Thread: First shave...

MJB,
As long as you use a quality soap or cream and lather properly to have your face ready for the straight, you'll be fine. There are many soaps and creams out there that will serve you well. Here are some affordable brands that I have used and recommend:

Mitchell's Wool Fat, Intitute Karite, Provence Sante, Tabac, Lea, Proraso, D.R. Harris range, Truefitt & Hill range, Taylor of Old Bond Street range, Mike's Natural Soaps, SRD soaps, Mama Bear, and the list goes on. Try any of these for starters and you'll be fine.

Originally Posted by Obie

MJB,
As long as you use a quality soap or cream and lather properly to have your face ready for the straight, you'll be fine. There are many soaps and creams out there that will serve you well. Here are some affordable brands that I have used and recommend:

Mitchell's Wool Fat, Intitute Karite, Provence Sante, Tabac, Lea, Proraso, D.R. Harris range, Truefitt & Hill range, Taylor of Old Bond Street range, Mike's Natural Soaps, SRD soaps, Mama Bear, and the list goes on. Try any of these for starters and you'll be fine.

And don't forget to add some unscented Castle Forbes Pre-Shave oil, makes a great shave a dream shave, second use earlier and wow - thank-you Obie for that great recommendation, beautiful stuff, finally something that works without gumming up the brush and destroying the scent and texture of he shaving soap/cream....

Originally Posted by Phrank

And don't forget to add some unscented Castle Forbes Pre-Shave oil, makes a great shave a dream shave, second use earlier and wow - thank-you Obie for that great recommendation, beautiful stuff, finally something that works without gumming up the brush and destroying the scent and texture of he shaving soap/cream....

Phrank, my dear friend, thank you for the kind words. Indeed, I forgot about the Castle Forbes pre-shave. Thank you for the reminder. I have used Castle Forbes pre-shave for years and highly recommend it. Good stuff, especially for those with sensitive skin.

Maybe I mis-phrased the question, as opposed to Brian Williams 'mis-remembering' apparently everything. I've been shaving with straights for years, but I was curious what soap you guys reach for on your maiden shave with a new razor. Or, maybe it doesn't matter, just curious.

MJB,

Whichever soap or cream you like will do the job.

Ended up going with good ol' Palmolive for the first trip with the Kikuboshi. Amazing razor, really good cream. Thanks for the input gents!

Nice looking razor you have there. be
Btw, I was recently introduced to Palmolive soap. Good stuff.