Newbie - Northern CA

I found this site *after* being convinced to try wet shaving. I used to shave electric (my friend who recommended wet shaving almost passed out upon hearing those words) with the occasional Edge/razor combo.

I suffered from ingrown hairs, burn, rash, the works. I was directed to the Local AoS to pick myself up a starter set. After a week, I have seen huge improvements in the ingrown hairs, and virtually eliminated the rash and burn. I'm sold!

I got myself a AoS pure badger brush and the cream from AoS (again, prior to coming here, so I didn't really realize I had options).

I'm having a lot of trouble holding a lather with the new brush - is this a "break in" period? Do I need to use more/less water with a higher quality brush (I was using the AoS "starter" brush, which works significantly better than the full sized Pure Badger right now)?

So far, this site has opened up a whole world that I didn't know existed! I can already start to feel the addictiveness of the sahving process. I'm glad to know I am not alone.

Thanks!

First welcome to B and B.

A couple of things come to mind, in terms of your lather issues:

1) Your new brush is likely bigger than the starter kit brush, and you will probably need to use a bit more product than before. The general recommendation is about an almond sized dollop, but use whatever you find to work best.

2) Along with #1 above, the larger brush might be holding more water, and thus resulting in a lather than is already too wet when you start out. Give the brush a few really good shakes; it's far easier to start out with a product that is too dry, vs. one that is already too wet.

3) I don't think brushes really have a break in period (at least not from my experience), but there is a possibility your brush has some impurities trapped in it's bristles. Give it a good washing with some shampoo.

Welcome to B&B !!

Welcome to B&B.

Welcome to B&B!

Welcome to the B&B. You'll learn lots here, and enjoy yourself too.

Tomorrow morning - a slightly more thorough shake on the brush and a little bit more cream. I was definitely cheating on the almond size chunk - the guy at AoS who demo'd the lavender cream seemed to use so little.

BTW, I am using the Lavender cream from AoS. I haven't tried other creams yet, but the seem to have nailed the scent. Not too strong, but pleasantly aromatic and "authentic".

Thanks! I'm gonna spend the next two nights just reading these forums (and reviews!)

There is a lot to read here and it will help a lot. I also recommend watching these videos. They are the biggest help I got when first starting.

Welcome aboard!

Welcome to B&B Enjoy!!

Scotchd said:

I'm having a lot of trouble holding a lather with the new brush - is this a "break in" period? Do I need to use more/less water with a higher quality brush (I was using the AoS "starter" brush, which works significantly better than the full sized Pure Badger right now)?

Click to expand...

Hello and welcome.

From my experience with an AoS brush, it sucked a bit until I gave it a few uses and one thorough shampooing. That was just my experience. Good luck to you.

Welcome to B&b

Yes, I brought an almond into the shower to gauge the amount of cream. I needed a better guide than my Memory. I'm detail oriented!

I placed about an Almond size chunk of cream into the bowl- and I went with a slightly less water saturated brush (as recommended above).

The cream practically exploded out of my pinch bowl ( I found the bowl in the cooking section of Wal-mart - works great). It stuck all over my face - I finally looked like I was using cream!

That produced enough lather for at least 3 passes, if not 4. I did two passes (I still use a Fusion blade) and had plenty left in the bowl and on the brush.

Thanks for the advice - with a little more experimentation, I should be able to get the cream dollup right.

good to hear its starting to come together for you

welcome aboard