Age, experience and shaving

[blade08]

So I turned 45 this month and realize I have been a traditional wet shaver since I was 29.

I used to be content only with high end expensive brushes, soaps, creams etc. Sixty euro tubs of Aqua di Parma shaving cream were the norm. Anything less than a Simpson brush was frowned upon. But in my thirties this all gradually started to change. I guess it's an age thing. All the high end stuff was sold.

These days I'm happy with 'just' an inexpensive Omega brush or Yaqi. A Chinese made TTO and and a 2 euro tube of Palmolive. And my shaves are just as good if not better.

No real question. Just wanted to share this. Still curious if any other middle aged gents on this fine forum have similar experiences.

 

[Alex Jr]

My favorite brush is a Proraso pro, 5 euros. Also favorite cream and soap (Proraso). Aftershaves are the classic drugstore available options.

My most expensive razor is the game changer and it sits in a drawer most of the time. That was a quick stop warning when flirting with more expensive ones.

So yeah, I can relate. I could live off some foamy, a superspeed and a splash of clubman. Actually that’s my setup quite often.

 

[Salty_Shaver]

So I turned 45 this month and realize I have been a traditional wet shaver since I was 29.

I used to be content only with high end expensive brushes, soaps, creams etc. Sixty euro tubs of Aqua di Parma shaving cream were the norm. Anything less than a Simpson brush was frowned upon. But in my thirties this all gradually started to change. I guess it's an age thing. All the high end stuff was sold.

These days I'm happy with 'just' an inexpensive Omega brush or Yaqi. A Chinese made TTO and and a 2 euro tube of Palmolive. And my shaves are just as good if not better.

No real question. Just wanted to share this. Still curious if any other middle aged gents on this fine forum have similar experiences.

For years I only used what was gifted to me from my dad was his Gillette fat boy and only used one type of blade that was found in the local grocery along with a can of barbersol. Pre shave prep was shower and then a hot towel to the face. Off and on I would use the bougie shaving products I would find while traveling overseas and bring them home. The thing is for me traveling and buying those products in London or Italy made it special because I bought there. Now anyone can get the same thing from Amazon so the novelty of it is not the same. For the last 8 years I stopped shaving and sported some form of facial hair. Now I’m back I still have a crud ton of blades from before having a beard and I still use from time to time Barbersol out of the can. I like having options to fit my mood. Sometimes it’s a Proraso green day other days it’s a Taylor of old bond street day. But I am happy with just the basics too. That’s from 40 years of shaving.

 

[Eric_75]

So I turned 45 this month

Happy belated birthday.

 

[Salty_Shaver]

My favorite brush is a Proraso pro, 5 euros. Also favorite cream and soap (Proraso). Aftershaves are the classic drugstore available options.

My most expensive razor is the game changer and it sits in a drawer most of the time. That was a quick stop warning when flirting with more expensive ones.

So yeah, I can relate. I could live off some foamy, a superspeed and a splash of clubman. Actually that’s my setup quite often.

What clubman scent do you prefer? For me it’s either classic vanilla or their bay rum.

 

[BigJ]

So I turned 45 this month and realize I have been a traditional wet shaver since I was 29.

I used to be content only with high end expensive brushes, soaps, creams etc. Sixty euro tubs of Aqua di Parma shaving cream were the norm. Anything less than a Simpson brush was frowned upon. But in my thirties this all gradually started to change. I guess it's an age thing. All the high end stuff was sold.

These days I'm happy with 'just' an inexpensive Omega brush or Yaqi. A Chinese made TTO and and a 2 euro tube of Palmolive. And my shaves are just as good if not better.

No real question. Just wanted to share this. Still curious if any other middle aged gents on this fine forum have similar experiences.

Good man!! The main thing is to know what works and to be happy with that kit!!

Much better that always searching for the ‘newest and best’ IMHO.

 

[Alex Jr]

What clubman scent do you prefer? For me it’s either classic vanilla or their bay rum.

Original and the veg. Special reserve comes third.

 

[Salty_Shaver]

Have never tried their special reserve. I used to like old spice before they changed the recipe.

 

[Slapo]

For me, what I'd learned that as long as I can afford it, I should get what I think or know is going to suit me well, and then re-evaluate after a while.
This means that I buy something that's £10, but it does what I want it to do to satisfaction (rather than just accomplishing the task), then I don't need to (and likely won't) buy anything more expensive.

For example, I think I only bought one or two soaps that cost me more than £10 to satisfy my curiosity, but I realised that Goodfellas Smile soaps hit the sweet spot for me.
I can't use many inexpensive shaving soaps due to some of their ingredients, but the ones I mentioned above are gentler on my skin and I can dial in lather more easily to my liking.

With razors, I enjoy the variety. I think there are only two razor I'd bought that cost me more than £100, and they were under £150, as I'd bought them from the BST.

I enjoy most of the razors I have, and those that I don't are in the "To sell" boxes now.

It's really a variant of to each their own.

 

[blade08]

Happy belated birthday.

Thank you!

 

[OkieStubble]

So I turned 45 this month and realize I have been a traditional wet shaver since I was 29.

I used to be content only with high end expensive brushes, soaps, creams etc. Sixty euro tubs of Aqua di Parma shaving cream were the norm. Anything less than a Simpson brush was frowned upon. But in my thirties this all gradually started to change. I guess it's an age thing. All the high end stuff was sold.

These days I'm happy with 'just' an inexpensive Omega brush or Yaqi. A Chinese made TTO and and a 2 euro tube of Palmolive. And my shaves are just as good if not better.

No real question. Just wanted to share this. Still curious if any other middle aged gents on this fine forum have similar experiences.

This guy gets it….

I’m not middle aged anymore, but my shaving Journey does seem to parallel yours. When I began it was just before the modern artisan soap and razor craze.

But I have taken my spins with high end soaps like AdP, stainless steel razors like Fendrihan and brushes like Simpson, M&F, high mountain white, upper quality Boar from Semogue and the likes.

But I absolutely agree with your own experience. There is just something extra satisfying in my opinion, of seeking out an awesome shave while still experiencing the feeling of having and using ‘quality shaving tools’ and ‘products’, but seeing ‘how inexpensively’ (I won’t say cheap ) I can get it for.

The most expensive razor I have in my den right now, is a $40 modern SS DE that never gets used because I just don’t like how big, heavy and clunky it is. My favorite DE cost me $4. My favorite SE about the same from an antique store many years ago, my favorite Straight was a Father’s Day gift and didn’t cost me anything and it’s the most expensive thing I have in my entire den.

Other than my cheap soaps of Arko and La Toja sticks, my most expensive soaps are L’Occitane Cade which is $15 now, but I have had it for years because it’s triple milled hardness lasts forever and when I bought it, it was only $11.

I do have over 200 aftershave’s and while it may have a higher price tag as a whole, I bet each individual modern or vintage bottle of splash I have didn’t cost me much individually.

There’s just not a more satisfying shaving for me, then to break an Astra Superior blade in half which I only paid $8 for 100 blade box, stick that half DE blade into my $12 Sanguine R5 Shavette, lather up with a $0.99 cent stick of Arko with an $18 synthetic brush and have a great shave and then splash on some vintage Shulton Old Spice that I only paid $3.00 for many years ago from an antique store; and when that bottle runs out I still have a lifetime supply of it that probably didn’t total $20.

 

[OkieStubble]

Happy belated birthday.

Happy Birthday! I don’t need to keep a birthday calendar because I just follow my buddy Eric’s posts.

 

[Submariner]

I remember 45...I think. Ok, maybe not. That was quite awhile ago. Happy Birthday and good shaving!

 

[Dtownvino]

So I turned 45 this month and realize I have been a traditional wet shaver since I was 29.

I used to be content only with high end expensive brushes, soaps, creams etc. Sixty euro tubs of Aqua di Parma shaving cream were the norm. Anything less than a Simpson brush was frowned upon. But in my thirties this all gradually started to change. I guess it's an age thing. All the high end stuff was sold.

These days I'm happy with 'just' an inexpensive Omega brush or Yaqi. A Chinese made TTO and and a 2 euro tube of Palmolive. And my shaves are just as good if not better.

No real question. Just wanted to share this. Still curious if any other middle aged gents on this fine forum have similar experiences.

47 - just the opposite, spent more last year than my 20’s and 30’s combined.

But I’m cutting back and selling off. I do prefer better razors and soap, but I certainly don’t need 7/8ths of what I have.

 

[blade08]

Happy Birthday! I don’t need to keep a birthday calendar because I just follow my buddy Eric’s posts.

Thanks!!

 

[blade08]

I remember 45...I think. Ok, maybe not. That was quite awhile ago. Happy Birthday and good shaving!

Thank you!

 

[SydneyShaver]

For me it’s the opposite. I bought some classic products to use like Tabac stick, cella red and mwf and cannot wait to finish them and go back to using artisan soap. Brush matters less since all of mine are pretty good quality and I like the variety and same with razors. I could get good shaves with just water these days but…I’m a frequent poster on a shaving forum. Why settle for good?

 

[Tanuki]

And from another shave brother, happy birthday!

I represent a low rent version of the flip side of your shaving arc.

My grandad's Old Type, Williams Mug, dollar boar brush from the drug store, generic store label Personna blades, cheapest I could find. Ran with that kit up to retirement age. I did get a Merkur slant for variety in in the 1970s and the LOTH forcibly separated me from the ratty boar and imposed a fancy French badger in the 1990s.

Post-retirement: I have many, many razors of all types. Some are darned spiffy. I still have everyman tastes in soaps and brushes, but just hanging around B&B has brought names like Simpsons, Ethos, and SV into my life and shaves.

I think you are having great shaves because you are focused in gear and technique. I am having great shaves (and some disasters) because a huge melange of gear keeps me on my toes.

Enjoy!! (Also, Omega rules!!)

 

[Tirvine]

I have been wet shaving about sixty years. For most of those years I never had more than one razor, brush, or soap. Now I have two brushes. Everything is nice enough that I have zero interest in changing any of it...ATT Windsor, MdC, and two little Kents. I have tried a number of others. These are my favorites, and I feel no need to try others. My technique is sufficiently good that I can either go mindless or really focus on sensations. Either way it's BBS or, if not, time for a new Lab Blue.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Some people set their price ceiling on how much they can afford, for something they truly love. I set my price ceiling on how much I can afford to shrug off, if I am disappointed with what I get.

If I am disappointed by a £30 brush ... meh, OK, I'll get over it. If I am going to spend £150, I want to be damn certain of having something I really like, but that certainty isn't generally applicable in shaving gear. Natural hair varies wildly. Our own beards aren't entirely uniform throughout, so we can hardly expect a wholesale order of badger hair to be. So for my £150, I would rather buy five £30 brushes, and have five chances of getting a brush I am happy with. My track record averages out at being happy with four out of those five.

Some brushes may well be worth £150+ of my money, but I won't know until I have used it and broken it in, and by then it's too late. I'm just not prepared to take that gamble. Luckily for the premium brush makers, there are many people who are prepared to place far higher bets than me.

Taylor's cream I find mediocre at £15. St James of London cream I find to be superior, but at £20 and above. However, I can get the same performance to St James (and better than Taylor's) from a £1.29 tube of Erasmic. On soaps, I do find spending the little extra on a tub of Wickham's or Phoenix and Beau to be worthwhile, and stocked up a bit on those when there were some sales on.