Newbie from LA; greetings, a timeline, and two questions

[Quintus]

Well greetings to everyone here at Badger & Blade, and let me introduce myself by way of my personal history of shaving:

1979: Born.
1992: Beard starts coming in. An electric razor is obtained and deployed daily.
1992 - 2009: Razor burn, bad stubble, select small patches where hair now refuses to grow, are accepted as a way of life.
7/2009: Married.
9/2009: Wife offers a trade. She will purchase all necessary equipment in exchange for favors not to be mentioned here. Art of Shaving pre-shave oil, AoS soft soap, and AoS post-shave balm obtained in their Lemon scent. Gillette 5-blade is acquired, as well as an entry-level mostly-badger brush.
2009 - 2012: Attempt to refine technique to avoid ingrown hairs, razor burn/bumps, the feeling of being 'skinned', and all other potential drawbacks of wetshaving improperly.
1/2012: GF Trumper line discovered. Soft shaving soap is an improvement but not a game-changer. Altesse brush obtained; lathering improves remarkably. Website lurking begins.
2/2012: Due to raves on the internet, Mitchell's Wool Fat is obtained in the decorative dish (Go BullGoose!). Gradual addition of water and face lathering technique used. Odd feeling post-shave - namely, the lack of pain, burn, nicks, or feeling scraped-over. The only downside: I can go longer between shaves now.

So there it is. I spent my whole adult life running away from wetshaving because all I saw was commercial goop, comically-increasing-blade-count razors, and tons of facial cuts. But once I started in with wet shaving, the realization dawned on me that I had been missing out in a big way on quality grooming techniques. And MWF was like a second dawning sun, rising just to the side of the first, only THIS sun wore Ray-bans, spoke in James Earl Jones' voice, and rained champagne on the world.

My questions are thus:

1. I've been storing the MWF in the porcelain dish, lid on. But from what I've read it seems people are storing them in some sealed space, like a tupperware or plastic baggie. Is it OK to keep it in the dish, lid on nicely, putting in a drop of water every day or so to keep humidity up? (P.S. this is with actual use of the soap being every second or third day).

2. I'm looking to start using a safety razor, but I get such good results from my cartridge razor. Plus I can use it at six AM without any trouble from my sleepy-eyed self. What razor and blade would you recommend for a beginner with moisture-craving fairly sensitive skin and shaky hands? Any technique, methods, etc. would you recommend? Will I get a better/closer/softer shave by using a safety razor?

Thanks to all of you who read this far!

[mistervee123]

Hola, Señor Quintus, and welcome to B&B. The variety of blades is quite large, but Derby's, Red Personnas, and Balzanos were kind to my face during the early days of DE shaving. Jump on the Safety Razor Forum to find more options and opinions than you ever thought possible. Having a decent pre-shave prep and good lubricating shave cream or soap is probably as important or more important than the razor... unless you're using a Feather RB for the first time. The other important factor is letting the weight of the razor do the cutting for you. Go! Seek out your personal shaving nirvana and find peace.

[Dennard]

Welcome, Quintus!

[MeanGene]

Hello Quintus. For your first question, don't worry about milling it, just keep it in the bowl and use it. Never heard of adding water to it daily, I would think it'd be wet from daily use. Looking at your second question, that is very much a YMMV answer... But I recommend an EJ89 with feather blades. For me, after much trial and effort, it is what I ended up with and wish I would have used it from the start. It works for my shaky, tired morning self with sensitive skin. Let us know what you do!

[DOLLARBILL]

Welcome!
Enjoy Your Shave !

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to B&B !!

[Bobtrumpet]

Welcome to B&B!

[Sledgehammer39]

Welcome Aboard!

[N2theBreech]

You can store your MWF in the container it comes in. It'll be fine, even without daily watering.

I learned on the EJ89, it's a good razor, and not just for learning, it'll serve you well. My recommendation is to get one blade, like the Astra, and stick with it until your technique is nailed. I think you'll learn faster. If you have a really tough beard, you may want to go with something a bit sharper - Gillette Yellows, Personna Med Preps, or Feathers.

As for your very last question-- that's a toughie. I recently had to use a cartridge razor for a couple of days so I have current experience to compare the two.

• It all depends on what you mean by a "better" shave. If you're like me, at first you will definitely see a drop in overall quality. I didn't get as close a shave, and I had frequent bouts of razor burn. But I had enough good days that I stuck with it.
• I think the overall closeness of the two is similar, maybe a tad closer with DE.
• I found the cartridge was harder on my face. It "scraped it up" more, it was almost impossible to avoid razor burn, and I was applying all the techniques I've picked up DE shaving, so it was about as good as it gets.
• The DE razor is definitely easier on your skin, once you master it.
• The DE razor is a lot more fun. It's a skill that takes attention. Plus, the single blade sliding over your skin, and the sound of whiskers being cut just can't be approached by the cartridge.
• Bottom line, using the cartridge after 6 months of being away from it did not make me want to go back. The only advantage to the cart is that it takes less time.

If you decide to go DE, here are my thoughts:

• Read the ShaveWiki and the links at the top of this Shave Clinic.
• Watch Mantic59's videos on YouTube. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth... 10 thousand?
• Use a good prep. This can be as simple as leaving your face wet from a shower, lathering up, and letting the lather soak your beard for a couple of minutes while you get everything else ready.
• Use a good post-shave skin routine. Here's the one I use, FWIW.
  
  1. I rinse the lather off and apply a generous portion of Taylors Witch Hazel over my entire face, neck, ears, etc. (It would look a bit funky to have nice-looking skin only on your cheeks). WH is really good for the skin.
  2. If I have razor burn, I apply an alcohol-based aftershave about 10 minutes after the WH. Yes, it stings, but it also kills the razor burn fairly quickly. I use Old Spice, or Bay Rum, at the moment.
  3. In the winter, I rinse my face again, and leave it wet. I apply a fair amount of Nivea Sensitive After Shave Lotion (actually a balm) to my wet hands then rub it all over everything, again. I find Nivea works best if I use a fair amount and cut it with water to make it spread easier. Otherwise it feel sticky later on.

Note: Using this routine, I've gotten compliments on how nice my skin is from women who don't know me. They were all from women because guys don't notice other guys skin, and if we do, we don't talk about it! One compliment came from a skin care consultant at Neiman Marcus. She ended with, "Whatever you're doing, it's working. Don't change it!"

Good luck to you.

[rxonmymind]

Welcome to B&B!