Shaving advice (applies to faces - smut freaks look elsewhere)

http://www.info-anyone.com/SAFEBARB.jpg

1. Washing face beforehand is a good way to remove dead skin cells and to soften the hairs up.
2. I use two shaving products at the same time - first, Aveda shaving cream from a tube, topped with Aveeno shaving cream from a jar. Let that sit on the face for at least a minute or two to continue the softening process.
3. Shave with Mach 3 standard (as opposed to Turbo). Go with grain, washing after every three strokes or so. Right cheek, right jaw line, left cheek, left jaw line. Neck with the grain - then RE-APPLY Aveeno shaving cream to neck area. Mouth/chin area, followed by neck accross the grain.
4. Rinse in shower, pat dry with towel, apply Aveeda Apres Rasage skin balm, with really nice botanical smells.

All told, 5 minutes, rarely nick or irritate skin, and very close and neat shave - which my wife likes, so that's good.

I just started shaving with a razor (as opposed to an electric) for the first time in, oh, 13 years. And I can't believe there's a thread about this to guide me in my journey.

I have one of those three-razor Gilette dealys. How do I get the goop and hair out from between the blades before I go up for more? I was banging it against the sink for a while, but it flew off and went down the drain.

Also, should I call a plumber?

Whiney, you know what I do? I puse my lips on the blades and blow! It works! I have not cut my lips once, so it's perfectly safe to do so, if you are careful.

Won't that blow hair and shave goop all over my walls?

Not if you aim at the sink.

I have not cut my lips once, so it's perfectly safe to do so

flawless and sound logic!!!!

okay, anyone still use aftershave?

i only ask because for years -- at least 10 -- i've used this stuff:

http://www.escentual.com/isroot/Escentual/SiteImages/ProductImages/CalvinKlein/EscapeForMen/aftershave100ml.jpg

can't remember why i started using it, but i did. i liked it; it became my signature scent.

problem is, it's nigh-on impossible to get hold of these days in aftershave form (though not as eau de toilette). i can't be arsed trogging round 10 different shops just to find a bottle, so i figure it's time to find something else.

but what?

and do i need aftershave anyway? hellfire, i've got a fucking beard at the moment. it seems a bit excessive to spend 20 or 30 quid on something just to splash on a bit of my neck. and nobody else seems to use the stuff any more. i always thought it was good for your skin in some way, but i've no idea how or why.

anyway. recommendations etc appreciated.

this is a pretty recent thread:

old-timey shaving aka "Wet Shaving": C/D

number one reccomendation: http://kitcosmetics.com/image.aspx?type=ProductDisplay&file=288304013.jpg

aftershave is great! i have a beard now but i always dug that tingly feeling and the lack of red bumpy skin afterwards

oh but more for smooth face and less for man scent^^

xp

bollocks, missed that thread totally. tits. will check that out; ta.

pre-beard, I need the aftershave otherwise I'd get too irritated. Even still I use it when I shave my neck, parts of my cheeks, and the back of my neck. I'm a big fan of the Nivea line of products. I've used more expensive stuff and enjoyed them, but this stuff is soothing, smooth and has no scent:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417x4SGmGOL._AA280_.jpg

Yeah, that's what I use too.

Nivea is excellent post-shave.

Total Shaving Solution beforehand
very hot water
foam
Mach 3
With grain, unless i need a very close shave
very cold water
moisturiser/aftershave

if i shower first, it tends to be better.

http://www.escentual.com/isroot/Escentual/SiteImages/ProductImages/dior/DiorHomme/aftershave.jpg

So so good.

thank you, all. got myself some of the nivea and bought escape eau de toilette to scoosh on ... after all these years, i just don't want to change smell :)

One blade just doesn't compare to three.

Splash water on face

Rub soap on face

Break nearest glass bottle

Sharpen against other broken glass

Slide down on flesh and repeat

I just shave by feel with hot water in the shower, no cream, no soap
around the beard, I touch up right afterwards with hot water over the sink

i don't use a blade - just a peanut and i trim to a #1. what do u guys do to clean up all the hair (assuming you shave infrequently enough that there's a sizable amount). i grab a plastic bag, open it as wide as possible, place it in the sink and trim over it. inevitably lots of little hairs end up all over the place - in the sink, around the sink, etc and i have to spend 10-15 min finding them all to clean them up. surely there must be a better way! i once saw a clipper that advertised a hair collection feature so it left no mess but - get this - it didn't work at all.

i stopped shaving.

trim once a week into sink and rinse sink.

feel like there's too much hair and it clogs the drain

not enough drain

i stopped shaving when my first son was born bc it just took too much time and i always hated it anyway. my beard is too thick and dark for me to ever look clean-shaven, even immediately after a close shave I look like I have a 5 o'clock shadow.

now I use 1/8" guard on my hair clippers once every 3-4 weeks. I put some paper towels flat in the sink to catch the whiskers and then to wipe up other loose hairs after.

In the shower, with bath gel. The limit for marginal returns is reached with 3 blade heads, and the most important quality of a head is an open, unobstructed back so whiskers can be rinsed out in the spray between strokes. Basic Mach 3 is fine, but drug-store knockoffs are equally good. Used to like these slender two blade heads that could be turned to my advantage in nostrils, but now just play masochist with good tweezers.

what do u guys do to clean up all the hair

I shaved my beard ATW TFO this morning and my new 1 Weird Old Tip for this is to get your beard completely soaking wet first before taking the Peanut to it.
This makes the hair weigh more and clump together so it vastly, vastly decreases the amount and breadth of discrete scattered hairs.

clean yr razor with an old toothbrush after every shave obv

Never heard of the peanut before.

I shave my head and beard from monday through thursday, then let it grow out over the weekend.

I use a Dorco Pace 6 with Aveeno moisturing lotion as a shaving cream in the shower. I wish there was a better combo though. There are always patches that I'm just unable to get on the first pass that I'll have to go over again once I've been out of the shower for a while and let the skin on my head calm down.

Shaving a head is obviously a completely different thing than face-shaving. My set-up works just fine for that part.

this is the silliest thing I've wanted to purchase for some time

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0632/2213/products/BEARD_KING_Beard_Bib_White_01_1024x1024.jpg
https://thebeardking.com/products/beard-bib-black

then you can proceed right to lobsterfest without even removing it

I trimmed as soon as I got out of the shower this morning, beard still soaking wet - basically got like 8 stray hairs on the edge of the sink, everything else stuck to the trimmer in clumps and went right into the drain. Easy.

a few days later I had to go back in with the trimmer while it was dry because trimming wet creates pretty uneven results. However, I will say the mess left just evening things out was much less than usual and only a few strays escaped the sink. I think the TOMBOT TANDEM is the way to go from here on out.

I have... ... I have begun shaving with a homemade bib :/

but it works!!!

I'm killing the beard tomorrow. It was super nice outside today, and while I was walking to the local fancy-stuff grocer and back, I noticed far too many carefully tended facial hair arrangements on the other dudes in my neighborhood, sitting outside at the various dining establishments. Fuck that. I'm done being part of a trend. Back to the once-a-week all-around stubble.

my 6yo, realizing change was in the air, requested extra beard scratching on her head at bedtime. alas.