Newbie...placing my first order

Hi Dan,

Some great advise has been given. A few things that work for me with sensitive skin is using the following:

- Wilkinson Sword Blade (like many have suggested leave the Feathers alone)
- Get a Synthetic brush its much easier to lather up than any natural hair brush
- Use some sort of bowl to lather into and add small amounts of water till you get a nice creams consistency

Hope you enjoy your first shave and report back!
 
Hi Dan,
Just to throw my tuppence worth in (!!) I use both face and bowl lathering depending on time and/or inclination with equally good results. I find the soap I use to be a major factor. I have a couple of unbranded, handmade 'artisan' (whatever that means!) soaps that are ok for face lathering but suck when put in a bowl. Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood soap, on the otherhand would lather up using a pot noodle carton and a knackered paint brush. So my advise is when you try out other soaps (and believe me, you will!) go for a quality one, it'll make all the difference.
 
My personal favourite soap, which is easy to obtain, reasonably priced, smells good and performs brilliantly is Truefitt and Hill No.10. Think they sell in Waitrose.

My favourite blade in my Muhle r89 (which I believe is the same as an EJ89) is the Gillette 7 o'clock (yellow).

I'm no expert but this set up work well for me - I finish with osma block and then an aftershave splash.

Have a spare pack of the Gillette yellow blades if you want me to post them out to you - just PM me your address if you want :)

Good luck and enjoy the journey
 
justcallmegreg said:
My personal favourite soap, which is easy to obtain, reasonably priced, smells good and performs brilliantly is Truefitt and Hill No.10. Think they sell in Waitrose.

My favourite blade in my Muhle r89 (which I believe is the same as an EJ89) is the Gillette 7 o'clock (yellow).

I'm no expert but this set up work well for me - I finish with osma block and then an aftershave splash.

Have a spare pack of the Gillette yellow blades if you want me to post them out to you - just PM me your address if you want :)

Good luck and enjoy the journey
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+ 1 on the Muhle R89 & the Gillette 7 o'clock Sharpedge (yellow). one of my favourite razor/blade duo's.;)
 
Hi Dan, I'm fairly new to this forum as well and have only been using DE razors for 5 months now and like you i used to HATE shaving. As you have probably guessed there is no one size fits all with this shaving malarkey, everyone's face is different and everyone has their own formula of soap/brush/razor/blade that works for them, trial and error is the best way forward, that said there is some excellent tips with regards to lathering etc. on this thread already. Personally i found Feather blades to be the one for me after only about 4 or 5 shaves, nothing to be afraid of really just don't apply any pressure. My one tip for the neck area that you seem to be having trouble wit is to use your spare hand to keep the skin stretched tight, really helps to get a smoother shave.
 
Bazz said:
Hi Dan, I'm fairly new to this forum as well and have only been using DE razors for 5 months now and like you i used to HATE shaving. As you have probably guessed there is no one size fits all with this shaving malarkey, everyone's face is different and everyone has their own formula of soap/brush/razor/blade that works for them, trial and error is the best way forward, that said there is some excellent tips with regards to lathering etc. on this thread already. Personally i found Feather blades to be the one for me after only about 4 or 5 shaves, nothing to be afraid of really just don't apply any pressure. My one tip for the neck area that you seem to be having trouble wit is to use your spare hand to keep the skin stretched tight, really helps to get a smoother shave.
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'My one tip for the neck area thatyou seem to be having trouble wit is to use your spare handto keep the skin stretched tight, really helps to get a smoother shave.'


...and go WTG. Also, be sure to get your lather nice & thick when you shave your neck. Even if it means loading your brush more often during the shave.
 
Voicing the above - work on your lather! When I started and had 5 minutes spare I'd try and whip up a lather in my hand. I could get a good feel for what is slick enough and what isn't, as well as whether it's too dry or not.

I've also found that a shave that's not close coupled with resultant nicks/cuts is down to angle. Try adjusting the angle as you go and you'll see/feel/hear when it is working as it should! Again, hands come in handy - try shaving the back of your hand and see what angle gives the most effortless shave! :)

Kudos for starting!
 
Sensitive_Dan said:
Hello all, new to the forum and new to the concept of a DE razor.

First of all I HATE SHAVING!!! I'm hoping this can change.

Shaving has always been a horrible experience for me. Having fairly sensitive skin and a tough dark stubble is litterlly a pain. I never shave daily due to the irritation however I probably should shave fairly often as it grows very quick.

My idea of a good shave is a Gillette fusion and a shaving oil. Cost me a fortune and 3 shaves a cartridge is so expensive. Even worse when it's a painful experience. Like many I've always thought that the more blades the better however with a quick read I'm realising that (that's) all wrong. Oh why has it taken me this long to discover this!

So after a bit of reading a DE razor, some practice and some other products will hopefully save my face from pain and you never know I might start enjoying a shave.

I'm looking at my first purchase and I just want a little reasurence that what I'm purchasing is a good start.

So I quite quickly realised that the Edwin Jagger DE89 is a great start and at £24 I think is a great price. Includes the feather blades

Sample blade pack - £5

Containing:
  • Astra Super Platinum x 5
  • Gillette 7 o'Clock Sharp Edge x 5
  • Gillette Super Stainless x 5
  • Shark Super Stainless x 5
  • Perma-Sharp x 5

I will then be looking at a omega 80257 green boar brush - £8

Soap I'm thinking the. Proraso soap bowl for sensitive skin. £5 seems cheap- (do I need a separate bowl to lather up or do I do this straight out of the Proraso bowl?)

And my final purchase is some kind of post shave balm but not sure what's good. This is something I have never done however I'm thinking it will improve my skin and help sooth any irritation. Your advise would be great.

Anyway I'm hoping I'm going the right way and I'm praying that this will be a end to the dreaded shave.

Thanks in advance

Dan
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Hi Dan, you have come to the right place - lots of good advice here and I always find something new to learn from the tips and postings. Shave of the Day is also good to see what works for people.

For what its worth, one of the things that helped me most when new to DE shaving was to watch some of the video tutorials on Youtube, I enjoyed those from Sharpologist and lately Geofatboy - that reinforced for me that DE shaving is about taking time to progressively remove stubble over a series of passes. The single blade gives you more control. With sensitive skin, you can decide how far you go in terms of the number of passes you take.

As many have said preperation is key - I try as part of my prep to ensure that I am relaxed and enjoy the shave. I find if I am nervous/anxious e.g. using a new razor and/or blade the shave does not come naturally that I can make mistakes with pressure and angle. You might find that its like riding a bike, when it comes naturally and you don't have to think about it too much, it all flows great.

I like the tip - no lather, no blade - shaving over skin with no lather is rarely a good idea.

I am confident that you will get great shaves with your DE and you will also have a lot of fun also. However, don't expect great results each time - what I mean about that is some time, I find if I push for perfection a potentially good shave can become a bad one.
 
Amongst all advice , I will add, shave with the whole width of the razor running parallel to and touching your face at all times.Sometimes in an attempt to get the beard above my lip shaved, I lift one end of the razor off my face and the half nearest my lip causes a cut . I probably am not describing this well, but maybe some reader will!
 
take your time shaving, work on technique, not speed ,& be liberal with the witchhazell extract after you rinse . but most important RELAX ................ work on enjoying a shave ,the scent of your favourite soap ,etc ,etc ,
 
Keep coming back here. You will get a ton of good advice [emoji106] I tend to find I get cuts by “bouncing” the razor when I get lazy or careless. Oh, and beware the “over confident” shave once your a few shaves in and it's all going well!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Well I'm on my 4th shave now. I found the feather blade didn't last very long so on this shave I went with the persona blade and arko soap that small beard sent me-thanks again.

Hmmmm not great really, cut myself a lot. I'm thinking my prep still isn't right and will go back to the Proraso as I felt the lather was much better. I also think this might have been one of those confident shave moments which I messed up. Anyway my skin hated me for the whole day and the cuts were quite visible. Eek.

I've ordered a couple more bits. I decided quite quickly that I'm not the biggest fan of the omega boar hair brush and got the razorock big Bruce which is fantastic. I have also ordered some osp orange and peurtulia soap and after shave tonic which I can't wait to try.

I'm still very much enjoying it and testing different things but still looking for a nice shave. I'm sure it will come.

I keep looking at my post shave and I'm not sure if the Nivea balm is that great. I hear the osp tonic is good but should I be using a witch hazel before this?

What's your post shave routines?
 
Sensitive_Dan said:
I keep looking at my post shave and I'm not sure if the Nivea balm is that great. I hear the osp tonic is good but should I be using a witch hazel before this?

What's your post shave routines?
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I use Nivea because I bought a load going cheap in Home Bargains so I'm stuck with it for a while! I think it's OK but a bit 'washy'. A mate made his own by whipping up some baby lotion, coconut oil and glycerine. He said it was better than anything he's bought, especially after adding some essential oils.

My post shave routine: a small dab with the alum bar if I've nicked myself, wash off with any remaining soap in/on the bowl/brushwith warm water. Cold water rinse to close the pores, apply balm or moisturiser.
 
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