eternoMind
Herald
It's a good option. But if you want to just try DE razor shaving, go with the much cheaper DE from Gillette (not the plastic one, but the metal head model). It's pretty good and forgiving, for a DE razor.
The wet shaving thread
- Thread starter blr_p
- Start date
Ssreek
Herald
Didn't know Gillette made such razors.. There used to be somethg from 7o clock with plastic handle, seen long time ago.
Are you referring to this? https://www.amazon.in/Gillette-Guard-Manual-Shaving-Cartridges/dp/B0BWDNPP5V
bssunilreddy
Keymaster
Go this Razor from Bombay Shaving Company in 2021 which is this Bombay Shaving Company Classic Safety Razor For Men @ 499 and got myself cut pretty bad on my upper lip, had to go to a doctor to get stitched, so is using Gillette Guard Shaving Razor which is this Gillette Guard Shaving Razor for Men @ 135. Now my father & father in law both are buying this same Gillette Guard Razor and using it.
dexterz
Herald
It's pretty good. I've used it since Jan last year. Another alternative is https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B08LTFSH14 - The pristine is a mild razor and should be good for a beginner.
That's sad to hear and also bit surprising. From my personal experience and other user reviews, its one razor thats hard to cut yourself with. It's one of the mildest razor around and very good for beginners.
bssunilreddy
Keymaster
While shaving on the upper lip out of habit with like normal Gillette Guard Razors I swiped vertically and it cut from under the middle of the nose to upper lip.
Shit I never saw so much of own blood ever. Then my mother sprayed turmeric on the cut to stop bleeding and afterwards I went to a doctor for stitches. From then on I never touched that razor.
The blade cuts your skin only if you slice it. That mean there should be absolutely zero sideways motion. Entire motion should be perpendicular to the length of the blade.
If you are using Gilette Gaurd (single bade version), there is utterly no increased advantage moving to double edge razors. Absolutely no, unless you associate macho quotient to the naked blade, in which case you should consider shavette.
If you are using Gilette Gaurd (single bade version), there is utterly no increased advantage moving to double edge razors. Absolutely no, unless you associate macho quotient to the naked blade, in which case you should consider shavette.
bssunilreddy
Keymaster
Yes, that's what I did thinking that it will shave like I do with Gillette Guard. Now after that scare I am using Gillette Guard only.
Even my father & father in law are using the same Gillette Guard.
I use Gillette foam while they both use saving cream applied by a brush the old fashioned way.
I was thinking of getting a electric shaver from Gillette which can be cleaned using water or waterproof but I am sceptical about their longevity.
I don't know nothing about their servicing.
Ssreek
Herald
So here's my first experience..
As a first time buyer of DE razor, I bought the basic Gillette 7oClock 'Sterling' model. Costed 95rs.
The build is fine for the cost, but plastic handle didn't feel good at all. Didn't feel balanced but for cost it may be fine.
I thought it would be a combed one, the pictures weren't showing that when I ordered online, but it is open type and not combed.
Mfos gave only 1 blade even for this pack.
My first shave went okayish. Got 2 small cuts, which are from the first two passes, as I didn't properly estimate what force to put it for this.
Rest of the shave went okay without any other cuts, as I was more careful after the cuts. This one probably needs more shaving cream and lather.
But compared to the mach turbo which I usually use, this one needed multiple passes as there was some balance of hair left here and there.
Overall, it seems I need some good practice regarding using DE razors. Otherwise, if cons are kept aside, the regular gillette multiple blade type ones are faster and fewer cuts is what I felt.
But my feedback will obv change once I get some practice.
As a first time buyer of DE razor, I bought the basic Gillette 7oClock 'Sterling' model. Costed 95rs.
The build is fine for the cost, but plastic handle didn't feel good at all. Didn't feel balanced but for cost it may be fine.
I thought it would be a combed one, the pictures weren't showing that when I ordered online, but it is open type and not combed.
Mfos gave only 1 blade even for this pack.
My first shave went okayish. Got 2 small cuts, which are from the first two passes, as I didn't properly estimate what force to put it for this.
Rest of the shave went okay without any other cuts, as I was more careful after the cuts. This one probably needs more shaving cream and lather.
But compared to the mach turbo which I usually use, this one needed multiple passes as there was some balance of hair left here and there.
Overall, it seems I need some good practice regarding using DE razors. Otherwise, if cons are kept aside, the regular gillette multiple blade type ones are faster and fewer cuts is what I felt.
But my feedback will obv change once I get some practice.
k660
Explorer
I might get banned for this but still ಠಿ_ಠ.
Normal Gillette guard 3-blade, plastic one.
Or
Syska beard trimmer ( old one bought long time ago nearly 6yrs ago ) its name is trimmer but I use it to 'cut'.
- Dry cheeks ಠ◡ಠ all the way
- no gel, no cream,no foam, no brush fuss
1) trimmer
- no trimmer cover direct blade on beard
Then again I chop it clean off (90-97%) around when it reaches 0.7-0.8 inch of length.
- then
2) Gillette 3blade one to remove rest stuff
- and my beard growth rate is slow too.
Normal Gillette guard 3-blade, plastic one.
Or
Syska beard trimmer ( old one bought long time ago nearly 6yrs ago ) its name is trimmer but I use it to 'cut'.
- Dry cheeks ಠ◡ಠ all the way
- no gel, no cream,no foam, no brush fuss
1) trimmer
- no trimmer cover direct blade on beard
Then again I chop it clean off (90-97%) around when it reaches 0.7-0.8 inch of length.
- then
2) Gillette 3blade one to remove rest stuff
- and my beard growth rate is slow too.
blr_p
Oracle
It will be fine.
Could also be about prep. The beard should be wet for at least three minutes so it softens and can be cut more easily. Otherwise if the beard is not ready you will apply more force and get cuts
Right but unlike your mach turbo you can go at it from different angles and get a closer shave without the irritation of dragging 3 blades over your skin per pass. Also what I noticed with these three+ blades is they get blunt very slowly. You only realise after a month or even more how blunt they have become when you replace the blade.
With DE razors generally 5-8 shaves depending on whether just stainless or platinum
It's a skill but like a bicycle you never forget once you learn
True, and is why the elder men in my family use the dual blade ones. VFM & safe. More blades than that becomes pricey. Okay once in a while but not regularly.
They weren't interested to learn how to use a DE razor. But you still can't go as close because you are dragging two blades with each pass
Ok people strap in. Let me take you through my long and storied journey with wet shaving.
My dad has always used a DE razor, so when puberty hit and I started having enough hair on my upper lip to shave, I also naturally used a DE razor like him. When I asked him to teach me how to shave, he said just put the cream on and scrape it up and down and you’re done. Armed with this basic info, I continued in that same vein for at least a decade. I had my share of cuts and nicks but managed a decent enough shave.
Then when I started earning for myself, I wanted to try out the more fancy stuff and so moved what seemed to be (at the time) all the rage: the Gillette Mach 3. I found it to be ok, but when I ran my hand over my face, I could feel the stubble tho it wasn’t visible. This was even after several passes. But hey fancy is fancy and when you’re young, you want brand names and all that stuff, more than actual performance/quality, so I stuck with it for a few years.
Later, I discovered Reddit and soon after, the wet shaving subreddit (forgot what it was called, r/straightedge or something) and that took me down a rabbit hole. After lurking there for several months, I ordered a straight-edge razor from AliExpress (yes, this was when AE was not yet banned). I also ordered some shave oil, a strop and some other accessories from Amazon India.
My love affair with the straightedge lasted perhaps a few months. Stropping kind of maintained the edge but to get it real sharp would require honing and I honestly had neither the money nor the patience to buy honing stones and spend time honing and then stropping and all that.
So I ditched the straightedge and bought a shavette. This is the one which you see in barber shops here, where you use a regular DE blade, break it in half (tho the one I had cld take whole blades, but the concept was the same) and stick it in for a shave. After using this for maybe a year, I realised that I was using a DE blade anyway, so might as well use a DE razor.
And that’s how I came right back around to the DE razor (with Gillette 7’o’clock blade), which I have now been using for the past 7-8 years, maybe more. After experimenting with several different types, I ended up sticking with this one, simply because it has a stand and hence occupies less space in the cabinet above my sink.
Now I use the DE for a 2-3 day old beard and a Gillette Vector+ as my daily, when I’m in a hurry for office and want to shave quickly. I have also observed that I get the closest, smoothest shave only with the DE. My beard hair grows in an irregular pattern so it takes several passes, but at the end it’s as smooth as a newborn’s heel. With the Vector+ (and even the Mach 3), no matter how many passes I make, I cannot replicate that feel.
Oh and the nicks and cuts are still a pretty regular thing.
My dad has always used a DE razor, so when puberty hit and I started having enough hair on my upper lip to shave, I also naturally used a DE razor like him. When I asked him to teach me how to shave, he said just put the cream on and scrape it up and down and you’re done. Armed with this basic info, I continued in that same vein for at least a decade. I had my share of cuts and nicks but managed a decent enough shave.
Then when I started earning for myself, I wanted to try out the more fancy stuff and so moved what seemed to be (at the time) all the rage: the Gillette Mach 3. I found it to be ok, but when I ran my hand over my face, I could feel the stubble tho it wasn’t visible. This was even after several passes. But hey fancy is fancy and when you’re young, you want brand names and all that stuff, more than actual performance/quality, so I stuck with it for a few years.
Later, I discovered Reddit and soon after, the wet shaving subreddit (forgot what it was called, r/straightedge or something) and that took me down a rabbit hole. After lurking there for several months, I ordered a straight-edge razor from AliExpress (yes, this was when AE was not yet banned). I also ordered some shave oil, a strop and some other accessories from Amazon India.
My love affair with the straightedge lasted perhaps a few months. Stropping kind of maintained the edge but to get it real sharp would require honing and I honestly had neither the money nor the patience to buy honing stones and spend time honing and then stropping and all that.
So I ditched the straightedge and bought a shavette. This is the one which you see in barber shops here, where you use a regular DE blade, break it in half (tho the one I had cld take whole blades, but the concept was the same) and stick it in for a shave. After using this for maybe a year, I realised that I was using a DE blade anyway, so might as well use a DE razor.
And that’s how I came right back around to the DE razor (with Gillette 7’o’clock blade), which I have now been using for the past 7-8 years, maybe more. After experimenting with several different types, I ended up sticking with this one, simply because it has a stand and hence occupies less space in the cabinet above my sink.
Now I use the DE for a 2-3 day old beard and a Gillette Vector+ as my daily, when I’m in a hurry for office and want to shave quickly. I have also observed that I get the closest, smoothest shave only with the DE. My beard hair grows in an irregular pattern so it takes several passes, but at the end it’s as smooth as a newborn’s heel. With the Vector+ (and even the Mach 3), no matter how many passes I make, I cannot replicate that feel.
Oh and the nicks and cuts are still a pretty regular thing.
Ssreek
Herald
I waited two mins only after applying. I underestimated the use of cream in the past.
I am thinking of getting foam version, but have to avoid the alcohol ones.
But of course, another issue is, apart from cream, I don't use any after shave lotions or balms. Those things might be useful, thinking to get alum stone instead.
Agree with the multiple blades going blunt fast. The same model used to last me many months back in the past, after covid times, it hardly lasts two months before going blunt, that too I don't even shave every week. But honestly, they became too costly.
blr_p
Oracle
I don't think you understand. The foam doesn't soften the beard. Thr soap is only to help with the slide. The lubricant is water. Once your beard is wet adequately only then you apply the foam.
You need to wet it. So either shave after a bath or wet a towel with warm water and wrap it around your face for five minutes. The reason you are getting cut is you are doing no prep at all. And beard that isn't wet adequately can be as tough as iron wool so your blades will get blunt sooner.
Yeah double loss right there
bssunilreddy
Keymaster
DE stands for double-edged. So a DE blade is basically this. DE razors are razors that accept those type of blades, i.e. what most people probably think of when imagining a razor. This is a shavette, where you have to insert a regular (or half) DE blade. Different from the straightedge razor.