Birthday razor question

Hey everyone,

I've been intending to get into the straight razor scene for a while and now that my birthday is coming up I figured that this would give me the excuse I have been looking for to get started.

I do have a quick question however. I have been reading through the beginner FAQs and shopping lists and I was wondering if there are any packages or combination of products that the people on this forum would recommend for beginners. I was hoping to be able to just ask for [insert package here] instead of having to piecemeal together a shopping list from scratch.

I have only ever shaved with cartridge razors and I find that the only way to get a close shave with them is to go against the grain which causes my skin to revolt against me. I would probably place myself on the more sensitive skin side of the equation. Also, I am basically starting from scratch with getting these products together so I will probably need to pick up everything at some point.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Check with some of the vendors here like SRD. They have some amazing Strop/razor combos that'll save you some money buying together not to mention you'll get a razor that truly is "shave ready". You can get an allright brush off amazon like one of the tweezerman for pretty cheap. Hope this helps.

Michael

Welcome. A word of warnng if cartidge shaving ATG irritates your skin. This wil not be any better with a straight. As you've probably read, skin irritation is one of the most common complaints newbies have. I remember this well from my early days, just a few years ago. Whatever package or individual components you end up with, you'd do well to get some shave balm such as Nivea and use it liberally after shaving for a while. Alum block is another commonly used skin treatment but as I have posted before, I don't have first hand experience with it. Those who do, speak highly of it. Again, welcome to the world of straight razor shaving. I hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of us do.

I use both Nivea as well as the alum (sometimes both). The alum will really help you to get used to using a lighter touch. If you use too much pressure and then apply the alum.......it'll burn like hell, so. Just follow the suggestions in the beginers section about using light strokes and starting off small instead of just jumping in and trying a full shave right off the bat. Take your time and you'll do just fine. Remember, there's plenty of folks that are here to help.

Michael

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Originally Posted by Kitt

Hey everyone,

I've been intending to get into the straight razor scene for a while and now that my birthday is coming up I figured that this would give me the excuse I have been looking for to get started.

I do have a quick question however. I have been reading through the beginner FAQs and shopping lists and I was wondering if there are any packages or combination of products that the people on this forum would recommend for beginners. I was hoping to be able to just ask for [insert package here] instead of having to piecemeal together a shopping list from scratch.

I have only ever shaved with cartridge razors and I find that the only way to get a close shave with them is to go against the grain which causes my skin to revolt against me. I would probably place myself on the more sensitive skin side of the equation. Also, I am basically starting from scratch with getting these products together so I will probably need to pick up everything at some point.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

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Kitt,

First of all, you must have patience. I spent quite a bit of time researching before I bought into str8 shaving and with all the packages I considered, I finally put together my first ensemble piece mail. There were two reasons.
First, no matter what level of starter kit, there was always a compromise on either the quality or variation of one component or another.
Second, there is virtually no cost savings on any of the packages when compared to purchasing the items separately.

You did not mention whether up unitl now you have been shaving with some type of crap-in-a-can shave cream. If so, using a quality soap or cream and brush will go a long way to ease the amount of irritation you experience.
The fact that you have had irritation with muti blade shaving is an indication that you do have sensitive skin, but also that you may be prone to impatience. When starting to str8 shave, pay particular heed to the many words that are written herein about light touch and PATIENCE. Unfortunately, given the fact that the learning curve is steep and your sensitive skin, things might get worse before they get better. They will get better, however.

Finally, pay particular attention to post shave treatments for guys with sensitive skin. Cold water rinses, witch hazel, and one product that I will plug is Nivea ASB for sensitive skin. Above all, and it bears repeating, take your time, earn your stripes, and don't cut corners.

Hope this helps.

Hello, Kitt:

Welcome to Straight Razor Place. These gentlemen have offered excellent pointers and my thoughts mirror theirs.

Remember that shaving with the straight razor is a far different world from that of the multi-blade cartridge. Among other things, you need patience and tenacity.

Most of all, though, you must really want to shave with the straight razor. I might add, by the time you acquire some skill in making luxurious lather and shaving it off with the straight razor, the cartridge razor will be only a memory.

So throw the clock away and concentrate on honing your skill. Your technique will develop from that.

Since you have sensitive skin, proceed with one pass only with the grain. Keep your razor pressure as light as possible. Forget the perfect shave for a while. For now, embrace the ritual of wet shaving with the straight razor.

I use alum block after every shave and love it. With your sensitive skin problem, I suggest avoiding alum block for now. Later maybe, when your skin gets used to the straight razor. Instead use Thayer's super medicated witch hazel with aloe vera. That's a fine astringent.

Continue your reading, and view as many shaving and lather-making videos as you can. Beyond that, ask questions.

Kitt,

As the previous advice suggests, check out the vendors who advertise here at SRP. They have some great deals on straight razor starter combos/sets.

Second, if you have been shaving with a multi-blade razor and shaving cream out of a can up till now, the beard preparation that is part of the straight razor shaving ritual and its WTG and XTG may help you get a close shave without necssarily resorting to ATG on your entire face.

I found that using a straight razor--along with the beard prep and post shave treatment--made a big difference in the reduction of shaving irritation on my face for me.

Just my 2 cents.

Take care--and smooth shaving.

Cold water rinse and Witch Hazel will be your friend with sensitive skin. Thayer's Witch Hazel has been one of the best things I bought to go along with my razor set. Oh yea and don't turn the razor blade down on the strop, nicks suck and I don't have the money to get mine fixed.

If you are looking to stay on the low end of getting in to SR you can also check out www.whipdog.com You can get a good shave ready razor and a starter strop kit for a good price. Then you can pick up the VDH Brush Kit from rite aid or CVS or Walgreens or Walmart. Brush Kit isn't the best in the world but still a very good kit to learn with and you can then use it for travel if you decided to upgrade later.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Time to do some more research and see what I can put together.

As an aside, @Castel33, www.whipdog.com doesn't work for me. I get an error message saying that I cannot browse the webpage since it doesn't have an index file. Do you know who we can contact to get that error resolved?

Thanks again!

Sorry missed typed the link its whippeddog.com. Larryandro on here is the one the who runs that site

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kitt

Hey everyone,

I've been intending to get into the straight razor scene for a while and now that my birthday is coming up I figured that this would give me the excuse I have been looking for to get started.

I do have a quick question however. I have been reading through the beginner FAQs and shopping lists and I was wondering if there are any packages or combination of products that the people on this forum would recommend for beginners. I was hoping to be able to just ask for [insert package here] instead of having to piecemeal together a shopping list from scratch.

I have only ever shaved with cartridge razors and I find that the only way to get a close shave with them is to go against the grain which causes my skin to revolt against me. I would probably place myself on the more sensitive skin side of the equation. Also, I am basically starting from scratch with getting these products together so I will probably need to pick up everything at some point.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

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well before your birthday gets here you should make the jump to using a brush and mug. it shouldn't take long to figure out how to make lather. you can get the tweezerman brush from amazon.com for around $13. col. conk also has one for a similar price. these aren't the best brushes by any means but you'll get your foot in the door and a natural brush for $13 is pretty darn good.

while you're there get some van der hagen or col conk soap. VDH should be around $2-3 and maybe a dollar more for the conk. VDH is also sold at many walmarts. i just grabbed two pucks for a grand total of $3.14. these soaps aren't the best but they're everything you need. the VDH is probably better for sensitive skin. it's very moisturizing and seems to give decent protection. fragrance is light as well. i wouldn't go with a higher end soap yet for a few reasons. mainly because with your skin type you'll find most soaps irritating. most big name soaps are scented pretty lavishly which would be a good place for you to get irritated. they also provide lots of cushion which can work against you as a newbie. you'll get away with bad technique which is a catch 22.

nivea shave balm is a great call. anything with aloe will work great as well. i would add to the regimen hair conditioner as a pre shave. get out of the shower with a wet face. apply hair conditioner to face. whip up lather and apply on top of conditioner.

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Originally Posted by leadduck

Welcome. A word of warnng if cartidge shaving ATG irritates your skin. This wil not be any better with a straight. As you've probably read, skin irritation is one of the most common complaints newbies have. I remember this well from my early days, just a few years ago. Whatever package or individual components you end up with, you'd do well to get some shave balm such as Nivea and use it liberally after shaving for a while. Alum block is another commonly used skin treatment but as I have posted before, I don't have first hand experience with it. Those who do, speak highly of it. Again, welcome to the world of straight razor shaving. I hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of us do.

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Welcome, in my personal experience just the switch between cartridges to str8, gave me less irritation given the fact that, when used properly, straight razor reduces significantly ingrown hairs (if not completely avoids them). When I used cartridges, ATG passes were out of the question. During the learning curve with straight, when I tried ATG I finally got a chance to achieve a BBS finish with NO irritation at all... not to say now that I use Witch Hazel and AS Balm along with fine AS Lotions and COLD SHAVING...... (worked great for me)

Good luck!!!!