Wet shaving thread.

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my only issue with the truefitt is the price, with the prospect of an adoption looming I need to save every penny til I reach my stride family-wise. I have kicked into cheap bastard mode for a while, I have feelers out to get me a bottle if it comes up, but for now I need to stay simple :( I admit I like the finer things, including shave goodies....
 
I figure I would resurrect this thread, I was interested to see if those of you who made the switch to DE are still at it.

I picked up a nice scuttle from Georgetown pottery and am loving it, it got me to thinking about this thread, and how many have tried wet shaving, but might have gone back to cartridge shaving because of convenience etc.
 
Yup, still at it. Got 100 Shark blades for some ridiculously low price, using my 1960s Gillette safety razor, and soap, brush and mug.
 
Want a truly wet shave experience?

Earlier this week, I went for only the second time this summer to a Russian sauna we have here in Chicago, called the Chicago Sweat Lodge http://chicagosweatlodge.com/ Gas-fired stone oven, temps in the hot room ranging from 160-170, fat hairy men in towels throwing buckets of cold water all over the place.

I was in the hot room, jumped in the cold pool, back in the hot room, repeat, repeat. Then shaved with my safety razor while in the hot room. Best shave of my life.
 
Want a truly wet shave experience?

Earlier this week, I went for only the second time this summer to a Russian sauna we have here in Chicago, called the Chicago Sweat Lodge http://chicagosweatlodge.com/ Gas-fired stone oven, temps in the hot room ranging from 160-170, fat hairy men in towels throwing buckets of cold water all over the place.

I was in the hot room, jumped in the cold pool, back in the hot room, repeat, repeat. Then shaved with my safety razor while in the hot room. Best shave of my life.

Interesting, I would give that a whirl!

It does sorta smack of a roman bath house though. not that there is anything wrong with that..:D

I have tried taking a long hot shower, then splashing icewater on my face to quickly close the pores, the thought is the beard is soft from the hot water, then the ice water tightens up the skin causing the hairs to stand straight out resulting in a closer shave.

Jury is still out on this process, it was a great shave but I didnt like the shock of the cold water.
 
I'm still doing it... I've been getting some bad razor burn lately, though. Any suggestions as to what products I should use post-shave?
 
I always use Witch Hazel right after shaving

I also use witch hazel after shaving as well.

Give this a try next time you shave, put 3 or 4 drops of extra virgin olive oil into your shave bowl and build your lather, if you are using canned foam, before applying, take those 4 drops of oil and apply directly to your face as you would the shave cream, then lather up and shave as normal. I get a much better shave on my neck when I do this, smoothe and less irritation. I tend to apply the EVOO directly to my face if I am rushed and don't really have a lot of time for shaving, but both methods should work well for you.

Then finish off with a splash of witch hazel, buy a bottle of it a target or walmart for under 2 dollars, it is over by the isopropyl alcohol.
 
Thanks guys!

Is this the right stuff:
bDTItAVjHIHbRrfDZv11XmThiOX6pwk580X1UrGI-KL6Y2fcxI7-HMO856eBIyDeOPezCb5LTNLJyujl0Q3VWRBGWDzpWP8XkZ7WmFbzdJJ7vDRyhMC5xvvoB1U8vlSAVXumie9nYmW9Ib8phvpQ8yL0Gw7H9Y433VbX0FbkXoPvH8hCgErDufq2kzgUEw8tAx-JDx_rZ47E61JQ9glWLM3s31IBYQ
 
I dont use the aloe infused aftershave version, I go for the cheap version, nothing but witch hazel and 14% alcohol. cheap and effective.

I did pick up a bottle of sandalwood essential oil and added a few drops to my bottle, I love the smell of sandalwood, wife likes it too!

Speaking of scents, am I the only one who likes the old time scents? currently I am using a vintage bottle of English Leather, nice mellow citrus note, great sandalwood and earthy leather notes as well, a timeless classic!
 
I started wet shaving a couple months ago because of this thread. I particularly like using badger brush and decent shave soap or cream. I mostly go DE, but occasionally will just face lather with soap/brush and use a disposable for a half-assed quick shave.
 
Good to see this resurected. I am still at it as well but don't enjoy it nearly like I did 6 months ago or so.
 
I am still at it. I even got a co-worker wet shaving.

I"ve branched out to a different soap but aren't too happy with the results. Going to stick with Proraso! :)

Also got a nice badger brush and an old GEM single-edged razor that kicks ass!
 
azscoob said:
I dont use the aloe infused aftershave version, I go for the cheap version, nothing but witch hazel and 14% alcohol. cheap and effective.

I did pick up a bottle of sandalwood essential oil and added a few drops to my bottle, I love the smell of sandalwood, wife likes it too!

That's a great idea, using essential oils in the witch hazel. For the past two years, I've gotten away from using cologne, although I do occasionally use some CK One I like. Sandalwood would be good.
 
who has gotten their wife to try wet shaving?

I got my wife some soap and a long handled merkur for her birthday, not sure how she'll recieve it.

she hates shaving her legs and if she can get a closer shave and get a couple more days between shaves i figure i'm doing something right. right?
 
who has gotten their wife to try wet shaving?

I got my wife some soap and a long handled merkur for her birthday, not sure how she'll recieve it.

she hates shaving her legs and if she can get a closer shave and get a couple more days between shaves i figure i'm doing something right. right?

This is going to go over fantastically or it is going to go over very bad, like getting her a new mop and bucket as a gift kind of bad.
 
who has gotten their wife to try wet shaving?

I got my wife some soap and a long handled merkur for her birthday, not sure how she'll recieve it.

she hates shaving her legs and if she can get a closer shave and get a couple more days between shaves i figure i'm doing something right. right?



I am fortunate enough to have a woman that needs not shave her legs. Hair just doesn't grow on her legs. But, she does shave under her arms.

She usually uses a BIC and shaves them dry. She couldn't find her BIC and grabbed my DE once.

Once.

Crazy woman thought she'd use it dry like she does the disposable. She promptly bought a very large bag of the BICs.
 
I am fortunate enough to have a woman that needs not shave her legs. Hair just doesn't grow on her legs. But, she does shave under her arms.

She usually uses a BIC and shaves them dry. She couldn't find her BIC and grabbed my DE once.

Once.

Crazy woman thought she'd use it dry like she does the disposable. She promptly bought a very large bag of the BICs.

My wife has been using my Cryo-treated blue bic cheapies, they last forever, since the first of the year she is on #2 and that is because she left the first one in Chicago when we adopted our son.

At that rate she should run out in like 20 years.
 
My wife has been using my Cryo-treated blue bic cheapies, they last forever, since the first of the year she is on #2 and that is because she left the first one in Chicago when we adopted our son.

At that rate she should run out in like 20 years.

Yep. Same here. Mine kept one razor and used it forever since she doesn't grow much under her arms either.

Funniest bit is, after the dry DE, the carnage, and the purchase of new disposables, she found her old razor. Has been using it ever since and hasn't even opened the bag of new disposables.
 
who has gotten their wife to try wet shaving?

I got my wife some soap and a long handled merkur for her birthday, not sure how she'll recieve it.

she hates shaving her legs and if she can get a closer shave and get a couple more days between shaves i figure i'm doing something right. right?

i have and it was using the birthday gift tactic as well (although I gave it to her pretty early, like a month). she kinda dismissed it at first, but then liked how it looked (blue star lady gillette) and got curious as I kept kinda urging her to do it. i said, hey, if you don't like it, i can resell it on ebay, no problem.

now she gets excited if new blades show up to try. she (and I) has been pretty happy with the gillette 7 o'clock series, particularly the blue and yellow ones. she can definitely tell when she's using a crappy blade. it's been a learning curve for her, moreso than for guys i think, but she's pretty darn good at it and can get it done in the shower with good old body soap in no time. she's nicked herself a few times, but nothing too bad.

edit: she still shaves her legs every day for the most part.
 
Speaking of scents, am I the only one who likes the old time scents? currently I am using a vintage bottle of English Leather, nice mellow citrus note, great sandalwood and earthy leather notes as well, a timeless classic!

hell no, i love the old ones. i am digging the EL as well, but it's not the vintage version, i think it's still a good scent. also a fan of aqua velva, the clubman pinaud/vanilla/bay rum, master's bay rum, etc. i dig the cheapo drugstore afterahves.
 
I was looking at the Lady Gillette's but most of what I found didn't look as nice as I thought it should for the price or was snagged up too quick for me to bid on. Then a long handles Merkur showed up looking pristine on the Badger and Blade BST and I snagged it. If she doesn't like it, I should.

I got her some TOBS Lavender cream... She has been stealing my witch hazel since I started using it (she read it helped keep her legs from breaking out after shaving- go figure!) And she comments how nice my face and neck look despite her liking me bearded, so I figured why not. I better go put something on layaway at the furniture store or finish up the fence for the dogs lol. Damn I'm screwed HAHA. :/
 
hell no, i love the old ones. i am digging the EL as well, but it's not the vintage version, i think it's still a good scent. also a fan of aqua velva, the clubman pinaud/vanilla/bay rum, master's bay rum, etc. i dig the cheapo drugstore afterahves.

Old Scents are awesome! The TOBS Sandalwood makes my bathroom smell like my grandpas and my wife loves the way I smell after using it... I still prefer the AOS or Proraso soap to shave with. Sometimes I will put a little bit of the sandalwood in the sink to make the place smell like sandalwood.
 
yeah, the old lady gillettes can be hit or miss. i got lucky with the one i found. i'm sure the long handle merkur will get used by someone around your house ;). i've also heard a few ladies like the schick krona, which can be had for very little money on ebay, and has a nice, long handle. i have one myself which i enjoy.
 
I am definitely not losing any sleep over the merkur if she doesn't like it!!!

It could easily replace the Gem Micromatic Clog Pruf I picked up at a junk shop to try out a SE. Its a bit too aggressive for me. Unless the wife likes it then it stays close to the shower!
 
I am up to 6 razors now, and have a couple more in the works, has anyone found a good solution for storing/displaying them? After taking the time to clean and polish them to very good condition, I hate to have them stashed away in the medicine cabinet.

I saw something about using a fancy pen display rack, also a pipe rack allegedly works too, but all of my pipe racks are slotted instead of holed on the top, the razors would just fall out of them.

I wish I could find a stand that could hold a couple razors and a brush, all the brush stands I have seen only hold one brush and one razor.
 
Made Uberlather yesterday for the first time and I have to say it's awesome. Glycerine make a huge difference in the lather.
 
Made Uberlather yesterday for the first time and I have to say it's awesome. Glycerine make a huge difference in the lather.

I tried that once, it was quite nice! unfortunately, the glycerine bar has gone missing and I never remember to pick up a bar when I am out. :(
 
Made Uberlather yesterday for the first time and I have to say it's awesome. Glycerine make a huge difference in the lather.

I tried that once, it was quite nice! unfortunately, the glycerine bar has gone missing and I never remember to pick up a bar when I am out. :(

I've tried the liquid glycerine. Was not impressed compared to that of just a drop of Olive Oil.
 
I tried that once, it was quite nice! unfortunately, the glycerine bar has gone missing and I never remember to pick up a bar when I am out. :(

I actually bought a little bottle of glycerine. A bit of that and some kiss my face lime and I had a huge amount of whip cream like lather. It was one of the nicest shaves I have ever had.

I will try the olive oil next
 
The olive oil works damn good! I keep a shaker bottle in the cabinet just for shaving.

A couple drops (I go 3-4) into the lather bowl builds a hell of a lather, and slick too, really helped me get a smoothe shave on my neck.

I have also used a few drops directly rubbed into my face as a pre-shave treatment, works fantastic for dry skin, and the additional lubrication makes getting a BBS shave almost effortless.
 
The olive oil works damn good! I keep a shaker bottle in the cabinet just for shaving.

A couple drops (I go 3-4) into the lather bowl builds a hell of a lather, and slick too, really helped me get a smoothe shave on my neck.

I have also used a few drops directly rubbed into my face as a pre-shave treatment, works fantastic for dry skin, and the additional lubrication makes getting a BBS shave almost effortless.

Ayup.
 
I'll third all that about the olive oil. My brother got me some Art of Shaving Pre-shave oil and its basically castor oil and olive oil... slick stuff!

My wife loved the long-handled merkur and I worked on my lather making abilities trying to keep up with her on her legs. I need to get a larger brush for her. My little badger won't do it.
 
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