What's new

New to B&B and to DE shaving

Hello B&B Members! I decided afew weeks ago to make the change from my Hydro 5-blade razor and canned creamto a DE razor and soap. I purchased aVan Der Hagen Luxury Shave Kit and a Van Der Hagen DE razor (with 5 blades) atmy local drug store. For the past week Ihave been using the kit, razor and blades daily and I am impressed with the closenessof the shave. But I just haven’t hadthat really smooth all over shave yet. Idid try some Cremo yesterday and got about the same shave as the Van Der Hagensoap but wasn’t impressed with the lather.
My question is: Whatis the next step in achieving that great smooth shave? Try a different soap? Try a different blade? Keep doing what I’ve been doing and refine mytechnique before making any changes?
 
Welcome to B&B! You've come to the right place for good advice and support to succeed with traditional wet-shaving.
 
Welcome to B&B!

The next step is technique. Pay attention to growth patterns in those rough spots. Keep working on prep and the rest of your shave.
 
Hello and welcome. Great to have you here on B&B. Wander on over to the Hall of Fame and introduce yourself.
 
Welcome to B&B.

Work on your technique for a little while and then pickup a set of sample blades. All blades are not created equal.

Blades that work for me may not work for you. Here is the main place that YMMV comes into play.

Glad you made the switch and good luck going forward.
 
It's probably best to stay with the same gear for a while and develop your technique. Your shaves will improve quickly with practice.
Warmest welcome to the forum and Happy Shaving!! :)
 
Welcome aboard B&B. You have already received the best advice. Practice and patience will lead to better and better shaves. Too many changes/variables will only result in a longer learning curve.
 
Welcome to B&B! I started with the same VDH kit (brush and soap) as you and could never get a good lather from the soap. My shaves improved dramatically when I started using C.O. Bigelow cream (available at your local Bath & Body Works). Alternately, you could try one of the softer soaps/croaps - Cella, Catie's Bubbles, Mickey Lee Soapworks, and more.

I've never used the VDH blades but they don't have a good reputation. You could try a sample pack from WCS or Maggard Razors, or pick up several different blades from tryablade.com. I like the Gillette Silver Blues, Personna Lab Blues, Gillette 7 O'Clock (black) and Rapira (in roughly that order).
 
Top Bottom