Finished - Carnival of Smiles Contest #13: The Warm Fuzzies Giveaway

[Prince]

After my brother and I were talking about our grandpa's old brush and soap, I got to wondering if anyone still made the soap and brushes. After a little research, I stumbled on this site. After a couple months and a few dollars, I had my first DE loaded and ready to shave.

The warm and fuzzy for me was ditching my old electric razor and canned goop for luxurious lather, a soft brush and DE razor. Nice close shaves without all of the ingrown hair and razor burn.

[murchmb]

I stumbled on traditional wetshaving gear while looking for groomsman's gifts. I ended up getting a Merkur HD, a Vulfix 2234 brush, a pot of Taylor's Avocado, and a jar of QED Lime SS. That was only the beginning.

Warm and fuzzy? A feel of a soft brush loaded with hot, nicely scented lather in the morning. A great way to start off the day.

[Victor]

My shaves weren't close enough. I ended up going over the same spot over and over again with my Gillette Mach 3, which caused irritation, razor burn, nicks, and cuts. My mother raised me by herself, so no one ever taught me how to shave. I guess you could say that I learned to shave from a Gillette commercial, and it wasn't working well. I became convinced that I was doing something wrong, so one day I randomly did a search for 'how to shave' in youtube and stumbled upon mantic59's series of videos. I got interested in this traditional style of shaving that he was talking about, and coincidentally, I was on my last cartridge. I decided that instead of getting more cartridges, I would give the old-style safety razors a try, and I haven't looked back ever since.

I guess what makes me warm and fuzzy is how practical and efficient this style of shaving is. You can both save money AND get a better shave. I also like how the only thing disposed of is a thin piece of metal. I'm actually planning to get into straights soon, and there's potentially zero disposal for at least 100 years with that method. (I guess once the spine gets honed away, you'd have to throw it away, but then again you could also just start putting layers and layers of tape onto it.)

[BigDawg]

i got into wet shaving while i was browsing online and came across a lifehacker post on how to save money by wetshaving. So i watched Mantic59's videos on youtube and then decided to commit to it. I lived in Vegas at the time and went to an AoS store and got the sandalwood starter kit with the brush, oil, cream, and aftershave. I bought a 61 gillette blue tip super speed off ebay and began to wetshave.

What makes me warm and fuzzy is that when i told my dad that i started wet shaving, he gave his merkur 23c razor as a gift and have been using it ever since. Shaving with the same razor your father shaved with gives me a sense of nostalgia also.

[mansquatch]

My first introduction to wet shaving took place in 1995 Christmas when my dad got me an Old Spice gift set with mug, soap, brush and A/S. I used the mug and brush because it was something different and kind of fun. I know now that the lather I achieved pales in comparison to what I can whip up today. After the soap was gone I just went back to canned goo and forgot about the whole mug/brush thing. I really wish I still had that mug though

I was reintroduced to wet shaving in about August of this year when I was at a local store and saw some Omega shave soap and some Omega brushes. I thought the price was a little high for the set so I went online to search for a deal and stumbled onto D/E. I am now fully converted and in the throes of some serious SCAD (RAD was short lived as I have found my perfect razor for now)

What makes me warm and fuzzy is that the other day I was asking my dad if he still uses a brush and mug to shave and we got to talking for a while about shaving. Nice father son conversation and I am looking forward to getting some nice shaving creams/soaps for him for Christmas.

[miamijuggler]

Consider myself entered.


My Introduction to Wetshaving

In the media, I had seen hints of what shaving was like before the cartridge systems took over, but had no idea of how it all worked. The mug and brush? The weird, T-shaped, "razor"? None of it made sense, and I never really cared. My beard is not at all heavy, and grows in slowly, so I could get away with shaving only about once every week and a half to two weeks.

This was great, as the cartridges were (and still are) expensive, but it meant that shaving was a chore, something that I took no delight in, and I'd find myself putting it off. In fact, most of the time, I didn't even use shaving cream; I just used water and the multi-bladed monstrosity.

The thing that bothered me the most about the cartridge system was that by the time that I worked my way through a package of blades, those blades would no longer be in production! Which meant having to change systems, purchase a whole new handle, set of blades, which led to a different shaving experience.

Without knowing it, I was desperately craving an alternative.

Fast forward to the summer of 2009, and the website artofmanliness.com. I think one of the tech news sites I read (wired.com) had a link to one of their other articles, but after browsing the Art of Manliness site for a while, I came to their article that was about "Things every man's bathroom should contain." And I think the last or second-to-last item on the list was a good shaving brush and safety razor.

The light went off in my head. Doing more web research on safety razors and wet shaving, I found the videos on youtube by mantic (for which I can't thank him enough), and eventually the Badger and Blade. From there, I picked up my first safety razor and a package of blades at my local Navarro pharmacy, and gave it a shot.

The Warm and Fuzzy Side of Things

Okay, so this might be pretty simple: First, shaving now is no longer a chore. In fact, more often than not, I'm chomping at the bit so that I can shave (it takes my beard a few days to grow out, so I'm not one of those that can shave every day) the waiting is the hardest part.

Second, I feel more in control, like this is something I'm doing for myself. I'm no longer at the mercy of the whimsical Gillette Marketing department, and I've gone so far as to swear off Gillette products to the greatest extent that I can (even excluding their vintage safety razors). Because I have the choice in selecting what products I'm using and how I'm using them, shaving becomes a very empowering experience (weird, I know).

Third, I love the endless experimentation and variety that comes with the availability of different products. I'm not going to make the economical argument here, because I've spent more money on shaving gear in the past six months than i have in the previous six years, but it's worth it to me because I get to enjoy stuff like MWF, Tabac, Proraso, etc. I'll even admit to becoming a contributor just so that I could get my hands on a B&B Essential brush.

So I think, ultimately, wet-shaving (and now, straight razor shaving) does a little more for me than "warm and fuzzy."

[BrianL]

Please include me in this contest.
I had asked my wife to pick me up some Mach 3 carts when she was at COSTCO. She said how much the cost when she returned home and my jaw dropped. Two days later I saw the famous Corey Greenburg spot on the Today show. I normally am not home at the time and I don't usually watch morning shows. It was divine intervention. I picked up a VDH brush and attempted to use it by mixing Edge gel and Colgate foam together, works better than one might expect. A GOOGLE search later and I'm here.
Warm fuzzies are looking forward to each shave, face lathering with a warm brush and picking out what cream or soap strikes my mood for the day. I also like washing the last bit of lather out of the brush and cleaning the razor for the next days use.

[laconic1]

My introduction to wetshaving came about both accidentally, and as part of my quest to clear up my skin. I've always had issues shaving, for the first six months I shaved I didn't even use any shave cream. As bad as canned goo is, it is still better than nothing at all. The Gillette Fusion is where things really started going bad. Before Fusion I would get cruddy looking shaves, the occasional ingrown and a fair amount of irritation, but the Fusion took it to a whole 'nother level. I would get wicked ingrowns around my lips due to the extra severe irritation those five blades provide, which led to unsightly large red bumps. My chin would be covered in pimples, which I later found out were from a too aggressive ATG pass without relathering. My cheeks felt like they were on fire for hours after I shaved, and the skin irritation was quite plainly visible. The privilege of paying $3.50 for a cartridge that usually only lasted 3 shaves at most before clogging or getting damaged in the unclogging process that results from having too little gap between the blades didn't help.

While shopping at Costco one day I stumbled across an Art of Shaving starter kit. It was cheap, and looked like it might be the ticket to better shaves. Combined with that awful Fusion though it did not help. But now the seed was planted that there was a better way out there. While Googling around for mens skin care info I found out about wetshaving. Before long I had ordered a Futur, brush, blades, cream and began the learning curve. Before too long I managed to get shaves that were better than the cartridges without the bumps and irritation

For me it is hard to describe the warm fuzzy element of wetshaving. I am a pragmatic person, and I don't wetshave out of a sense of nostalgia or for any other reason than wetshaving just flat out works better. I guess the warm fuzziness comes from not being in pain when I'm done shaving and that I look better now.

[nealf]

My Intro:

A friend and I were talking about an old fashioned shave for a wedding of another friend of ours... The idea really interested me so I starting thinking about it. The next day someone on the homebrewing message board that I visit often linked to this site... and here I am!

My warm fuzzy:

I used to dread the shaving experience so I wore a very ungroomed beard which my wife hated... since picking up some of the old school techniques I really look forward to shaving. While I haven't hit a BBS yet, I am getting closer shaves every time!

[brian4uf]

Count me in!

My introduction to wetshaving came from the "Art of Manliness" article some time back. I read and read about techniques, results, and cost efficiency of wetshaving, and thought I should give it a try. I bothered my wife about it for awhile and reminded her about my birthday coming up. She bought me the Merkur, brush and soaps, and I haven't looked back.

As for that warm and fuzzy feeling, I get it from the "shaving like a real man" aspect, and knowing that I am really taking care of myself better than I was before.

[sedo]

My introduction to wet shaving was by my mom. She has an old fashion barbershop. She uses straight edges and a warm cream lathering machine (it ROCKS). I would get my lines shaped by warm lather and a straight edge after each haircut. Each time I got it, it felt so awesome to feel the warm lather and the feel of the straight cutting my tiny hairs. I then asked her if I could have one to use for shaving and she said no because she said I would just cut myself to death. A few days later she gave me a Schick Korona DE and there I fell in love at first sight. That then has caused me to go crazy over this wet shaving ordeal. It seriously feels like I am addicted to it like crackheads being addicted to crack.

I just love the warm fuzzy feeling I get when I put on the warm lather and slowly shave away my facial hair. Hearing every strand of hair get cut and the awesome smell of the lather brightens my day. And finally after it all the light burn of alcohol of my aftershave tops it all and then I carry out my day happily ever after.

[cut_me_mick]

Since I started shaving at 13 (truly "fuzzy"), I saw this maintenance routine as a chore. When a friend introduced me to "old-fashioned" wet shaving last year, it was a revelation on two counts. First, I began to look forward to the chore, with its process, routine and fantastic shaves (not to mention a wonderful, thoughtful community of true believers). Second, I was, and still am, each day, transported to a time of memory, where I share something with not just my father, but all of the uncles, grandfathers and others before me, whether I knew them or not, who took the time to contemplate the day ahead in front of a partly fogged mirror. Warm indeed.

[Kbennett]

I was introduced to wet shaving last spring. I stumbled across an article on Digg and eventually found my way to B&B. At first I just read. Then I joined and posted. Then I started putting in orders for just a couple products (creams and a brush), all the while swearing I'd never buy a DE or an expensive aftershave. I officially now have six DEs in my rotation, a half dozen creams and another half dozen soaps, four brushes, and nearly 10 aftershaves.

What makes me feel warm and fuzzy about wet shaving. I like the idea of not just doing something that most people don't do, but doing something that most people do, right. I love seeing the look on people's faces when they see the shave den. Warms the cockles of your heart.

[closer]

As far as introduction to wet shaving is concerned, I will take this to mean when I first started DE shaving. Strictly speaking, I was wet shaving previously with my Neutrogena shave gel and Fusion power cartridges. I used to wet my beard with warm water, and clean with soap to soften it up prior to shaving. Earlier this summer I needed to buy another set of cartridges, and while searching for the cheapest prices online, stumbled on an Amazon review of Merkur razors. After spending a few days researching razors, blades, etc, settled on a Merkur 38c barberpole razor. Then I found B&B, learned to improve my technique, started acquiring creams, brush, and got hooked onto the hobby.

The warm and fuzzies come from the luxuriant feeling provided by the richly saturated super badger brush loaded with lather from the finest English creams on my face. As well, knowing that I have reached a stage where I consistently get close to BBS shaves, closer than anything I could ever achieve with my previous cartridges. It has transformed a daily chore (one that I could not wait to finish), to something that now takes me over 30min, but still is something I look forward to daily. So much so, that I have changed my daily routine, and now shave prior to going to bed, and I still look better than most people at work in the morning. The final validation comes from my wife, who wistfully looks at me and says "honey, you haven't shaved today?" on those weekend days when I skip. Makes it worth it.

[synapticmisfires]

I don't know how I could pick a straight answer to either part of the question, so pardon my rambling.

My dad has shaved in the shower for as long as I've been around. He's been on cartridges for a long time too. Even his shower mirror never really worked for me, so I've always shaved at the sink, but my dad taught me well and I always shaved a wet beard, and try to shave after a shower. As I mentioned my first razor of my own was a freebie fusion, which also came with a can of goo. I used the store brand of said goo for 3 and a half years without knowing there was such a thing as "shave soap" and certainly not comprehending the physics of DE-razors.

My dad however had recently transitioned to using bath soap to shave (just rubbing it on as he shaved) and mentioned it to me, which I guess made me curious. My curiosity was further compounded when my grandma offered me my grandfather's brush (I stupidly turned it down) and it occurred to me that I didn't understand how people used to shave. However, I moved on and didn't really think about it. Then (as mentioned in my intro thread) comments on Basic Instructions introduced me to traditional shaving as a way to save money. I did research and suddenly the brush; the soap; and what a Fusion really is, how it works, and what it lacks all made sense.

My warm and fuzzy feelings are a couple of different things. I like feeling manly, shaving the way people did before they had mass-marketed cartridges. I love the smell of tabac that wafts up when I'm whipping up the lather in the bowl underneath my nose. I love feeling more confident, not just because of the fragrance/closeness but because of some intangible factor, maybe masculinity maybe just the satisfaction of a job well done. I find myself speaking up more and being more friendly and outgoing because of it.

The ultimate warm and fuzzy though is that I feel like it has brought me closer to my dad (and to my not-at-all recently deceased grandfathers) and that I have a supportive girlfriend who seems quite thrilled at my new-found healthy and relaxing hobby.

[cstrother]

<your introduction to wetshaving AND tell us what it is about wetshaving that makes you all Warm and Fuzzy inside>

I could be making this up. I find these days that some things I remember never happened. Of course, as Ken Kensey said--I think it was him--some things that never happened are nevertheless true.

Somehow I was exchanging e-mails with Mitch M about detachable collar shirts, when shaving came up. I think he asked whether I had ever tried a straight razor. I said no and I could not imagine it. I grew a beard to avoid ingrown hairs, and was sure not enjoying even cleaning up around the edges. That I assumed using a straight would make things all the worse. He responded that done write using a straight would get rid of all my ingrown hair problems. I remained extremely skeptical about the whole endeavor, but kept writing to him with questions and the like. And we got into the hot lather, and hot towels, and witch hazel and bay rum parts of it. That brought back memories of going to this older barber, who never shaved me excerpt around the the edges of my beard, but would give me what he called a facial, using hot towels, and witch hazel. I really enjoyed my barber's company and always came away feeling fantastic, and, in my mind's eye, looking better than I ever had.

So I got razor, brush, strop, soap, etc., etc. And Mitch tolerated a million questions and was a great teacher about how to shave with a straight. And I got zero ingrown hairs.

<what it is about wetshaving that makes you all Warm and Fuzzy inside>

For one thing it is the zen of it. The centering effect of concerning on the task at hand and excluding competing thoughts. For another it is all the good smellng stuff and the warm water and towels. So relaxing. Finally it takes me back to being with my old barber, whem my job was stressful, but getting away to his shop for a haircut, trim around the edeges with a straight razor, and a facial with hot towels and witch hazel, could make everything relaxed, warm, and fuzzy.

[soapbox]

My warmest fuzzies from being a wet shaver have come from meeting B&Bers in person and enjoying their company, and from recruiting friends to wet shaving.

• Mysterion helped me during my search for housing in DC and we became fast friends, having lunch often and hanging out in DC while I lived there.
• Burnwood and I hung out with our families last Christmas.
• I had lunch with Richmondesi, Profsaffel and sol92258 in Texarkana while I was driving the 13-ton moving truck from Maryland to Dallas.
• (Richmondesi and I have since double dated twice with our lovely brides in Dallas).
• I met alabamalawyer and davecmu for a beer in Tuscaloosa on my way through town, ferrying a car to my new home in Texas.
• I worked with kaiservilhelm
• Donner's wife was in my wedding.
• I met two other B&Bers (both lapsed) within two months of starting work at the University of North Texas.
• And this weekend, I'll meet more B&Bers in Tyler, Texas.

Besides the same-old-story that DE shaving saved me from hating my face and really hating spending $2.50 a cartridge on M3, transforming shaving into a satisfying, pleasing ritual -- and it's all true -- I've met some great people through this website and hope to meet more.

[alejandro]

For most of my shaving life I was either an M3 shaver, or electric. The electric never made me happy about the result, but it wasn't as expensive as the M3 cartridges.

Looking for improvement, I did some searching and found some videos online about traditional wet shaving. After spending a few days researching on B&B I went out and bought my kit and was hooked.

My warm and fuzzy comes from the ritual. Shaving no longer feels like a chore. It is a pleasure. Plus. I get a lot of entertainment from all the possible combinations of cream, soap, razor and blade. The tweaker in me is very happy with my new hobby.

Alex.

[james_rockford77]

My introduction to wetshaving came when I was trying to discover a better way to shave. For about a year, I was having issues with bumps and soreness after shaving with modern day shaving gels and multiblade disposables. So one night I was just messing around on youtube when I decided to type "shaving" into the search field. Up popped the now infamous mantic59 videos. After watching them, it seemed that what he was saying made sense. I didn't know that safety razors, shaving brushes, and luxurious creams even existed. I then assembled some basic shaving goods and here I am, more than a year into traditional wetshaving and loving it. It has been said here numerous times but I will say it once more... THANK YOU MANTIC!

The thing that gives me the 'warm and tinglies' about traditional wetshaving is knowing that I am shaving in a similar fashion to the way my grandfather and previous generations shaved. Granted, they didn't have the variety of razors and creams that I can obtain now, but the main ideas are still the same. There's just something about doing things the way our previous generations did that I cannot put into words. It's intangible, but I can feel it.

[tantousha]

Note: While I may be physically located in Canada, I do have access to a CONUS mailing address so it's ok, it's all ok!

1) The Introduction
I was introduced to wetshaving this spring through luck I guess? I had used an electric shaver since I started growing whiskers about 10 years and hated it. I used to go weeks without shaving only to grow a huge beard and then have to remove it when I needed to look decent (loved being a college student). About a year ago I bought into the advertising of Gillette but found my personal results were always far below the commercials... Better than the electric razor but still left me unsatisfied and feeling like shaving was nothing more than a chore...

Fast forward to last March and I was perusing a travel blog (Gadling.com) and the post was talking about how he can smuggle a razor blade through airport security (by placing the blade in your wallet it makes it parallel with the radiowaves from the metal detector making it harder to detect, though I haven't tried it, he did it because he didn't want to pack a checked bag when he didn't have to). I knew safety blades like the fusion were safe to keep in your carry-on luggage so I did some research. He mentioned a having a Merkur razor so I started doing some research. The Merkur website was crap (as I'm sure all of you know) so I went to Flickr to find some pictures... and that was what I found. The first picture that popped up (and several thereafter) were razorporn replete with fancy shave soaps and badger-hair brushes. At that point I was hooked... it just looked so manly, artful, respectful, old-world.

The Flickr search also introduced me to a new term: wetshaving. Armed with this term, I returned to Google and found this lovely site. Reading anecdotes from men suffering from the same problems I had experienced my only logical next step was to jump in. I bought a Merkur razor online, a blade sample pack from eBay and some Proraso and an Omega boar hair brush from the drug store and set to work. I have been wetshaving for 9 months now and haven't picked up my Gillette fusion once since then.

2) The Warm and Fuzzies!

The first and most obvious reason for me is that it took something I used to regard as a chore to be avoided at all costs and turned it into something that I not only enjoy doing, but look forward to on a regular occasion. That is worth it's weight in gold alone.

Secondly, it appeals to my desire to rediscover the chivalrous man, something I think was lost in the latter half of the 20th century. Wetshaving does take longer, and is arguably much less convenient than either a disposable or electric razor, but the benefits are many. Spending more time shaving and persuing the perfect shave has made me look at other aspects of my appearance and personality. Gone is the rough-bearded, t-shirt and jean clad days of my youth. I also find it makes me carry myself with more pride and confidence. Spending more time on my look translates to being more respectful of my self and my being which translates to being more respectful of those I socialize with like my fiancee and my family, both of which have noticed the change as well.

I think lastly it has given me a hobby, something I was lacking at the time. School was taking a disproportionate amount of my time and I needed something I could research and read about in my spare time. This community has provided the perfect source for this tomfoolery. Simply put, I love it.

Thank you.