Thread: Shaving kit to be used in barber shops

That energy stuff doesn't look too good to me. You should follow JOB15's advice & keep trying to shave yourself & also try the Proraso he recommended. It takes time but you will eventually get it the way you like it. You never know unless you try & try again & give up on it.
Just my 2 cents worth.

Originally Posted by engine46

That energy stuff doesn't look too good to me. You should follow JOB15's advice & keep trying to shave yourself & also try the Proraso he recommended. It takes time but you will eventually get it the way you like it. You never know unless you try & try again & give up on it.
Just my 2 cents worth.

I do agree with that, I will try to do it my self once a while.

Are the feather DE razors as sharp as the Artist Clubs? I read some scary stuff on how sharp they are.

Originally Posted by ygate

I do agree with that, I will try to do it my self once a while.

Are the feather DE razors as sharp as the Artist Clubs? I read some scary stuff on how sharp they are.

BTW, my computer makes words of its own sometimes & leaves some out. I need to figure out how to disable that. I just caught it or I would have edited it but I meant to say "You never know unless you try & try again & don't give up on it."

I used to DE shave and feathers were my choice blades .
Lets face it, all makes of blades are deadly sharp but the feathers just have an edge, no pun intended .

Originally Posted by JOB15

I used to DE shave and feathers were my choice blades .
Lets face it, all makes of blades are deadly sharp but the feathers just have an edge, no pun intended .

Both are made by feather, but the artist club is supposed to be the professional series and some people claim its much sharper than the DE version.

Originally Posted by ygate

Both are made by feather, but the artist club is supposed to be the professional series and some people claim its much sharper than the DE version.

Oh sorry, I thought Artist Club was a blade.
Personally I would buy the most expensive and best looking one

I never had any problem with the few feather razors I had and I never used the blades with guards. I'd think that any barber will be competent enough to not have issues either - they're shaving a lot of people and it's not a particularly complicated skill.
If the place you go has big staff on rotation with vastly varying skills you should be able to find one or few wich are highly experienced and have your appointments with them only.

There is probably no need to bring your own gel if it's going to be the same thing as they use as that doesn't bring you any increase in hygiene. You may want your own aftershave if you dislike theirs.

In the UAE you can easily (and cheaply) find Nivea shaving creams (blue or white tube), plus various Nivea gels and foams in the can. Nivea makes quality products, including after shave balms (that work IMO better than after shave lotions) and the ubiquitous Nivea skin creams and lotions.

Most traditional shavers rather use soaps or creams and avoid gels and foams out of a can, but Nivea gel has had good reviews.
No Proraso in UAE as far as I know, but I'd rather use Nivea anyway.

You may however find Tabac in some supermarkets (e.g. Lulu Hypermarket near Emirates Mall in Dubai) which some people just love. In the same hypermarket I have occasionally found Feather safety razor blades and some safety razors. Nothing special, but they get the job done. I may even have seen some Parker razors.


Feather products (either Feather Artist Club or double edge safety razors and the respective blades) can also be purchased on eBay.com directly from Japanese sellers, paid through PayPal, and I never had to pay any UAE Customs duty on such orders, at most a Customs handling fee of around 10 Dhs at the main post office.
UAE Customs just don't seem to be interested much in razors and shaving goods.

Feather safety razor blades have a scary reputation that I find that largely exaggerated and undeserved.
Most Feather safety razors by comparison, have a reputation for being rather mild.

The Feather AC system is an entirely different game, and needs to be handled with care. I very much doubt wether a typical barber in a local UAE barber shop knows how to handle one of those proficiently.
In other words, I'd rather do it myself.

I suspect that local barbers may find it easier to get used to a Dovo type shavette that can even take safety razor blades; but this is a system that - even though I can get decent shaves from - I consider flimsy and do not care for at all.

I do use Feather AC DX razors fairly regularly when travelling and get good shaves from them.
If you want to go the straight shaving way, the added benefit of this system is that they do not require stropping and honing, something that you or your barber would first have to come to grips with.

Companies like Mühle (Germany), Esbjerg (Austria), Edwin Jagger and D.R. Harris (both U.K.) etc. ship to the UAE and while the shipping costs may seem high, you don't have to pay European VAT (around 20%) and UAE Customs is often nil, which makes the entire purchase much cheaper.
If your purchase exceeds 100 Euros, I believe Mühle and Esbjerg even pay international shipping costs.

Good luck,


B.