Thread: Method Shaving Experiment Help Please

Hi Kev,
Have you tried the trishave cream sample for DE shaving? I love it, and the aftershave moisturising lotion is hard to beat at any price. The Aesop after shave balm is great also, but at 5x the price, but wasn't a fan of their shave serum (the one you lather with water to build a foam).

On a side note, noticed your avatar pic... when did you get a tan?

Hey Andrew,

I haven't tried the Samples yet, I will though this week now you reminded me… i put them in the samples drawer with all the others, bad boy am I.

Yep the avatar, Im evolving….backwards….just like my shaving….lol

Looks like you've got a shiny hemet….must be all the moisturising you have been doing…lol

Hmm. Just a thought I had as I was reading about the settings on your DE being set to a more aggressive number. Have you ever tried a shavette?

Originally Posted by Steel

Hmm. Just a thought I had as I was reading about the settings on your DE being set to a more aggressive number. Have you ever tried a shavette?

Yes I started with a Parker Shavette before I tried a straight. I'm planning to go back to the straight once I have learned to Method Shave with the DE. That way I can see if multiple passes, a very slick "wet mix" (Lather of sorts) and a straight will go together well.

Originally Posted by kevinred

Hey Andrew,

I haven't tried the Samples yet, I will though this week now you reminded me… i put them in the samples drawer with all the others, bad boy am I.

Yep the avatar, Im evolving….backwards….just like my shaving….lol

Looks like you've got a shiny hemet….must be all the moisturising you have been doing…lol

If you think about it moving from SE to DE is moving forward and in line with the evolution of shaving


What kind of ape is that avatar? It almost looks like it's taking a selfie. I see the personal resemblance

I'm still waiting for the post from America. It always seems to take a while from the States to Australia, but in a strange way I'm enjoying the wait..

In the meantime I have been experimenting with the Merkur HD34C.. CR suggests getting this razor, to use with his method shaving system, so I bought one to see what it was like.

I'm a great fan of Red IP's, so I have been using the HD loaded with one of these to see how it goes. Well I have to say, what a great little shaver. It's a mild and It seems pretty impossible to cut yourself, which is why I guess its recommended as a beginners razor.

I have to say though I am very impressed. I have had two shaves with it and you can whip this bad boy around, use pressure, use none and it just shaves and shaves close. So far I have had no irritation and believe me I have not been being overly careful with it.

I have been trying multiple directional passes, blade buffing and J hooking with it as they do with the Hydrolast products and cutting forms but I have been using Proraso green pre shave and Proraso green cream with no problems, great partnership of product with lots of slip and cushion. Definitely in my top 10 anyway.

So If you haven't tried a Merkur HD34C yet, pick one up they really are great…

The Hydrolast Products arrived from Austin Texas!

I have been using the products for a couple of days and I have to say its the slickest lather (wet mix) I have ever seen or used. In fact holding a well knurled DE (Merkur 34cHD) is quite difficult. it's also incredibly messy.

Its taken me a couple of days to work out how to make a lather or "wet mix" as CAR calls it. I'm not impressed with the shave cloth at the moment as its quite stiff, but I'm assured it will break in shortly. First impressions is the wet mix is just too slick. Can some thing be too slick? well I think so, it takes a few minutes to rinse the stuff of your hands and its impossible to open any products if you don't open them before you begin.

I used a new Red IP blade and I have to be honest and say that I didn't get as close a shave as I did with my usual products. Its true you can make many many passes without razor burn or irritation, weepers or cuts, in fact it seems impossible to cut yourself, however I found this with the HD before I began, but not quite to the same degree. Maybe also I struggled because feeling stubble through the remaining wet mix after the passes is impossible and you have to use a lot of water to rinse your face at the end and then you discover the remaining stubble.

The glossing cream, is some type of moisturiser with an oil base it seems. It can be used mixed in the wet mix or after on a wet face. It does provide a good barrier and you can shave again repeatedly but its not so slick, so its good for the remaining touch ups. I did get to a BSS but man it took forever!!!!

The products do leave your face feeling good following the shave, no cuts or weepers or irritation, but for me thats not unusual with my usual rotation of products, however you could too 100 passes if you wanted to with Hydrolast. I was getting frustrated towards the end of each shave though as my razor just seemed not to want to cut the final patches of hair through the slick without applying quite a lot of pressure.

So my initial thoughts are already to ditch the cloth, the messy overly slick wet mix, but I won't, I will keep going and see with practice if things improve. I also shudder at the thought of managing a straight with this slick a lather. however its not something I would even attempt at this stage to be honest.

CAR also recommends a feather blade used for 2 shaves before replacing. I never have been a fan of feathers but I'm going to give them a go with this system and see if they are better with it than my usual Red IP's.

So initial thoughts are "I'm not that impressed" but it's too early to give a review or judgement call as the products can be used in different ways to change how the blade cuts apparently, so I will attempt to discover how to do this….

Hi Kevin, watch out for the Feathers, those suckers are sharp - imagine one loaded in a super aggressive head like a Muhle 41 - you can see why Charles Roberts recommends a relatively benign razor like a Merkur.

Originally Posted by Maladroit

Hi Kevin, watch out for the Feathers, those suckers are sharp - imagine one loaded in a super aggressive head like a Muhle 41 - you can see why Charles Roberts recommends a relatively benign razor like a Merkur.

Funny you should mention that Mike, I have used Feathers in the past and just found them too aggressive. but CAR recommends them so I thought I had to try especially after yesterdays shave.

All went well during the shave, super slick, no real scent to enjoy or dislike, and a pretty close BSS at the end after using his glossing cream to hunt for rogue stubble. All I noticed was my face felt kind of tight after the shave, not sore or irritated, no cuts and just one weeper on the neck.

Now the method stuff says it protects and it does feel like it does, like I said just a tight feeling, but being an experienced wet shaver I was suspicious so I decided to use a bit of Alum to check things out and boy I almost screamed!!!! Super sting!!!!! My epidermis may be missing…lol

There is defiantly something in the cream that keeps feel of irritation away, if I knew no better I would have thought tight was good.

Im not going to shave tomorrow, I need to let my face heal….

Have you tried using the Osma Alum based soap? It's a wonderful French soap, can be a bit tricky for some to get a good lather, but pretty much all the feedback I've received, including my own experience, is the the alum in the soap results in a particularly close shave.