What mistakes did you make when you first started wet shaving?

[Merkurologist]

I was just reading another thread that reminded me when I first started web shaving.....

Hopefully we can come up with useful information so newbies can avoid the same mistakes

My wife game me my first razor but no soap and brush, so it was up to me to get those

I remember going to Traditional Shaving or something like that and having a look at what to get, there were so many choices of everything that I didn't know what to pick and I certainly didn't want to make a mistake so I started researching brushes and I quickly found out on Internet that badger brushes were the "best" and they were pure badger, silvertip, finest, 2 band, 3 band, etc.....my research said I needed to find a silvertip for softness and luxurios feeling.
Mistake No 1, The online store had a luxurious handmade Silvertip badger within my budget and another place had a Semogue finest badger for the same cost. The word Silvertip and what I've read about it helped me decide to get the Silvertip brush which turned out to be the worst brush ever, the writing on the handle came off on its first use lol, it was so fluffy and there was no density to it....luckily I paid with PayPal and I got my money back. Later on I'd find out that the Semogue Finest was a really good brush. There is nothing wrong with Silvertip brushes but this particular one, was a Chinese made cr4p thing that I don't think the stores I now shop with, would carry such cr4p.

Mistake No 2: There were so many soaps to choose from and I wasn't sure about any of them so I decided to spend as little as possible and I went for an Edwin Jagger Alovera....For me, that was rubbish.... I could have bought Palmolive for 50p or Proraso, etc. and get a much better soap

Third mistake: just starting and I bought Feather blades lol ... I read somewhere they were the best, and they are excellent but not for your first shave lol.

Fourth mistake: too much pressure on the razor.

And fifth mistake: keeping the blade for too long, 7 or 8 shaves IIRC

Then I found TSR, saw the light, fell into the rabbit hole..... and the rest is history

P.S. bear in mind that I was coming to the promised land to save money

 

[karlc]

I think the biggest mistake I probably made when starting out with wet shaving was not loading the brush enough. I remember thinking at the time that I didnt wasnt to be wasteful of my cream (had TOBS to start with) so I used to have a thin lather. Also, I didnt really know / think to add water to the brush during the lathering process.

Now I overload as I have way too many soaps and creams but always get a thick and creamy lather

 

[Bogeyman]

The belief that I would save money.

 

[donnie_arko]

The belief that I would save money.

It'd be possible to save money if it wasn't for the ever constant temptation and lure of obscure Russian Gillette blades sold for an obscure market half way across the world.

 

[NatJag]

I purchased a Merkur Futur. I decided not to go for the usual recommendations of a 34HD. The DE89 head hadn't come out at the time. I brought the only decent brush I could afford, which was a best badger and coconut cream from GF Trumpers. Other than the Futur, the other purchases were good. I almost gave up until I won a MÜHLE R89 from Mantic in one of his competitions. That was a game the changer. I eventually sold the Futur, even trying it again a few years later. The head was too large to do some areas on my face. I tend to stick to either a Murker 34G (was cheaper than the 34HD at the time) or a MÜHLE R89. In addition I later tried TOBS coconut just as it was released. That is when everything clicked into place.

There is a reason some items are recommended. Ignore at your peril.

 

[Sabre]

I started wet shaving at 16. I didn't like the look of dry shavers.

 

[jimmyc]

At 15 the mistake was not using a DE. At about 45 the mistake was using multi blade things for 30 bloody years. Literally and figuratively. DE razors are the best thing to happen to me, spent 30 years scratching and squeezing plooks on my neck. No more.

 

[Claus3428]

Not starting with the DE in the first place - at around 18 I think, it was the usual story, cartridge disposable, foam bottle and smelly socks aftershave lotion from a discount drugstore (in another country). I'd probably been frightened by the blades! And nobody (including my father) taught me (no internet!). That's why I went the electric path once I could afford it.

 

[Wazzer3]

Started regular shaving at fifteen so pinched one of Dad's unused BIC razors which are shite, so persuaded Mum to buy me a Wilkinson DE razor and some Ingrahms shave cream, never looked back apart with a couple of expensive electric razors given as gifts that never matched wet shaving.

 

[Blademonkey]

I made all the usual mistakes when I first started but without mistakes early on how would you know if you have now mastered your technique and learned which razors you really like.......shaving is like life, it's a journey and you learn from your mistakes. P.

 

[Rohleder]

Trying to improve on my "beginner" R89 & tub of TOBS.

 

[Boycie83]

I also made the usual mistakes but the most significant change I made was the way I lathered.

My original set-up was a 34C, Proraso Red cream, the Proraso Omega brush and the Proraso shaving bowl:

In hindsight, it was an ineffective shaving bowl and the brush was way too big for it. No wonder I struggled to build a decent lather. A month in and I bought an EJ Best Badger brush and some TOBS Eton College and tried my first face lather. What a revelation! I've been a face latherer since - including the original boar brush.

I still can't bowl lather to save my life. I should take the time learn at some point.

On a side note, I remember thinking I was a big spender when I got that EJ brush (£30). How the perception of value can change in a hobby eh?

 

[Rohleder]

On a side note, I remember thinking I was a big spender when I got that EJ brush (£30). How the perception of value can change in a hobby eh?

That rings very true with me... I remember early on the mental turmoil of convincing myself that spending £80 on a Duke 3 was worth it as it would probably last 20 years lol.

 

[MrK1]

Biggest mistake I made was joining a shaving forum.

I would still be using a EJ89 with Astra SP blades, Vulfix 404 Mixed knot (remember them) and Tobs Sandalwood if it hadn't been for you lot!!

I think the biggest mistake most newbies make is not sticking with one set of kit and improving technique before trying new razors.

 

[NatJag]

Trying to improve on my "beginner" R89 & tub of TOBS.

Biggest mistake I made was joining a shaving forum.

I would still be using a EJ89 with Astra SP blades, Vulfix 404 Mixed knot (remember them) and Tobs Sandalwood if it hadn't been for you lot!!

I think the biggest mistake most newbies make is not sticking with one set of kit and improving technique before trying new razors.

I also found the R89 and TOBS to be a difficult combination to beat. I still try, mostly with different creams. Being on the forum can be quite a challenge in restraint when it comes to buying new shave gear.

 

[Satanfriendly]

Thinking moving away from cartridge razors and back to DE's was going to be easy. Wrong. Looked like the result of shoving ones head in a food processor.

Then buying a Futur thinking that would make my shaving life better because I could adjust the level of food processing my face could go through. Wrong. It chewed me up even more. A dire object anyway.

Then coming here to actually learn how to shave properly and watching my bank balance decline on shaving paraphernalia.

Never looked back since my last move and still watching my bank balance decline

What a great place