Welcome to SRP!! Definitely +1 on starting with the Beginner's Guide. For Starter Gear I would recommend less worry on Looks and focus on Function... Classifieds here are a great place to start but make sure to have open dialogue with what, "Shave Ready", means and let people know you are just starting out.

Learning to shave by mowing down a full beard may be a challenging choice... I would recommend a Trimmer to mow down to stubble level first then try your first few passes and go from there.

Shawn
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