Big help needed!

W

wspiral

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69
Hi all :)

I wasn't sure whether I should post in the newbies section first or just launch straight into it... I decided to launch straight in, so please forgive me!

I've actually come here desperately seeking advice! I am a woman who's partner is terrible with shaving. Since I've known him, he's owned hair clogged old disposable razors, poor electric shavers, and we have a drawer full of every type of disposable he's bought, tried one of, then ditched the rest. It's expensive and frustrating! He never used to clean a razor until I told him how my Dad used to tap his razor in the water regularly to dislodge hairs. He is petrified of shaving and abhors it totally. Shaving is a chore, there is no real ritual and no nice shaving equipment.

He is petrified of safety razors and says he will cut himself. I have to agree to an extent, because no-one has ever taught him to shave properly. Sadly, with my parents and grandparents passed away and his Dad not approachable, he still has no guidance.

I will add that he has some raised moles on his face that he very easily, and regularly, cuts.

So here I am with Christmas looming, and I would love to buy him a decent wet shave razor, and accessories. I'd love for him to enjoy the ritual of shaving rather than seeing it as a necessary chore (clean shaven once a week if he's lucky!). I would love for him to have lovely equipment that is easy, and a delight, to use. I recall the men in my family all had a ritual with brushes, safety razors (in my Grandfathers case, a cut throat), shaving creams they would lather... and they would appear wonderfully smooth faced and smelling delicious :)

So, two things... where can I point him to a good guide on using a safety razor/ wet shaving... and could anyone recommend a good starting razor, bearing in mind his ability to slice his face and his moles off!!!

Any advice is really really appreciated :)... you might tell me there is no hope!

Just as an end note, I told him of my intent with his Christmas present and he mumbled, 'well;, you can try it... but if I cut myself, I'll bin it... I can't use those things!'... eek! Should I scrap the idea and let him carry on with the million disposables scattered far and wide?!

Thanks for your time and sorry to ramble!
 
I would suggest you contact Paul at : <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://connaughtshaving.com/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://connaughtshaving.com/index.html</a><!-- m -->
Im sure he could suggest a suitable start up kit, brush, razor, soap etc. He's very knowledgable and a nice guy to deal with.
regards, beejay
 
Hello.

Sounds like he's having a rough time. Well, luckily, there is a whole load of information on this and other shaving forums.

Best place to start, would probably be YouTube - and Mark's (mantic59) videos. I would advise watching all in chronogical order. Here's the link

http://www.youtube.com/user/mantic59

Regards

Ian
 
wspiral said:
I will add that he has some raised moles on his face that he very easily, and regularly, cuts.
Click to expand...

Hi wspiral, welcome to TSR! This is the part of your message that worries me. I have just one bumpy bit on my face and I sometimes nick it with my safety razor. If your husband has a few moles that give him regular problems I'm wondering whether he might be better off with a good cartridge razor. You could combine this with a good quality brush and soap/cream. Your man could still enjoy the ritual, and the improved shave made possible by decent prep, but have the reassurance of an easier razor to shave with.

There are loads of brush possibilities but the Vulfix 404 brush is amazing value. If budget is not limited you could buy Simpsons are very well regarded. We also have a member here called Fido (you can PM him) who makes very good brushes.

As far as soaps or creams, try to decide which he would prefer then try and narrow it down to a fragrance. Another member here soapalchemist (nanny's silly soap) makes excellent soap, plus there are lots of other brands to choose from. As suggested above, Paul stocks many popular brands. Feel free to ask more questions of us as there are many helpful people here. :D
 
If he's more into books than you-tube there are a few out there, but I haven't owned or read them and therefore can't really provide a personal endorsement of one over the other.

Sharp Practice: The Real Man's Guide To Shaving is about £6 on Amazon.co.uk, & Michael Ham's Leisureguy's Guide to Gourmet Shaving, Fourth Edition: Shaving Made Enjoyable is available from the states at about $11 or 12 USBucks (+P&P), on Amazon.com.

The mantic videos are great, free and somewhat entertaining as well as informative.
  • - and a great bit evidence (in my self-defence), to show the girlfriend when she calls me obsessed, and I can show her mantic's brush closet versus my few brushes (many which were 'freeBaytes' anyway).[/list:u]
 
Welcome, he's not alone, most of us are here because we couldn't shave properly either.

With a little patience and learning there's no reason why he couldn't shave well with disposables too, preparation and lather is just as important
so I'd make my first purchase a good brush and cream if he's fearful of using a safety razor.

Once he's used to preparing and lathering well and hopefully getting decent shaves, he might be tempted to move towards using a safety razor.

Contact Diamond Edge for a

Vulfix 404 shaving brush for £9.20 (there are other 404's so choose carefully)

Luxury shaving cream for £8.60 (I happen to like the Persian Musk but there are other flavours)

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.diamondedgeltd.com/acatalog/Progress_shaving_brushes_and_accessories.html#a760" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.diamondedgeltd.com/acatalog/ ... .html#a760</a><!-- m -->

He could always sign up here of course. Good Luck
 
Hi wspiral. Welcome.

Just a quick post to echo all of the advice posted above. Especially to check out the gear at connaughtshaving.com and the mantic59 you tube videos. And get him to become a member here. A great source of info.

I bought my dad a muhle razor and soap from connaught for his birthday some time ago. They are still in the box unused and unopened. It can be annoying if you buy something for someone and they don't even give it a try.

So, if you don't think that your other half is ready for the challenge of learning a new shaving technique, there are some nice handles available that take mach3 or fusion cartridges.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.mankind.co.uk/Shaving-Sets-DEPT2153/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.mankind.co.uk/Shaving-Sets-DEPT2153/</a><!-- m -->

Not cheap, but a nice Christmas present.

Once he gets used to making proper lather, pre-shave prep etc etc, then he might like to give DE a try.
 
wspiral said:
I will add that he has some raised moles on his face that he very easily, and regularly, cuts.
Click to expand...
My GP has a Thursday afternoon wart clinic where he whacks the offending part with some compressed gas and a few days later it falls off - and it's NHS.
Perhaps yours could oblige?

Might I also suggest that you look at the Nanny's Silly Soap website - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.nannyssillysoap.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.nannyssillysoap.co.uk/</a><!-- m -->
good stuff on there and she also sells the Vulfix 404 <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=1456" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?f=30&t=1456</a><!-- l -->
and the fourth edition of Michael Ham's "Guide to gourmet shaving"
<!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=268" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?f=14&t=268</a><!-- l -->
She (Sharon Baxter) posts on here as The Soap Alchemist.
 
Hi WSpiral (& good for you for taking the trouble to locate and contact a shaving forum ! ) I'd completely go along with the advice re getting a reasonably good brush & cream / soap. Most people seem to get on better with a shaving cream initially as they tend to lather very easily & give a good cushioning effect without too much effort. Makers such as Taylors of Old Bond St. & the revived Coates are just a couple of the excellent creams available.

I'm 100% in agreement with the previous suggestion that you might like to drop Paul @ Connaught Shaving a line, he also supplies asssorted blade packs which give a good range of those currently available.

If you decide to go ahead and get a razor also then have a look at straightforward, fairly non aggresive ones such as the Muehle R89 or the Edwin Jagger 89 would be my suggestion ; but there are ever so many nice ones out there. I wouldn't suggest getting him an adjustable one to begin with as that would just be something else to footer about with.

Best of luck with your most thoughtful gift (& isn't your guy a lucky man !)

JohnnyO. \ :D
 
Hi there!

I agree on what has been said above, get a decent razor, decent brush and some soaps.
You don't want to spend a fortune, since if it doesn't work out, you don't lose much.
(if that's the case, and I hope not, you can sell the stuff on the forum, but not after a few good tries, no big loss)

Nanny's makes some nice gift baskets, you could get one or two soft shaving soaps from there with a brush, and add a razor & blades from connaughts.
(Those suggested, or a Merkur 34C/G are nice)

I used to hate shaving too, now I'm playing with straight razors, just 3 months on.. so all hope is not lost! :D

Word of warning!! If he gets into this, you will have opened pandora's box and he might end up spending more than you wished for! :lol: :lol:

Good luck, and before you spend money, post whatever you plan on getting, and we'll give our opinion :D

Max
 
Thank you all for the brilliant advice! It's so kind of you all to give me your time, what a superb forum!

I think I will try to persuade Mr Spiral to join up to the forum, once I have whetted his appetite with a few nice shaving goodies:)

I am still looking at the razors and will contact connaughtshaving; I found them selling items on ebay a couple of days ago but I was pretty bewildered by everything. But the idea of keeping him on the disposables until he perfects shaving, is a good one (and tempting!).

The youtube chanel is brilliant. How many videos has he done, wow?!!!!! Where to start! I will enjoy looking at them... maybe if I become an old beardy lady one day I will need the advice myself ;) hehe

Nannys... looks great. I had been buying a product for Mr Spiral called Shave the Planet, made by Lush. It was a lovely oily cream and for some reason he got on really well with it. However, they have discontinued it so we were back to square one with creams/soaps.

I will let you know what razor I think he might like, maybe you would be kind enough to point me from there with the blade issue (next big grey area!).

He does have his lumps sliced off at the doctor every so often but new ones come back. They have a name which I forget but he also gets them on the scalp area. The latest is between nose and lip in a really sensitive place, and I can understand why he dreads going to get it done; they stick a needle into the face (sounds like the male equivalent to botox!).

Thank you all once again for the replies, I am still working through the avenues you've provided so far!!!

Charlotte (Mrs Spiral)

P.S. LOL @ Max! You know, he always has something he's obsessed with, right now it's his aquarium.... so I'll never change him!!! May as well give him something new to get into!
 
I spent 22 years of hating shaving (but hating it less than growing a beard), 22 years of occasional bursts of seeing GP, consultants all that shite, 22 years of trying all the "new improved" shite that continuously splurges out of Gillette & Wilkinson Sword.

2 years ago a chance remark on a radio programme set me wondering... here I am now - for the most part clean shaven and when I bumped into my doctor (in the pub actually) about 3 months after starting on this road he said "<expletive> me! What happened to your face, that's brilliant. Clearly wasn't the medication that did anything."

That said, it's not for everyone - some don't get on with it, some get no benefit, some just don't have the patience or perseverance.

Blades: Israeli Red Pack Personna (or indeed the Personna brand that are sold in Asda) are quite forgiving.

Razor: They're called safety razors for a reason - it's near impossible to hack lumps out of yourself (my dad can even cut himself with an electric foil shaver, so he's not being allowed to handle exposed blades :lol: ), although if you try hard enough you can certainly draw plenty of blood.

The key at the start is to change nothing until you get it right, then change one thing at a time so if it gets better you know what made it better, conversely if it got worse, what made it worse.
 
Charlotte,

PM me your adress, and I'll whack together a blade sample pack to pif to you.

aqITw.jpg


5 x Sharks Stainless Steel
5+1 x Gillette Super Thins
10 x Super-Max Super Stainless
5 x Astra Superior Stainless

Max
 
ever the gent Max ;)

plenty good advice here Charlotte

the mantic videos on youtube are a MUST so get him watching them

the advice i normally give to someone starting from the very begining is to master making good quality proper lather with a brush (tony's suggestion of the 404 is perfect) and a good quality soap or cream
the easiest one to start with is a Palmolive soap stick for 50p in any of the big supermarkets

for afterwards good old fashioned witch-hazel will do and get a balm for this time of year

if he cuts himself a lot just now get a styptic pencil at the same time you get the soap stick, it'll be on the same shelf or nearby

razor wise, for now i think he's better sticking to a Gillette Sensor or the Blue II disposables

won't be long before your back asking about which razor to get him

good luck
 
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