Questions on starting DE as simply as possible (never DE'ed before)

Hi all,

I am tired of neck-skin pain from Gillette's guillotine products and am ready to invest in DE, but need advice to get started. To me this is a tool to fix a problem, I really do not care about nostalgia and would rather have a simple minimal-DE-shave solution as opposed to a kit-full of shaving items (perhaps I may feel differently after getting into it, but one thing at a time).

My goal is pain-free shaving, not the perfect shave or shaving-pleasure (although that would be nice too.)

1. Can I use regular shaving cream with a DE blade? If not, is there something that I can just buy & apply instead of starting with cups & brushes?

2. Do I really need a styptic pencil? The idea of putting aluminum-oxide into an open cut really irks me and doing it repeatedly from the same device for months does not help. Is there at least a natural and/or disposable product for that?

3. I have been looking at handles and have determined that I do not want an adjustable-tension, but besides that cannot figure out how they make any difference at all besides their weight. Do I need a $55 "barber pole" or will $12 Diamond Edge Classic be functionally the same? If they do not say "safety razor" does that mean they are easier to cut yourself with? Does it really matter how it opens (screw or butterfly?)

Talking aesthetics, I like gunmetal so the Parker 22R looks nice to me but I really don't care how it looks all that much.

4. After reading posts in this forum it is clear I need a razor sample pack, but which blade should I start with the first time? Is this a sufficient pack to start with: http://www.amazon.com/Feather-BlueB...=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1268947293&sr=1-10

I was also considering a $5 15-pack of Wilkinson Sword's since that was my first cartridge-razor (long since discontinued and turned into a rebranded Shick) Would this be a potential waste of money?

5. Do I really need aftershave? My face has never enjoyed my previous post-shave aftershave attempts... On that note, do I really need to prepare my face beforehand or can I just wake up and shave?

Purchase-suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If possible, I would like to buy everything through Amazon (I have a substantial amount of credit there)

Have I missed anything?

Welcome to BB! As a new DE shaver, I'll try to answer to your interrogations.

1. No absolute need for a mug, but brush is a must have imo, it really helps lathering and prepares the skin. Normally any cream should work (palmolive or williams creams for example)

2. not really, if you never used one, you can do without it...for example simply splashing cold water will help close small cuts.

3. some are more aggressive than others, here merkur 34/38 are often advised for starters. I own a Mûhle R89 and works great. Parkers are often described as lower quality than merkurs.
Regarding the opening, doesn't matter imo.

4. I started DE shaving with a Dorco blade, not too sharp for a starter still does its job correctly.

5. try aftershave balms without alcohol. And yes, you can shave in the morning directly, simply put some hot water on your face before starting.

Again I'm a newbie here, so other people will for sure give you more details!
Enjoy your shave!

Thanks for the reply; you answered some of my concerns but some unknowns still remain:

1. Can I use regular shaving cream with a DE blade? Old Spice is my brand, I have cans of Colgate, Walgreens-generic and others too.

3. does weight = aggressive? What is a good starting weight? What would happen if I used a 3oz. to start with? What is the shaving-relevancy of handle quality, just how long it will last until it breaks or does it affect technique/usage in some way?

5. Can I just do without the aftershave?

Welcome! As a relative noob myself, I can say you'll get plenty of support and good advice, here. I can share my own experience, fwiw.

1) Yes. You'll hear the oft-repeated mantra of "change one thing at a time", and it's true. If you do nothing at the start other than simply change your razor, that's a good first step. To qualify that, though, getting into the habit of prepping your skin with a hot moist towel for 2-3 minutes before applying your lather will certainly help you get better results. Myself, I dove in headfirst and started trying 4 different razors, and two kinds of blades and used poorly-crafted lather, all while trying to nail down a semblance of technique and I got stung by it, badly. I joined up here, started to listen to what people were saying, and went to just one razor, just one blade, back to my canned foam, adding only some pre-shave prep. I'm about four weeks into that identical regimen, and after whipping up practice bowls of lather for 10 days, I only actually used decent brushed lather =yesterday=. I've had to learn to be patient, and work on the basics, changing one thing at a time. It's not a race, I've found. Rather, it's a journey.

2) I'd say yes. The pencil can do no harm, and it sure beats pasting wads of bloody tissue on spots that got in the way of evolving technique. No need to be afraid of it. The pencil just shrinks your blood vessels down, and they'll cause normal clots =in= the skin, rather than on-top. I used to have just one, but now I have three -- one for each bathroom, and my dopp. After a month, you probably won't need it except on rare occasions. I haven't used mine in a couple weeks.

3) I'm sticking to a non-adjustable while I'm learning -- a 40s gillette superspeed I picked up on the bay. I don't want to start monkeying around with settings until I have everything working good, and I don't want the temptation of having multiple settings. Parker razors never seem to be well-liked around here, but Weishis are touted as good, cheap, forgiving starter razors, and you find those on Amazon. Lots of folks around here have started with them, and recommended them to the new folks. After awhile, you can read the reviews, hear what people say about their Merkurs and old gillettes and Gems, and you can make up your mind as to whether or not you want to change up to something else... for weight, balance, grip, whatever. Butterfly-opening razors make changing blades very easy, fwiw. It's a bit more of a production with 3-piece jobs.

... if you're already considering aesthetics, you're probably on your way to a good case of RAD ... Parker recommendations are pretty few and far between around these parts, tho.

4) There's a seller on Amazon named Wish4Star that sells a decent sample pack. It's enough to get you started, and I've seen more than a few people around here that will PIF for blades to augment what you get. WestCoastShaving has three different sample packs that folks around here seem to like, too. Derby seems to be the oft-recommended starter blade, around here.

5) Can't help you here. I use aftershave to cool and tighten up my face. I'll let others weigh in on the topic. As for face prep, even if you do nothing more than put a nice steamy towel on your face for 2-3 minutes, you will get a better DE shave. I didn't believe it until I started doing it, and it helps. Some guys do more prep than that, and I'll let them chime in. I have started to use a Nivea after shave balm =before= the Bay Rum, and that's helped my skin more than I expected.

Hope it helps.
Enjoy the journey!
-- Chet

1. You can use a cream from a can, not recommended here.
2. Aggressiveness does not = weight. Blade exposure and angle= aggressiveness.

3. Aftershave not essential, i use alum, whitch hazel, corn huskers lotion, all after my shave, all cheap, no real smell. I guess you could say they are AS products, but not in a traditional sense.

Keep it simple: Gillette Tech razor, blade sampler, Boar brush, shave cream or soap. The rest you already have around the house or can get very reasonably priced at your local Wally Mart.

Regular shaving cream can work with a DE. But not recomended. IMO just get rid of your can or goo.

I know it doesn't smell like old spice but you can get a good starter kit from Walmart. It has a cake of soap, a bowl, and a boar brush. It only costs about $10. The brush is the key to a good shave.

A gillette superspeed is also a great razor. You can also pick one of these us on the bay for about $10 as well.

But just remember. The brush is the key. It helps you get a close comforatable shave.

Josh.

1. Sure you can use goo, IMO you will get a better shave from brush and soap. For me it softens up the hair better then an alcohol based goo.

2. I recieved some of these, Single use Alum Block sticks when I picked up a Arko soap stick off the bay. They work very well and are single use.

3. IMO handles do use matter a lot. I use I love the weight of my vintage Gillette aristocrat. Its all a matter of taste.

5. I do not use an aftershave at all so I would say they are not needed. I rinse the soap off with warm water then use cold tap water to help close up pores.

You can find alot of nice stuff from brushes and soaps and blades on amazon. That is where I picked up my first blades. After I make it through those I plan on supporting the vendors at this great site.

Welcome to B&B !!

Wow, thanks for all the replies. To sum up everyone's thoughts:

I can go into this buying nothing but handle and blades. Recommended but not required is shave soap, brush & bowl. Please let me know if this is incorrect...

Remaining questions:

If they do not say "safety razor" does that mean they are easier to cut yourself with?

How do I determine which handle-weight to buy?

Which blade among the sampler should I start with the first time? (Derby & Dorco were suggested in previous posts)

Purchase-suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If possible, I would like to buy everything through Amazon (I have a substantial amount of credit there) Which of the following is better to start with (and why?)

http://www.amazon.com/Weishi-Safety...1C50J5I9SKBO&s=generic&qid=1268953428&sr=1-39

http://www.amazon.com/Merkur-Gold-P...UTF8&coliid=IY538LW7JI6BF&colid=17HKG88IM75PD

nics said:

Hi all,

I am tired of neck-skin pain from Gillette's guillotine products and am ready to invest in DE, but need advice to get started. To me this is a tool to fix a problem, I really do not care about nostalgia and would rather have a simple minimal-DE-shave solution as opposed to a kit-full of shaving items (perhaps I may feel differently after getting into it, but one thing at a time).

My goal is pain-free shaving, not the perfect shave or shaving-pleasure (although that would be nice too.)

1. Can I use regular shaving cream with a DE blade? If not, is there something that I can just buy & apply instead of starting with cups & brushes?

Click to expand...

As long as you prepare your face properly, you can *get by* with using the canned goo.

nics said:

2. Do I really need a styptic pencil? The idea of putting aluminum-oxide into an open cut really irks me and doing it repeatedly from the same device for months does not help. Is there at least a natural and/or disposable product for that?

Click to expand...

No, just rinse with cold water, dry your face, and then put a small patch of TP on the leftover bleeders until they stop bleeding. Kind of messy, but effective nonetheless.

nics said:

3. I have been looking at handles and have determined that I do not want an adjustable-tension, but besides that cannot figure out how they make any difference at all besides their weight. Do I need a $55 "barber pole" or will $12 Diamond Edge Classic be functionally the same? If they do not say "safety razor" does that mean they are easier to cut yourself with? Does it really matter how it opens (screw or butterfly?)

Click to expand...

Unless it's a straight razor, they're all safety razors. If you want new, you might want to look at a Weishi razor as a good starter razor. (Review here http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?ltr=W&t=8781).

If vintage isn't a problem, try starting with a Gillette Super Speed Taper Tip from the '60s. It's relatively cheap, gives a great shave, and will last you the rest of your life, with a modicum of care. (Review here http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?ltr=G&t=21583).

nics said:

4. After reading posts in this forum it is clear I need a razor sample pack, but which blade should I start with the first time? Is this a sufficient pack to start with: http://www.amazon.com/Feather-BlueB...=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1268947293&sr=1-10

Click to expand...

A sample pack is a very good idea. Just be careful with the Feather brand blade. Use that one last, after you've gotten acclimated to DE shaving with the other blades. The Feather is probably *the* sharpest DE blade you can get. It will cut you if you don't have good technique. In fact, it'll probably cut you even if you do use good technique!

However, if you feel that you need to just get on with it, you might check out Derby Extra blades. Try a small pack first to see if they do the trick. If they work for you, get 100 of them for $15.00 delivered from Amazon. (Review here http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1726).

nics said:

I was also considering a $5 15-pack of Wilkinson Sword's since that was my first cartridge-razor (long since discontinued and turned into a rebranded Shick) Would this be a potential waste of money?

Click to expand...

You could see if there's a review of these on Badger & Blade.

nics said:

5. Do I really need aftershave? My face has never enjoyed my previous post-shave aftershave attempts...

Click to expand...

Nope! A good cold water splash will work.

nics said:

...Have I missed anything?

Click to expand...

Yes, you may want to re-think your reluctance to prep your face before shaving. Trust me, you can probably skimp a bit on the rest, but do yourself a favor (a really BIG favor...) and do a good job of preparing your face before you shave. If your goal is pain-free shaving, then this is the one thing that you really don't want to skimp on. Especially if you want to use the canned goo!

The above is my $0.02 cents, humbly submitted. And, with that, welcome to B&B!

#1: Yes you can but once you are familiar with a brush you never go back.

#2: No you don't; I never used one (gave them all away). It is a natural product btw.

#3: When you don't want vintage this is a great starter razor at low cost.

#4: I wouldn't start with the feather but for the rest.. do as you please.

#5: AS is a good antisceptic but you don't need one.

Oops I forgot; welcome to B&B!!

You guys rock, this forum is great! After reading the Weishi review (in mayidunk's post), I am definitely not buying that!

Seems the Merkur 38 is most-universally praised, would a 4 oz. 4" handle be a good choice to start with?

My beard is somewhat-thick and grows slowly, skin is sensitive and I only shave about 2-3 times a week (mainly because it hurts to shave more than that with a Mach3!)

Welcome to B&B mate.

Either a 38 or 34 Merkur would be a good starting point. The 34 has the smaller handle

Search through the BST section of the forum and you will pick one up cheaply.

So much for my cream-plans, here is my order:

Merkur Hd Classic "barber Pole" Long Safety Razor-#38c
Sampler Blades (2 each from 18 brands)
Tweezerman Men's Shaving Brush (Badger)
Cella Tallow and Coconut Oil Shave Soap

The Cella comes in plastic container, any idea if I can use that for lathering or is it too small?

nics said:

So much for my cream-plans, here is my order:

Merkur Hd Classic "barber Pole" Long Safety Razor-#38c
Sampler Blades (2 each from 18 brands)
Tweezerman Men's Shaving Brush (Badger)
Cella Tallow and Coconut Oil Shave Soap

The Cella comes in plastic container, any idea if I can use that for lathering or is it too small?

Click to expand...

You generally can't - and don't want to - use the soap containers for lathering. Use them to get soap on your brush, then either bowl lather or face lather.

Having just bought Cella and not tried it yet - I'm not sure if I'd start with that first. Others can chime in. I'd start with something easy to lather. Proraso is what I started with, but it is cooling, and may not be great to use if it's chilly outside. Maybe Speick cream?

Oh... and everything else looks good to me.

I saw a bunch of people in a post on B&B saying Cello is good to start wiith, so I went with that. Speick was the runner up choice.

Proraso may be great cream but it is full of chemicals including cancer-causing sodium laurel/laureth sulfate (it is in many other products too, just not the health-conscious ones.)

nics said:

Hi all,

My goal is pain-free shaving, not the perfect shave or shaving-pleasure (although that would be nice too.)

Click to expand...

It wont' happen overnight with jsut a change of tools.

1. Can I use regular shaving cream with a DE blade? If not, is there something that I can just buy & apply instead of starting with cups & brushes?

Yes, but shave cream and soap applied with a brush preps your beard better, and looks after your skin better.

2. Do I really need a styptic pencil?

No. Just don't cut yourself.


4. After reading posts in this forum it is clear I need a razor sample pack, but which blade should I start with the first time?

Anything but a Merkur blade...

I was also considering a $5 15-pack of Wilkinson Sword's since that was my first cartridge-razor (long since discontinued and turned into a rebranded Shick) Would this be a potential waste of money?

There are better blades for less $$

5. Do I really need aftershave? My face has never enjoyed my previous post-shave aftershave attempts... On that note, do I really need to prepare my face beforehand or can I just wake up and shave?

Decent Traditional AS is not 'fragrance' AS, or designer cologne. It has alcohol, yes, but all sorts of other things as well that heal, sooth and look after you skin. I never used AS for 20 years till I relaised there was actually good stuff that worked, and did more than just sting and smell.

You can use balms, Witch Hazel or cream AS. You don't have to add anything, but your skin will thnak you for it. And during the learning process you'll find you probably need it.


Have I missed anything?
The more you go looking for supposed cancer causing chemicals, the less products you will bring into your home, and you'll be washing your hair with lemon juice, and your floors with water and vinegar.

Do yourself and a favour and let it go. There are bigger things to worry about than ingredients used in non health affecting concentrations. Most of this ingredient 'information' is pure misinformation. Water is neccessary for all life on Earth; if you drink too much of it, it will kill you. Should we boycott water?

Never lather up in a soaps bowl, it will take forever, be inconsistent and waste masses of soap - use it to load a brush and make lather on your face or in another bowl beforehand.

I started with a 38C, tried 3 others, and the 38C is still my No1 everyday razor.

Don't eat yellow snow.

nics said:

On that note, do I really need to prepare my face beforehand or can I just wake up and shave?

Click to expand...

In my, admittedly very limited, experience face prep is the most important IMO. We tend to get fixated on the DE, blades, brush, bowl, soap, aftershave and other implements and accessories but face prep makes a significant difference even if you're sticking to pricey modern cartridges.

This seems to happen in just about every field of interest though. The newbies have to be herded a bit to point out that the most important items typically aren't the most flashy, interesting or appealing. With espresso it's the grinder that matters more than anything else. With performance driving it's the driver's time on the track that matters more than the car or any potential modifications, etc etc...

takeshi said:

In my, admittedly very limited, experience face prep is the most important IMO. We tend to get fixated on the DE, blades, brush, bowl, soap, aftershave and other implements and accessories but face prep makes a significant difference even if you're sticking to pricey modern cartridges.

This seems to happen in just about every field of interest though. The newbies have to be herded a bit to point out that the most important items typically aren't the most flashy, interesting or appealing. With espresso it's the grinder that matters more than anything else. With performance driving it's the driver's time on the track that matters more than the car or any potential modifications, etc etc...

Click to expand...

Well spoken!! And welcome to B&B too!