Recommendations for a newish daily shaver…..

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8
Hi all,
Brand new here.

So since a young age I had facial hair. Decided I liked the look so for the past 15 years I had stubble/a beard. Fair to say, in that time a razor blade may have touched my face maybe 5 times.
However 8 months ago I started a new job (firefighter) and now must be clean shaven (at least round the jaw line/cheeks/neck).

So I first of all started with the bog standard cartridge razor and store bought shaving foam. I found that it gave me terrible razor bumps and rash, especially on my neck.

Knowing that I have reasonably sensitive skin and after a bit of reading I bought a Braun Series 9 electric razor on the premise that whilst it won’t give as close shave, it is better for sensitive skin. However after 6 months use, I’m not overly impressed. It does a good job on my cheeks but it’s rubbish on my jaw line and neck. Meaning I have to do multiple passes. I’ve noticed a big increase in ingrown hairs and still get burn.

I’m not entirely sure where to turn to next. Do I try a rotary electric instead of foil or go back to wet shaving? And if I do, go for a DE safety razor?
My hair is pretty coarse and does grow in a few different directions on my neck, which is where I have the majority of issues. I also have a couple of moles that I worry about catching if I wet shave.

Any thoughts or recommendations would be hugely appreciated.

Cheers.
 
Welcome to TSR first of all. Fair play on the career change too, and thank you to you and your watch.
I'm not an expert to be advising people but I'll stick my oar in anyway. Electric razors did my nut in. May as well grow a beard and then rip it out with your hands. Carts and goop are preferable, which is where I turned after giving up on electric decades ago.
The problem with carts (environment issues aside) is that they shave below the skin so it's more likely that you'll get bumps (to be fair I didn't suffer much with that).
I much prefer straight razors and/or DE because you tend to take more care, you learn technique, and use better products. OK so straight razor shaving is a bit of a rabbit hole and not what you want if your watch starts at 5am but DE would probably give you a better shave with minimal faff, once you get the hang of it. Also it can be a lot cheaper than cartridges or straight razors. You can buy a Wilkinson Sword Classic for beans, or a vintage Gillette Tech for less than £20. There are good soaps/sticks or cream like Proraso or Palmolive which cost a couple of quid. You can get a decent brush (boar or synthetic) for under £15 and you don't need a bowl. Not much to lose to give DE a try.
Wetting your beard/stubble and washing with a slick soap like Pears, and a hot flannel, then using a mild DE like the ones I mentioned before, with a nice slick lather from a cream or stick like Arko (if you don't mind smelling of lemon or toilet cubes!!) will give you an excellent shave. You'll hopefully find less irritation. Stretch the skin tight as you do your pass and you'll get closer, but not as far down as what can happen with cartridges with their multiple blades and rubber strips. Go with, across and finally against the grain of your stubble and you'll soon get the hang of finding the correct angle and get a good smooth shave that will last all day. Also worth trying an evening shave, especially if you have an early start. The skin can be more resilient later in the day than first thing in the morning. Also you'll be less tired when you do it.

Plenty more knowledgeable folk on here to advise further (some of whom also get great results from cartridge razors, having learnt the technique and the pre/post routine).

Stick around and let us know how you get on, or ask away with your questions. DE does not need to cost a fortune, but once you go down the rabbit hole it can soon spiral if you let it. But that is more about fun/hobby/curiosity or pure FOMO. You can spend as little as £25-30 on a brush, cream, razor and tuck of blades and give it a go.

Also hopefully you'll enjoy the banter here, and maybe find that focusing on a shave can give you the peace and calm to maybe help with a stressful job.
 
Welcome to TSR

Excellent advice above!

You're not alone with the multi-directional beard growth on your neck (most men have this) Beard mapping could be helpful (search youtube)
DE shaving is very rewarding (after the learning curve), but not everyone who tris it sticks with it.
Firstly, I would recommend watching lots of shaving videos on YouTube (shaving porn for sad men!)
There are lots of good traditional shaving products . . . razors, brushes, soaps and creams (not to mention blades)
For easily sourced products, You could do worse than picking up some Body Shop Maca Root shave cream and their brand Synthetic brush, a pack of DE blades from Sainsbury's, and an Edwin Jagger DE89 razor (Amazon & Ebay)
All in it would set you back less than £50 - half the price of a middle of the road electric razor.
 
@Fridge03
dracula dead and loving it GIF

I bid you welcome.
 
Hi all.

Thanks for the welcomes! And all the advice. I've already been watching a few videos and doing some reading. I think DE is the way to go for me. I went for an electric due to the "time saving" and ease. However, I find that I have to do multiple passes with my Braun as it misses areas meaning I have to go over them again so adding to the time element as well as causing further skin irritation. I think this is also then encouraging ingrown hairs which I never got when I first tried wet shaving, just razor burn.
 
Hi all,

Just a little update after a weeks worth of reading and watching videos. I've taken the plunge and ordered the following.

- Edwin Jagger DE89 (with the knurled handle)
- 5 x Astra SP and 5 x Voskhod blades (razor comes with 1 feather blade)
- PAA cube for pre-shave
- Body Shop Maca Root shaving cream
- Barts Balms set of aftershave (to try out different ones)

Thanks for all the recommendations and advice.

All the bits should arrive this week, so will report back on my first DE shave in a week or so!
 
Can't go wrong with EJ DE89, loads of us have had it as first razor and still use it now and again.
If it's the only razor you buy it's a perfect choice. Bucking the trend to buy loads of different razors to get the best shave, the de 89 is fine if not perfect as it does the job well, paired with an astra sp blade. Spot on. (y)

Edit: ment to quote fridge 03 but i am a useless internet user. (Could have said twat) :ROFLMAO:
 
I like Astra SP a lot. Voskhod are good too but if I had to choose then Astra ftw. My desert island razor would be my ball end Tech just because it cost next to nothing, shaves brilliantly and very mild, and is a classic. I love my straights and my Slim slightly more, but suppose I went backpacking I know what I'd take for simple reliable shaves. If I had started and stopped there I would have been happy, not to discount the enjoyment I have from my other gear. Beyond FOMO, all you need is a decent user-friendly 3-piece, some good blades and a tube of Palmolive or Proraso or suchlike. And a brush I guess.
 
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I like Astra SP a lot. Voskhod are good too but if I had to choose then Astra ftw. My desert island razor would be my ball end Tech just because it cost next to nothing, shaves brilliantly and very mild, and is a classic. I love my straights and my Slim slightly more, but suppose I went backpacking I know what I'd take for simple reliable shaves.
Well I have the same choice as you, fat handled flat bottom tech with astra sp is perfect.
Also slim at 5 with sp is brilliant as well.
But tech with sp, perfect pairing. (y)
 
Word.
There's a chasm between 'need' and 'want'. Fantastic shaves can be had at entry level, everything else is just indulgence of the hobby.

Did I mention I have a puck of Tuscan Oud and a bottle of Gothic Revival splash incoming? No, thought not. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Yea I use a £5 razor and splash a £50 aftershave on my chin after using a £30 shave cream. That was me in the beginning of shaving. Now the perfect shave is tech razor, Palmolive soap or cream and Brut or old spice. Perfect. Ps I'm 58 so that's what I grew up with.:)
 
Same but a couple of years younger. So which one of the Spice Girls are you again? Old Spice?!

I need to revisit Brut. Somehow I cannot get the image of Henry Cooper out of my head, or of my old man with his plastic bottle of Brut 33. It's an itch I may have to scratch but I don't really remember liking Brut 33 back in the day. Maybe that was the cheap one? Still had to be better than Hai Karate!
 
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