***The Official Manly Shaving Thread***

welshdragon said:
I found them great in the Muhle, but Ive picked up a Merkur Progress and try as I might I dont think it likes Feathers. Enjoying trying a few more for now
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You've encouraged me to buy the Progress (long handle one) so when it arrives I'll try my Feathers with it and see, I also picked up 100 Yellow Gillette 7 o'clocks (I've ordered from Shaving Shack as I'm not convinced all the blades advertised on Amazon now are the true one's).

Hopefully the Progress allows me to do the top lip properly because the Futur is such a big head I used to have to 'tidy up' with the shavette or Mach 3 which sort of defeats the purpose of DE shaving if you have to also use a different razor to get the hard to reach areas.
 
bought a Henson shaver , made from "aerospace grade aluminum" (what ever different from normal aluminum i don't know) but it light. around 33g with a blade(feather), that roughly half the weight of a 33c. and so far i'm loving it. I only shave every 2-3 days as i who get razor rash easy. have tried a lot of different thing to try and stop it. now after 2 weeks with the henson i'm shaving every day (day and a half if i don't wake up in time) and still no rash. don't know if it how light it is or the slightly different way they mount the blade, but i really like it
 
Btone said:
bought a Henson shaver , made from "aerospace grade aluminum" (what ever different from normal aluminum i don't know) but it light. around 33g with a blade(feather), that roughly half the weight of a 33c. and so far i'm loving it. I only shave every 2-3 days as i who get razor rash easy. have tried a lot of different thing to try and stop it. now after 2 weeks with the henson i'm shaving every day (day and a half if i don't wake up in time) and still no rash. don't know if it how light it is or the slightly different way they mount the blade, but i really like it
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It does look nice! Sleek and modern
 
Well yes, Feathers are my favourite and I can get by with yellows. I have for the first time in quite a few years used a Gillette Silver Blue in my Merkur Slant - it was absolutely fine.

This blade

https://connaughtshaving.com/gilsbs.html

Anyone experiencing problems should pay particular attention to pre and post shave routines.

Best before: shower and apply a pre-shave to your beard - any hair conditioner will do fine. I use a basic supermarket own brand unscented product.

Shave with the hottest water you can.

Afterwards, use a flannel and scoop as much of the coldest water you can onto your beard. I then rub with an alum block, and instead of anything fancy apply E45 Lotion - it's less viscous than E45 Cream. Both are simple but medical grade products.

Tonight I shaved without a shower so I first used the flannel with the hottest water I could bear on my beard.

If you scrape at an unprepared face, even with the best shaving soaps or creams, you are inviting trouble.

And let me echo previous advice - use no pressure - let the weight of the razor do the job - that's why I prefer a fairly heavy razor - 100g+

Just my two penneth.
 
More on the Alum Block here

https://www.healthline.com/health/alum-block

I always use one after shaving, and it's the only deodorant I ever use.

Hunt around for the best price - some places try to sell for ridiculous prices.

The cheapest one here would be absolutely fine.

https://www.connaughtshaving.com/alumblocks.html

I have used the cylindrical versions in plastic cases - they are good to use as a deodorant as they slide more easily into delicate places, but I find a rectangular block more convenient to scrape over my face after shaving.

Of course you must pat your face dry with a towel - you don't want to rub the alum off!
 
Agree with a lot of the above - I swear by the alum block now for several reasons -

It gives you "feedback" on your shave - if the block is tingling or downright stinging in some areas, that means they have been irritated either by over-working or a bad blade/setup for your face. This feedback is now invaluable to find problem areas and also lets me know when I did a good job because it won't tingle.

It helps close the pores/settle the skin down after being roughed about. Don't forget that both washing and shaving remove top layers of skin and oils. The alum helps tighten the skin up again so it isn't as prone to getting grime in. It just seems to prevent that "raw" feeling the first few hours after shaving.

It helps prevent redness and bleeding - though for proper shaving cuts I keep a styptic pencil handy. This is just alum in a binder AFAIK but it works instantly.

You can also use a little alum on a fingertip to increase friction if you struggle to grip the skin when pulling it tight. Works best on dry ish skin so YMMV mid-shave.

My alum routine is a little different - I finish the shave, splash with more hot water to clean foam off, pat mostly dry, then alum all over thoroughly. I then leave it on while I clean my gear, drain and rinse the sink, etc. After that the alum has sat for a minute and I have nice cold water running - I splash with this to really shock the pores closed. Then I pat dry and apply some toner.
 
Guys - with a birthday coming up my wife wants a few bits for the kids to give me. Thinking of trying some new cream and post shave balm. Thinking I might try the Body Shop maca root cream. Just wondering if anyone has any post shave balm recommendations around a tenner (ish)?
 
The Bodyshop stuff is great, I use both this and Taylors of Old Bond Street stuff regularly and the new Aloe water gel is very soothing.

I have just opened a Art of Shaving cream that I got from Vegas and it's equally as good, I've also got a 2nd tub if the Bluebeards yet to open and that's good as well, as you can see over my journey I've spent quite a lot of money but it gets infectious to try new products.

Had my 2nd shave with my Merkur Progress last night and I've only used the Merkur blade so far but it is good, it's not quite on a par with the much more expensive Futur but the smaller head meaning I can get under my nose means it's probably going to be used more than the Futur.
 
@Maundie thats spot on. It is infectious!

I cant find the aloe water gel on their site, I knew about it. I'll have another look.

Settles it Im going with the bodyshop stuff next.

As a small update I had some more Gilette Greens and they are definitely now my go to for the moment.
 
 
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