Hello guys im new in this forum and i need some help to get close shave. i use to use gillette fusion five blades and thier shave cream everytime i shave with that thing gives me irratation and makes my face burns but does gives close shave. so after some searching i bought the merkur heavy duty safety razor and i bought feather and merkur blades. are these good items? so the only thing i need is shaving cream, preshave oil, and after shave. is it really important to use after shave? so there is 2 brands i have in mind. 1 truefitt and hill 2) the body shop maca root line. ohh and do i need to buy badger brush? or use my hands? whats the difference? ive tried electric shavers nothing gave me good shave. i hope these products works for me .
How to get closest shave?
- Thread starter ufc604
- Start date
There are various tutorials regarding the different stages of shaving on this site i.e preparing the beard,building lather etc. They are very informative and will go a long way to helping you have a better shave. Hunt around and have fun! 
You have yourself some good products so far. As far as a brush goes I would atleast get a cheap one like a tweezerman and see what you think. I have to have an aftershave it makes all the difference after the shave is done atleast in my opinion. I use proraso aftershave and you might want to look at their cream too it's good and affordable.
Welcome to B&B! You picked an excellent razor to start with. Feathers are great blades, but extremely sharp and can be unforgiving to issues with your technique. The Merkur blades are not highly regarded. You should consider picking up a blade sampler pack from one of the Vendors here.
If you have a Body Shop near you, by all means try their Maca Root cream and aftershave (yes, you should use an AS, at least at first). You do not NEED a badger brush, but they make the shave very nice. Boar brushes do a fine job as well. If you are in The Body Shop, you can pick up their synthetic shaving brush. It behaves a little differently than badgers and boars, but does a nice job. There is a detailed tutorial on its use here.
If you have a Body Shop near you, by all means try their Maca Root cream and aftershave (yes, you should use an AS, at least at first). You do not NEED a badger brush, but they make the shave very nice. Boar brushes do a fine job as well. If you are in The Body Shop, you can pick up their synthetic shaving brush. It behaves a little differently than badgers and boars, but does a nice job. There is a detailed tutorial on its use here.
Welcome to B&B!
Practice will give you a closer shave, don't worry, it will get closer. Another vote for a razor blade sample pack.
Practice will give you a closer shave, don't worry, it will get closer. Another vote for a razor blade sample pack.
Welcome. Practice makes perfect.
David
David
Welcome to B&B!
- Thread starter
- #8
Hello everyone thanks alot for help and welcoming me to this site. I did my first shave today with my merkur razor and feather blades and body shop shaving oil and shaving cream which is called maca root. It gave me a nice shave my face is smooth but I cut myself many times and also after 15 mins I could those small black hairs in face. Sorry for my English idk what is it called when I touch my face its smooth. When I look on mirror is see those small tiny hair allover my face. Did I do something wrong? Should I still keep shaving with 1 blade or shave with schick Hydro 5? Please someone help me with what I did wrong or does it take more than 1 time to get rid of those black tiny hair allover my face
Nothing to worry about, it's a start. You need to practice and it the shaves will improve. You probably applied some pressure while shaving, causing the cuts. Make sure that you do not apply any pressure at any time.
For the spots and patches of hair, it is most likely related to your blade angle. If the angle is off, it won't shave. Make sure you lock your wrists while shaving. This thread should help: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=130110
Welcome to B&B!
This article may help you some. It is kind of a brief summary.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=182932
This article may help you some. It is kind of a brief summary.http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=182932
Welcome to B&B!
Welcome.
Much of the advice you will get here will improve your shave even if you end up using the Hydro 5. You will see this advice many places here but I'll take a couple of moments to outline it here:
1) Proper preparation for the shave. Take a shower and get your face wet. Whip up some lather and apply it to your face . . . leave it on for a couple of minutes . . . perhaps put a hot wet wash cloth on your face during this time. The lather helps the water get into the hairs and softens them so they are easier to cut.
2) Proper blade angle. After step one . . . put some more lather on your face. Time to get the right angle. You want to start out on your cheeks with the handle of your Merkur almost parallel to the floor. Take a stroke . . . probably you did not cut any beard . . . lower handle a bit . . . take another stroke. . . . repeat until you can feel the blade cutting beard. This is the angle you want to use all over your face.
3) Proper pressure. As with finding the right angle. . . you want to use as little pressure as possible and still be cutting whiskers. One of the biggest problems that many of us have faced is wanting to make things happen by using more pressure. Keeping the strokes light . . . especially on the neck area will help reduce irritation.
Additional points:
With any razor . . . especially with a single edge . . . you want to avoid any side to side motion which will result in a cut.
Resting a blade on your face and hesitating is dangerous as you may . . . even by breathing or a twitch . . . do that side to side motion resulting in a cut. I find it best to have the blade slightly in motion before it touches my skin at the beginning of a stroke.
I hope this does not sound too complicated. . . it really is not. It all becomes second nature and routine in a fairly short time.
Good luck on your journey.
- Thread starter
- #13
No worries, please report back!
How often? That's up to you, some shave everyday, some every other days, others once a week... If you already had a frequency, I would say, keep it.
Welcome to B&B!!!
There will be blood. But if Jack Bauer can handle it, so can you! Seriously, it's going to take time for you to get the technique down and for your skin to get used to the difference. Stick with it!
Welcome to Badger & Blade!
Welcome to B&B.
- Thread starter
- #19
Hello guys I'm reporting back on my 2nd shave. The shave went really good if used the mach 3 and the body shop shaving cream and oil my face was really smooth and closest shave i've ever got. But the problem is next day my face hair was really sharp? Is this normal did I do something wrong? Please let me know thanks
Congrats on the shaves. Sharp stubble is normal: the end of each hair has been neatly sheared off, like a tiny little sharpened stake. I think it helps a little to lather up before going to bed - perhaps the lather splits a few ends or something. Or I might be imagining it.
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