when did you start 'wet shaving' and what did you use?

saj

saj

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632
hey so i'll get the ball rolling, i used a shavette when i was about 17 and it ended in a blood bath so went back to carts lool
i actually remember using the supermax blades in the shavette

started using safety razors since 2016 and the first safety razor was the black plastic wilkison sword de razor from boots,
used the wilkinson swords de blades tuck that came with it

i used the palmolive shaving stick and i think i had a boar brush mustve grabbed whatever was cheap and cheerful,
without any real thought or understanding like whats what...

how about you guys?
 
I also started DE shaving in 2016, I remember buying the kit to begin with and shaving cheekbones and under the jaw, then went full ahead in October 2016 as that's when I stopped smoking!

My set up was much the same as yours. Palmolive Shaving Stick, Wilkinson Sword boar brush, Wilk Sword Classic razor and those blades. I kept on having awful shaves with those blades as I thought it was down to technique but it turned out I have an allergy to the coating on those blades!
 
Funnily enough my first DE was a Wilkinson Sword Classic but I got it on here in a PIF. Now my ex has piffed off with it lol! About the safest safety razor you could buy I think. I only used it because I got it in the PIF, I actually started with straight razors when I joined.

My brush was a dreadful Men-ü boar which was overpriced at £10 in Boots but came with a stand so I could worry about whether it needed to be upside-down or not to dry, and a sample of not very good cream. The brush still hasn't broken in, got more backbone than Zelenskyy so it gets left in favour of my more accommodating and softer brushes.

Prior to my first straight razor I have been using dispos and carts (Sensor Excel, Mach3 and Quattros) since I started shaving in the mid 80s. A brief flirtation with disposable razors and an electric foil razor hand-me-down from the old man made me realise it was better to shave wet. Just took me about 35 years to find this forum lol!
 
My first thought about using a DE was looking at this site after becoming disillusioned with the crap shaves and price of multi blade razors.
Bought an EJ DE89, TOBS sandalwood cream, badger brush and a blade tester pack, my first few shaves were horrible because I was pressing too hard, 30 odd years of using carts and it was a hard habit to break.
Now I would rather not shave than use a cart.
 
jimmyc said:
My first thought about using a DE was looking at this site after becoming disillusioned with the crap shaves and price of multi blade razors.
Bought an EJ DE89, TOBS sandalwood cream, badger brush and a blade tester pack, my first few shaves were horrible because I was pressing too hard, 30 odd years of using carts and it was a hard habit to break.
Now I would rather not shave than use a cart.
Click to expand...

Prior to using DE razors, I spent the best part of my adult life with a beard. I'd occasionally shave it off and use multiblade carts then get sick of them and grow a beard.

After using DE razors I tried a 3 blade cart and even with good prep, lather and so on, I picked up lots of ingrowns. I can sometimes get by with razors with 2 blades, but one blade is the optimal number for my skin anyway.

Like yourself I would rather grow a beard then use a cart with more than 2 blades.
 
Always used a can of gel with plastic razor. Does that count?
Clueless shaving tbh. Anything cheap did the job.
Got terrible shaves and sometimes used razor dry. What was I thinking?
No Idea or interest in it tbh.

Got curious seeing De razors in shops plus mentioned on American podcasts a few times so I bought a wilkinson sword DE off Amazon and a wilkinson sword soap puck from supermarket around the middle of 2022.
Watched YouTube and about same time found this forum.

I don't use that razor or soap now
 
Started with a sensor excel and canned efforts, packed that in and used electric for a good while.

A little while later in 2017, chock full of ignorance and an Amazon account, picked up an R41, GSBs, mitchells wool fat, and a random brush (no idea what it was or what happened to it), bit of blood letting I managed to get the hang of it.

Then joined this place and it's been downhill ever since ;), only then did I realise I'd jumped into the slightly deeper end of the pool, but I at least made an accidental but wise choice in software.

I miss my R41, can't believe I got rid of it!
 
donnie_arko said:
I also started DE shaving in 2016, I remember buying the kit to begin with and shaving cheekbones and under the jaw, then went full ahead in October 2016 as that's when I stopped smoking!

My set up was much the same as yours. Palmolive Shaving Stick, Wilkinson Sword boar brush, Wilk Sword Classic razor and those blades. I kept on having awful shaves with those blades as I thought it was down to technique but it turned out I have an allergy to the coating on those blades!
Click to expand...
i remember those blades giving me irritation but in hindsight im not sure if thats due to technique and going over same areas a lot as i used to have very sensitive skin on my neck area

where are those wilinson sword blades from, germany?

how did you create a lather? i used to use the brush on the stick, wasnt really clued up how to do things
 
hotmetal said:
Funnily enough my first DE was a Wilkinson Sword Classic but I got it on here in a PIF. Now my ex has piffed off with it lol! About the safest safety razor you could buy I think. I only used it because I got it in the PIF, I actually started with straight razors when I joined.

My brush was a dreadful Men-ü boar which was overpriced at £10 in Boots but came with a stand so I could worry about whether it needed to be upside-down or not to dry, and a sample of not very good cream. The brush still hasn't broken in, got more backbone than Zelenskyy so it gets left in favour of my more accommodating and softer brushes.

Prior to my first straight razor I have been using dispos and carts (Sensor Excel, Mach3 and Quattros) since I started shaving in the mid 80s. A brief flirtation with disposable razors and an electric foil razor hand-me-down from the old man made me realise it was better to shave wet. Just took me about 35 years to find this forum lol!
Click to expand...
that men u brand is still in boots these days although ive never used it but seen it recently

funny how few of us started with those wilkinson sword de razors and blades,
think it was like a fiver with a tuck so perfect for giving it a try out
 
jimmyc said:
My first thought about using a DE was looking at this site after becoming disillusioned with the crap shaves and price of multi blade razors.
Bought an EJ DE89, TOBS sandalwood cream, badger brush and a blade tester pack, my first few shaves were horrible because I was pressing too hard, 30 odd years of using carts and it was a hard habit to break.
Now I would rather not shave than use a cart.
Click to expand...
i think one of the things about carts is that theyre forgiving and you can half pay attention, thats probably imho why i think its hard to get away from them until you have to buy them and they burn your wallet lool
 
donnie_arko said:
Prior to using DE razors, I spent the best part of my adult life with a beard. I'd occasionally shave it off and use multiblade carts then get sick of them and grow a beard.

After using DE razors I tried a 3 blade cart and even with good prep, lather and so on, I picked up lots of ingrowns. I can sometimes get by with razors with 2 blades, but one blade is the optimal number for my skin anyway.

Like yourself I would rather grow a beard then use a cart with more than 2 blades.
Click to expand...
is your hair growth fast? even if i did shave my beard off i dont think i could do it and il explain why,
my hair grows so fast and if i have biotin then its like on steroids lool

seriously it gows too fast and then im like sh*t cba doing it and then also growing out a beard takes a lot of patience as you know especially when you get to that inbetween stage where its not short enough or not long enough right in the middle
 
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