Hi :) First post - Brush recommendations, please :)

Hi @Rottie, good to have you on board! I'm sorry to say, I also bought the Wilkinson brush when I first started, in hopes of it softening up. Sadly it never has, despite me trying it still remains a scritchy horrible little brush I keep in a drawer.

For a cheap (and easily accessible) synthetic starter brush, I'd wander down to your local body shop (armed with a half price voucher code) and pick up theirs. As a side note, I also love their shaving cream, which you cannot go wrong with as it is beyond easy to lather! The bodyshop one wont be the brush of your dreams forever, but it will be like night and day softness-wise compared to your Wilkinson brush. It will also be about 1/4 of the price in investing in the plisson from the l'occitane shop.

If you feel like giving boar brushes a go, have a look at the semogue 620 and 830 (as the numbers go up, so does the knot size). The 620 was my third brush, and still remains my favorite - costs around £15ish. I would wait on the badger until you see a decent one on the BST page which takes your fancy. :)

All the best in the new hobby, Ben
 
riverrun said:
Nice teaser. Any link to said half price voucher code?
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Just had a look on vouchercodes.co.uk my usual website for vouchers, the best they seem to be offering this week is 30% off orders, which is really not up to their usual levels of discount. Body shop, you disappoint me!

Link for voucher site is http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/search/?q=body+shop. But I normally just use the android app which will generate codes for you, currently 14664 and 19805 for 30% off online.
 
ben139 said:
Hi @Rottie, good to have you on board! I'm sorry to say, I also bought the Wilkinson brush when I first started, in hopes of it softening up. Sadly it never has, despite me trying it still remains a scritchy horrible little brush I keep in a drawer.

For a cheap (and easily accessible) synthetic starter brush, I'd wander down to your local body shop (armed with a half price voucher code) and pick up theirs. As a side note, I also love their shaving cream, which you cannot go wrong with as it is beyond easy to lather! The bodyshop one wont be the brush of your dreams forever, but it will be like night and day softness-wise compared to your Wilkinson brush. It will also be about 1/4 of the price in investing in the plisson from the l'occitane shop.

If you feel like giving boar brushes a go, have a look at the semogue 620 and 830 (as the numbers go up, so does the knot size). The 620 was my third brush, and still remains my favorite - costs around £15ish. I would wait on the badger until you see a decent one on the BST page which takes your fancy. :)

All the best in the new hobby, Ben
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Thanks, Ben. :) Is this the brush you're refering to?
If so, then I might have to pick one up, for £7 :)
 
Rottie said:
Thanks, Ben. :) Is this the brush you're refering to?
If so, then I might have to pick one up, for £7 :)
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Thats the one! I dont want to oversell it, as it wont be your dream brush forever. But it is so much softer than the Wilkinson at a fairly cheap price point. The macaroot cream they do however I really love, and whilst you're there it would almost be a shame not to grab a tub! :)
 
ben139 said:
Thats the one! I dont want to oversell it, as it wont be your dream brush forever. But it is so much softer than the Wilkinson at a fairly cheap price point. The macaroot cream they do however I really love, and whilst you're there it would almost be a shame not to grab a tub! :)
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I think I'll just get the brush, for now, as I already have a tube of Nivea shaving cream and a bowl of Eramis shaving soap to keep me going for now. Plus there's the two sample tubs of Bluebeard's Revenge shaving cream, that should be here Tuesday or Wednesday. :)

I'm looking for some Shave Balm and saw this while on the Body Shop's website, so I might pick up one of those, as well. :)
 
Rottie said:
I think I'll just get the brush, for now, as I already have a tube of Nivea shaving cream and a bowl of Eramis shaving soap to keep me going for now. Plus there's the two sample tubs of Bluebeard's Revenge shaving cream, that should be here Tuesday or Wednesday. :)

I'm looking for some Shave Balm and saw this while on the Body Shop's website, so I might pick up one of those, as well. :)
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If you're already on nine for the balm and seven for the brush, have you seen this collection in the sale http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/sale/view-all-sale-products/modern-gents-shaving-kit.aspx, just a thought :)
 
Rottie said:
here's Wilko's Shaving Balm :) They're only 5 mins from the Body Shop, so I might find pop in there, too. :)
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High street shaving shopping is excellent haha. Personally I prefer the nivea balm to wilkos own (but both are sold in wilkos). I have just discovered there is a full shaving shop in my new home town of leeds, about 10 mins walk from my office. So basically my bank account is doomed!
 
ben139 said:
High street shaving shopping is excellent haha. Personally I prefer the nivea balm to wilkos own (but both are sold in wilkos). I have just discovered there is a full shaving shop in my new home town of leeds, about 10 mins walk from my office. So basically my bank account is doomed!
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Which Nivea please, Ben? I can see three different ones on the wilko site, Cool skin, originals or sensitive? :oops:
 
Rottie said:
Which Nivea please, Ben? I can see three different ones on the wilko site, Cool skin, originals or sensitive? :oops:
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I use the sensitive and it does the trick nicely. Not tried the others though, the sensitive was just what was recommended to me when I started so I've stuck with it. I think the difference between them is that the sensitive has no alcohol in it, meaning it doesn't sting when applied.
 
ben139 said:
I use the sensitive and it does the trick nicely. Not tried the others though, the sensitive was just what was recommended to me when I started so I've stuck with it. I think the difference between them is that the sensitive has no alcohol in it, meaning it doesn't sting when applied.
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Thanks, Ben :) I'll pick up a bottle and give it a go, if they have any when I go there tomorrow. :)
Slightly OT (and I know this is very much a personal preference), what blades do you recommend? So far, I have only tried the Derby Extras and can't find any DE blades in local shops! :eek:
 
Rottie said:
Thanks, Ben :) I'll pick up a bottle and give it a go, if they have any when I go there tomorrow. :)
Slightly OT (and I know this is very much a personal preference), what blades do you recommend? So far, I have only tried the Derby Extras and can't find any DE blades in local shops! :eek:
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If you're going high street shopping, boots generally sell some Wilkinson blades, and also some unbranded ones which I think people say are one of the personnas. However, both are sold above internet prices so I would avoid actual shops for those.

I would get yourself a sampler pack to try different ones, as you will discover you will get favorites for different razors, and some will suit your face far better than others. I picked up some sample packs from shavelounge shop when I started. See http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/community/index.php?forums/buy-sell-trade.11/ if you've not found the BST yet for good sampler pack deals.

Personally I find the astra greens to suit my face well, but I've also had good results with Wilkinson, SuperMax, Feather, Personna and Derby blades in various razors. It's all just experimentation and people can debate blades for forever!
 
Thank you both @riverrun and @ben139 for your comments and suggestions. :)
I think I will order one of those sample packs from @Lose the beard :) I never even thought about how a certain brand of razor would interact with a certain brand of blade - I just thought that trial and error would tell you which blade to use and you could use it in any razor body.
So much to learn.. :eek:
 
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