Amazon.de

M-am tot uitat si pe la noi si pe amazon.co.uk si in momentul in care mi-am dat eu comanda acolo era cel mai ieftin.

Am luat [aparatul] (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00K6Z24SK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), pamatuful, piatra de alaun, sapunul si lamele

This is an interesting question!

On the personal front, Col. Conk's Bay Rum Shaving Soap is quite nice and has a tropical vibe. The lime scent is pretty good as well.



For room scents, we had a party this weekend and there was a ton of leftover citrus. So, I have a big bowl of unpeeled lemons and limes sitting on my table that smell great though it doesn't exactly fill the room.

Lastly, if you have ever stayed in a really fancy hotel, a lot of them have signature scents that fill the lobby. Typically they are light, refreshing, and custom made for the hotel and therefore hard to track down otherwise. I stayed in the La Meridian, Bangkok that had a wonderful smell and I fell like it would be amazing for a tiki bar.

I just learned it apparently was created to smell like old books!

/r/shaveoftheday post with much more text: New Gear SOTD: EJ STFv2 XL Synthetic Brush, Mitchell's Wool Fat

Picture

Prep: Hot shower

Razor: LA Shaving Co. BBS-1

Blade: Kai Stainless

Brush: Edwin Jagger STFv2 XL

Soap: Mitchell's Wool Fat

Scuttle: Moonstar Pottery

Aftershave: L'Occitane Cade ASB (not pictured)

First shave with the EJ STFv2 XL synthetic brush and Mitchell's Wool Fat. Both performed excellently. Brush was excellent and MWF was great and lived up to its reputation as a top notch soap.

I do not think it is possible to get any less expensive than this, but here goes.

Dorco PL-602 Plastic DE Razor ~ $1.75

10 Racer Super (Lord) Stainless Double Edge Razor Blades ~ $0.76

Wooden Handled Horse Hair Shaving Brush ~ $2.45

Williams mug shaving soap - 1.7 oz ~ $0.74

Total: $5.70

Not sure what your budget is, but here are a few soap of the lower-cost, Amazon available soaps that I would recommend.

Pré de Provence

Pré de Provence is an excellent triple- or by some accounts quad-milled soap French soap, and strikes one of the best cost/performance/longevity ratios I've ever seen on a soap. It creates an excellent, slick, protective lather and provides an awesome post-shave feel even after you rinse it off. It comes in two scents:

Pré de Provence is a light, herbal scent that seems to have a strong sage note in it. I haven't used it, but I have used its brother. $11.99USD for 150g on Amazon.

Pré de Provence No. 63 is a warm, spicy cologne sort of scent that has notes of pepper, cedarwood, leather and tobacco leaves among others. $14.04USD for 150g on Amazon.

Cella Crema da Barba

Cella is a soft Italian soap that has a mild scent of cherry and almond. I don't know if it would be considered "manly," but this stuff has been around for nearly 120 years, and men have been shaving with it for all that time, so it has to be doing something right. It's also a great performer with good post-shave feel. $12.00 for 150g on Amazon.

La Toja

La Toja is a Spanish soap in stick form, containing mineral salts. Its scent reminds me a bit of briny sea air and talcum powder. La Toja's claim is that the addition of the mineral salts helps as a skin conditioner. $6.00USD for 50g on Amazon.

Speick

Speick is a German soap whose scent comes from the speick plant and lavender essential oil. It's one of my favorite soaps of all time in terms of both performance and scent. $8.08USD on Amazon.

Chiseled Face Groomatorium

Chiseled Face is one of our US artisans, and his products are among the best performing that I've ever used. He has a handful of different scents that you may find interesting, but my favorite of them is Ghost Town Barber.

Chiseled Face Ghost Town Barber has notes of bergamot, basil leaf, white patchouli, oakmoss, texas cedar, leather, smoke, and gunpowder (I copy/pasted that from his description). $14.99USD for 113g on Amazon.

 

These are all US links, so I hope they work for you. I'm sorry to say that I can't help with the dry skin thing; my skin is fairly oily and not overly sensitive.

Okay, it's $33, but worth the extra $3.

Mitchell's Wool Fat is one of the greatest soaps ever with the best scent possible. It does not get any better than this, plus the refills are only $16.

I recently changed my shaving routines to help with dry skin on my cheeks. It turns out the Barbasol I'd been using since I was a teenager was drying me out pretty bad now that I'm an old fart.

I went old school and got a badger hair shaving brush, some unscented shave soap and a soap bowl. I also got a pre-shave oil with camphor and some unscented after shave moisturizer to use instead of the astringent I'd been using for years.

Wow, what a difference! My skin is so smooth now after I shave, and the moisturizer has stopped all the itchy dryness that used to come in the afternoons. I didn't believe it until I tried it for a month.

I am definitely looking into a glycerin soap to exchange with Dial. Ascent and Himalaya with Shea Butter look promising for shave soaps. Clearly Natural Glycerine looks promising for a pre-shave soap.

Also, I found this Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm that has great reviews. Thank you for the suggestion!

Brush

Razor

Razor Sampler

Cream Or Soap puck

That's all you need to start, I prefer the puck soaps, but many guys love the Proraso.

You could also get

Witch Hazel, toner for after shaving

And any aftershave you like, I prefer a splash like classic oldspice but some people like a balm.

Hallows is actually still available from the nice people at Elite Edge Shaving.

There is no way to really answer this as it depends on the quality of the two items being compared. Just because a company offers a soap and a cream in the same scent doesn't mean that each product offers the same shaving performance. For instance look at the Art of Shaving software, the cream significantly out-performs the shaving soap but the shaving soap pucks tend to last longer than the cream. Is better performance or longer shelf life more preferable to you?

I haven't tried the NYSCo's Elizabeth Street soap (I have the cream) but there is a good chance that the soap won't perform in quite the same way as the cream does.

I know you said you were uninterested in other product suggestions, however if you like Elizabeth Street you might want to check out WSP Fougere Noir soap. It is $5 cheaper, performs really well and smells exactly like Elizabeth Street shaving cream.

Like Blink says, you need to really be mindful of the pressure you're using. That area may be one of the more sensitive parts of your face.

And I want you to seriously consider getting a better soap. Proraso or even Conk's would markedly improve your shave.

Van Der Hagen Luxury is actually a good soap and you can get 3 pucks unscented for 15$.

ogalla also makes a cheap unscented soap that i heard is good but i havent ever used it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-STAR-Single-Edge-Razor-MADE-IN-USA-/271234502413?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f26d60f0d
saw this star and thought that I would update with a starter kit for you.

http://www.amazon.com/Gem-Personna-Single-Stainless-Blades/dp/B0011Z9MVQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1373355454&sr=1-2&keywords=single+edge+razor+blades
These are the blades I use. This pack should last you 30-60+ days. They will cut through your beard like butter.

http://www.amazon.com/Williams-mug-shaving-soap-1-7/dp/B000WNCD32/ref=sr_1_3?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1373355613&sr=1-3&keywords=shave+soap+puck
Here is the cheapest soap you can get. It works. put it in an old coffee cup.

http://www.amazon.com/3-pack-2-25-Col-Conk-Shaving/dp/B001OMVB38/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1373355697&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=col+conk+shave+soap+puck
here is a nicer example at a good price. They come in different fragrances also so look a bit.

http://www.amazon.com/SimplyBeautiful-Basic-Badger-Shaving-Brush/dp/B00B1TKY8C/ref=sr_1_3?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1373355854&sr=1-3&keywords=shave+brush
Here is a good badger brush for not too much money.

http://www.amazon.com/Personna-Burma-Shave-Shaving-Brush/dp/B001272JCM/ref=sr_1_15?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1373355916&sr=1-15&keywords=shave+brush
Here is a cheaper brush that will do nicely

http://www.amazon.com/Hagen-Luxury-Shave-Set-scented/dp/B004VW59DG/ref=sr_1_41?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1373355793&sr=1-41&keywords=shave+brush
here is an all in one kit that is quite nice

http://www.amazon.com/Clubman-Styptic-Pencil-0-33-oz/dp/B00112WRB6/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1373356064&sr=1-1&keywords=stepic+pencil
Stepic pencil used for stopping bleeding, you can get this at any drug store.

http://www.amazon.com/Pinaud-Clubman-Virgin-Island-Aftershave/dp/B003YJ8LF0/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1373356156&sr=1-1&keywords=bay+rum+after+shave
one brand of after shave I like. Try others out and find one that you like. Sky's the limit when it comes to aftershave there are millions out there.

Pretty sure their soap is just The Blades Grim "Smolder" (http://www.amazon.com/The-Blades-Grim-Luxury-Shaving/dp/B00JIYAGMG) rebranded. So, not that unique.

Just another example of fantastic service by a declaration Grooming. Great dude. Thanks for doing this!

I’ve been wanting to do a PIF, but I haven’t known what i wanted to do. I figured it out finally. I want to PIF a full tub of my first soap i used completely. Smolder from Amazon has a fantastic scent. I’m not sure on the performance because when i used it, my lathering skills were lackluster. Nonetheless, it’s great memories for me and i want to eventually share it with y’all.

Edit: I’ll take 522 please.

It just so happens that I have one of these refills lying around. It's 81mm in diamater and 27mm tall, the top 10mm has vertical sides and the bottom curves with a radius of roughly 57mm. I don't have an EJ bowl at hand, but I've found a resource that lists its outside dimensions as 107mm in diamater and 77mm tall. Juding from a side shot, I estimate that the inner dimensions are about 60% as wide, or around 64mm. This is consistent with the EJ refills which are 60mm in diamater.

tl;dr No it's about 2/3 inch too wide. Go with an EJ refill or get the TOBS wooden bowl (I build lather directly in mine).

In addition to the usual canned shaving creams and gels I've tried:

• Van Der Hagen that came with my first brush set, 4/10.
  
  
• Van Der Hagen Unsented: 6/10.
  
  
• Cremo Cream: 8/10.
  

Here's the Mug I bought from Amazon. Comes with a small puck of random Col. Conk soap. I like it, but I don't have anything to put the soap in yet, so I leave the soap in the mug and lather in a small bowl.

I've tried lathering on my face and I don't like it as much, seems I can't get the fluffy, meringue-like texture without a bowl. A smaller bowl lets you work more lather in less time; it doesn't have anywhere else to go but the brush. Also, each soap is different, so play around with the amount of water you use. Add a little at a time and try to get thick lather with small, tight bubbles.

I've heard there's some Hallows available from their Amazon vendor.

I'm only 29, and disgusted by the amount of replies involving electric shavers. I have an extremely sensitive neck, but never have issues with razor rash or breakouts. Here's what you need:

THIS
THIS
and THIS

Take a long hot shower, then shave. Whip up some soap and apply with the brush, going against the grain. This suspends the hair in the soap. Then shave your face once, going WITH the grain, using short, quick strokes.

Apply soap once again, making sure you use hot water to whip it up. Shave a second time, this time going AGAINST the grain.

Rinse your face with COLD water. This is important. You need the pores closed back up ASAP to prevent irritation. Then apply the aftershave balm.

Keep in mind, there's a learning curve to using safety razors. You WILL cut yourself. but once you learn, I promise you'll have no more irritation.

If cheap is your main selling point, then I'll also vote for Col. Conk. The almond is a great scent! You'll have to work a little harder for the lather than you did with the Proraso cream, but it is a nice slick soap that gives me a good shave. There is also a bigger puck available if you don't want to have to worry about running out anytime soon.

This is an EXCELLENT beginner's set. Razor, Brush, Stand. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but the brush is fantastic (I have entirely switched to this brush, over some other more "fancy" brushes) and the razor is a good weight with a good medium length. Plus, having a tidy stand is bonus points.

This is one type of soap/mug set.

And this is another soap/mug set. I personally prefer this type of bowl. It's also much heavier than it looks (I think it's ceramic). The brush is crap, though.

This is a cheap, good-smelling aftershave. But it's alcohol based, so he might not like it (stings slightly).

This gets you nearly everything for under your budget. The two items I'd say are missing are available at Wal-Mart for less than three dollars combined. You need the pre-shave oil (Shave Secret, $1.50 at my local WalMart) and a styptic pencil ($1.15 at my local WalMart).

Even after these, we're still around the $90 mark, and these items will last for literally years (except the consumables, of course).

There's your complete set, minus blades. The purchase of blades is a rather personal affair, though, and I'd recommend a sampler pack. There are literally dozens of sampler packs available. Here's one. Bear in mind, however, that most people can do three to six full shaves (i.e., the entire face) using ONE blade.

One piece of advice: If you want him to enjoy it, don't skimp on the brush. In my opinion, probably seconded by a majority of wet-shavers, the brush is going to be the single most important deciding factor for a noobie who isn't purchasing these things for himself in determining whether he likes the process or not. There's virtually no doubt that he'll like the results.

Does this help?

• Fill sink with hot water, place face towel and brush in sink
  
• New feather blade in my Merkur
  
• Wring out hot towel, let this rest on my face for a minute or two
  
• Retrieve brush, shake out excess water, and lather up with Proraso
  
• WTG / XTG / sometimes ATG, using the hot towel between each pass
  
• Brush resting on base between passes, usually will dip the tips in water before relather each time
  
• Once done rinse face with cool water, then a pass with witch hazel on cotton pads
  
• Sometimes I use aftershave (Old Spice) or the Proraso face balm, sometimes I just stop at the witch hazel
  
• clean up - rinse brush in warm water to get the soap out, then in cool water. Shake out excess and leave on base to dry.
  
  For a travel kit, I have this Col Conk soap and just bring my Merkur and regular brush. Only problem I've run into is usually my business trips are only a few days, so only bringing a carry on, which means I can't bring blades. I've been able to find them at local stores so far though (albeit cheap blades, but they get the job done).

Oh, the lie I'd been living with cartridges.

After my initial success with the Parker 71r I picked up from Amazon (using gel), I switched blades, and was very disappointed by the second brand I tried (Sharp).

My Ecotools brush, and La Toja Shaving Stick finally came in the mail today! No more canned goo!

So I popped a fresh Shark blade into my Parker, lathered up (surprisingly easy enough to get a newbie lather), and couldn't have been happier with the results.

No razor burn. A small nick. BBS.

I dare say, it was the best shave I've ever had.

I press mine into a waterproof bowl like this and use it for travel.

> Edit to add: Oh and it is NOT cheaper imo (well unless you go through 1 cartridge a day for the expensive gillette ones I guess). Sure the razor blades themselves are 10 a penny, but all the extras you might need - the butters, creams, lotions, etc... quickly add up, and depending how fast you go through the consumables might be more expensive.

Yeah, you don't really need all of those.

Here's what I use:

• Dorco Prime razor
  
• Williams mug shaving soap - these bars last a long time, BTW; you should be able to get 4-5 months out of a bar easy
  
• A cheap brush I got as part of a $6 gift set with some shave butter from Big Lots years ago (used up the shave butter long ago, but the brush still works great and I use the container from the shave butter as a dish for my soap)
  
  Other than that, everything else about my routine is unchanged. I have a beard oil I use as an aftershave as well as on the bits of facial hair I want to keep (this stuff), and a styptic pencil I keep on hand for nicks, but I don't use any other products, and I'd still be using that stuff even if I was still on cartridges. And I get way less razor burn than I did on cartridges.

Cheap Starter kit $29.37:

Silver Tone Double Edge Blade Razor Shaver w Nonslip Metal Handle $6.72

Derby Double Edge Razor Blades 30 Ct $3.70

Escali 100% Pure Badger Shaving Brush $13.95

Col. Conk Lime Glycerine Shave Soap 2.25 oz. $5.00

Blade sample pack (nor merkur or feather though):

Double Edge Safety Razor Blade Variety Pack - 100 Blades!

Better starter kit ($110.85):

Parker 82R Super HeavyWeight Butterfly Open Double Edge Safety Razor & 10 Shark Double Edge Blades $30.88

Edwin Jagger 1ej946sds Traditional English Best Badger Hair Shaving Brush Faux Ebony Medium With Drip Stand, Black, Medium $41.72

Geo F. Trumper Limes Shaving Soap in Wooden Bowl $32

10 Feather Razor Blades NEW Hi-stainless Double Edge $6.25

You can't shave with La Toya, well maybe you can :) You should try to find La Toja

I agree with OCD-Shaver in that the quality of soap/cream makes a tremendous difference. I, too, have very hard water where I currently live and struggled with finding soaps that make a good lather despite this fact. While Col. Conk eventually makes a good lather, it disappears on the side of my face that I shave second.

So far, I prefer MamabearSoaps, Queen Charlotte Soaps and Van Der Hagen soaps (in that order). They make fantastic lathers despite my (very) hard water. Edit: Van Der Hagen soap is pretty cheap and can usually be found in Target stores if you don't want to wait for shipping.

Try the link again. I've edited. Here is the soap http://www.amazon.com/Col-Conk-Almond-Glycerine-Shave/dp/B002JKKPDG

I could not get a creamy thick lather out of this one.

/r/wicked_edge for alot of info but I just started shaving alone at 31! I started with a Shavette too so pretty hard. But my ritual works like a charm.

1. Take a hot shower.
   
2. when you are done. come out and wash your face with some Glycerene soap . Any some with the same contents works. I leave it for around 1 mins. Then apply shaving cream lather on top of it.
   
3. Time to make some lather! use a brush it helps moisturizing and massaging the lather into your beard and pores. Two types of Brushes:
   
   

• Synthetic hair brush. option one. Good option 2 cheaper Just keep in mind if you go synthetic then buy shaving creap and not soap.
  
• Boar/Badger - You will need to pay up here. I went Silvertip Badger which is the finest but with the cheapest brush. This has a whole different prep so PM if you wanna shell out a few extra bucks but live in bliss. keep in mind that Synthetic is just as good.
  
  
• Buy a shaving bowl or any soap bowl will do, take your brush into the soap/cream. For soaps creams buy something with Glycerine1 My favorite scent is this one 2. See this video to make lather
  
  

4. Shave. With the grain or across as a beginner. A good Double edge safety razor to start with some blades very sharp so careful
   
   
5. When you are done splash your face with some cold water onceor twice. Use an alum block around your face. If it burns alot it means you were too rough on that area. After that a splash of with hazel.
   
   
6. Wait a few mins and use some nivea sensitive after shave balm
   
   Remember always pat your face with the towel to dry. Dont rub.
   
   Tips on how to shave with a DE are plentiful on youtube.
   
   Enjoy. Feel like a Boss.

Prep - Hot Shower

Lather - WSP Rustic Shaving Soap - Fougere Noir

Razor - Parker 22R w/ Bluebird blade

I normally do 3 passes - WTG, ATG, and XTG(towards the center of my face from both sides) in that order. Been doing it that way for a few months already without much incident. However, my neck is never smooth afterwards, with a few lingering spots that always seem to be present.

Feeling overzealous/overconfident, I decided to go XTG in the opposite direction to rid my face of those lingering whiskers. OOOO boy was that a mistake as you can see!

As the title states, I'm new to straight razor shaving. I've never been able to get a close shave with disposable/cartridge razors, so I've been wanting to try this for quite some time. I finally bit the bullet and put together a cheap kit (want to see how I'll like it before spending a lot of money), which arrived yesterday.

The razor is a cheap, sub-$20 one from Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H6HR2M8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

The brush is a Perfecto badger, also from Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LDYFGFQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Henry Cavendish Himalaya Shaving Soap
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H8A2KSU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Schone soap dish
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OQDEL8Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And the Old Spice lather mug belonged to my father. Not shown is the strop.

I shaved with this set-up for the first time last night! I may have to hone the razor a bit more. I knew it wouldn't come shave ready, so I honed it, and stropped the heck out of it, but I feel as though it could be a bit sharper yet. I did not attempt the curves of my jaw line this first time. I only shaved the flats of my face and the flatter parts of my neck, then finished up with a cartridge razor. I need to develop a better technique before I try dragging this thing around curves. Without a doubt though, where I used the straight razor is as smooth as a baby's bottom. I've never had this close of a shave before.

https://www.facebook.com/straightshave?hc_location=timeline

heres the Facebook page with the deal the .99 cents deal was sold out ,but they still have it for half off at 6.99 on amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JIYAGMG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ok, I suppose the Kent still is slightly more expensive at US$31.95 vs MWF at US$28.95.

Still showing as in stock on amazon. I ordered a couple days ago and mine arrived today.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FUY8RS2/

Which is fine, even on Amazon you can get some great soaps.

WSP, MWF, and PdP for starters. Unfortunately there's also a lot of crap available to buy, so check for reviews before buying anything.

Well it is a really nice looking bowl, so you can't go wrong either way.

That's the one I want when I actually feel like splurging a bit.

EDIT: Perhaps consider a cheaper alternative:

http://www.amazon.com/White-Ceramic-Shaving-Shave-Handle/dp/B005798YIE/ref=pd_sbs_hpc_2

http://www.amazon.com/Colonel-Conk-Model-119-Apothecary/dp/B001XURHG6/ref=pd_sbs_hpc_1

I got this Chiseled Face sample pack off Amazon for $19.99 and it’s a lot of shave soap and will last a long time. With the buy!

Shaving Soap Sampler by Chiseled Face - Santa Paula, Pine Tar, Sherlock, Cedar & S... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ADW3K8S/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_AFEkDb3S6MZZ6

what up bro. If you use blade, i'd recommend having a two or one blade for reasons others have already mentioned. Preferably cheap disposable razors for the sake of sanitation. I use shaving soap (this brand: van der hagen) which you can find walmart and likely other stores for less than $5.

Simple Routine:

• I also shave like once every 3 or 4 days and my skin actually gets significantly better after shaving with razor & soap.
  
• I always shave after a shower.
  
• Instead of using after-shave splash, i just use some salt-water to sanitize. Burns if you nick'd yourself lmao
  
• And as moisturizer i use a bit of water and vaseline, or just apply vaseline to a damp face.
  
  I try to avoid shaving over an active pimple and wait for it to dry and flake off - i use this to hasten the process and honestly treat an active areas, even cystic possibly hormonal acne. However, you are on accutane which kinda does that and more so your "break-outs" are probably just temporary side-effects right? I think that's what they call "purging"

The Edwin is great, I have it and love it. Get it, but get a kit, it’ll save you money and it’ll look nice together. Don’t fall for the chrome handle. It’s slippery and annoying, the beauty isn’t worth the cost of grip.

Go to tryablade.com and sample a lot of different blades to find which one is best for you. You can sample like 20 different blades for like $10 shipped. Be sure to get a good variety of smooth to aggressive. I started with Derby’s, albeit significantly better than a cartridge, they weren’t right for me. Turns out I need sharp blades for my coarse hair. I prefer Voskhods or Feathers. Close, easy shave, Smooth af, and no tugging.

As for the discoloration get yourself some good Vitamin C Serum. Contains no bad chemicals or parfum (terrible for you skin) and the hyleronic acid will hydrate your skin.
Over time, it’ll help clear up those dark spots. Use it at night, don’t use it and go out into the sun, that’s naughty. You’ll burn.

Use soaps or creams that do not contain a mass number of chemicals, it’ll just damage your skin. Men’s soap company has simple ingredients that are good for the skin, and uses essential oils (and not chemicals “fragrance or parfum”) to scent their products. It also lathers great but you need to bloom it (soak the soap in water) and put in a little extra effort during the lather.

For aftershave, use toner with witch hazel and little to no alcohol, dries out your skin. Then get yourself a good moisturizer that suits your skin type and use it after you spray the toner.

Do your research on the ingredients in your products, if it has a shit load of ingredients and it’s cheap, I’d avoid it.

You only get one face, take care of it and invest in it. After all, you’re making the change to improve yourself.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Edit: forgot some shit.

Practicality? Maybe.

Cost? Not really...if you're buying the expensive end, yeah....I've always bought in the cheap end and been very happy, and gotten a decent shave and a lot of lather from it. You don't need to be in the 20$ range. A puck lasts longer than a can, so that 1.29 goes in repeatedly before you use up a puck, which could (at least with the soaps I use, I'll list them below) even out in costs.

On top of that, canned stuff is worse for your skin and health, that's been shown.

Soaps I've used and use:

Lightfoot's Pine for 7.08

Swedish Dream Sea Salt, avg 6.20

Conk's Bay rum 6.00

Van der Hagen 2.50 (This one I find for about 2 at local stores too)

These are just my soaps that I've used. Not to mention there are other options out there as well!

Not to mention using a brush and lathering has benefits. You mention hassle? Seriously? I can do a full face work ready shave in 5 minutes and I have the shittiest grain pattern imaginable. I can do my neck in 3 minutes (shitty neck grain pattern). That's lathering, shaving, cleaning up, etc. I use a badger brush, so I don't need to soak it, I guess.

Arko sticks are kinda a hassle, I won't argue that because I understand that. But not all soaps and shaves are also hassles because...I mean...come on, if I can do my face with that little hassle, you ought to be able to pull off something.

I'm saying this and bringing up the cost because I switched because of cost alone. Comfort a bit. I don't collect razors. I'm kinda overstocked at the moment with three, and some guys around here have dozens. I'm not a hobbyist, I use a brush and DE because of the cost vs. rattlecans and razors.

Barbasol is cheap, so the cost difference may be small, but to the best of my knowledge, is still there.

If being proven that it at least breaks even, and at best can improve from there, is not enough....at least use this sort of barbasol. The Aerosel and rattlecans are terrible for your skin.

I also see you've posted below about how you know that it's your technique and have decided that you're going to ignore that you have erred in your technique and ditch it anyway. If you're lazy, it won't help you in trying things to the best of their abilities!

However, if after all this you're still going to ditch brushes and soaps, creams, etc, /u/shave_bazaar allows you to post your supplies up and you can give them up for shipping costs alone to newbies who want to try their hand at wet shaving, rather than canning them.

There is also the Palmolive shave stick. Amazon has a two pack for just over $10.

Not a question just figured I would let people know that the 42 soap and soap and aftershave as a set are still available on amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Barrister-Mann-Shaving-Soap-42/dp/B01FUY8RS2/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1467251968&sr=1-1&keywords=mann+42

Well, after the responses here, I went ahead and bought cavendish himalayas as a filler item on amazon last night. Do you think thats a good place to start.

I bought this soap on recommendation of a friend who has been shaving with DE for a while. I liked it quite a bit, it’s very moisturizing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004L4AMIG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_xU3oDb65QHJ50

Ah man it's not a huge investment! They're SOOO much better than even the gillette platinum ones!

This is only 15 bucks for a solid handle. You can spend a lot more, but you don't need to.

Their blades aren't super expensive and they're noticably sharper than even the premium US brands and those you get from those boutique shops in the mall.

Match that with a solid Badger Hair brush and high quality moisturizing soap you're talking under 60 bucks total investment and it's a massive step up in quality and overall experience while shaving.


But for travel, a Defender razor with a pack of blades can't be beat. They're inexpensive, they are disposable, they last a reasonable amount of time, and apart from a premium safety razor, they shave closer than any other disposable I've found, even better than a mach 3, they also rinse super easy.

1 - Dump the soap just to be safe. You don't know how long it's sat, if things have been added, spilled on it, etc. Keep the mug! It's literally $1-2 to replace for a decent product, <$5 for a good one.

2 - The blade as other mentioned should be professionally restored, I'd have them restore it as something to use, not an antique. Rust is bad.

3 - The one brush looks to have been stored with soap, brush down by appearance. I'd heavily clean them before use but they're likely OK to use unless they're shedding extremely heavily. Check out this video by Mantic59.

4 - Buy some simple, cheap, shaving soap... this will last you months and months and months. A Cheap VDH kit will give you some experience while everything else is getting lined up they have them at my local walmart and rite aid and of course there's always amazon (and just the soap).

5 - If you got a couple bucks to spend (eats more ramen) you could try for a sight unseen deal at whipped dog which has EVERYTHING you need to get started razor wise.

They're cheaper than that if you know where to look.

Update 2: I've been looking through Amazon (Going to look at Maggard and West Coast Shaving soon), and I found these two shave soaps

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XRZ6Q4Z/ref=s9_acsd_simh_hd_bw_bEU8EDb_c_x_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_r=5KW9W4802XF2DEXF74JA&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=e741e755-19d2-5a96-997d-ddf9f90ef578&pf_rd_i=13271111011

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JSXA2YY/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B00JSXA2YY&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=4a97ab2f-e708-423b-b8f7-1f785b9d294d&pf_rd_r=E7A4MA6775HPCXF8784E&pd_rd_wg=uREjJ&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&pd_rd_w=Nu9Wf&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pd_rd_r=5d4f4c81-b54c-11e8-9f1d-0fdf2b561195

Are either one of these good, and should I look into either of these?

The mug is likely EJ rebranded as well: http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Edwin-Jagger-Ivory-Porcelain-Shaving-Soap-Bowl-w-Handle_p_1082.html

Soap appears to be rebranded Grim's Blade smoulder: http://www.amazon.com/The-Blades-Grim-Luxury-Shaving/dp/B00JIYAGMG

Which is made by TTFFC, same lady that makes Maggard soaps. I think that particular scent is unique to that "brand" though.

>What is the difference between shaving soap and cream?

The effort it takes to get a good lather. Basically, nothing but the softness of the medium.

>How essential is preshave oil?

I never use it, but I shave immediately following a shower.

>My last question is, what are some shaving cream recommendations and or if Shaving soap recommendations?

I'm currently using Edwin Jagger Sandalwood and love it. My next purchase is going to be a Citrus Sampler. I kind of love a nice citrus burst in the morning, so figured a nice sampler may be a good place to start.

I just bought this sampler from amazon
blades

and I bought this soap sampler as well
soap

I suppose depending on where you are they might not deliver....? But here you go!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ADW3K8S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_j5DTViH2em1J9

Edit: Now that I post I see it's not available at the moment. Hopefully they re-stock soon!

I do a lot of business travel, and found that these can be useful.

The problem with recommending one particular brand is the YMMV factor: I don't know your skin sensitivities (sandalwood, for example, triggers a skin reaction in some guys---test inside the forearm or in the crease of the elbow if you're not sure), whether you're dealing with hard water (try a distilled water shave to be sure), what your preferences are, etc. So I thought I would offer you a choice. But sure, I can recommend something specific: Palmolive shave stick. That is an excellent tallow-based soap: rub it against the grain all over your (wet, washed) beard, then brush your beard briskly and vigorously to bring up and work in the lather. The brush holds plenty of lather for later passes.

Shave sticks are also available from most of the artisanal vendors.

https://www.amazon.com/Williams-Mug-Shaving-Soap-Count/dp/B004AI9234/ref=sr_1_5_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1525186240&sr=1-5&keywords=shaving+soap

My barber uses this Williams stuff and if it's good enough for him then it's good enough for me. I've never had a problem with it, especially for the price.

Roll the dice on a Rimei, get refund if they send a vaguely similar junk razor

Everyone tries a slant eventually, and you get a great handle for the Rimei immediately

Wilkinson Sword blades are a relatively sure thing -- very sharp, also very smooth

Save Williams for later, unless you're some kind of lathering genius ;)

Start with cream

Indulge with artisan soap

Always a synthetic brush