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like my new de but still prefer canned goo

Having read many posts here, it seems as though I am one of the few who started down the B&B road by buying a DE razor and then proceeding to use it with some "goo from a can". So, I thought I'd share my experience thus far.

If you're not into long stories, I'll summarize quickly:

I've gone from unsatisfied with a Mach3 and no preferred canned goo to satisfied with a Merkur 23C (armed with Wilkinson Swords) and Gillette Series Shave Gel 'Moisturizing'. I've also tried Personna and Merkur blades and VDH soap whipped with a boar brush.


For the past few years, the M3 had been my razor of choice, along with a long list of canned creams and gels (had trouble finding one that I liked). Historically, I've been a 2-pass shaver: down then up. My road to a DE began when I did the math one day in the grocery aisle: I was paying on the order of $2.50 per cartridge. Worse, due to the greater discomfort by the 2nd or 3rd use, I was discarding the cartridges after just 1 or 2 shaves. I decided that I was paying too much for what really weren't good shaves.

My search for a less expensive shave led me to B&B, and I've now read most of the posts in the 'Tutorials' section of the 'Shave Clinic & Newbie Check In' forum and watched many of Mantic's videos.


The first changes I made came after reading Kyle's pre-shave prep tutorial. Not yet ready to explain such new tools to my wife, instead of getting a brush, bowl, and soap/cream, I toured the canned goods at my grocery armed with the list of shave soap ingredients in Kyle's post. For some reason, I'd decided that glycerin was my target ingredient, and I came away with the 'Moisturizing' variety of the Gillette Series Shave Gels, whose first two ingredients are water and glycerin.

Following Kyle's prep instructions but with the canned goo instead of handmade lather (hot wet towel, goo massaged in with the fingers, etc), I had a great shave with the M3, substantially better than before. I continued with this for a while, and with the new goo and prep routine, I could get 4 or 5 shaves out of each M3 cartridge.

My new goo was, I feel, a big part of the improvement (along with the new prep routine): it protects quite well. Rubbing it into my face, I can feel a barrier between my fingers and face. It's got some slickness to it, but it's also got a thickness that prevents me from really feeling my face at my fingertips without a conscious application of pressure. It rinses easy enough with warm water (perhaps easier than the VDH soap I tried later).


My primary goal is to get a good shave at a reasonable price. Now that I was getting better shaves with a new prep routine, I turned my attention to cost. With the M3 cartridges still at the top of my list, I bought a Merkur 23C. A few weeks of shaving later (still with the canned goo), I was getting good 3-pass shaves: as smooth or more so than with the M3 but with much less post-shave discomfort.


Given the praise of the brush on B&B, I decided to give it shot. But, in the interest of cost and not wanting to wait for delivery, I went to a Wal-Mart and picked up the VDH shave kit: boar brush, ceramic bowl, VDH deluxe soap. Not the best I guess, but B&B reading suggested that I should be able to get a good shave with this setup.

My first and second shaves with the brush were poor, with lots of post-shave discomfort. I had read the tutorials and watched the videos, and I guessed I wasn't getting the lather right, so I practiced. Finally, I was able to get lather that would protect my face as well as the canned goo. But, it took a lot of brush work to get that lather, and I found that I preferred the time saved by the button on the can.

Also, and this may be a shortcoming of the boar, I didn't get much out of whatever face pampering the brush may have done. I think that I'm not that interested in facial 'luxury'.


An added benefit (to me at least) of the Swords and Gillette Shave Gel is that they are available locally as well as at most of my travel destinations.
 
The thing I noticed with the Gillette shave gel (Goo) is you can get away shaving with just about any blade and get a BBS, yeah I said it.

However my god does it do horrible things to your skin (Mine anyway) and it gunks up the razor something fierce.

I like my VDH, cheap, it works, and lots and lots of cushion imo.
 
Canned goo may be for you.

A couple of things....

With the kit you got, the soap may have sucked. Some soaps dry your skin out. Not great to shave with for some people. I prefer creams to lather with because of this reason. To each their own, though.

The brush is not yet broken in, so you haven't given it a fair chance.

The purpose of the brush is to lift the beard and exfoliate your skin. A can can't do that. Sounds like the moisturizing agents in the can are what's tickling your fancy.

Maybe try a menthol cream such as Proraso. Get CO Bigelow @ Bath and Bodyworks in the mall for $5. I'm sure I can send you a sample even if you like.

The other thing is, if you're new to this, I don't care if you've watched 7883 videos...you suck at building lather. I do even still. That's why I practice frequently. When I'm in there doing paperwork, I grab my brush and mug and practice making lather.
 
I've used a variely of can goo for years before DE'ing. It's thick, I'll give it that, but sticks like you know what to a blanket when you get it on a razor - once you've managed to get it on your face, as they do resist a soft brush. The main thing stopping me from continuing to use it, is the cost per shave Vs how it performs for the money.

Luckily, I have no performance/comfort issues with Proraso, Conk and Tobs. So while i've got a few more than I need, I find them nicer to use, nicer on the face and to shave with, and so long as I don't acquire soaps for the sake of it, stupidly cost effective.

Goo may be for you, but as suggested, lathering is a bit of a knack too, and some take to it much quicker than others. The ones that do probably find they get to grips with the whole shave process easier. Also, I had a cheap boar brush years ago (still got it) and it was never a really nice thing to use. Quite 'pokey' and stiff. Worked for getting thick goo on, but no good at all for massaging it into the face, it just moved it around from one spot to the other.

Creams and soaps are softer than goo, and can be worked in easier on the face. I'm also enjoying a badger brush, as it's very soft and whips lather quicker. But then, my aim isn't to just get the shave over and done with; I don't want to take 20minutes, but I still want to not feel rushed.
 
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Also, and this may be a shortcoming of the boar, I didn't get much out of whatever face pampering the brush may have done. I think that I'm not that interested in facial 'luxury'.

No Matter how soft the brush is, if you aren't into that kind of thing, it's not going to be a luxurious experience for you.

Also, if you are getting good shaves from canned gel, there is no reason to switch to something else unless you want to.

It's about what you are looking for out of a shave. It's not what everyone else is.
 
each to their own, if you can find a goo that works then by all means, your face may not dry out like others, i find it was horrible oon my skin but for others it obiously works
 
I still keep a can "of goo" and a sensor excel tucked away in the cupboard for those times when convenience comes begging.
I know you could take all this kit we acquire camping, but I definitely prefer not too! I'd hate to see my little badger float away from me down a set of river rapids mid shave - "Badger!"
 
Some good advice here. I think that you'll see improvement if you give the brush more time, but the most important thing is that you and your face are happy! Welcome to B&B.
 
I've tried for over six months, using high quality products, asking every question I could think of and experimenting for hours but I still get the same results. If I shave with AOS, TOBS, Proraso, VDH, KMF, etc. I walk away from most shaves with a lot of burning and irritation. Use the same razor/blade combos with Edge gel or Barbasol lather and I have never once had an uncomfortable shave. That's never once. I get as close or closer shaves as well and the only BBS's I've had were with the canned "fine" products.

This is all sad because I enjoy fine creams and a badger brush. I especially like how much easier multiple passes are with a loaded brush as compared to going to the can over and over again. Oh well.
 
Welcome to the B&B!

I've seen members who preferred cartridge razors, but I think you are the first to prefer the goo/DE combo.

Some good advice here. I think that you'll see improvement if you give the brush more time, but the most important thing is that you and your face are happy! Welcome to B&B.

+1
 
I was a M3 advocate and a can of goo user for many years. :eek: I thought 2 hours of razor burn a day was normal. Using the knowledge from Mantic's videos, I was able to improve my shave just like limeade stated. I can bbs a M3 & goo with zero irritation on a daily basis. My DE, it's still a personal journey. :001_smile

I would suggest you try some hair conditioner on the boar brush. I have the same one from Wally world and after 2 months of use, it feels soft to me. (Never having used a badger of course).

VDH soap was also my first and is not my soap of choice. Tabic is my new go-to soap. You might try some some samplers from West Coast Shaving, I just sent off my spieck stick to another member, it's my not going to go there soap..haha. But in the end, if Gillette Canned works for you, then have at it!

Cheers, Good luck, & welcome to B&B.
Kevin
 
Just wanted to defend VDH Deluxe soap: sure it's not the most luxurious product available, but it is still a great product, that performs quite well.

The issue, is that any product takes some effort to learn to properly lather, and a bad lather will result in razor burn, and an uncomfortable shave.

It is easy to blame our failures on the product not being up to specs, when in fact it is our ability that is instead lacking. :tongue_sm
 
G

gone down south

I'll preface this by saying the following comments are very personal, and others may have had different experiences, but........

You're using the suckiest brush out there, and one of the suckiest soaps. I've used both extensively, trying to make it work, and they just don't work for me. All the positive reviews for both always seem to add ".... for the price". "Great brush.... for the price", "great soap.... for the price". There's a reason for that, they're entry level products and you can't expect much from them beyond being serviceable and cheap.

Spend $14 on a Tweezeman brush and $5 for Bigelow cream and you might be surprised at what a difference it makes.


Anyways, the 2 most important things in a shave are prep and technique. If you're giving your face a good Kyle's prep and you've learned proper DE techniques, you're already way ahead of the game. If cream from a can works for you, run with it!
 
I very much enjoy a super lather of VDH and KMF, but that is for weekends. On weekdays, I most often don't have the time for it. I get a great save with Nivia Extreme Comfort Gel. In both cases, I fisrt soften my beard with Johnson's Baby Oil with Aloe Vera & Vitamin E. I say, go with what works for you. There is nothing wrong with quality canned goo!

Dave
 
Like some others said, I would refrain from saying canned goo such as the Gilette gel is better than shaving soap or cream when in fact you seem to have only used one sort of soap with one sort of brush for just a few times.

Although not totally crappy, the VDH kit is certainly not that good either. And it takes practice and technique to get good, consistent lather with a good and recognized soap or cream.

But if it works for you, that's what counts after all, and nothing else.

But while you enjoy shaving with the gel, you can wait for delivery and order some fine shaving cream and badger brush for a try :biggrin:
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Welcome to B&B!

If canned goo is your to-go product, that's fine. Before you discard everything, I would recommend trying a shaving cream.
 
I'm a noob too and am using up my leftover can of Barbasol.
Although my curent razor is also messed up (door hinge is bent, leading to sloping blade)
I find that I get at least a GEG (Good Enough for Government) shave out of it, I think it's still better than my m3.
I figure since barbasol is a cream and not a gel, and that I get a decent foam out of it, I"d rather focus on my shaving technique and worry about the lather later, when I go to wally world and pick up a VDH kit to start off with.
 
Thanks for all of the feedback!

Perhaps I should have said that I am preferring the can so far. Mostly, I was hoping to share that DE and stuff from the can can work.

I certainly didn't mean to suggest that the can is better than the brush. In my limited experience and with my choice of often-booed brush and soap, I am getting similar results as with the can, only the can is faster.

I do want the brush to work for me, and, with your encouragement, I was back at it this evening. One change tonight: instead of a teaspoon or so of water on the top of the VDH puck, I just filled the little bowl up with enough water to cover the whole puck. After a few minutes, I dumped that out and went to work. Building what I think was a good lather too much less time with more of the puck surface softened.

I also took the time to hair condition the boar, which made it a little softer.

What are some good soaps/creams that are generally available 'locally' in Anytown, USA?
 
Thanks for all of the feedback!

Perhaps I should have said that I am preferring the can so far. Mostly, I was hoping to share that DE and stuff from the can can work.

I certainly didn't mean to suggest that the can is better than the brush. In my limited experience and with my choice of often-booed brush and soap, I am getting similar results as with the can, only the can is faster.

I do want the brush to work for me, and, with your encouragement, I was back at it this evening. One change tonight: instead of a teaspoon or so of water on the top of the VDH puck, I just filled the little bowl up with enough water to cover the whole puck. After a few minutes, I dumped that out and went to work. Building what I think was a good lather too much less time with more of the puck surface softened.

I also took the time to hair condition the boar, which made it a little softer.

What are some good soaps/creams that are generally available 'locally' in Anytown, USA?

Things get difficult there. VDH is obvious--you already have some. If you are talking about some of the higher end stuff, your only real option is online retailers, unless you happen to be near a larger city, which sometimes have shaving shops (Like a Truefitt & Hill or Art of Shaving). The American branded almost-Proraso-but-not-quite-but-made-by-Proraso cream, C.O. Bigelow, is available at Bath and Body Works.

Have you considered a badger brush? They are softer, though in my experience, my boar brush holds more water. This could be an issue with the actual size of it, though. You wanted a cheap shave, but I would suggest buying a decent badger brush. The initial cost up front seems staggering, but the life of the brush and the quality of the shave more than make up for that in the long run.
 
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