or so. They also have a peppermint oil facial scrub that helps with ingrown hairs (and subsequent razor burn).

Several years ago I read an article suggesting shaving oil, I tried and have been a convert ever since, my favourite is David Somersets www.somersets.com (I tried King of Shaves oil but for some reason it stung my eyes) Three drops of oil is all you need and a tiny plastic bottle lasts about three months great for travelling as it takes up very little space. It seems odd to begin with as there’s no gunk all over your face but it means you can see exactly what you’re doing and if you want a closer shave just splash a little more water on your face and run the razor over again

I used to be into all those crazy shaving methods, trying different blades, brushes, soaps, creams. I think I was getting a better experience/ritual, but I was not getting a better shave by any stretch of the imagination.

I eventually found out that the real secret is to shave in the shower with whatever blade you like (I use a Mach 3) and the secret ingredient which is Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap. I prefer the peppermint flavor for the awesome tingly feeling it leaves, but any of the scents will work equally well. The soap is very mild, all natural, water soluble and 100% biodegradable. I never get razor burn, clogged pores or cuts.

As an added bonus, if you get bored in the shower, you have plenty of the late “Pope Of Soap’s” bizarre pseudo-religious ranting. I do not endorse the birth control method on the label! ;)

Cecil Adams’ The Straight Dope column last week addressed the question “I hate shaving my face every day. What else can I use?” He finished his response with “a story attributed to George Bernard Shaw”:

As a child Shaw was watching his father shave one day and asked him why he did it. Shaw senior stopped, stared at his son, then threw his razor out the window, saying, “Why the hell do I?” Thereafter he grew a beard, an approach famously adopted by G.B.

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