New to this forum

[BestBadger]

After registration I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself. I hope this topic is the right one for that.

I am 53 years old and live in Germany. English is not my mothertongue, so please be patient

When I was young I started wet shaving using a DE safety razor because the results of electric shaving didn't satisfy me. I suffered from acne and sensitive skin but the DE razor worked quite well for me until a doctor told me that electric shaving would be much better for my skin. So I used electric shavers for several years (Braun and also Philips ones) although the shaving was unpleasant and the results were far away from what I would call a close shave. So after some years I gave wet shaving a new try and started with multiblade cartridge razors and canned foam. A few months ago I started using a DE safety razor again. It works fine most of the time but I see that I still have to work on my technique. So I hope you can help me a little bit with experience and good advice.

[CMur12]

Welcome, BestBadger! Your first post here is very well written. I don't think you'll have any problems communicating with the rest of us.

Learning the basics of DE shaving can come quickly, but refining your technique will take place over a long period of time, even years.

If you have sensitive skin, I would recommend one of the milder razors. If your skin is tough and you want the closest shave possible, choose a more aggressive razor. Then you need to match the blade to your beard (a sharper blade for a heavier or coarser beard, etc). Lather is important, too.

Anyway, let us know how you're doing and how we can help.

- Murray

[ShadowsDad]

Welcome to the forum! Your English is just fine; I understood everything.

As Murray wrote, let us know how we can help. Or if you prefer, just cruise the various sections and graze here and there.

[Squire]

Welcome aboard BB, yes, we have lots of experienced advice here and all of it is well intended. We are not here to tell you what to do, rather share thoughts that may help in your shaving choices.

So ask any questions you like.

[Big Swifty]

Welcome to the fold...

[BestBadger]

Thanks a lot for your friendly welcome! Yes, it's true, you can get the basics of DE safety razor shaving in a few days or weeks. When I was a young man I found it out by myself how to use that type of razor (my father and my grandfathers always used an electric shaver). But a good technique that gives you a close shave without irritations takes time and patience. Some months after starting again with a DE safety razor I still have to learn a lot about the proper technique.

My skin is sensitive and far away from being tough. Currently I'm using an Edwin Jagger DE89 razor, which is claimed to be on the mild side. I like this razor, it looks nice and has good weight and balance. My beard is neither heavy nor coarse. Some guys tell you that in a mild razor you have to use a very sharp blade whereas in an aggressive razor you can use a less sharp blade. Is that true? I'm still experimenting with different blades and until now the Derby ones worked best for me, which are claimed to be less sharp (some people say that they are dull and have poor quality, I can't confirm that so far).

I'm also experimenting with different soaps and creams. As I already mentioned my skin is sensitive and tends to be dry, so I have to be careful. Currently I'm trying out the white Proraso soap. Which soap or cream would you recommend for my type of skin?

[CMur12]

I, too, have very sensitive skin. In my own case, the Edwin Jagger razor is still too aggressive, so I use a Merkur Progress on its lowest setting or a vintage razor such as a Schick Krona or a Gillette Tech. My beard isn't very dense, but it is coarse, so I prefer a sharper blade such as the Personna Med Prep/Hospital Use, Perma-Sharp Super, or Treet Dura Sharp.

With a mild razor, I get best results adding more water to my lather. This gives me a wetter lather with good glide/lubricity and minimal cushion. With a mild razor, cushion can make it hard to achieve an effective cut.

There are a lot of good soaps available. I really like Valobra hard soap, Cella soft soap, and several artisan soaps. Perhaps more important than the soap itself (as long as you have a good soap) is the lather you make with it, as I indicated in the paragraph above.

- Murray

[BestBadger]

I also prefer a wetter lather, it works best for me and gives me a closer shave.

Today I had to find out that the white Proraso soap (for sensitive skin) contains Menthol. The list of contents on the package is printed in such small letters that I had to use a magnifying glass to read it. After having used the soap I always noticed an irritation (mainly on the cheeks) like a very light razor burn which disappeared after one or sometimes two hours. I thought the reason for that was my shaving technique (still too much pressure, incorrect angle of the blade), but that doesn't seem to be the whole truth. I always get skin irritations (not only on the face) when using products which contain Menthol, especially shower gels and after shaves. As far as I know this is common to many people who have sensitive skin so I don't understand why those Proraso guys put that stuff into a soap for sensitive skin. This soap is not for me, I'll give the Edwin Jagger soap for sensitive skin a try (it doesn't contain Menthol, I checked that twice). We'll see what happens.

[brothers]

. . . I don't understand why those Proraso guys put that stuff into a soap for sensitive skin. This soap is not for me, I'll give the Edwin Jagger soap for sensitive skin a try (it doesn't contain Menthol, I checked that twice). We'll see what happens.

Hmmm . . . one would assume that particular ingredient would be the most obvious to leave out. Maybe they figured on it being a soothing/non-irritant? Maybe a chemist can enlighten us.

[Thalay Sagar]

BB, welcome to SMF!

[brothers]

Yes, welcome. I forgot to say that earlier.

[BestBadger]

Hmmm . . . one would assume that particular ingredient would be the most obvious to leave out. Maybe they figured on it being a soothing/non-irritant? Maybe a chemist can enlighten us.

As far as I know Menthol is neither soothing nor non-irritant. It is often used in cosmetic products to get a cooling/refreshing effect on the skin. This may work for people with normal or tough skin, but not for people with sensitive skin.

Proraso is well-known to put a lot of essential oils in their products. The green Proraso soap is always described as containing Eucalyptus and Menthol, but I didn't expect that they put Menthol in the white one also. This is sad in some way because the soap worked fine and didn't dry out my skin.

[TheMonk]

Welcome to SMF!

[Big Swifty]

I'm gonna agree with Murray and recommend Cella shave soap from Italy. What an absolute wonderful product this is at a very affordable price. Its very gentle on the skin and quite moisturizing as well, tallow based so its real easy to make a great lather (lather literally jumps out of the bowl when you are loading up your brush). The scent is a mellow almond (marzipan like) old world Italian barbershop kind of smell that I love. For the price I would put this shave soap up against any and it is one of my favorites at any price. If I haven't already mentioned this I love this soap

[Racso_MS]

WELCOME TO THE FORUM...

Come often and stay long.

[brothers]

I agree with Steve and Murray, when it comes to Cella. What a fine and inexpensive soap. Tallow, and so easy to get a great lather with it. I finally came to my senses about a year or so ago and bought the 1K huge block. Got it at a great price from Paul at Connaught.

[ShadowsDad]

I agree about Cella. BUT, I bought a 1k block years ago and on opening it the scent was so strong that it was sickening. I used it anyway and it got no better. Thinking, rightly as it turned out, that it had just been freshly made, I let it age for a time with exposure to the air. A month later it was quite a bit better.

Gary, I'm surprised you didn't mention 3P (is it still made?). That's just as good IMO and less money but I don't remember it being hugely less costly. There are IMO better Italian croaps, but not for the money. One of those is no longer made.

[brothers]

You're right about the 3P. I PIF'd a lot of it away and eventually passed the remainder along to someone else. After a while I got a fairly well aged red tub of Cella from my son which was excellent. I gave it back to him and decided then to get a big block of Cella, which has a different (to my nose) fragrance altogether, from the red tub Cella. Cella is a tallow soap, also inexpensive (from Connaught) and seems to be a great soap. (3P is veggie, but also a great smelling and performing soap.)

[Big Swifty]

I too believe the kilo brick is somehow slightly different than the red tub

[BestBadger]

Thanks for your advice. I really like the smell of almonds so I just ordered the Cella soap (the red tub, not the 1k brick ) and will try it out. It's always a risk when I try out a new soap or cream because it's rather unpredictable how my sensitive skin will react. We'll see.

Edit: This smell perfectly matches the upcoming season, doesn't it?