Thread: Birthday razor question

Sorry missed typed the link its whippeddog.com. Larryandro on here is the one the who runs that site

Originally Posted by Kitt

Hey everyone,

I've been intending to get into the straight razor scene for a while and now that my birthday is coming up I figured that this would give me the excuse I have been looking for to get started.

I do have a quick question however. I have been reading through the beginner FAQs and shopping lists and I was wondering if there are any packages or combination of products that the people on this forum would recommend for beginners. I was hoping to be able to just ask for [insert package here] instead of having to piecemeal together a shopping list from scratch.

I have only ever shaved with cartridge razors and I find that the only way to get a close shave with them is to go against the grain which causes my skin to revolt against me. I would probably place myself on the more sensitive skin side of the equation. Also, I am basically starting from scratch with getting these products together so I will probably need to pick up everything at some point.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

well before your birthday gets here you should make the jump to using a brush and mug. it shouldn't take long to figure out how to make lather. you can get the tweezerman brush from amazon.com for around $13. col. conk also has one for a similar price. these aren't the best brushes by any means but you'll get your foot in the door and a natural brush for $13 is pretty darn good.

while you're there get some van der hagen or col conk soap. VDH should be around $2-3 and maybe a dollar more for the conk. VDH is also sold at many walmarts. i just grabbed two pucks for a grand total of $3.14. these soaps aren't the best but they're everything you need. the VDH is probably better for sensitive skin. it's very moisturizing and seems to give decent protection. fragrance is light as well. i wouldn't go with a higher end soap yet for a few reasons. mainly because with your skin type you'll find most soaps irritating. most big name soaps are scented pretty lavishly which would be a good place for you to get irritated. they also provide lots of cushion which can work against you as a newbie. you'll get away with bad technique which is a catch 22.

nivea shave balm is a great call. anything with aloe will work great as well. i would add to the regimen hair conditioner as a pre shave. get out of the shower with a wet face. apply hair conditioner to face. whip up lather and apply on top of conditioner.

Originally Posted by leadduck

Welcome. A word of warnng if cartidge shaving ATG irritates your skin. This wil not be any better with a straight. As you've probably read, skin irritation is one of the most common complaints newbies have. I remember this well from my early days, just a few years ago. Whatever package or individual components you end up with, you'd do well to get some shave balm such as Nivea and use it liberally after shaving for a while. Alum block is another commonly used skin treatment but as I have posted before, I don't have first hand experience with it. Those who do, speak highly of it. Again, welcome to the world of straight razor shaving. I hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of us do.

Welcome, in my personal experience just the switch between cartridges to str8, gave me less irritation given the fact that, when used properly, straight razor reduces significantly ingrown hairs (if not completely avoids them). When I used cartridges, ATG passes were out of the question. During the learning curve with straight, when I tried ATG I finally got a chance to achieve a BBS finish with NO irritation at all... not to say now that I use Witch Hazel and AS Balm along with fine AS Lotions and COLD SHAVING...... (worked great for me)

Good luck!!!!