Thread: I bet you have never come across this before ;)

Hi there. Today I decided to go and get a straight razor and see if it's any better that what I currently use. I hope that you friendly people will give me some help as time goes on and maybe in the future I might be able to return the favour to other people.
Now you are probably thinking "Another noob!" BUT, I would put money on the fact that I have TWO medical conditions that you probably didn't know existed.
1) hypertrichosis (AKA werewolf syndrome. Excessive hair growth)
2) Pili Multigemini (bifurcated or multiple hairs in a single follicle)
It takes me 2-3 razors in a single sitting to get a proper shave so at the moment I only shave 3-4 times a week. It takes me this many razors because I have about 3 times as much hair as most. Imagine trying to get a smooth shave on your entire body with a single razor and you have a picture of what I have to go through on JUST my face,,, well,,, my cheeks, neck and upper lip... I have a goatee so thankfully it's a scissor job there The advantages of being a man huh?

Well, anyway; I'll be lurking through the pages here over the next few days while I wait for my new toy to arrive and hopefully I'll learn a thing or two.

P.S. Feel free to ask ANYTHING. I'm used to questions.

Ive only been on this forum for a few years and that's a new one for me. Im sure a straight razor will get the job done, but with you being a "Another Noob!" and your thicker or double follicle hair you will still dull your blade fast.
There is a steep learning curve with straight Razor shaving but if you stick it out, you do get better results and its cheaper in the long run.

You should go with straight razors if you haven't yet, you can always give it a quick stropping mid shave if you feel you need to.

Welcome to SRP

I think you have found something that you will enjoy here.

Make sure to look through the library linked up top, there is a ton of information that will help shorten the learning curve a bit.

You may also want to see if someone is in your area to help you with proper stropping technique and potentially touching up your razor on a finisher.

And feel free to ask any questions you have, this community is full of very helpful and knowledgeable folks.

Interesting conditions (I have heard of them BTW).

I would suggest learning slowly with a good straight razor, then once you figure our how and can say weather or not you like it, you can plan accordingly.

Assuming you like it, I would spend up for a custom made from the best materials possible (for you) since you will be asking more from your razor than most

(It will still save you money over what you are doing now...12 razors a week?!?)

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I am sure I will learn a lot from you and considering the amount I spend on shaving gear I think you will probably save me a small bloomin' fortune in the future! I'll make sure there's one in the tap as a thank you

@unit I have been thinking of getting a Japanese style razor with a western edge on it but I want to see how it goes first using a cheap (£50 $70) razor first before I spend 10X - 20X that amount on a custom blade
You are right, however; saving for a HIGH quality razor will be worth it. I think I'll be able to find some good recommendations between here and a few blade forums I'm on.

Actually I have multiple hairs that grow from single pores...even found a three-fer a few times...it does suck, b/c ingrowns are always a problem. Welcome to the forum, and hope we can be of help when the need arises.

If you could let us know where you are located, it will help! There may be fellow members near by who can help you learn. Believe it or not, there are members out there that may 'loan' you a truly shave ready razor to try!

There are no guarantees! However as my late father used to say; "It never hurts to ask".

I was helping a young man who has a beard made of Brillo! Another friend of mine lent him a 6/8 1/4 grind and that really seemed to help. A very good shaving and typical full hollow grind looked like a hacksaw blade after only a week of shaving and that's with plenty of stropping.

Yes, a very expensive custom made razor may be the answer to your shaving prayers. pinklather swears by his!

Welcome ...I think you are going to find you have fallen on the right idea. The search window up top will take you to plenty of threads about wiry beards. You want to get a good idea of blade type and style before you go custom. Some inexpensive wedges, wider blades, what ever they use, may be found and tried before you know what to order in a custom. Once you get past the learning curves you will know what you want and love to shave.