Help me get a better shave
 

Oh manly men of miataturbo.net, help this little boy have a better shaving experience. :o


Here's my situation: I shave my face 3-4 times a week, and down-south about 1-2 times a week. I currently use cheap disposable razors, the kind you'd get at any grocery store, and Gillette shave gel. I'm having trouble getting a clean shave. My razor doesn't give a smooth feeling on my face, almost like I have a light 5 o'clock shadow.

I've tried electric shavers, but they give me a crappy shave. Gillette sent me their fancy 5-blade razor, but the shave was terrible as well. Completely unacceptable. My cheapie razors do alright, but I'm sure there is something better out there. FWIW: I shave in the shower.

So; what do you use?

I don't shave, but have you thought about the art of straight razor? That will get you clean.

This topic is relevant to my interests. I'm in the crappy electric shave crew.

I had a buddy that used one. It does give a great shave, but I'm a little concerned about using it on my neck. :eek:

There will be accidents as you learn, but once you get it down, you will be glad. Or so I hear from people who converted. They say there is nothing like it, or even close.

Mach 3 blades and decent Gillette or whatever gel here. Shave usually 6 times a week when in the states, 7 when not.

If no access to water, the cheap Bosch single-foil electrics on Amazon are pretty good.

I use a Gillette fusion 5, and sometimes I shave in the shower. Sometimes I also use a straight razor. I do find though that the fusion 5 gets a closer shave than the straight razor actually.

I threw all my disposable ---- away. I could literally feel the blades tugging my face since my facial hair is really coarse. I tried everything to get a clean shave. All the types of gels, foams, 3 blades, 5 blades, pulsing blades, using a trimmer to get the hair down as far as I could before shaving, etc... It was pure misery and my face looked like it was rubbed raw.

I'm using a straight razor when needed. Best decision I've ever made for my face (minus my current mustache)

Right now I have a clean stubble (electric trimmer w/ no guard to clean the edges and no.1 for the height) and a waxed handlebar mustache, so the straight razor won't be getting any love for awhile.

It really sounds like you're in the same boat as I was. Spend the money on a straight razor kit. It's worth every penny. Also, take a look at how freakishly expensive popular shaving products are, you're straight razor will pay for itself.

+1 on straight razor and proper accessories.

I use a double edged razor and feather blades, with a cheap brush and proraso shaving cream. i used to have a rash all the time, now Im sweet.

Always shower first, very wet face etc,

Dann

---- yeah dude! I'm working on one myself right now. Though I also have sideburns and currently a scraggly beard of sorts. My beard doesn't grow very well. I'll probably do away with it.

You gotta shave against the grain. So on your cheek, shave up, not down. Do it in a steamy shower when the hot water has opened up your pores. I can't do it, make my face all red and I break out. Totally not worth it. But if you want a smooth shave, that's what you gotta do.

And hand held razors have not improved since the Mach III turbo. Don't get the standard Mach III, the turbo has a better gel strip.

Curly stop there...

get the mach 3 turbo for its gel strip? WTF man.

get a real razor, a DE or a straight blade and learn to shave the proper way.
Like a man.

Dann

Yes, the Mach III turbo gel strip lasts me for a few weeks worth of shaving. The regular Mach III gel strip will melt off in the shower just sitting there.

The razor is laid out like so: rubber squigy, 3 blades, gel strip. So when the gel strip goes bad, the blades rest directly on the skin and start to irritate my skin more.

Small print: I have sensitive skin, don't need to use a straight blade to prove I'm a man, don't want to spend more than 3 minutes shaving, and am perfectly happy with the results my Mach III give me.

I have been trying to learn the double-edge razor for a year and I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. The shave is not any closer than with my shick quatro, but there is more irritation and it takes 3 times as long. I want to get rid of the irritaiton so it's worth the extra time, but I have watched videos and read a bunch of instructions and I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong.

That is actually incorrect, a common misconception. When you really think about it, the pore is empty space. When you warm your skin you are causing it to expand and swell up, which in return closes pores. But it does soften skin and follicle. So you are right for the wrong reason. Just pointing that out, not trying to be a dick. I just found it interesting when I learned that.

Did you really think this has not been discussed in the past? :giggle:

https://www.miataturbo.net/showthrea...straight+razor

I thought this thread seemed familiar. Mach 5 ftw!

small rechargeable trimmer from Andis for manscaping and if I don't shave for over a week:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1340717313
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1340717313

panasonic wet/dry shaver for normal shaving:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1340717313

the panasonic has a nice head that includes some shaving foils and some trimmer-esque features to catch longer hairs.

you can shave on the toilet or in the shower or whatever. you can also get the self-cleaning one for more money.

I tried the 3-round-wheel type norelco style shaver also but it didn't work as well and tended to catch the occasional whisker instead of cutting it.

but it really depends on your face and beard. the above works for me. I have pretty light growth and only shave once or twice a week.

Grow a beard. Every two weeks I shave my head with a #0 guard and my beard with a #2 guard. I usually trim the beard once in between.

Did someone mention handlebar mustaches? This was me a few years ago:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1340717873

Straight razors are a waste of time IMHO. I shaved with one for two weeks and called it quits. They are very difficult to master and require a lot of prep to shave properly, otherwise you're just gonna chop up your face. If you have coarse hair that grows in various directions it makes it even more difficult. For these reasons they are impractical to shave with everyday before work unless you have a lot of time and patience.

I have a course beard and shaving with any blade in the morning causes irritation. So I use a Braun synchro electric before work. Its obviously not as close as a blade but close enough and my neck doesn't look like ass.

If i'm going out I take a hot shower and shave with a Gillette Fusion and glycerin shave soap. Its better than any canned gel you can buy and 1/4 of the price.

However, if you want a straight blade shave without the straight blade learning curve get a double edged safety razor. These aren't a walk in the park either but at least you wont cut your head off.

After watching this I had to have one.

It's actually a pretty complicated process. Getting something really thick (like the commercial) takes a lot of time, but my facial hair grows at an alarming rate, so I have the length down to get curls at the end :party

Go on youtube and watch videos for grooming and waxing tips, it's been my primary source since I had no idea what I was doing. But it's been totally worth it. I love this damn thing.

Never tried a double-edge, but have you tried a straight razor?

youtube youtube youtube! That's where I learned how to work a straight razor.

I had essentially given up on getting a good shave, so I just dug through it and tried to live with having my face mauled every morning.

I have horrible skin and thick, coarse hair. I've clogged 5 blade razors in half a pass. For me, it's either straight, which is the best shave I've ever had, or beard.

I need help growing a beard, not shaving it.

Mach 3 turbo. The 5 blade design SUCKS. The disposables SUCK. Shave in the shower once before every string of 12's at work. Its the one good thing about being blond.

OMG we're beard twins.

when i turn 57, can i too then grow a beard?

Dann speaks truth. I've got facial hair like a bristle brush so shaving was always a nightmare with any disposeable. I even ponied up and bought one of those high end $300 Braun electrics and I was still destroying heads every 2 weeks. I decided to go DE wet shave and I've never been happier. Feather blades, Merkur 180, Jager pure badger brush and the Proraso cream in a tube... ------- glorious. I gave the Braun to my brother who stopped using it due to head replacement cost :giggle:

I had this same issue when I first started. Look up a dude on Youtube called Mantic59. Follow his basic series and see where that gets you. One big learning leap that I had to make was blade angle. Once you discover that, the shaves are phenomenal. In my experience, irritation is caused by either poorly soaped up face, a dull blade or too much pressure. Get a good brush, use a hot towel, and use the hottest lather you can stand. Try different blades, I started with Derbys, moved to Merkur and ended up with Feathers. There really is a difference in the way they cut. You might also try a good pre-shave cream. Again, I recommend the Proraso.

If you think it takes too long, go back to your quatro, seriously. You have to change your mindset about shaving. This is not a quick thing, just remember that the entire disposable razor industry exists because people think this takes too long. I loathed shaving because it was so expensive and downright painful for me. I woke up one morning and decided that I had too much other ---- in my life to stress and worry about, so I went on a mission to find a way to make shaving awesome. Its like the day you finally stop rationalizing with yourself about how you PowerCard is "good enough" and decide to try the MegaSquirt. Sure it sucks at first while you figure it out, but then its so full of win and awesome that you can't stop telling people about it.

</soapbox>

Step 1 - don't pick a razor based on claims that it will give you "the closest shave possible" - in fact, you don't want the "closest shave possible", the shave that you want will still leave your face smooth immediately afterwards but you'll be able to feel the stubble quite easily. By picking a blade which doesn't "magically lift the hair to cut it below the surface" you will all but eliminate "bumps" caused by ingrown hairs. My personal recommendation is the mach 3 - it's close enough to get a good quality shave, but doesn't give you the ability to cut it too close as I fear is the case with something like the 5th blade on a fusion, or a straight blade.

Step 2 - Pick a quality shave cream. You can search the web for days and not come up with any single solid answer on what the best shave cream in the world is - generally shave gels are considered inferior to creams, but as far as the real answer: your skin will pick the best shave cream. My recommendation on shave cream is this: "Neutrogena Men Skin Clearing Shave Cream". Neutrogena is at the top of their game in the women's market because women put as much cognitive effort into making a purchasing decision for their skin as men do regarding making a purchasing decision for a car. Men are all about "convenience" in the morning, which is why we end up with an aeresol can of gillete pro gel, or whatever happened to be on sale when our wives last forced us to go to the grocery store with her.

Step 3 - Pick a quality aftershave cream. "Another step in the morning? Are you fukcing gay, dude?" Do you seriously want to improve your shaving experience? Aftershave is the most important part of the shaving process. Again, your skin will decide what the best aftershave cream is, but my recommendation still lies with the girly Neutrogena. I use "Neutrogena Men Triple Protect Face Lotion". The results for me weren't immediate, but after about 5 days, my shaving experience was improved threefold.

Step 4 - Shower first, it'll soften those hairs up and make them easier to cut - bonus points if you went down on your maid the night before, that lady liquid will turn your beard to silk the next day.

Step 5 - actually shave. Apply just enough shave cream to lube up your face, about the size of a quarter. Don't worry that shave cream doesn't "foam up" that foam doesn't do a damn thing for your shave, you are simply lubricating your skin so that your razor slides across it. Shave WITH the grain, and not against it - this goes back to the same thing as razor selection in step 1 - if you shave against the grain, you are going to end up cutting the hair too short, which will result in painful and uncomfortable bumps from ingrown hairs. If you shave with the grain, it will help make sure that the top of the hair is not cut below the top of the skin, resulting in a much more comfortable shave.

Step 6 - Clean your razor. This isn't anything fancy - and no, we're not going to spray it off with WD-40 or PB Blaster. Simply run water over your razor until the complete leading edges of all of the blades are clean. You'll likely have residue packed in towards the back of the blades at the far edges of the razor - this is generally okay, but you need to rinse all of the other crap off the leading edge - that shave residue is the leading cause of oxidation on the razor, and oxidation is the leading cause of a dull blade in my experience. When I became vigilant about cleaning my razor after shaving, my blade-life went from about 10 days to WELL OVER a month. I'm not talking 32 days if I bear through the pain and make it last, I'm talking 4-6 solid weeks of 6 shaves per week on a single mach 3 cartridge - and I dispose of it when it becomes mildly uncomfortable. Before cleaning, the 10th day felt like I was dragging a rock across my face to get the hair out - it really is a huge difference.

Step 7 - Aftershave - Just a little dab about the size of a single "smarties" candy is plenty for your whole face - use that dab on your forehead too, if it's good stuff, it's got SPF in it to protect your skin from the sun.

Step 8 - Enjoy a comfortable shaving experience for the rest of your life.

Thread drift: Shaving setups!

When I shaved, I used:

Merkur HD safety razor
Feather blades
Proraso green tube
Art of Shaving badger bristle brush

Hahah! Almost the same here


or shaving cream (same stuff)



I was previously using a cheap Tweezerman brush and Col. Conk Lime Glycerine shave soap melted into a teacup. Both were acceptable, they live in my travel bag now.


When I'm feeling like a boss, I bust out my vintage 1950's Stahly Live Blade. Your spiffy buzzing razors are nothing new

I need to come up with something better than my ikea rice bowl for mixing lather. Been trying to find a vintage apothecary mug but I've had no luck :(

+1 to double-edge safety razors. I currently use a ~1950 Gillette tech, with either Colonel Conk bay rum or Proraso, and a cheapie brush from the internet. Bought a sample kit of blades about a year ago for $12 and haven't bought any since. Sure as hell beats terrible disposables or spending ~$8 on new razors every month.

Oh yeah, bought my Gillette tech for $5 too!

This thread is manly and deserving of this.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1340732289


GLORIOUS


Back on topic: Awesome suggestions, guys. I really, really need a new brush and some real shaving accessories besides the straight razor. I may even have to try out one of these safety razors

Cheers.

I dont shave very often, mainly have a beard. This was an exception

You got that smooves like Jagger?

:giggle: Heck yeah. I'm going for more of the old west look. Slightly smaller and thinner than that one, with less extension on the curl. I for sure need to look into the grooming and waxing. I've had one grown out before, but never knew how to make it look right.

^ Like tp above, just maybe cut 1/4" off the end of the curl and have it project more outwards and not as much up into a loop.