Travel Prep

I'm getting ready for a longish business trip abroad. The last time I went to Russia I could count on buying Arko and Nivea creams everywhere. This time, it's Asia and I'm unlikely to find more than canned goop in the normal places. So I'm checking in my DE (Gillette travel tech head and heavy Parker handle), along with some aftershave balm, a small sample of WSP soap and a tube of Nivea sensitive shaving cream, plus a selection of blades.

But just in case my checked bag is misplaced, I'll also be bringing along a Mach 3 and an Arko stick plus a small synthetic travel brush in my carry-on so that I'm presentable on the first morning after I get there. I have a number of meetings and possibly a filmed interview that requires I be ready to go the very first day.

How do you prepare for plane trips? Long vs. short? Does it matter what your destination is?

I'm so brainwashed by this forum I'm now dividing countries into those with and without good shaving software in the drugstores.

I think you're fine with your primary and back-up. Safe travels to you.

If I were you, I'd just take the Mach3, synthetic brush and Arko. It'll be a change of pace, if nothing else, and you might find a selection of local cheap creams or aftershaves that take your fancy.

I used to pack a huge amount with a variety of soaps, razor options etc. But I rarely enjoyed the shaves. If staying with friends, I'd rush the job out of a concern that I was spending too much time in the bathroom. As a teacher, I'm away several times a year on residential trips where there just isn't the time to wallow in your one's grooming routine. In hotels, there were regular experiences of dark, cramped bathrooms with small or ill-positioned mirrors. Before the girlfriend and I moved in together, their bathroom didn't even have a mirror!

So I've stopped all that and gone back to (relative) basics: a small badger brush, a soap stick, a sub-100ml aftershave, a fragrance decant, and a disposable or cartridge razor. Yes, you read that correctly. They are in no way elegant and they feel 'juvenile' but a two-pass DFS is easily achievable in minutes. No blades to worry about. No issues with carry-on (I rarely ever check baggage). And, considering I've still at least 25 cartridges from various Gillette models to use up from the days before falling down this rabbit hole, it's cost effective. I can also live with the eco-guilt of plastic disposables when a 20-pack of Bic 1 Sensitives can be found for £1.

Actually, on my last long trip, I found myself with plenty of time to shave on a few days because of jet lag. Often I had to rush of course, but just as often, I'd be up at 3 or 4 and unable to sleep. Aside from getting a jump on work, I found that an early morning shave is a good way to prep for a hard day. So I like having both -- the cartridge for swift convenience, the DE for long, relaxing shaves.

I take a cheap-o ZAMAK, Speik stick and an old synth brush when I travel by plane - nothing that I won't be able to replace easily if needed.

I don't tend to have too much time to shave while on business trips, so I shave in the night which has the added benefit of allowing my brush to dry off overnight for packing it in the morning.

BSAGuy said:

I think you're fine with your primary and back-up. Safe travels to you.

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+1 ... your choices are good ones.

Besides, I'm convinced that any shave-gear that has the word "Travel" in its name is under-powered and over-priced.

First thing I do when I travel is lower my standards. Despite the vast range of products available to me at home, all I want to achieve on the road is a Close Comfortable Shave. To get there, I don't mind stepping back in time to the carts and goop I used for so many years, if I'm forced to shop for gear in a drugstore.

Sometimes I pack a tube of cream or a chunk of soap. A brush isn't needed, since you can lather up by hand. A simple disposable razor with 1 or 2 blades max, like a BIC yellow handle or a Gillette Good News is all I need.

I haven't been on a plane in years, but if I did, I'd dread the thought of an over-zealous TSA agent pawing through my kit. I don't want to waste the time to explain to him what a DE razor is, prove that it doesn't contain any blades, and assure him that what I have in my bag does indeed conform to regulations. And convince him that my chunk of soap isn't really C4 explosive. Of course, he won't believe me, and call for his supervisor to come and inspect me and my bags, and even then, it isn't guaranteed that the supervisor will understand that a safety razor really is safe.

Sounds like you are good to go! I would only add a small styptic pencil and a shampoo bar.

Which countries in Asia will you be travelling through?

Korea and the Philippines.

When I went for a month to China I brought along one razor, one soap, one aftershave, and a packet of blades.
I'd recommend going minimalistic. Pack everything you can in your carry-on (so the M3, a brush, and a shave stick). And put the DE, blades, and aftershave in the checked.
Its really not worth it travelling with more, just extra weight to lug around.