Newbie looking for recommendation for first DE starter kit

Hi guys!

Well, as this is my first post so I'll introduce myself: I'm John, 26 years old, living in Puerto Rico but coming from France.

I already read lots lots of threads of the forum in order to get as many information as possible, but still I am hesitating. I will begin with a description so you can have an idea of what would be the best for me:

- I have sensitive skin, with sometimes a bump or two and sometimes ingrown hairs but nothing too bad till now
- I used to shave with a Mach 3, then Fusion, but I have never really been satisfied about the quality of the shave and most of all about the money I spend.
- I am really excited to the idea of entering the DE shaving world

So now, let's talk about material. And this is where I will need the most recommendations. I have a budget of $200 which I thought I would spend for an electric shaver, but all this reading at B&B definitely changed my mind. However, if it is not useful to spend that much money for a newbie, I would be glad to spare some

What do you think would be a good starter kit knowing that here in Puerto Rico it is impossible to find any DE shaving product (at least as far as I tried). I'll have to buy everything on the internet and pay quite high delivery costs, so I won't be able to order accessories monthly.

Razor - Merkur HD (after reading it seems to be one of the best choices for a beginner) By the way, I have seen on the internet lots of Merkur HD (38c, 39c,...) with or without slant bar. Which one of all these is THE one, the one usually recommended to beginners ?
Blades - ??? (remember sensitive skin & ingrow hairs)
Brush & Bowl - Is it useful for a beginner?
Soap/Cream - ??? (remember sensitive skin & ingrow hairs)
Aftershave - I have a preference for splash, but again no idea of one which would make sure I don't get bumps
Other - ???

As you can see I have almost no idea of what to order, this is why I ask for your help. I will update this thread in order to make it useful for future newbies too.

By the way, which website would you recommend me for buying all these items at once?

Thanks in advance for your help

John

Well, let me be the first to welcome you!

My recommendation would be to order everything from one site if you can to save shipping. It's going to be difficult, though.

Razor: NOT the slant! at least, not yet....don't know what else to say here, I've only used Gillettes so far. But the slant is definitely more for the advanced user.
Blades: A sample pack of blades, this way you can find what works best for you.
Brush & Bowl: For a beginner, IMO, definietly. A cereal bowl or large coffee cup/latte cup will work well and could probably be picked up locally cheap. Brush...usually the Crabtree & Evelyn Best Badger Brush is recommended, which is a rebaged Edwin Jagger.
Soap/Cream: I have not tried enough to recommend yet. Sensitive skin probably start with creams, non-menthol.
Aftershave: Try a balm, nivea seems to be popluar.

You may have to get your hardware from one site, and your software from another.

Take my recommendations with a grain of salt, as I am very much a newbie myself. But these are the things I've learned about here.

Good luck.

No advice, seeing as how my first DE shave will either be tomorrow or the day after, but as a newbie I can heartily recommend classicshaving.com.

Good prices and selection, but most important was the customer service. I gave a call with a question and, once the kind woman who answered the phone realized I wasn't a solicitor (I was calling from work and was using my 'office voice') she was more than willing to talk with me and allay my fears.

She took down my name in case there were any unforeseen circumstances, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Delivery was far ahead of schedule using 3 day shipping (e.g. placed the order on a Sunday morning, and it was delivered cross-country on Tuesday).

I cannot speak to the contents as the package is sitting at a friend's of whom I will be visiting late tonight.

All in all? A-plus, especially for this beginner!

Hi, John, and welcome!

The topic of a beginners kit is discussed frequently around here. See this thread.

I'd be very surprised if you couldn't find some vintage Gillette razors in antique and/or junk shops in Puerto Rico.

Crabtree and Evelyn sells some outstanding brushes, soaps, and creams. There are no C&E Stores in PR, but there are two retailers that sell C&E products:


Bathtique
Plaza Las Americas Shopping Center
Store 169-170
Hayto Rey, PR 00918
(787) 753-6558

The Scented Room
136 Winston Churchill Ave
San Juan, PR 00926
(787) 753-4192

You might call before visiting to see if they carry shaving products.

Dear Leoo
I have looked at your proposed kit and it seems perfectly seviceable to me, as is the advice you have recieved.
May I council you one one point. If you are used to the wobble-head multiblade razor, you will find the Merkur HD positively microscopic - indeed my great-neice referred to my Merkur Slantblade as an "Elves' razor" (Should that be Elvish)?
Make sure you order the HD variant with the large handle rather than the standard model - you will not regret it.

Cordially yours AvT

Welcome,

This is what I can say based on my short experience. I have read the recommendations and they are good but here are my suggestions. I have used HD for almost 1 month now. When I ordered my pack I also ordered HD long handle (barber pole). It was heavy and I gave it to a friend of mine who needed razor. HD has severed me well. If you are looking for a long handle the classic merkur long handle is the way to go. I would strongly suggest to read all the reviews for HD, barber pole, Mekrur Long handle classic and Merkur classic. Then decided on your own. I agree with blade sample pack but I did not do it myself. If you want to save on shipping you can order all of them form westcoastshaving.com and you can grab shaving soap or cream. I have tried just Col. Conk and it has served me well. I am sure you would be able to find a shaving brush around your place i suggest to get an Omega boar brush (which is cheap and have good reviews.) and start from there. There will be a lot of chances to upgrade. If you want to do it right you might ordered from some other vendors. I am not in the states so I cannot recommend any vendor. Edwin Jagger small badger brush (it is also called C&E BBB which is distributed by Crabtree and Evelyn in the states) served me well so far. you might want to check http://vintagebladesllc.com/vshop/xcart/home.php?cat=116 and read the reviews to invest in a higher end brush. Based on my experience I would suggest that you go to west coast shaving (which has a very reasonable price) and get everything except the brush. Welcome again and good luck. Read as much as you can and remember that our body physique are different and everyone has a different view on different products. one needs to try to find the best option that works for him.

The "HD" everybody talks about is the 37c, a very good choice as a starter razor.

I wouldn't buy a special lathering bowl if you can avoid it - any old cereal bowl will do as a starter and you may find you prefer face lathering. I certainly do but I'm glad I started with a bowl it helped me learn since it's easier to see what effect adding water is having, etc.

Welcome to B&B.

The Merkur HD is an excellent choice for a beginner. Very user-friendly and tolerant of newbie technique (or lack thereof.)

Even if you don't start out with an HD, you will buy one eventually. Everybody does. It has become the standard of reference around here, and the HD is what every other razor gets compared to in terms of size, weight, aggressiveness, and shave-ability.

Its NOT the world's best DE razor, but its definitely the world's best-seller ... and there are a lot of reasons for that.

Your budget of $200 will go a long, long way. Don't spend it all at once. You can get all the basics and be shaving in grand style for well under $75 ... so save the rest of it for later on after you've started to discover what works best for you. And don't believe for a minute that a higher price means higher quality. Some of the best and most popular shaving stuff is dirt cheap. (Proraso cream and Personna Red blades come to mind, for example.)

As for the rest of your kit, don't feel like you need to assemble all the pieces at one time. Just go with what you can find at the supermarket and grocery store, and start whipping up that lather even if you're still working with a cartridge razor. You can add the other pieces as you find them.

Don't worry too much about getting the right brand names when you're first starting out. You can always change your mind and try something different next week or next month. There's no law that says you have to finish a whole tube of shaving cream or pack of blades or ASB before you get another.

Wet-shaving is a long journey of discovery, and the old adage "Your Mileage May Vary" has never been so true as when you're just starting out.

As for the OTHER ... don't forget a Styptic Pencil. No newbie should be without it.

Wonderful guys, this is a lot more information and recomendations in just three hours. I am really glad I found an active and friendly community! I read each of your answer and it will be really useful to get an exact idea of what I will buy (I think I will order it this monday).

Thanks again!

Leooo said:

Brush & Bowl - Is it useful for a beginner?

Click to expand...

Brush - definitely 110%, I have happily done without a bowl for the last 3 months and I don't think my shave (or lather) is suffering...

Leooo said:

Wonderful guys, this is a lot more information and recomendations in just three hours. I am really glad I found an active and friendly community! I read each of your answer and it will be really useful to get an exact idea of what I will buy (I think I will order it this monday).

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

Welcome aboard John,

I have a few older Gillette Techs hanging around and I would be happy to send one to you. Techs are not only a great starter razor but I find that I reach for one on a regular basis. I will warn you, you would recieve a used but cleaned/sanitized razor. They will not win any beauty contests but they will wipe the whiskers off of your face. And after you have made the adjustment to DEs, feel free to pass it on after you have purchased your own weapon of choice.

Just PM me if you are interested.

Leoo,

Bienvenidos a B&B!

I would like to give you some recommendations for your first kit. The recommendations are as follows:

Razor - Merkur Progress. This razor is adjustable & runs about $59 with ship to PR and can be your main razor.

Soap - Crabtee & Evelyn Nomad Soap. This soap runs about $18.50 for a refill and is a great soap for a beginner. The soap lasts a LONG time and is a great latherer.

Brush - Crabtree & Evelyn Super Badger. This is better than the one mentioned above and doesn't cost too much more.

Blades - Any Gillette blade is a good first blade.

Aftershave Balm - Nivea sensitive skin. $6.50 from Walmart.com

Total cost with shipping is about $185 to PR...less if you find the C&E stuff locally.

Cheers!

SmoovD said:

Welcome aboard John,

I have a few older Gillette Techs hanging around and I would be happy to send one to you. Techs are not only a great starter razor but I find that I reach for one on a regular basis. I will warn you, you would recieve a used but cleaned/sanitized razor. They will not win any beauty contests but they will wipe the whiskers off of your face. And after you have made the adjustment to DEs, feel free to pass it on after you have purchased your own weapon of choice.

Just PM me if you are interested.

Click to expand...

A very generous offer SmoovD! Of course, I've become more and more of a Gillette fan, but you can't go wrong with the Tech. A very forgiving razor at the start. My trip to shaving heaven would have been a lot smoother if I would have gotten one.

Blades: Sampler pack from WestCoastShaving.com
Brush: C&E Best Badger (Work your way up to something nice later)
Soaps/Creams: Creams are usually easier for beginners, IMHO, even though creams are no longer in my rotation. Strictly soaps here baby! But for a cream, I would recommend a JM Fraser's or Proraso. Some of the easiest to lather, as well as some of the most protective and slickest stuff around.
Aftershave: Keep it simple. You can dive into this later. I've found any of the Clubman/Pinaud aftershaves to be not only dirt cheap, but incredibly effective. Don't know where you might be able to find some of this stuff locally in your area, but if all else fails, Aqua Velva or Skin Bracer at Walmart is another excellent choice. There are many that swear allegiance to Aqua Velva here, and they should because it's fantastic stuff.

Glad to have you here! Cheers.

I'll 2nd (or 3rd?) the Gillette Techs as great beginners razors. Very forgiving. (I've never used a Merkur). I've also recently become a fan of the Ever Ready SE razors. Worked out well for me, but that may not be the case for everyone.

I'll also add the C&E brushes are quite nice for about $35USD (plus shipping I suppose).

I have been wetshaving for about a year now and I am really happy with my set-up which is basically still the stuff I bought from classicshaving.com to start with except for the blades.

I have since bought some other razors (a Gillette Fatboy and a 1950's Superspeed) but I still prefer, by far, my Merkur HD with the standard (not long) handle. I have even purchased a second one so that I can keep one at the gym.

Here is what I use, and am really happy with the results I get:
- Merkur HD - nice and weighty and has not disappointed me yet
- Red pack "Israeli" Personnas are my favorite blades I have used and I have used a few different reputable brands (I have tried the blue pack individually marked "Israeli Personnas and found that I hated them)
- Occasionally Feather Blades which live up to their super sharp reputation
- Taylor of Old Bond Street's Avacado Shaving Cream (I have 4 other flavors of TOBS creams which I like too, but none are quite as slick and as easy to lather-up as the Avacado. Plus, the Avacado just smells so darn good.)
- The $39 Vulfix Best Badger Brush (which completely blows away the $7 Boar brush I bought at Walgreens to have at home)
- A styptic pencil - which I have never once needed to use

I was well under the $200 price range (more like $100). But, I did not go full luxury either.

Good luck. It is fun to get into. I hated shaving before. Now I look forward to it.

Others may disagree but were I doing it all over again I would start with the following:

1. Get a Gillette Tech razor - very easy to use, forgiving of newbie mistakes and cheap

2. Van der Hagen soap and boar brush - definetly inexpensive but the soap is good and the brush not bad. I still use mine regularly with great results

3. Order a sampler pack of blades from a reputable vendor. West Coast Shaving is a favorite here but there are others.

4. Thayers Witch Hazel - soothes the skin right after shaving

5. Depending on your likes/dislikes - an inexpensive a/s or balm to finish off the shave

After using these items for awhile, you can experiment, upgrade or stick with it. YMMV in all things shaving.

Merkur HD $33-35.00
Proraso Professional Boar Brush $12.50
Sample pack of blades from West Coast Shaving $ 20-30.00
Proraso or Omega Cream $10.00
Tabac shaving soap, refill $10.00
Coffee Mug
Nivea for sensitve skin aftershave balm less than $6.00

Thanks again for all your answers. Here is what I decided. Thanks to the generosity of SmoovD, I will receive during next week a Gillette Tech. Having read the reviews, it seems that it will be a perfect first approach to DE Shaving. I will get a sample pack at Westcoastshaving. And that's it for the moment. Let's see how my skin reacts to this new kind of shave, and then in some months I'll maybe think about upgrading and buying other accessories. I'll keep you all posted about my first shaves. See you on the forums!

Since you are in PR be sure to get some Superior 70 Bay Rum or mentholated for AS.....It is made on the island and is top notch. It comes in a plastic bottle and is $2 or 3 dollars.

The bay rum looks like this

http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100947&id=prod2872326

The mentholated is the same bottle, but green liquid.

In the mainland, outside of NYC (and maybe Florida) this stuff is very hard to find. Walgreens.com may have it, but it is not in any national B&M stores that I know of.......I buy it from corner stores when I am in NYC.