Shaving 1: Introduction & Razors

Mark — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:50:59 +0000

I’ve had bad acne-ridden skin since I was 12 or 13. I learned to shave by watching TV commercials. As far as I was concerned, the only way to do so was with Gillette Mach3 blades and “canned goo,” so to speak. Eventually though, I became dissatisfied mostly because of the high cost of new cartridges. As well, I always had bad irritation which seemed to aggravate my acne. October last year, I started researching electric razors because I hated shaving, and figured it’d be easier, faster, and more cost-effective to invest in an electric razor.

The reviews I read however were not too favourable. I did come across “classic” wet-shaving, defined as using an animal-hair brush with soap or cream, and an olde-tyme-style double-edged razor. With razors available for $30, blades a mere $0.20, brushes and soaps available for similar costs, it seemed like it was worth a try at least before investing in a $100-200 electric razor.

I was an instant convert. Within a week all the irritation had disappeared. Within two weeks, my acne completely vanished. I had perfect skin for almost the first time in 14 years. (I’d actually had some success with “The Regimine,” but it was too difficult to maintain permanently.)

The first few weeks it was probably taking me a good 15-20 minutes each morning to shave. I learned the craft from this SomethingAwful forum thread (may need a $10 account to view), occasionally referring the Badger & Blade wiki, FAQ or forum, but most important were mantic59′s YouTube videos, particularly his amusing introduction. Nowadays it takes less than ten minutes.

I quickly became obsessed.

If you’re interested in checking this stuff out, the best store, hands-down in Canada, is Fendrihan. Shopper’s Drug Mart has some decent consumables at reasonable prices. The American Amazon store is worth a look too, but keep in mind import/shipping costs. In the USA, some great stores are Classic Shaving and West Coast Shaving.

I started with the Merkur 1904 Classic myself, but general wisdom online is that the Merkur HD is the best ‘starting’ razor. I’ve been using the Merkur Futur for six months, but my skin started to rebel again (because of the humidity?), and I stopped bothering to adjust the razor mid-shave. I’m considering switching to a HD, or Sledgehammer, because I like the weight of the Futur.

I’ll post later about soaps & creams, and in yet another one, discuss aftershaves.

Less than useful » Merkur

Shaving 1: Introduction & Razors