Thread: Im a complete beginner so all advice is welcome

Hi guys! Just a quick update, I had my first shave with my shavette and did all my face and apart from one nick it was brilliant, cant wait to get better and enjoy a really good shave..... everyone who has replied on this thread has helped so thank you all!

Originally Posted by Padbrat

Hi guys! Just a quick update, I had my first shave with my shavette and did all my face and apart from one nick it was brilliant, cant wait to get better and enjoy a really good shave..... everyone who has replied on this thread has helped so thank you all!

What shavette did you end up getting and from where?

When you do decide to transition to a straight take a look at the products offered by Executive Shaving. They are UK based, have an extensive selection of all things related to wet shaving, including a decent lineup of straights. They also have a small collection of vintage restored straights if you want to go that route. I've purchase from them several times and have always been happy with their timely shipments and customer service.

Good luck!

Online I got the bluebeards revenge shavette..... really good for the price!

Hey, I used my shavette again today and its getting better! Just need to work out the angles! But I did get a few niks on my neck but oh well, try again tomorrow. Also I dunno why but I cant seem to get a good lather up, any advice?

first can you tell us what you are using to make your lather (type of soap,brush), and how you are doing it (do you soak your brush, do you use a bowl/face lather etc)?

A synthetic hair brush and a shaving soap from boots......I dunno how much water I use, and yes I soak the brush.

Originally Posted by Padbrat

A synthetic hair brush and a shaving soap from boots......I dunno how much water I use, and yes I soak the brush.

I am going to assume it is the boots for men soap in a black plastic bowl, i have this but have only used it once or twice, but it seemed ok to me, certainly not the best soap in the world but ok. All i can suggest is to try different amounts of water by either soaking the brush longer or shaking less out, or vice versa depending on the issue with your lather, is it too wet or too dry, or just not very lathery? You could try loading the brush with soap then moving to a bowl to build your lather, swirl the wet brush on top of the soap for lets say 30 revoloutions, then, using the bowl whisk the lather up.
I have had inexpensive synthetic brushes that were fairly ordinary so it could be that too, depending on how synthetic they are, as in plastic doesnt really absorb water. Semogue boar brushes are pretty cheap on ebay, but certainly in australia i can pick up bristle brushes at the chemists, i am not sure what would be available in the uk anymore.

The older synthetic brushes, that I've found and used, generally are fairly stiff. From what I can tell the newer synthetics have advanced to the point where you can get a synthetic that perfectly mimics most of the boar, badger and horse hair brushes. I have read where some shavers have sold off their natural hair brushes and gone completely to synthetics. From what I can tell and read, no need to soak a synthetic since they can't absorb water, just carries it the strands. Upkeep would also be simpler since you could rinse off most or all of the lather when done, alieviating the need to periodically shampoo your brush.

Hello, and welcome to SRP!!