What was your game changer?

I'll say that for me as a rather new wet shaver, the big thing has been a Gillette Slim and palm lathering. Between the adjustability of the razor and the tactile feedback of palm lathering, I've really been able to step up my results.

Great post!

Two things come to mind....

Using a Red Tip

Changing from canned gel (I know, but I'm a shower shaver)
I've changed to using creams exclusively.

"...the more people I meet,
the more I like my dog......"

SirChangalot said:

My game changer was starting to shave with a DE

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This. A bar handle Gillette SC, an Astra SP, Omega 11047, & a Tabac stick sealed the deal for me with DE shaving. Things have shifted around with different blades, razors, soaps, brushes, etc since then, but nothing quite like the change over to DE.

I just got a Razorock German 37 Slant, and my shaves have improved dramatically.

I had some irritation at first, but that went away after not shaving a few days. I have had the thing about 12 days now and I get close, comfortable shaves no matter what soap I use (always use Astra blades).

I was getting frustrated with DE shaving until I discovered the slant. That one change in hardware made me realize my face needed a more aggressive razor. Since the RR isn't the greatest quality razor I've owned I may end up replacing it eventually, but from now on I'm going to stick with slants. Huge game changer for me.

For me, the biggest game changer was Noxzema, the moisturizing version. I use it before every shave and my skin is much more resilient and my whiskers cut much more easily. I can really feel the difference on those rare occasions when I miss it. At $4 for 12 oz it's dirt cheap too.

For me it took lots of repetition. After a long time wet shaving, many of the things I thought, "didn't work for me" when I first started shaving, magically worked.

In hindsight, my technique and I were 90% of the problem in the beginning, not my tools.

Top of the list is the Turkish Hammered Copper Shaving Mug that I bought at auction on eBay - I switched from being a die hard face latherer to a die hard bowl latherer overnight
I liked it so much that I bought a slightly smaller, slightly thicker and slightly heavier Brass version


My Chinese Horsehair brush opened my eyes to the advantages of Horsehair - I find it's the easiest thing to lather with, and at only €3,75 at auction with free shipping from China to Spain it's a diamond in the rough

I read a lot of negativity about Williams soap, but I decided not to knock it until I tried it - Now I think it's probably one of the best soaps on the market, since 1840, 1000s of Americans can't have been wrong about it either

My 1980s Severodonetsk-1 from Ukraine and my 1980s Wizamet W-11 from Poland convinced me once and for all that Adjustables are the way forward, don't get me wrong, I enjoy using 3-piece razors in my rotation, but I find that Adjustables are more efficient for me - and more fun too

I read a lot of negativity about Zaza blades from Turkey, now they're my favourite blades. Personna Platinum Chrome are my 2nd choice, but Zaza are the only blades I've ever tried that felt good from the 1st stroke onwards

I tried Alum Blocks from Turkey and India, and although they did the job, they were very brittle. When my last one didn't bounce, I replaced it with an Osma Alum Block - worth every cent, it doesn't sting half as much as Indian or Turkish Alum, and all 6 surfaces are as smooth as glass

I've tried a lot of different aftershaves from different countries, but my all time favourite is a 300ml bottle of Tabac Original that I bought 11 years ago, that had been lying in the cupboard under the bathroom sink for 8 years all forgotten about - until I got into DE shaving and resurrected it in November 2014.
I only use it for occasional nights out, so I enjoy it all the more.
My favourite go to aftershave is Williams Expert Aqua Velva, lighter than the USA version, but a close enough scent to share the same DNA - and a steal at only €3,95 for a 200ml bottle

Mostly, for me it was just practice and repetition to hone my technique. And then restarting when introducing a new razor or hardware product. Perfecting technique (prep/angle/pressure) really minimized my irritation; not that my technique is yet perfect but much better. I think some people's skin also needs time to get used to wet shaving with a DE blade -- my skin definitely needed some time to get used to it after years of multi-blade cartridge razors.

As far as products... A big discovery for me was my skin reaction to triethanolamine (tea) which is in many shaving creams. So I have to be diligent when using products that contain TEA such as TOBS (or just not use them at all).

Otherwise, some hardware purchases really made my shaves personally more enjoyable. ATT M2/R1 razors are fantastic, same with gillette 7OC yellow blades. I also enjoy synthetic brushes. (I shave daily and find them easier to maintain and produce quick lather). I will also always have Thayers WH in my den.

Oh and I loathe Derby blades.

The game changer for me was literally just changing the game...going from carts and canned goo to anything else. That's all it took to make shaving enjoyable.

I used to use an electric razor to knock things down and then a finish with a cartridge shave with Edge gel. I hated shaving however.

A drugstore purchase of VDH cup/brush/soap and a vintage Gillette SS Flare tip got me started.

Game changers! Things that made a huge difference in my DE wetshaving experience:

Razor: Muhle R41
Brush: Shave Rev EVO 24mm synth
Soaps: Strop Shoppe SE Russian Tea led to other high end soaps
AS: Witch Hazel

These things have made the biggest difference for me.

I would say I had two. The wide open Fatboy was a revelation for me when it came to getting a close, low irritation shave early on. A little bit later, it was synthetic brushes. My lather improved exponentially once I shifted over to synthetic brushes.

The combination of a shave stick and face lathering and a synthetic brush greatly simplified things.

I still rotate soaps and brushes, but I stopped rotating razor & blade several years ago in favor of a Merkur 34G with Astra blade.

My Feather ASD2. The razor is just perfect for me in every aspect I can imagine.

Finding Martin de Candre soap. Heaven on a brush!

macduff67 said:

I feel that way about Feather blades, too. My four vintage razors are all on the milder side, and Feathers are great in each one of them--for me.

Taylor of Old Bond Street Almond was the first cream that really clicked with me--I still use it often.

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+1...started using Feathers and never looked back. use 'em in all my razors.

Learning the angles: It took some time to figure out DE razors, but I was very diligent and thorough while perfecting the technique that worked for my face. Once finding how to adjust the angle on-the-fly and where to apply a bit of pressure, the results were definitely closer and better. After two months in… it’s second-nature.

The item that changed it all: The brush. I began using Proraso (Green) in the tube, because I hadn’t chosen a brush, yet. (Just used my hands.) By implementing the brush in my routine, the experience changed dramatically. The shaving experience became a real treat by something as simple as a brush for me.

Marvy Green Rubber Shave Mug.

1. Allows me to shave in the shower.
2. Saves on water while in the shower
3. Soaks brush
4. Rinses razor between passes
5. Helps to rinse brush after shave

Bridgelover said:

I just got a Razorock German 37 Slant, and my shaves have improved dramatically.

I had some irritation at first, but that went away after not shaving a few days. I have had the thing about 12 days now and I get close, comfortable shaves no matter what soap I use (always use Astra blades).

I was getting frustrated with DE shaving until I discovered the slant. That one change in hardware made me realize my face needed a more aggressive razor. Since the RR isn't the greatest quality razor I've owned I may end up replacing it eventually, but from now on I'm going to stick with slants. Huge game changer for me.

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+1. Really agree with everything you said. The Razorock slant rocks, lol. I'm saving up for one that doesn't have a pot metal head.

Personna Israeli Red blades
By far my favorite blade. For me, I get the closest and most irritation free shaves out of the dozen or so blades that I've tried.

Shavemac Silvertip brush
Brush perfection. It pretty much stopped my desire to try and find anything better. Still enjoy looking, but don't feel the need to buy anything else.