Bearded men! I have achieved baby butt smoothness. I didn't shave yesterday, so today I was extra beardy. I picked up some L'Occitaine Cade shaving soap the other day so I gave it a try this morning.
My setup: Cade shaving soap
Merkur 23C Long Handle Classic
a two or three use old Feather blade
and my EJ Best Badger Brush
Trying to lather a new soap is always an experiment in wetness. The Cade takes very few twirls on the soap to get the brush loaded. With a damp brush in an almost dry bowl, it froths up easily but was quite airy on the first try. Lots of visible bubbles in the lather while the brush's center seemed waaaaay too dry. I kept adding water to the mix, and ended up with a runny soap that sucked hard when I finally put it on my face. I got halfway through the first pass and decided the razor's head was skipping too much and I needed to redo the lather for better lubrication.
I rinsed it all out and started again. Without drying the bowl, I reloaded the brush and began making lather again. I only added maybe a few drops (just enough to knock down the initial bubble phase) and then took the brush to face. The Cade soap lathers amazingly on your face, giving me a nice rich lather after just a few seconds. At that point, I did two WTG passes, 1 ATG and 1 XTG touch-up. Baby butt smooth. No blood. No weepers. Just a little hot water to rinse followed by a splash of cold. The Cade washes off easily.
The scent of the soap is much milder than I expected. When you smell it at the store, it's got a strong juniper smell. When I finished the shave, the smell was barely noticeable. Much less so than my usual C&E Sandalwood which I'd previously considered quite subtle. I'm a fan.
I realize I haven't really updated you all on my progress either. It's been about three weeks since I, quite literally, threw away my M3 gear.
This was initially a cost saving measure - I couldn't afford to buy even four M3 refills, so I spent $6 and bought a cheap boar brush at CVS and said "F it. I'm goin' for it"
So for the last three weeks, I've practiced, learned my face better than I ever thought I would, bled, bled some more, cursed, spit, and hollared.
And today I had a fantastic shave. Best ever, just like Pete.
I'm using ltlsuz's Nag Champa scented custom soap (from Susies Bubbles). I finally figured out how to get a great lather using the cheap-ass boar brush. I'm using a Merkur razor, Derby Extra blades, and Nivea aftershave.
I realized that on certain parts of my face, namely my neckline, I can't go ATG. I'll bleed every time. I have to do 1-2 WTG and then 1 XTG to get a smooth, bloodless shave. My cheeks are easy. Straight up, ATG one pass, and they're perfect.
The nag champa soap leaves a great scent. After I shaved, I got a kiss on the cheek by a cute girl and was told I tasted like milk chocolate
I am happy I threw away my M3 cold turkey. Yeah, the learning process was painful, but in the end it is highly satisfying and definitely worth it.
What disorder is it? I have this problem. When I see pages full of soap, I literally want to take a bite. I want to eat soap. They look so delicious. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
Suz, any chance you remember which base the Nag Champa you sent me contains?
What disorder is it? I have this problem. When I see pages full of soap, I literally want to take a bite. I want to eat soap. They look so delicious. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
Suz, any chance you remember which base the Nag Champa you sent me contains?
Nothing wrong with you, unless you actually take a bite - then you may have trouble getting soap out of your teeth, and a hideous taste out of your mouth. :rolleyes2
I looked at my back-orders, unfortunately, I can't be sure as I made Olive Oil and Shea Butter of the Nag Champa in May and June. I hear the Shea Butter is exceptionally slippery, if that's any kind of indication - it is soap after all, it should be really slippery.:sad2:
Thanks. I feel really dumb now for never having scrolled down on the main page to see it. Sounds like shea butter is what I'm after. Next time I'm buying soap, I'll be after your Lime scented one.
Thanks. I feel really dumb now for never having scrolled down on the main page to see it. Sounds like shea butter is what I'm after. Next time I'm buying soap, I'll be after your Lime scented one.
don't feel dumb! The store just keeps getting bigger and that first page is getting pretty long....
I'm well overdue for an update. It's been about 3 weeks since I finally got a badger brush. It does a much better job of building lather than the boar brush did. Without question worth the upgrade.
Slowly staring to figure out that lather thing too. Mine have been a bit of the dry side, the last week I've been adding more water, resulting in more lather that doesn't dry up as quickly once it's on my face.
I've still got a bad bleeding problem though, I need the input of the shaving Icrontic. I bleed after every shave, more when I shave consecutively. It's always on the neck, my cheeks are fine (unless I just screw up and hack myself. I cut my ear the other day somehow, bled like crazy. Who knew.) but once you get under my jawbone and onto my neck, I'm usually bleeding all over when I'm finished shaving. The shave itself is close and clean, but the bleeding sucks. It's not enough bleeding to actually run down my neck, and once I rinse with cold water it's done, but I get the feeling I've got overly sensitive skin. After seeing Prime's post about his new method (with/with/against) and trying it myself, the bleeding was lessened and the shave closer. I think our facial hair patterns are similar. But I still bleed, nonetheless.
Here's my routine. Wake up, jump in shower. When I'm finished, I crank up the hot water and just stick my face in it. Turn off shower, quickly dry and go to sink which already has the brush soaking in scalding hot water. Make the lather, and shave 3 times. With/With/Against the grain. Used to do Across on the 2nd pass, and I would bleed like crazy. I can't do more than 3 passes because of the bleeding. But it's typically very close at that point, so it's all good. After that, wash with warm water, then splash rinse with cold water. Bleeding stops, I towel off, and go about my day.
Do you guys use any pre-shave? Is there anything that would help prevent the bleeding? I don't think it's dry skin, not with showering right before shaving. I just think my skin, well, sucks. I'd be willing to invest in a pre-shave lotion of some type if that would help stop the bleeding.
Also, do you only make one razor pass period, then re-lather or do you sometimes take a few swipes at the same place after you lather? Does that statement make sense?
Does my razor technique just suck? I don't think it does, my wrist is locked, arm making the movements, and I'm applying very little pressure. Maybe it's the speed?
Despite the bleeding, I do love shaving this way. I look forward to it. It's much more refreshing than the other methods. On the days when I have to quickly use my electric, it actually quite disappoints me.
I also cannot shave against the grain on my neck without bleeding. I only do so when I'm going on a date or to a special event. On normal days, I do a two-pass shave, with the grain then across the grain on my face and two WTG passes on the neck. It's passable for a day with my growth pattern, but it's pretty clear by feel that my neck is rarely as closely shaved as my face. That's the price I pay for less blood, though.
Have you picked up a styptic pencil yet? I nicked my nose in a similar fashion to how you describe your ear wound and the styptic pencil shut down the bleeding fast. Still took a few days to heal, but I didn't have to use the mini squares of toilet paper method at all.
Also, you might want to consider simply skipping shaving on the days you'd otherwise use electric, if you can get away with it. I stopped electric shaving entirely and my blade shaves are more consistently comfortable. I think a sensitive face/neck can only acclimate to one shaving method at a time. Also, if you use a Norelco "lift and cut" type electric, you're doing more harm than good in the long run because you're cutting off the hairs under the surface of the skin, much like a multi-blade Fusion or Quadro.
I completely agree that this is a method of shaving I actually look forward to. Yesterday when I was shaving, with the door open because of humidity, my dad walked by and noticed. Later he said, "the way you shave reminds me of the way my father did when I was a kid." I thought that was funny, coming from my dad.
I've found that I need to do 2 WTG passes, followed by 1 ATG, and then an XTG/touch-up on my chin and lower right jaw line for the best shave. The 2 WTG + 1 ATG gets me passable when I'm in a hurry.
I re-lather my face between each pass and rarely double back over a non-lathered section of my face. It's just not worth it in terms of irritation. If your soap isn't providing cushion and lubrication, you're in for a world of hurt.
I'd follow GH's advice and stop using the electric all together if possible. I use the trimmer blade on mine for sideburns etc., but the actual razor head only gets used once in a blue moon when I screw up and obviously miss a spot during a quick shave.
0
KwitkoSheriff of Banning (Retired)By the thing near the stuffIcrontian
edited November 2008
Today was my first single-blade safety razor shave. I didn't have shaving soap, I had no technique, but the blade was staring at me, begging me to use it. So I did. Comfort and closeness I've never experienced before. I'll never go back. This weekend I'm going to order a badger brush and shaving soap.
To the experts in this field, which shaving soap and brush do you recommend? Dagmara has her eye on an amazing razor handle for me.
I've had a great deal of luck with Susie's Bubbles soap. I can make a good lather even with the cheap crap-ass brush I have.
I've never been complemented on how good I smell - but then I won a free sample of the Nag Champa scented soap and started shaving with it. At one party, one girl told me I smelled "fascinating" and another kissed my cheek and told me I "tasted like milk chocolate", so.... that's a win. I'm a convert.
I'm callin' bullshee.... Be a man. Tough it out. Get a 3 blade Schick, and shave. When you start crying again, change blades.... Jeez....some people...
Kwitko, the benchmark brush which all others are judged by is the Crabtree and Evelyn Best Badger Brush. It appears to be out of stock on their website right now, but if you can find one, it's great. It's identical to the Edwin Jagger Best Badger but because it doesn't have the Edwin Jagger name, it costs less.
I'd suggest something like this to start with. Badger hair is graded to different standards, and Best Badger is probably what will give you the best value. Higher grade stuff (brushes with the white tipped bristles) tends to be softer and more luxurious, but you pay a ton for it. A pure badger brush is less expensive than Best Badger, but the bristles are very stiff and usually not very densely packed. They're cheaper, and I guess the only real up-side to them is they kick butt when trying to lather a really hard soap.
For soap, Prime's recommendation seems good. I'm happy with my C&E Sandalwood. The trick is to find something that you like the smell of that also lathers easily. There are tons of reviews here of both soaps and brushes.
Jared, it takes me 10-15 min to shave with my DE. With my Sandalwood soap and a fresh blade, 10 min gives me a very good shave. It only takes longer than that if I'm using a soap that takes longer to lather, if I'm using a different razor than my Merkur, or if I'm trying to go gangster and get a perfect "so fresh and so clean" shave.
One more vote for the Gillette Fusion here. (The one that vibrates.) The vibrating thing is unbelievable. Much closer shave with less irritation. It's f**king magical.
I have same problem... Grow a beard by lunch time, but take two days to get over shaving. To make matters worse, the hair on my neck grows in TORNADOES instead of in a single direction and I have sandpaper for facial hair. Go with the Fusion, man. Or a straight razor; they work really well. Hot water and a good moisturizer also go a long way.
Cannot hide facial deformities with a beard. Oh and I too am growing a beard.... just because.
0
KwitkoSheriff of Banning (Retired)By the thing near the stuffIcrontian
edited December 2008
Bad shaving day today. Need to learn how to create better lather with the shave soap. It will come, but I should probably wait for the weekend to try new things from now on.
Comments
http://www.badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=53495
It has arrived. (It has also now sold out)
So begins the wait, again.
My setup:
Cade shaving soap
Merkur 23C Long Handle Classic
a two or three use old Feather blade
and my EJ Best Badger Brush
Trying to lather a new soap is always an experiment in wetness. The Cade takes very few twirls on the soap to get the brush loaded. With a damp brush in an almost dry bowl, it froths up easily but was quite airy on the first try. Lots of visible bubbles in the lather while the brush's center seemed waaaaay too dry. I kept adding water to the mix, and ended up with a runny soap that sucked hard when I finally put it on my face. I got halfway through the first pass and decided the razor's head was skipping too much and I needed to redo the lather for better lubrication.
I rinsed it all out and started again. Without drying the bowl, I reloaded the brush and began making lather again. I only added maybe a few drops (just enough to knock down the initial bubble phase) and then took the brush to face. The Cade soap lathers amazingly on your face, giving me a nice rich lather after just a few seconds. At that point, I did two WTG passes, 1 ATG and 1 XTG touch-up. Baby butt smooth. No blood. No weepers. Just a little hot water to rinse followed by a splash of cold. The Cade washes off easily.
The scent of the soap is much milder than I expected. When you smell it at the store, it's got a strong juniper smell. When I finished the shave, the smell was barely noticeable. Much less so than my usual C&E Sandalwood which I'd previously considered quite subtle. I'm a fan.
This was initially a cost saving measure - I couldn't afford to buy even four M3 refills, so I spent $6 and bought a cheap boar brush at CVS and said "F it. I'm goin' for it"
So for the last three weeks, I've practiced, learned my face better than I ever thought I would, bled, bled some more, cursed, spit, and hollared.
And today I had a fantastic shave. Best ever, just like Pete.
I'm using ltlsuz's Nag Champa scented custom soap (from Susies Bubbles). I finally figured out how to get a great lather using the cheap-ass boar brush. I'm using a Merkur razor, Derby Extra blades, and Nivea aftershave.
I realized that on certain parts of my face, namely my neckline, I can't go ATG. I'll bleed every time. I have to do 1-2 WTG and then 1 XTG to get a smooth, bloodless shave. My cheeks are easy. Straight up, ATG one pass, and they're perfect.
The nag champa soap leaves a great scent. After I shaved, I got a kiss on the cheek by a cute girl and was told I tasted like milk chocolate
I am happy I threw away my M3 cold turkey. Yeah, the learning process was painful, but in the end it is highly satisfying and definitely worth it.
That's a question, I get a lot.
I worked up a few paragraphs on the first page of my store www.susiesbubbles.net that tells about each base. I hope that is helpful.
Suz, any chance you remember which base the Nag Champa you sent me contains?
Nothing wrong with you, unless you actually take a bite - then you may have trouble getting soap out of your teeth, and a hideous taste out of your mouth. :rolleyes2
I looked at my back-orders, unfortunately, I can't be sure as I made Olive Oil and Shea Butter of the Nag Champa in May and June. I hear the Shea Butter is exceptionally slippery, if that's any kind of indication - it is soap after all, it should be really slippery.:sad2:
don't feel dumb! The store just keeps getting bigger and that first page is getting pretty long....
Slowly staring to figure out that lather thing too. Mine have been a bit of the dry side, the last week I've been adding more water, resulting in more lather that doesn't dry up as quickly once it's on my face.
I've still got a bad bleeding problem though, I need the input of the shaving Icrontic. I bleed after every shave, more when I shave consecutively. It's always on the neck, my cheeks are fine (unless I just screw up and hack myself. I cut my ear the other day somehow, bled like crazy. Who knew.) but once you get under my jawbone and onto my neck, I'm usually bleeding all over when I'm finished shaving. The shave itself is close and clean, but the bleeding sucks. It's not enough bleeding to actually run down my neck, and once I rinse with cold water it's done, but I get the feeling I've got overly sensitive skin. After seeing Prime's post about his new method (with/with/against) and trying it myself, the bleeding was lessened and the shave closer. I think our facial hair patterns are similar. But I still bleed, nonetheless.
Here's my routine. Wake up, jump in shower. When I'm finished, I crank up the hot water and just stick my face in it. Turn off shower, quickly dry and go to sink which already has the brush soaking in scalding hot water. Make the lather, and shave 3 times. With/With/Against the grain. Used to do Across on the 2nd pass, and I would bleed like crazy. I can't do more than 3 passes because of the bleeding. But it's typically very close at that point, so it's all good. After that, wash with warm water, then splash rinse with cold water. Bleeding stops, I towel off, and go about my day.
Do you guys use any pre-shave? Is there anything that would help prevent the bleeding? I don't think it's dry skin, not with showering right before shaving. I just think my skin, well, sucks. I'd be willing to invest in a pre-shave lotion of some type if that would help stop the bleeding.
Also, do you only make one razor pass period, then re-lather or do you sometimes take a few swipes at the same place after you lather? Does that statement make sense?
Does my razor technique just suck? I don't think it does, my wrist is locked, arm making the movements, and I'm applying very little pressure. Maybe it's the speed?
Despite the bleeding, I do love shaving this way. I look forward to it. It's much more refreshing than the other methods. On the days when I have to quickly use my electric, it actually quite disappoints me.
Have you picked up a styptic pencil yet? I nicked my nose in a similar fashion to how you describe your ear wound and the styptic pencil shut down the bleeding fast. Still took a few days to heal, but I didn't have to use the mini squares of toilet paper method at all.
Also, you might want to consider simply skipping shaving on the days you'd otherwise use electric, if you can get away with it. I stopped electric shaving entirely and my blade shaves are more consistently comfortable. I think a sensitive face/neck can only acclimate to one shaving method at a time. Also, if you use a Norelco "lift and cut" type electric, you're doing more harm than good in the long run because you're cutting off the hairs under the surface of the skin, much like a multi-blade Fusion or Quadro.
I completely agree that this is a method of shaving I actually look forward to. Yesterday when I was shaving, with the door open because of humidity, my dad walked by and noticed. Later he said, "the way you shave reminds me of the way my father did when I was a kid." I thought that was funny, coming from my dad.
I re-lather my face between each pass and rarely double back over a non-lathered section of my face. It's just not worth it in terms of irritation. If your soap isn't providing cushion and lubrication, you're in for a world of hurt.
I'd follow GH's advice and stop using the electric all together if possible. I use the trimmer blade on mine for sideburns etc., but the actual razor head only gets used once in a blue moon when I screw up and obviously miss a spot during a quick shave.
To the experts in this field, which shaving soap and brush do you recommend? Dagmara has her eye on an amazing razor handle for me.
I've never been complemented on how good I smell - but then I won a free sample of the Nag Champa scented soap and started shaving with it. At one party, one girl told me I smelled "fascinating" and another kissed my cheek and told me I "tasted like milk chocolate", so.... that's a win. I'm a convert.
I'd suggest something like this to start with. Badger hair is graded to different standards, and Best Badger is probably what will give you the best value. Higher grade stuff (brushes with the white tipped bristles) tends to be softer and more luxurious, but you pay a ton for it. A pure badger brush is less expensive than Best Badger, but the bristles are very stiff and usually not very densely packed. They're cheaper, and I guess the only real up-side to them is they kick butt when trying to lather a really hard soap.
For soap, Prime's recommendation seems good. I'm happy with my C&E Sandalwood. The trick is to find something that you like the smell of that also lathers easily. There are tons of reviews here of both soaps and brushes.
I've been wanting to try a straight blade but idk if I have time to stand in front of the mirror for 30 mins every day? I'm guessing you get quicker?
One more vote for the Gillette Fusion here. (The one that vibrates.) The vibrating thing is unbelievable. Much closer shave with less irritation. It's f**king magical.
I have same problem... Grow a beard by lunch time, but take two days to get over shaving. To make matters worse, the hair on my neck grows in TORNADOES instead of in a single direction and I have sandpaper for facial hair. Go with the Fusion, man. Or a straight razor; they work really well. Hot water and a good moisturizer also go a long way.
w0rd.