Thread: Checking in

Hey everyone, just thought I'd introduce myself. I'll be turning 25 in a couple weeks, and haven't been very happy with my life for a while now. I finally decided to do something about it, and I have started making changes in how I take care of myself. I've quit smoking, started eating better, and exercising more. Now it's time to focus on my outward appearance.

I had read an article about "shaving like your grandpa" a couple years ago and it seemed interesting, but the initial cost and the fact that I had a beard most of the time deterred me from jumping in. Then a couple months ago, I stumbled on an article about showering and washing your hair with just water- no soap or shampoo. The reasons they gave (such as being better for your skin/hair/environment, way cheaper, and the fact that the only reason we use expensive shampoos every day is because of marketing and greed) brought to mind the wet-shave article I had seen. It made me really start to think about all the things we do and the products we buy just because that's what we're used too.

After doing the experiment myself with fantastic results (I haven't used any soap, shampoo, or hair styling product in a month now. Hair is not greasy, looks and feels great, and I don't smell bad at all), I finally decided to make the plunge and join the community of wet-shavers. I should be getting my razor and supplies in the mail tomorrow, and I'm really excited to start. I think it will be a great daily ritual to have, and I can imagine how relaxing it will be. I haven't been this excited to shave since I was 13!

I do have a question though...Is it a sacrilege to sign up for a forum titled "Straight Razor Place" if you only have a safety razor? :P I do plan on getting a straight eventually, but I wanted to start out with a safety. I saw there is a safety sub-forum here, so hopefully I won't get too much hate, haha. This seems like a pretty friendly community, so I'm not too worried.

Anyway, I'm really glad to be here, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you all and learning more about this great art form!

Welcome to SRP. DEs are a fine route until you get your straight. Do not fret about that one at all. Let us know how your first shave goes.

Welcome to SRP

Great people and good times here, glad to have you join in.

Welcome to the forums. Hope you enjoy your start to wet shaving, if you do , you will be hooked for life. Read and learn with the time you have before you get your straight razor. All the info here is invaluable and it will cut down on the mistakes once you jump into it.

Thanks everyone! I will definitely update after the first shave. Hopefully everything will come in tomorrow. I bought a Merkur 34c HD and a sample pack of razors along with an Omega badger hair brush from one company, and that is due to be delivered tomorrow. But I bought bay rum aftershave along with bay rum soap from another company, and I'm getting the feeling I'm going to have to wait an extra day for that package.

I'm not going to be able to wait a full day until the soap comes to try the razor, so I might have to use whatever they have at Walgreens. First world problems.

I learned some lessons in patience this week. The razor ended up coming a day late, and my soap won't be here until Monday now.

I wound up just getting some VDH soap from walmart and had my first shave yesterday. It was great! Didn't knick myself once, but my face feels pretty raw in places. I think part of that is due to an improper lather. Unfortunately I didn't think to check YouTube for videos on how to lather VDH until after the shave, but I'll know for next time. It was still a great shave. My face hasn't been this smooth in years.

I am definitely hooked.

I use VDH for the most part (I have some Williams Mug Soap and The Body Shop Maca Root Cream as well) and I'll give you a few little tips that work for me.

1. Put the soap in a separate container from the mug and just load your brush from there. Otherwise, you'll burn through the soap faster than needed. This also makes it easier to build your lather in the mug.

2. While building your lather in your mug, try slightly pumping the brush up and down while whipping it in circles in the mug. This seems to work really well for the VDH soap.

3. Go back to Walgreens and get a bottle of glycerine (should be in the skin care aisle... ask the pharmacist if you can't find it) and a bottle of vitamin E oil. Add 2-6 drops of glycerine and 2-4 drops of Vitamin E oil A LITTLE AT A TIME while building your lather (you can also do this with water, but the lather won't be as thick). Your lather will EXPLODE!

4. Before loading your brush, add a bit of HOT water on top of your soap, and let it sit for a few minutes. This will soften it and allow your brush to pick up more. Also, the VDH soap softens up further the more you use it.


Good luck, and great shaving!!

Welcome and enjoy your stay and memories of watching my Grandfather is also one of the reasons that motivated me