I didn't think it would make a big difference but...

Hi guys, I'm new here and I've been very interested by the allure of straight razor shaving for past week or so. I haven't purchased my first straight yet, and now I want one even more lol, but today I went to my local Shoppers Drugmart and picked up some Proraso shaving soap and a cheap Omega brush; it's a boar hair brush and I do plan on moving up to badger eventually, but it was only 10 bucks so I don't feel bad about buying it.

Onto the shave. First I soaked my brush and got a good lather going before brushing it onto my face, and I must say there was a certain je ne sais qoui about using the brush. It felt much more elegant than using my hands to apply shaving cream and having to wash them before shaving. I still used my trusty Bic disposable but I swear it gave me a significantly closer shave than usual, and I think the brush had a lot to do with that.

Anyways this was my first step towards straight razor shaving and I can already tell it was a step in the right direction. I don't know if anyone else noticed a difference just from the soap and brush like I did but it was quite amazing to me.

Cheers.

You are correct, shaving with lather of the proper consistency beats the can any day. I concur that it gives you a special feeling. Furthermore, lathering on the face has a number of advantages that go beyond the "je ne sais quoi" you talk about. The most obvious one has to do with the improved beard preparation that you get. Also, there is a mild skin exfoliation when you use a brush, particularly with boar brushes. There are, however, two aspects where face lathering falls short to bowl lathering, particularly for new users: 1) it is a bit harder to find the correct soap to water ratio (not really a problem, something you get used overtime); and 2) if you do more than 1 pass, the quality of the lather changes. Some people use a mixed method combining both to overcome this: they lather in a bowl and lather apply this unfinished lather to the face and proceed to finish it and hydrate it there, this way they get the best of both worlds.

Al raz.

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Originally Posted by doolie

Hi guys, I'm new here and I've been very interested by the allure of straight razor shaving for past week or so. I haven't purchased my first straight yet, and now I want one even more lol, but today I went to my local Shoppers Drugmart and picked up some Proraso shaving soap and a cheap Omega brush; it's a boar hair brush and I do plan on moving up to badger eventually, but it was only 10 bucks so I don't feel bad about buying it.

Onto the shave. First I soaked my brush and got a good lather going before brushing it onto my face, and I must say there was a certain je ne sais qoui about using the brush. It felt much more elegant than using my hands to apply shaving cream and having to wash them before shaving. I still used my trusty Bic disposable but I swear it gave me a significantly closer shave than usual, and I think the brush had a lot to do with that.

Anyways this was my first step towards straight razor shaving and I can already tell it was a step in the right direction. I don't know if anyone else noticed a difference just from the soap and brush like I did but it was quite amazing to me.

Cheers.

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Welcome to SRP!!!

Sounds like you are half way there!!!

I used a Double Edge razor for years combined with boars hair and a Williams shave soap. The boars hair will do for now, but you'll really notice the difference with a badger hair.

.:beer2:

I've only been using a straight razor for about 8 years, but I've been using a brush and soap for probably 25. It DOES make a big difference! Not only is the shave better, but it is also much more economical and environmentally friendly because you aren't using all those damn cans.

My use of soap is especially economical because I do not throw away left over lather and I remove lather from my brush and return that to the bowl as well. Using this method, I have never used up a puck of soap in less than 5 years. Now that is economical!

Welcome to the enlightened side!