This is a followup to my previous thread: Spreading the gospel of wet shaving
My plan to set up a couple of close friends with starter kits went off without a hitch. I've already gotten 1 friend and my roommate into wet shaving, plus another person has asked me about starting out (I'll be lending him my DE89 soon).
That left me pretty confident about putting together starter kits for a couple of 20-somethings. It seems as though my generation is becoming conscious of how frustrating cartridge razors can be. One of the people who received a starter kit has used both Dollar Shave Club and Harry's for shaving supplies, and neither did the trick for him.
Without further ado, here's the final version of what I gave them:
I was originally hesitant to include Stirling, but their scents are addicting and another beginner I gave it to had no problem lathering it. I only gave them brief instructions regarding pressure and how to load the brush with cream. Didn't go too crazy with details, and told them that they could either ask me questions or consult YouTube (which is exactly how I got started). Most all of that was extra stuff that I just had laying around anyways, so I ponied up for a solid starter brush (10066) rather than something cheaper and/or unknown. The alum block is a bit of a funky thing to receive, but I had 5 of those things laying around so I figured I'd toss it in.
And it went over great! They were both excited and expressed prior interest in DE razors. Now they have nothing stopping them. I expect the questions to start flooding in via text message after another 24 hours or so here!
This was not expensive to do, and I'm looking for ways to make it cheaper in the future. I ordered this $3 synthetic brush from eBay, and I'm going to use that myself for a couple weeks to see if it lives up to my standards for a starter brush. Flare Tips are everywhere, and those of us who are frequently hunting on eBay often end up with a bunch of them laying around from when we win lot auctions. One of the ones I gave away was missing a good bit of plating, but it shaves just fine! Why sell it for $10 (shipped... if that, considering the plating loss) when it can be someone else's introduction to wet shaving? Millions of men with various types of facial got their start with similar razors for decades. It probably still works well today, at least as a starting point. Same with Techs, Kronas, or even Weishis if they happen to come along somehow.
I've also invested in
I know a lot of this stuff varies depending upon the person you're gifting this stuff to. These are 2 childhood buddies I know like the back of my hand, so I knew they wouldn't be turned of by a used razor (and in fact, would appreciate the vintage aspect). Still, I think it's well worth considering giving someone an easy-to-use starter kit. It doesn't have to cost a lot or be really fancy; in fact it's probably better if it's cheaper.
My plan to set up a couple of close friends with starter kits went off without a hitch. I've already gotten 1 friend and my roommate into wet shaving, plus another person has asked me about starting out (I'll be lending him my DE89 soon).
That left me pretty confident about putting together starter kits for a couple of 20-somethings. It seems as though my generation is becoming conscious of how frustrating cartridge razors can be. One of the people who received a starter kit has used both Dollar Shave Club and Harry's for shaving supplies, and neither did the trick for him.
Without further ado, here's the final version of what I gave them:
I was originally hesitant to include Stirling, but their scents are addicting and another beginner I gave it to had no problem lathering it. I only gave them brief instructions regarding pressure and how to load the brush with cream. Didn't go too crazy with details, and told them that they could either ask me questions or consult YouTube (which is exactly how I got started). Most all of that was extra stuff that I just had laying around anyways, so I ponied up for a solid starter brush (10066) rather than something cheaper and/or unknown. The alum block is a bit of a funky thing to receive, but I had 5 of those things laying around so I figured I'd toss it in.
And it went over great! They were both excited and expressed prior interest in DE razors. Now they have nothing stopping them. I expect the questions to start flooding in via text message after another 24 hours or so here!
This was not expensive to do, and I'm looking for ways to make it cheaper in the future. I ordered this $3 synthetic brush from eBay, and I'm going to use that myself for a couple weeks to see if it lives up to my standards for a starter brush. Flare Tips are everywhere, and those of us who are frequently hunting on eBay often end up with a bunch of them laying around from when we win lot auctions. One of the ones I gave away was missing a good bit of plating, but it shaves just fine! Why sell it for $10 (shipped... if that, considering the plating loss) when it can be someone else's introduction to wet shaving? Millions of men with various types of facial got their start with similar razors for decades. It probably still works well today, at least as a starting point. Same with Techs, Kronas, or even Weishis if they happen to come along somehow.
I've also invested in
- little 1.25oz squeeze bottles so that next time I can include another product that I'm a big believer in: Nivea Sensitive balm.
- Some 1/3 oz tubs to let me dish out smaller quantities of shaving cream
- 2oz tubs to include sample quantities of practical, cheap soaps (Arko, Cella, or maybe even chunks of artisan soaps)
I know a lot of this stuff varies depending upon the person you're gifting this stuff to. These are 2 childhood buddies I know like the back of my hand, so I knew they wouldn't be turned of by a used razor (and in fact, would appreciate the vintage aspect). Still, I think it's well worth considering giving someone an easy-to-use starter kit. It doesn't have to cost a lot or be really fancy; in fact it's probably better if it's cheaper.
