I wrote up some notes for my friend about shaving paraphenalia. So here they are.
Do you have a good brush? I think that’s one of the most important parts. Get yourself a Super Badger. I got mine from Taylor’s of Old Bond St in Mayfair, but note they have an online store.
This lets you get away from alcohol-based creams. They also sell a variety of soaps– I use the Shaving Cream Bowl, which has concentrated soap in it. You use seriously a tiny dab of soap to lather your whole face with the brush. I’m still on my original bowl and we visited London something like a year ago.
I have a straight edge razor, but it’s a pain to keep sharp. To keep one of these suckers sharp you need a leather strop AND a whetstone. Not for the timid. Plus getting your skin taut enough for the blade to find purchase is very tricky. I learned (and am still learning) about this off of YouTube.
For day-to-day, I’d like to upgrade to a Feather double-edge. Samurai steel! How can you go wrong with that! Shaving specialty stores usually stock the whole line of these.
But in the meantime, I have been using the Gillette Power Fusion, a 4-blade with a single blade on the back for detail. It also vibrates, although I’ve had varying success with that.
When I’m in a big hurry, and only then, I use shaving gel, Jack Black Beard Lube.
A little goes a long way, and it has oils in it to not dry out your face. I bought this in Chicago at this wacky barber place where hot girls shave you while you drink martinis and watch sports TV and stock tickers. Seriously.
I’m almost out of this stuff, so I may experiment with something else. I’ve been looking for more mentholated shave gel (like I used when in Brazil) but still no luck.