What's new

Another just starting out, have a few questions

Hey everyone! I just made the big leap last night, buying a 1949 Gillette Super Speed after much deliberation, along with an Omega Pro 49, a pack of Astra blades, and Col Conk's Bay Rum soap. I went with a single pack over a variety just cause everyone says to stick with the same products til you have the technique down. My reason for switching to DE stems from the ingrown hairs and resulting bumps that have plagued me since I began shaving. I've searched the site for the past few days and have begun to take the advised presteps suggested by other men with this problem, taking special note of those identifying themselves as African-American as we seem to have it the worst. I haven't shaved in almost a week in an attempt to let the bumps recede and make it easier to get all the hairs above the skin before I shave. The itching has been unbearable, along with the prodding to shave from the gf. The plan is to trim my beard the day before I shave and then follow the usual preshave routine advised by so many. Anyway, just wanted to check in and see what people here have to say about my kit and my particular situation, although I know it is far from unique, any critiques or personal suggestions would be most welcome!
 
Superspeeds are a great start razor or in any rotation...its not a bad idea to let your beard grow in before a shave anyways..natural oils aid in the process
 
Hey WD welcome to B&B. Small piece of personal experience, once you've got the hang of the DE try not to go more the 2 days between shave. I had the same problem as you with the bumps (my reason for going DE as well), I found shaving every day or two keep me skin nice and soft and the bumps and ingrowns complete stopped. Hope that helps. Enjoy!
 
Thanks for the warm welcomes and that certainly makes sense. I guess I'll wait to see how my face reacts to all these new variables before I decide either way but I'll keep your advice in mind. Can't wait for my new purchases to get here and join the club!
 
We are now a more complete group since you have shown up. I have been using Col. Conk's Bay Rum soap for some time now and I really like it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
 
I saw good things posted about it so for the price it seemed like a good deal! Once I have technique down I imagine I might go a little AD crazy, especially with soaps/creams, but I've read enough to know I need good technique before anything else matters.
 
You can't go too far wrong with that kit. When you have some spare $$, try a Merkur Progress. It's a great modern razor, my personal favorite. Hope the new shaving experience works out for you and for your GF. Welcome!
 
Glad my choices seem to be passing inspection. I think for the time being I will be apt to play around with different products rather than razors, unless I find I need to add a more aggressive razor to my kit. Only time will tell at this point and all these suggestions only make me more anxious for that first shave! One quick question, actually two, first, do I need a stand for drying, and second, could someone point me to some more affordable travel cases?
 
Welcome to B&B...it's a great site! Everyone here is an open book, and will help you out in most any way they can. Don't be afraid to ask questions, like you already are.

Your kit is good to start for sure. I have a few suggestions, especially since you are fighting bumps. First, with your beard grown out take a solid look at the pattern of growth. This is more important than you may realize at the beginning. Second, Take it slow! Don't go for a BBS day 1. Maybe do a WTG/WTG or a WTG/XTG 2 pass shave for the first few days...until you feel comfortable to chew off more. The idea is to eliminate bumps and razor burn, not see how close you can get it day 1 :) Hard thing to resist.

After a few weeks for me, I read about an ALUM block. Wish I had it to start. Maybe try to pick one up. As for a travel case, do you mean for a brush or the whole kit? Any cheap dop kit should work if you don't want to drop the cash on an expensive one - and as for a brush case, see if your local pharmacy has a pill bottle that's large enough to hold the handle and won't squish the tips of your brush. Drill a hole in it for ventilation, good to go!

Personally, I love Art of Shaving soft products (oil, creams, soaps, aftershave) and they have travel kits that may be an option. A bit overpriced if you piece it out for what you getting though.

Enjoy the ride man, good times and good shaves!
 
Thanks again everyone for the warm welcomes! @BigBull, I'll definitely be going slow for the first couple of weeks. Even though growing my beard out has eliminated the majority of my bumps, I can still see areas of red and I think your suggestion of just making a few passes will certainly help in not aggravating the remaining areas. The alum block is on my list of products to buy, I live not even 50 feet from a Rite-Aid so I was planning on getting that and some witch hazel there, as both products seem highly recommended on this site. As for a case, I was looking for something for my whole kit as I spend just as much time at my GF's house as I do mine so I'd like an easy way to grab everything and move from house to house with. I'll give a look at AoS once I try everything out. Thanks for the advice, everyone has been most helpful so far and I should be getting packages either tomorrow or Saturday so I hope to be reporting back with good news by the end of the weekend!
 
So I just completed my first DE shave! I made it through with only the smallest of weepers, wiped it once and it never bled again. I did 2 passes, the first one was just straight down, so mostly WTG, but on my 2nd pass I tried to make it a "true" WTG pass and it managed to do the job. I stopped at 2 just to see if I got any irritation, so far so good just a slight burn around my lips but I think that's my post shave products. Shave quality is really good for only 2 passes so I'm pretty excited. Lathering went well, I got really nice lather on my 2nd attempt. I do think I might want a smaller brush, it felt slightly awkward with the longer handle and my big hands/fingers. Also the razor felt the same way except it was almost too small for me to manage with any finesse, but it might just take some practice. My only real question is how do I store the Col Conk? It came in a plastic container, can I just leave it in there? Or should I melt it down and put it into a different container?
 
Congrats on your first experience and welcome! The head on my gillette is very very safe and works great when going WTG even after only a few shaves with it. XTG is ok and ATG is obviously going to take some practice. Make sure you tighten the skin around your lips by making the old man with no teeth face a bit and you'll get it all. The main rule for the gillette razor that I'm having trouble abiding by is NO PRESSURE, this seems to be much more of an issue than with my merkur where it's all about getting the right angle at all times instead of minding how much you push.

I've seen a lot of guys put their soap into a whiskey glass and store it in there, I'm sure it's container is just fine too tho.

I've started using 3 drops of straight glycerin in my shaving lather and it helps immensely with the dry and tight skin feeling that I would get after shaving prior to using it. I'd recommend trying that. Some people use olive oil instead of glycerin, but I have yet to try it since I don't have crappy olive oil, if you use the good stuff you're in for a nice good burn if you cut yourself.
 
Top Bottom