Thread: Shaving in Afghanistan

Hey everyone, I know I haven't been on here in a while (sorry) but I just wanted to touch base and #1 say thank you to everyone who helped me decide on my razor, #2 let everyone know I made it to Afghanistan ok.

Ok so when I found out I was deploying I had to figure out what I was going to bring with me for my stay. Well it turns out my shave kit was the first thing I thaught about. Lol.

So far my deployment shave kit consist of my Merkur D/E razor and Red IP blades. VDH bowl and brush. C.O Bigelow shave cream. And what everyone helped me pick out, my Dovo straight. I brought my D/E for the travel portion of my trip and today I am finally settled in so I will start using my straight blade.

The latrines are kinda small and crowded so I think I will be shaving in my room for the most part. I have a shelf for all my kit, a decent mirror, an electric kettle for hot water, and a plastic tub for a basin.

I also placed an order yesterday for some more supplies. I ordered some Razorock shave cream and wax paste aftershave. And I ordered a Simpson best badger 46b. This will be my fiirst quality brush and only the second one I've ever used so I'm a little excited for that to get here.

Thanks for listening guys and I will talk to y'all later

Ron

Hello Ron
Sounds like your gear is set. Its cool that your making the best with what is given to you.
I sincerely hope that you stay safe, as well as your comrades.
God bless,
Darl (Tarkus)

I really respect the dedication to straights during your deployment! Love it!

Stay safe my friend and thank you for your service.

Yea, I'd hate to see what my shave would look like if I just up and stopped straight shaving for 9+ months lol. Plus it's a good way to recruit new people to our lifestyle. There has not been one person that has seen me with a D/E or a straight and not start asking me a million questions. I wish I would have brought some of my cheap antique store D/E razors so I could PIF them around here. I bet I'd have a few converts

Where there's a will, there's a way. Glad to hear you're sticking with it. I respect and appreciate your service. Friends of mind who have served stated that you'd be surprised at what helps you get through -- an Ipod etc. -- can make all the difference. Maybe a great shave will be therapeutic for you? Be safe and keep your head down.

John

Thank you for serving. I hope your wet shaving provides you some peaceful moments.

If you are anything like me, on all my deployments I spend so little money on the normal overhead of modern living (i.e. utility bills, food costs, entertainment, alcohol, etc) that I end up splurging on things just for the fun of it. My girlfriend calls it retail therapy. So take the opportunity to try out a few new soaps/creams, aftershaves, strops, whatever!

Oh, and godspeed and get home safe!

Keep safe out there. I brought my straights on all three of my Iraq deployments (actually got my first setup on my first deployment). People would always look at my like i was nuts. It did help relax and just take a minute or so to yourself.

So far everything is going good. I figured out I'm going to need some kind of case to keep my stuff in. I forgot how dusty everything gets here. Also, I ended up just shaving in the latrine instead of my room. I thought it would be too much of a process with my whole kit, but it wasn't so bad. I just stropped my razor in my room and took everything to the latrine.

I really need my aftershave to get here or I'm going to need to get some lotion, my face is so dry it is killing me. Anyone know of an aftershave lotion that has sun block in it? Or would it be better to just apply sun block after the aftershave soaks in?

Thank you for your service! And Godspeed home!

During my deployment to Iraq, I would use ziplocks to keep the dust out ( 1 each for each razor). Also, I would apply the sunblock after the AS balm.