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Here's a little list of inital thoughts on the shaving products I accumulated to finally liberate myself from the torture of Gillette cartridges. I figured simply writing would make a better introduction than just saying hi. Maybe you guys can weigh in on which choices were sound, which ones I screwed up and any other pointers that occur to you. (I kept this out of the review section as that's probably best left to the experienced shavers.)
From left to right :
Captain Fawcett Luxurious Shave Towel (£12 - Shaving Station)
Don't know about luxurious but I needed a new small towel to wrap around and steam my face up better than my facecloths do. This one appealed because it's white and the whole posh European gentleman vibe they've got going on with that company is kinda cute. 100% cotton. Width 500mm. Height 1000mm.
RazoRock Chrome Silvertip Plissoft 24mm (£24 - Shaving Station)
Feels lovely and gentle to the face and seems to store a good quantity of lather. Beautiful premium brush handle too but hefty - 187g turns out to be way heavier in real life than I expected, making it a devil trying to get a brush stand that won't tip over. Went with RazoRock because the name kept appearing on the lists of shave enthusiast "iLather". Went synthetic because I couldnt't figure out how they got the hair off the badger without being exceptionally mean to it. One little nuance to bear in mind - contrary to some product images the name was printed in capitals on the base of my version and not as a laser etched logo on the side. I could envision switching to a 22mm Keyhole Plissoft if its lightness is more accommodating to brush stands. Loft 57mm. Total height 120mm.
ShaveBowl Lather Bowl (£17.50 - Shaving Station)
This was a "Jen's shoes" purchase. Does it quite support that brush? No. (Notice the precariously perched tube as a counterweight!) But it will hold most, it was on sale, the dual bowl nesting doll design with the top layer incorporating the brush and razor holder cutouts is so compact and ingenious, plus the designer Adam Kohler was very kind and helpful photographing its limitations as well as its capabilities. Nice discreet cream colour blends well with the bathroom too. Just taking the smaller base bowl should be good for travel. Kohler's stated he's working on variants in different colours which sounds exciting. I'd love him to experiment with size and weight too. 28mm brush holder. 13mm razor holder. 95mm overall height. 164g main bowl weight.
Merkur 34C Heavy Duty + 5 Derby Extras (£29.50 - The English Shaving Company)
The main event. This razor just kept topping everyone's lists as the tried and tested go-to for beginners in terms of aggressiveness and price. Plus I'm attracted to German build quality and a two-piece seemed less fiddly than three for loading blades. I must say in contrast to the brush, the overall daintiness of the short handle took me by surprise. I do like how grippy the rough pattern on it is though. Maintaining the blade angle as I position my hand on the short handle and moving the head without bearing down is proving trickier than I anticipated from demos. When I get it right I can see myself switching to the longer 38C - more weight but perhaps easier to hold. But hey, they chucked in 5 Derby blades for free which I'm assured are at the lower end of the sharpness spectrum and should limit how much I hack my face up while learning my technique. (That hair slicing sound is totally different to what I'm used to as well!) It also came with a single own brand blade but I didn't bother using it as I had no idea where it rated on the sharpness scale. 74g weight. 95mm length.
Proraso Shaving Cream - Sensitive Skin (£5.95 - Shave Lounge)
The white one basically. This hit a sweet spot for me on several counts. Firstly a key thing that attracted me to switching my shaving routine was not subjecting my dermatitus to anymore horrible canned foams and gels. This just feels and smells fresher. I don't quite have the nose to detect the oatmeal and green tea but I'd describe the general scent as herby and medicinal. After that, I'm told the Proraso name comes with a certain pedigree. (Don't you just instantly feel more cultured being around Italian things? Like that film 'Call Me By Your Name'.) And for whatever reason a liquid in a tube seemed easier and less fuss than the soap tub. Good value proposition too compared to premium brands. Yet I did notice this white variety rarely made anyone's recommended lists which tended to favour the famous green one, or the scents of the blue and the red but my priority had to be my problem skin. Tube of 150ml.
Styptic Pencil (£1.99 - Boots)
Uh. It's a nick stick. From Boots. In an ugly black colour too.
Proraso After Shave Balm - Sensitive Skin (£11.50 - Shaving Station)
Comes in a beautiful, elegant square glass bottle. Expected a more pronounced scent in the sister post-shave balm than the main shaving cream but oddly enough it's more subtle. Came very close to leaving post-shave off the checklist entirely and just treating irritation and damage with my prescription immunosuppressent cream. But I evetually calculated using that each and every time I shave might unsafely disobey doctor's orders. So yes this burned temporarily but was refreshing and moisturising immediately after and happily with no eczematous reaction! Also deployed "mantic59" 's wee trick of shoving it in the fridge for the extra cooling sensation - worked a treat! (Incidentally you can pick this up a tad cheaper at Fruugo but multiple purchases from Shaving Station worked out cheaper for me on the day.) Bottle of 150ml.
Pacific Shaving Company Natural Shave Oil (MyPure - £5.84)
This featured on many best pre-shave oil lists (a sensation I've always enjoyed at the barber's) as being free of the "bad ingredients" but way cheaper than the rival candidates. Plus it made sense to add an extra layer of lubrication to my face while I fumble around finding my technique. Smells all foody and fruity and lovely but am sceptical if the miniscule 15ml bottle actually "LASTS UP TO 100 SHAVES!" even if it is only a few drops each time. Hmm. Maybe it'll spread further with a more hydrated face. (Oh and I knocked MyPure's price down to £5.84 with a little voucher code.)
40 Astra Superior Platinums (Amazon.co.uk - £6.95)
The initial plan was to use these blades as they kept being mentioned by YouTubers as most reliable, as well as being rated a middle of the road 3/5 on the Razor Emporium sharpness scale. Why so many? Amazon said it came with a nick stick but they shafted me with some weird match looking things I've never seen before. Why not a starter pack assortment of blades? Frankly they always come with things like the infamous Feathers which I have absolutely no intention of letting anywhere near my face while I try to get used to a non-pivoting razor head. I find myself in the uneviable position of having a skin condition with very coarse hair leading to a common question - milder blade and risk more passes or harsher blade and risk more cuts? I'm opting for the former at the moment while I become competent with the razor so it's probably going to be a while before I graduate past the milder Derbys anyway.
Some final thoughts. At ten items and a total upfront cost of £115.23 I won't be winning any awards in the beginner's thrift or minimalism communities. At the same time all of the products have been pretty cool so far and I'm not sure any of them were excessively expensive. There are certainly cheaper ways to get into traditional shaving but they usually involve kits and packs with an inevitably less desirable item. As a consumer, be it films or games or tech, I've always preferred building item by item rather than collections risking variable quality. I'm definitely looking forward to being kinder to my skin and ending the bombshell cost of Gillette-Fusion-Proglide-Chill-Infinity War. The latter point on cheaper blades is often highlighted by shaving enthusiasts but I'd add one qualifier - the direct blade cost will be going down, but if like me you're switching as part of a comprehensive change in your shave routine your consumables could be going up - in my case from blades and cream (2) to cheaper blades, dearer cream, pre-shave, post-shave (4) and then you can add more if you're becoming an all out enthusiast experimenting with different razors and brushes and accessories and so on. That in itself, however, has its own appeal - more spare change to spend on nicer things.
T.C.S.
. I agree about being expensive, but not pleasant? The Mach3 delivers one of the best shaves available.