Ask Aaron Q&A: Finding the best double edge shaving products - Is it a case of trial and error?
Charles Singleton, from the UK, asks:
“Hi Aaron, it seems to me that double edge shaving is not as clear cut as shaving with my Mach 3! Now I have a wide choice different blades, razors, creams and brushes. Looking at reviews on websites and forums I get confused as to what to choose because when I find something that has a positive review I usually find an equally negative one! Is it just a case of trial and error as I can see this getting expensive?!”
AARON SAYS
“Mr Singleton,
Yes! I agree the many choices and options can be a bit overwhelming. If I can let me offer some products and advice to help get you on your way.
To start with get a good brush such as a Simpsons, Vulfix, Kent or Bluebeards Revenge. This paired with a good cream such as Bluebeards Revenge, Taylor of Old Bond Street, Proraso, Geo. F. Trumper’s and Truefitt & Hill will increase the quality of your shave a lot, even if you decide to keep going with your Mach 3. Should you take the plunge and go with a safety razor the Blue Beard’s Scimitar, Merkur HD, and the Parker 98 or 99R razors will be great ways to start. The most subjective part of wet shaving is the blade. For blades I really suggest you start by buying a single pack of each brand and figure out which rand works best for your face and hair types. Gillette, Merkur, Derby and Israeli made blades are great to start with. I highly suggest waiting on the Feather blades until you gain more experience. They tend to be *cough* VERY unforgiving of student mistakes.
These suggestions should narrow down the choices for you and I hope you enjoy your journey into wet shaving!
Happy Shaving,
Aaron”
Do you have any burning questions you would like ask our wet shaving expert Aaron Wolfenbarger? CLICK HERE TO ASK AARON YOUR QUESTION
Today’s modern man puts his family & appearance before big nights out
A new study claims today’s modern man would rather invest time and money refining himself and his lifestyles and putting his family first.
According to the survey, carried out by shaving firm Wilkinson Sword, spending time with family and loved ones tops the list of the modern man’s priorities with 65%.
Grooming and taking care of appearances came in as the second most important priority with 30%. It appears the modern man is now trying to smash the clichés of the lager lout, with drinking coming in third on 16%, followed by gaming (14%), clubbing (11%), and casual sex (8%).
The research of men aged between 25 and 34 also claims “British men are returning to the golden age of their grandfathers in terms of time honoured traditional dress, manners and shaving etiquette”.
Nearly 30% of men feel the best definition of masculinity is ‘a well-mannered man’, followed by ‘a clean shaven man’ (27%), with half of those questioned emphasising that being clean-shaven makes them both look and feel confident.
The study also found that 92% of men buy their own razors, while 71% buy their own skincare products.
The boffins at Wilkinson Sword claim this new trend towards personal grooming can be attributed to the “troubled economic climate of modern times”, as men respond to this “by looking back to smarter, simpler and more secure times”.
“This new breed of man longs for authenticity and craftsmanship, for connoisseurship and chivalry, and looks to an old template of masculinity to find it. His grooming and dressing habits are inspired by and evoke his grandfather – he buys bespoke suits and shirts, savours fine wines and whiskeys, and lists positively Edwardian-sounding traditional pastimes such as shooting, fishing and cycling,” the report said.
Mark Tungate, author of Marketing to Men and Luxury World, sees this new trend as a living act of cultural remembering. “We’ve forgotten how good it feels to be well-groomed” he says, “when I got married I had a manicure, a barbered shave, and then put on a bespoke suit made for the occasion and I felt so sharp. It was like I’d turned into the best possible version of me.”
Karen Williams, Senior Product Manager of Male Systems at Wilkinson Sword, added: “The report findings suggest that young men want to look and feel smarter and healthier, and shaving is a quick and easy way for them to achieve this.”
Wilkinson Sword launched its much-hyped Hyrdo cartridge based razor in the UK back in October of this year. Reports suggest the firm has spent a whopping £20m on marketing the product, covering TV, print and digital advertising.
The new razor claims to introduce “revolutionary” technology, including a gel reservoir to hydrate skin during shaving, and new skin guards to help prevent skin getting trapped between blades.
It will go head-to-head with Gillette’s Fusion ProGlide razor, which launches in the UK in January 2011.
The new Hydro razor comes with either three or five blades, costing £5.99 and £7.99 respectively.
Follow Nick Gibbens on Twitter @nickgibbens
More articles by Nick Gibbens
My transition from Mach3 to Double-Edge shaving
Truth be told, when I first read that Dan was looking for people to write for his blog I wasn’t sure what I could contribute. I mean sure, I’d been shaving with a DE razor for just under a year, but did that give me ‘expert’ status? Enough experience to pass my collected shaving wisdom onto newcomers?
Then I realised that what I could do is just recount my shaving story so far. After all, being twenty-six, I had scraped some sort of blade across my face for a number of years, using a variety of different methods and equipment. In the process I’d made many mistakes, as well as many happy discoveries, turning me into perhaps not an expert shaver, but certainly a happy one.
The first razor I used was the ubiquitous Gillette Mach3, along with a cheap Wilkinson Sword boar brush and a stick of Palmolive shave soap. I guess this was picked out for me by my Dad, seeing as he used a similar set-up with a Gillette Atra in place of the Mach3. I don’t remember him teaching me how to go about shaving but I guess that was the advantage of the Mach3, you could just drag it across your face and it did all the work for you. Just rub the brush all over the soap, lather-up and shave away. At least I was already on the right road of using a traditional shaving brush and soap. It was therefore unfortunate that after a couple of years shaving this way I got seduced by the assortment of foams and gels out there and promptly took a step back.
Between the ages of nineteen and twenty-three my shaves may have been pain-free but they had turned into a chore, and not even a closely shaven chore at that. Due to a pasty Englishman’s complexion coupled with dark hair I had what’s referred to as a bluebeard, a dark shadow of bristle peeking its way through my skin, mocking my Mach3’s attempts to achieve that fresh-from-the-barber’s-shop look.
Things changed when, like many recent converts to traditional wet shaving, I discovered Mantic’s videos on YouTube. This led me back onto the path from which I’d strayed. I dusted off my brush, bought myself a fresh shave stick and soon started wondering how I’d been such a numpty in going for all those gloopy gels and foams. I also ditched the Mach3 as I was fed-up with paying out for expensive replacement cartridges; I switched instead to swivel-headed, two-blade Gillette disposables. This set-up was better. The dry tautness which came from the gels and foams disappeared and shaving itself became less of a chore, but I still wasn’t getting particularly close shaves. I didn’t seem to be able to shave across or against the grain of my beard without irritation, even with the help of Mantic’s videos.
Then in April of 2008 I went on holiday to Italy. Naturally what got me most excited wasn’t the prospect of seeing Pompeii or devouring plate after plate of delicious Italian cuisine, it was knowing that I’d be able to buy some Proraso products (available in most convenience stores) and an Omega boar brush (available in most of the pharmacies). The Omega boar was a significant improvement on my old Wilkinson Sword brush, by now shedding at least half a dozen hairs a shave.
I decided it was time to take the final step in my shaving conversion, lose the disposables, and brave-up to the world of double edge. So I trawled eBay and scored myself a job-lot offering of a Lord razor with a Merkur-style head, some Speick cream and a Wilkinson Sword shave stick. I got some no-name (said to be Personna) DE blades from Boots, lathered-up and started to shave. The first thing I realised was that going from two-blade disposables to DE wasn’t as huge a leap as I’d anticipated. I could hear when the blade was cutting properly, it travelled smoothly over the skin and the hairs waved goodbye, what had I been afraid of? I then re-lathered and went for an across-grain pass, to my surprise the blade happily obliged. With my Mach3 and disposables I’d always felt resistance going anything except with the grain, this was much better. I thought I’d better stop there for my first few shaves but I was definitely hooked, already my skin felt smoother.
Over the next few months my technique gradually improved. I learnt what my face could handle in terms of which direction I shaved, how many passes I could get away with and which blades I preferred. My by-now new hobby saw my collection of soaps, creams and razors slowly expand, as the contents of my wallet rapidly shrank, and I woke each morning actually anticipating my daily shave.
Things were going so well that on his last birthday, I decided the time was right to try and infect my Dad with the shaving bug. I updated his own Wilkinson boar brush with a pure badger, and expanded his usual routine of Palmolive stick, followed by Palmolive stick, followed by another Palmolive stick with some Taylor’s cream and a puck of Culmak soap. I also found him a Gillette flare-tip rocket to try and wean him off his by-now triple-bladed razor. So far he loves his new Culmak, badger and Taylor friends, but is sticking to his triple-blade for the time being. This leaves me in a moral dilemma: continue to coerce and instruct him in the ways of the DE? Or leave him be, give in to my desires and persuade him to part with his rocket, so it can be become friends with my other Gillette’s?
So far I’ve stuck with trying to show him the pleasures of double-edge shaving, but how long my resolve stays strong only time will tell.
More articles by Richard Wall
Why would I want to change my shaving habits?
Due to the increasing popularity of double-edged razor shaving, many people who know little about this product are now curious as to why this is proving to be so “in demand”. The question this poses to these guys is: why would I want to change my shaving habits?
It is easy to get set in your ways when shaving or undertaking any other regular task. If you have been using an electric razor or Mach 3 blade for what seems like forever, you would be entitled to wonder why you should make a change now. In a previous article we looked at the cost factor which, while very important, is not the only reason to make the switch.
A Merkur is to razors as a Ferrari is to cars! (But without the cost)
For starters, double-edged shaving can be a luxurious process. Affordable it certainly is, but the sheer pleasure you get from your daily routine is unsurpassed, especially when you consider the chore it is to shave at present.
A number of men have simply had enough of the expensive multi-bladed systems and have decided to make the bold change themselves. Word of mouth certainly plays a part as guys tend to discuss these things when they are on holiday together or have just discovered something new and interesting.
You may be used to wet shaving already (Mach 3 users) or have a tried and trusted electric razor and so need an incentive other than money to alter your morning routine. Well, as you start to take the time to perfect your technique with a double-edged blade, you start to understand what all the fuss is about. You not only get a closer, smoother shave, but also start to enjoy the experience.
The double-edged razor is becoming extremely popular again as the modern man starts to consider the way the older generation used to shave. Once people get hooked, these retro shaving products allow them to experiment with all the creams, soaps and brushes etc. which are also available. The accessories just serve to make this daily task even more pleasurable.
Double edge shaving offers 5-star luxury without having to leave the bathroom!!
Although double edge shaving is synonymous with luxury, amazingly it is inexpensive to get started. Once the initial kit has been acquired not only will you experience a better way of shaving, but you will save money too! With blades costing pennies and luxury creams that last months there is no reason not to indulge in this affordable luxury.
So, why not give it a try, break your old habits and brave this new world of traditional and luxurious shaving products; you never know, in time, you may even come to look forward to it!
Father’s Day Gift Ideas at the Shaving Shack
Father’s Day will be here before you know it and right now is the time to find him that great gift.
And if your Dad is in to the luxurious world of wet shaving then why not treat him to a beautiful shaving set, it certainly beats slippers, socks and black jumpers!!!
The Shaving Shack stocks a great range of affordable shaving sets, including this contemporary Mach 3 shaving set with silver and Chrome effect.
This 4-piece shaving set comprises of a Mach 3 razor, badger shaving brush, stand and shaving bowl with mirror in the lid.
Tom Trueman, customer services manager at the Shack, says: “This shaving set will provide the discerning wet shaver with a traditional smooth, close and luxurious shaving experience, but with a contemporary look.”
The Contemporary Mach 3 Shaving Set comes in at number 11 in our top 15 gift ideas for Father’s Day!
Please check back on Monday for perfect gift number 10.
Forget the socks & jumpers - Treat Dad to a luxury Mach 3 razor on June 20
17 days and counting… Father’s Day is less than 3 weeks away! And what better way to show Dad how much you really care by treating him to a luxurious razor on June 20.
And they don’t come more impressive than the Shaving Shack “Regent” Nickel Plated Mach 3 Razor.
Stylish, modern and elegant, this is perfect Mach 3 luxury, and number 13 in our top 15 gift ideas for Father’s Day!
Tom Trueman, customer services manager at the Shack, says: “This nickel plated Mach 3 razor is absolutely stunning and represents fantastic value for money at just £22.99.
“The handle is perfectly balanced and feels substantial and solid. It comes in a blue gift box (pictured), making it an ideal gift for Father’s Day.”
The razor is 120mm in length and comes with the Mach 3 razor blade.
So forget the socks, jumpers and silly T-shirts, get Dad something he really wants this year!!!
Please check back on Friday for perfect gift number 12, or better still, sign up to our email updates by clicking here.
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