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Hi guys,
Trying to keep this as short as possible. Where I was in 2009, where I am and where I want to be in 2010. Do you have your own? Tell us and we may be able to help you. You can skip the middle and scroll down to the bottom.
I started DE shaving in the summer of 2009. I cannot, for the life of me, remember how I got into it. A subconscious desire may have developed when I saw my grandads old gillette DE razor in the bathroom cabinet when i was a kid. This incredible, little, twist-to-open device was very cool. I asked my dad what it was, and he told me it is a razor. I remember meeting a few people, Ollie, Audio etc. over at B&B. Ollie kindly sent me a green tablet of soap to try, as a free gift with a razor I bought off him. It arrived and i chucked it into one corner; it smelled a bit odd and didn't look particularly pleasing.
My first ever shave was with a Gillette 'Swede' and some Anthony logistics shaving cream. A search on ebay came up with a seller and I bought 5
'Swedes' for £2.50. My first shave was absolutely amazing. I couldn't believe shaving could be this good. I went ATG on my first ever shave. I was besotted. Next, I finished with the 'swedes' and found out they were no longer available. I didn't realise how big a dissaopint this will prove to be in the near future. I ordered a sampler pack from the very helpful Paul at Connaught shaving.
Over the next few months my mind was buried in finishing uni work and wedding preparation and all sorts. I was returning to the trusty Sensor Excel a lot. I kept up with the latest 'news' and tips for newbies like myself on the forums. I religiously listened to all the advice that was being dished out.
Occasional shaves with the DE weren't good. ATG was impossible. This continued and I went through various top-grade creams. Dissapointed with many and thinking my brillo-pad beard could never be controlled, until I came across one particular cream.
The secret cream. What a beauty. She smells good, just manages to tame my beard and blades love gliding over her. Together with Super Iridiums, the combination was good. I thought I had settled down. Then another beauty came along and took my shaving heart... Tabac. Having never properly tried soaps, I was skeptical about ordering the stuff.It arrived and on opening the package, I just knew it was going to work out. Love at first sight. There's something re-assuring about it. Like a favourite t-shirt. The scent, that gorgeous lather and the retro bowl and logo.
Until now, I was having major problems with going ATG. Then one day, I got p'd off and just literally scraped the blade against my beard. Surprisingly I got BBS with no irritation. Do not repeat this. I found the key was blade angle. Once I got the blade angle right, I could apply loads of pressure (much more than when going WTG) and I would get BBS everytime with no problems! I then realised, this is exactly what must have happened during my first ever DE shave; as a newb, I must have treated it like a cartridge razor and gone full-whack ATG. But, continued reading on the forums about 'no pressure', 'let the blade do the work' , 'light strokes' and so on put me off using pressure when going ATG. It all finally made sense. My beard prefers pressure and I'm getting better and better ATG shaves. Just keep watching that blade angle until it becomes second nature. Do what works for you and trust your instincts. The tabac got left at a friend's and he's now gone on holiday. We will be re-united in a couple of weeks.
At the same time, the Palmolive shaving stick was getting rave reviews from the experienced members. I got one from Tesco. On opening it, I realised it was the exact same thing that Ollie had sent me many months back! I used it and the shave was brilliant. From that day onwards, I made sure I always listened to Ollie. Infact, his praise for Tabac, was the prime reason I ordered it.
Something else I re-united with recently are authentic (Weybridge, Surrey) Gilllette 'swedes'. Major thanks to Andy, I am now approaching shaving nirvana with the Swedes and Tabac/Palmolive. I haven't got many, so I am saving them for rare occasions and will settle with Feathers, iridiums or Astras as my daily blade. Still deciding. If there are any other blades known for their sharpness and smootheness, please let me know.
LAst week, I exchanged 1 TOBS Avocado for 1 Trumpers Coconut. Tried the coconut this morning. Wow! I'm not sure if it beats the Secret cream as it's been a while since I have used it, but boy it must be close! I have no idea of the ingredients, as the label is not on there. It surely contains some kind of 'moisturising agent' (an oil maybe?) as it softened my beard very quickly. Anyone know if the coconut soap by Trumpers is better than the cream?
Just a quick story of festive magic involving a different kind of cartridge. I was printing out labels (its customary to use red ink) for my wedding invites. I really had to get them sent out asap, as I was already late in getting all the addresses on file. Everything was going well and I was half way through. Then my color ink ran out. Not a problem I thought. Quick look at various places online: staples, curries, pcworld, rymans etc. Not a single one has it in stock near me! I start to panic. I look at online retailers. Some have it and some don't. THe one's that do are charging 30 - 35 quid. No problem. It's an emergency. In the past I paid about £25 for one. I contact them all and they say it will take a week to reach me, maybe more. 1 of them says they can do royal mail next day but it will be next week they send it out and the total cost will be fifty quid. Now, I am sweating. Then, I remember that Jessops might do it. i use to work there not so long ago during school holidays. I rang a few branches. All but 1 was helpful. He told me to call Harrow branch as they may have 1. I ring them up, dialling the wrong number the first time round as worry was setting in. I get through. Achilles picks up and I give him the product code. He says it's goin to be difficult to find the product as it's small and discontinued. I ask him to try, and explain the situation. He says 'no worries'. He comes back to the phone after a few mins and I am quietly hoping he will deliver great news. I was wrong. Now i was really s******g myself. I could imagine my dad giving me a (deserved) b*ll*****g. I had done the labels manually and set up our old, but reliable printer in a particular tedious way, but it was working. What do I do? I started praying, wishing, you name it. I walked towards the bus stop and as I waited for the bus, I thought I'd give Harrow another call. I was desperate. Achilles picked up and recognises my voice. He said he found it. I told him to hold it. Cancelling the bus journey, I got on the train and 25 mins later I walked into the branch. A salesman handed the ink cartridge to me. The packaging was messy, and dirty but the ink cartridge inside was sealed and looked fine. The packaging had 50p written on it. I said this can't be the correct price whilst the salesman was typing the item code into the till. He said I was right and the real price was 25p! It was on clearance as it was such an old item. I put the £30 in notes back in my pocket and searched for some loose change. I left the store with a massive smile on my face and as I walked away, I nearly slipped on some ice. Even If I had fell, I would have been smiling!
Summary
2009 Bye byes
Bye bye to shaving cuts and blind purchasing without researching (impusle buys)
2010
Establish a couple more soaps to go with tabac and trumpers coconut, and seek out more, lesser known creams/soaps as I believe these will be better than the usual 3 T's etc.
Listen to Ollie! Which means, at some point in 2010, I have to get my hands on 1 of Henk's lovely products.
Try and find some reasonably priced genuine Gillette 'Swedes'
Introdue SWHMBO to DE
Help out forum members as much as possible
Improve my punctuation and grammar. I know it's terrible!
Is there anything you really want to say goodbye to in 2009 and welcome with open arms in 2010? Tell us below !
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone, and thank you for all your help.
Trying to keep this as short as possible. Where I was in 2009, where I am and where I want to be in 2010. Do you have your own? Tell us and we may be able to help you. You can skip the middle and scroll down to the bottom.
I started DE shaving in the summer of 2009. I cannot, for the life of me, remember how I got into it. A subconscious desire may have developed when I saw my grandads old gillette DE razor in the bathroom cabinet when i was a kid. This incredible, little, twist-to-open device was very cool. I asked my dad what it was, and he told me it is a razor. I remember meeting a few people, Ollie, Audio etc. over at B&B. Ollie kindly sent me a green tablet of soap to try, as a free gift with a razor I bought off him. It arrived and i chucked it into one corner; it smelled a bit odd and didn't look particularly pleasing.
My first ever shave was with a Gillette 'Swede' and some Anthony logistics shaving cream. A search on ebay came up with a seller and I bought 5
'Swedes' for £2.50. My first shave was absolutely amazing. I couldn't believe shaving could be this good. I went ATG on my first ever shave. I was besotted. Next, I finished with the 'swedes' and found out they were no longer available. I didn't realise how big a dissaopint this will prove to be in the near future. I ordered a sampler pack from the very helpful Paul at Connaught shaving.
Over the next few months my mind was buried in finishing uni work and wedding preparation and all sorts. I was returning to the trusty Sensor Excel a lot. I kept up with the latest 'news' and tips for newbies like myself on the forums. I religiously listened to all the advice that was being dished out.
Occasional shaves with the DE weren't good. ATG was impossible. This continued and I went through various top-grade creams. Dissapointed with many and thinking my brillo-pad beard could never be controlled, until I came across one particular cream.
The secret cream. What a beauty. She smells good, just manages to tame my beard and blades love gliding over her. Together with Super Iridiums, the combination was good. I thought I had settled down. Then another beauty came along and took my shaving heart... Tabac. Having never properly tried soaps, I was skeptical about ordering the stuff.It arrived and on opening the package, I just knew it was going to work out. Love at first sight. There's something re-assuring about it. Like a favourite t-shirt. The scent, that gorgeous lather and the retro bowl and logo.
Until now, I was having major problems with going ATG. Then one day, I got p'd off and just literally scraped the blade against my beard. Surprisingly I got BBS with no irritation. Do not repeat this. I found the key was blade angle. Once I got the blade angle right, I could apply loads of pressure (much more than when going WTG) and I would get BBS everytime with no problems! I then realised, this is exactly what must have happened during my first ever DE shave; as a newb, I must have treated it like a cartridge razor and gone full-whack ATG. But, continued reading on the forums about 'no pressure', 'let the blade do the work' , 'light strokes' and so on put me off using pressure when going ATG. It all finally made sense. My beard prefers pressure and I'm getting better and better ATG shaves. Just keep watching that blade angle until it becomes second nature. Do what works for you and trust your instincts. The tabac got left at a friend's and he's now gone on holiday. We will be re-united in a couple of weeks.
At the same time, the Palmolive shaving stick was getting rave reviews from the experienced members. I got one from Tesco. On opening it, I realised it was the exact same thing that Ollie had sent me many months back! I used it and the shave was brilliant. From that day onwards, I made sure I always listened to Ollie. Infact, his praise for Tabac, was the prime reason I ordered it.
Something else I re-united with recently are authentic (Weybridge, Surrey) Gilllette 'swedes'. Major thanks to Andy, I am now approaching shaving nirvana with the Swedes and Tabac/Palmolive. I haven't got many, so I am saving them for rare occasions and will settle with Feathers, iridiums or Astras as my daily blade. Still deciding. If there are any other blades known for their sharpness and smootheness, please let me know.
LAst week, I exchanged 1 TOBS Avocado for 1 Trumpers Coconut. Tried the coconut this morning. Wow! I'm not sure if it beats the Secret cream as it's been a while since I have used it, but boy it must be close! I have no idea of the ingredients, as the label is not on there. It surely contains some kind of 'moisturising agent' (an oil maybe?) as it softened my beard very quickly. Anyone know if the coconut soap by Trumpers is better than the cream?
Just a quick story of festive magic involving a different kind of cartridge. I was printing out labels (its customary to use red ink) for my wedding invites. I really had to get them sent out asap, as I was already late in getting all the addresses on file. Everything was going well and I was half way through. Then my color ink ran out. Not a problem I thought. Quick look at various places online: staples, curries, pcworld, rymans etc. Not a single one has it in stock near me! I start to panic. I look at online retailers. Some have it and some don't. THe one's that do are charging 30 - 35 quid. No problem. It's an emergency. In the past I paid about £25 for one. I contact them all and they say it will take a week to reach me, maybe more. 1 of them says they can do royal mail next day but it will be next week they send it out and the total cost will be fifty quid. Now, I am sweating. Then, I remember that Jessops might do it. i use to work there not so long ago during school holidays. I rang a few branches. All but 1 was helpful. He told me to call Harrow branch as they may have 1. I ring them up, dialling the wrong number the first time round as worry was setting in. I get through. Achilles picks up and I give him the product code. He says it's goin to be difficult to find the product as it's small and discontinued. I ask him to try, and explain the situation. He says 'no worries'. He comes back to the phone after a few mins and I am quietly hoping he will deliver great news. I was wrong. Now i was really s******g myself. I could imagine my dad giving me a (deserved) b*ll*****g. I had done the labels manually and set up our old, but reliable printer in a particular tedious way, but it was working. What do I do? I started praying, wishing, you name it. I walked towards the bus stop and as I waited for the bus, I thought I'd give Harrow another call. I was desperate. Achilles picked up and recognises my voice. He said he found it. I told him to hold it. Cancelling the bus journey, I got on the train and 25 mins later I walked into the branch. A salesman handed the ink cartridge to me. The packaging was messy, and dirty but the ink cartridge inside was sealed and looked fine. The packaging had 50p written on it. I said this can't be the correct price whilst the salesman was typing the item code into the till. He said I was right and the real price was 25p! It was on clearance as it was such an old item. I put the £30 in notes back in my pocket and searched for some loose change. I left the store with a massive smile on my face and as I walked away, I nearly slipped on some ice. Even If I had fell, I would have been smiling!
Summary
2009 Bye byes
Bye bye to shaving cuts and blind purchasing without researching (impusle buys)
2010
Establish a couple more soaps to go with tabac and trumpers coconut, and seek out more, lesser known creams/soaps as I believe these will be better than the usual 3 T's etc.
Listen to Ollie! Which means, at some point in 2010, I have to get my hands on 1 of Henk's lovely products.
Try and find some reasonably priced genuine Gillette 'Swedes'
Introdue SWHMBO to DE
Help out forum members as much as possible
Improve my punctuation and grammar. I know it's terrible!
Is there anything you really want to say goodbye to in 2009 and welcome with open arms in 2010? Tell us below !
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone, and thank you for all your help.
