a 180 on rotations

[DEbest]

I, like most people here, have enjoyed the whole rotation of shaving products. Variety is the spice of life and nobody want 'old spice' everyday. But I have to wonder if all the changing is confusing for the skin especially sensitive skin. If skin could talk I think it might say 'stop switching and give me a chance to adjust!'
However maybe there is some advantage to a rotation as perhaps someday, years from now, they will discover some evil ingredient as bad as asbestos in some shaving products and they'll say 'if only he rotated, he'd still be shaving today!'

 

[Fido]

Researching, buying and trying is great fun. It enables us to find out what works for us. Soon, we can figure out our preferences. Differences between products vary from subtle to vast. By the time we decide our favourites we have all amassed far more than we will need or ever use again. So we sell, swop, leave idle or chuck away.

Each product requires time to appreciate, time to learn how to best use it.

If you buy something it seems a shame not to use it, so you can end up with a huge rotation and avoid using the identical combination for months. Since not all combos are equally enjoyable this seems plain daft to me.

In the long run, I will settle for using one or two razors, two or three brushes, and a very few special creams and soaps. All the rest will be passed on or retained as an "official" collection on display somewhere. I know I will assemble a large collection of high quality brushes - perhaps like my bell collection. But not razors - they are just practical objects to me.

So have some fun trying out lots of things, then settle on a very select group of items you will use a lot. Why not make every shave a sheer delight?

And finally, surely we can all find just a couple of blades that work and leave it at that? And don't use one for more than three days. Remember how much they cost compared with cartridge blades!

That's Fido's recipe for shavana.

 

[Arrowhead]

For years the idea of a "rotation" was completely alien to me: every day it was Palmolive / Aristocrat Junior / Wilkinson followed by a cold water rinse and that was it: I suppose I could revert to that with no ill effects as it suited me very well, but it is a bit hairshirt. Anyway, I now think that a bit of variety is no bad thing: for instance I can use a Feather blade from time to time and get away without the irritation which comes from using one all the time. Fido's right on the money about blades: I could very happily get by with a stockpile consisting of 90% Super Iridium and 10% Feathers, but it hasn't quite worked out that way ... I part company with him on razors though - I can quite see how vintage Gillette collecting becomes obsessional with some people, and straights are another matter entirely.

 

[DEbest]

I like that approach. But maybe there is a natural plateau is arrived at as opposed to a conscious decision made. After you have experienced the stellar performers (Dr. Harris, Tabac, MWF, Proraso, Feather, Derby etc) you reach a point of diminishing returns and it more diffficult to be pleasantly surprised by something new. At a certain point you just want some combo that is dependable and then all that's left to adjust is the scent. I really don't need to experience melted-snow scented Papa Panda shaving cream to know that it won't turn my head.
You're right, the amount of stuff that gets accumulated while experimenting creeps up to an alarmingly high level. Although I need to overcome my hoarding tendencies as can be seen from this e-mail I got from Zirh the other day:

Hello,
Thank you for your interest in ZIRH! Unfortunately our manufacturing department has informed me that the Lot Numbers/Batch Codes that you provided for your ZIRH products are ones they do not recognize which means that the products are more than a couple years old and considered expired.
I apologize for any inconvenience and please do not hesitate to contact us with any future questions.
Best,
ZIRH Customer Service

 

[Naked Ape]

And finally, surely we can all find just a couple of blades that work and leave it at that?

That could apply to anything shaving-related: brushes, razors, creams, soaps, etc. Although not as 'sexy' as razors or brushes, blades can make the difference between a pleasureable shave and a painful one.

 

[RB73]

+1 on all the above.

I’m now in the process seriously reducing the amount of soap and creams cluttering the bathroom, my rather short journey along this DE shaving path has led me to some great products and truly awful ones, and that in a sad sort of the way has been half the fun.

It’s taken me over six months to settle on my favourite blades which I’m now starting to horde (just in case) and I’m narrowing my soaps and creams down to two apiece. But I’d be a liar to say I won’t be trying any others that catch my eye or start getting rave reviews (Baa...Baa).

My next avenue of excessive monetary expenditure will be brushes this year... :shave