shaving question

[praetorian2000]

i'm still working on my de shaving. so far, things are ok. i use a gillette tech, vdh soap and brush. recently i've been using a walmart personna blade. today i got my westcoast shaving package. i got a thing of col conk soap, red personna blades, and dorco blades. i LOVE the smell of the col conk soap. i really wanna use it tomorrow. BUT, it's time to change the blade. i really wanna try the red personna blade tomorrow. (i've used one once but i need to compare that shave with the walmart personanna shave). from what i read here, i shouldn't change blades AND soap at the same time.

so i'm wondering, what y'all would recommend i change tomorrow? blade or soap? my shaves are ok. no pain. not incredibly smooth but as long as there is no pain, i'm ok. the shave is similar to what i got with a mach 3 and canned foam. from what i rember, the red personna was a bit better, but that was about a good week ago. so, i'm wondering what y'all would do in my situation. or could i go ahead and use col conk AND the red personna?

[BobCochran]

I'm new to all this too, and I'm every bit as tempted by all the different soaps and creams I've acquired. And I feel rich with my maxed-out sampler set from West Coast Shaving. I have not yet settled down to using just one soap, cream, and blade. I am using one brush except for last weekend's unusual getaway. And yes, one razor and one scuttle. For the moment, I love experimenting with the different soaps and creams. Some feel and smell good. Some don't. The variety is very interesting. And I feel rather lost if I don't have my scuttle handy. I do need to settle down and adopt a one blade, cream, razor and brush routine so that I can focus totally on my shaving technique.

But my personality is a persistent one. I am not easily discouraged and I tend to keep trying. So if I have a bad shave day thanks to changing a variable in my shave routine, that's okay, I won't throw everything in the trash and go back to a Fusion razor. My sort of keep-trying attitude helps me make up for my mistakes when I have too much variation in terms of soap and so forth.

That may not be your personality. If you feel safer sticking with one blade, one razor, one cream or soap, and one routine for a month then do that. It is only a month, after all, and you can start varying things after that time. It is not like it is a jail sentence. --Bob

[Luc]

You can change both if you feel confident. Usually, if you can have a minimum of changes, it makes it easier for your learning curve. However, I don't think that you will have a drastic change with that type of change.

If you want to make it minimal, use col. conk again with the first Personna shave...

[zpb101]

If you're getting good shaves I think it's fine to experiment with multiple variables. It's when you need to improve your process/tools/technique that the one variable can really help you (or us, the forum) to identify where the issues are coming.

[praetorian2000]

i was thinking that if i make both changes, soap and blade, and i get a really good shave, then that would be a combination i would consider sticking with. and i would still have one other blade to check.

i think that's what i'll do. i'll make both changes and see how it goes.

[luvmysuper]

Try both.

If the shave is better, try the VDH soap and see if it was a combo or just the blade or just the soap.

If the shave is worse, do the same, to figure out which one or both was the problem.

[lvsc10]

Keep it simple. Nothing wrong with experimenting, but changing too many variables at the same time might cause some confusion. My suggestion would be to change one variable at a time. That way you can better evaluate your progress.

[Mink]

Might I suggest making sure you're making real good lather with the new soaps before trying a new blade. You will probably tire of the soap before you use it all up. I would keep making batches of lather with the next soap you want to use until you get what you want and can repeat it. Once you're making good lather, the differences in blades will be more apparent.

[Boba Fett]

Over time you should keep experimenting with new products. Sure, you may find one or two blades which are the ones for you, so stick with those in a razor that matches your face and shaving style. But there are plenty of soaps, creams, brushes, pre shaves, aftershaves, and so on and so forth that are out there to try--work those into your rotation now and then to try and find what other variable can be improved upon. If you don't try something new, you will never know if it could improve your shave; even if you are getting great ones now, that doesn't mean they can't get better.

[Hughies_online]

Keep changes simple so you can easily track the differences.