Newbie here! Advice help anyone please :)

D

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Hello everyone!

I'm new here, just thought i'd say hi to you all :). So my story is that my dad never taught me to shave and for the last 9 years I have been cutting my face off, suffered from ingrowing hair, dimples, razor burn and all the crap you pros probably rarely get! So After watching the Don's (mantic59) video's on how to shave on youtube I thought I'd learn to shave properly and get a DE and badger hair brush etc.

I was looking on at: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.trumpers.com/product_detail">http://www.trumpers.com/product_detail</a><!-- m -->. ... =111547299 and am not sure if it's right for a first lather brush. Also i made this list of stuff to get:


1) Styptic Pencil helps stop bleeding from minor cuts and scratches when shaving. Also Nix Styptic Pencil alleviates insect bite irritation.
2) Aftershave balm WITHOUT alcohol. Available at big stores.
3) Shave cream: “Tom’s of Maine” natural conditioning shave cream. “Kiss my Face” Moisture Shave crème (natural). These in natural food store/section of store. When used with brush v.gd results.
4) Proraso products from Italy. Lather shaving cream and shoap v. gd
5) Badger hair lather brush.
6) “Geof. Trumpers” do good shave cream too – British company.

However a few of those things which were on the don's videos are unavailable in the UK. I was wondering whether anyone has any suggestions on a good first kit with a medium range budget. I'm budgeting around £100-150 including a DE razor, creams and brush. I swear I had a go looking at this forum and amazon and various shaving websites such as art of shaving, Geo F Trumper etc, but I'm still really puzzled about what products to get! :(. All I know is i want a good shaving cream and badger brush and DE razor. I really don't know what all these other oils, aftershave etc.

I'm really sorry if this replicates previous questions but everyone has a different answer. I'm just after a reasonable 1st time set for under £150.

Thank you everyone! :)
 
I wouldn't spend that much in my first hit until you know what you might prefer, this thread should cover most bases...

<!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5931">viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5931</a><!-- l -->

Most products work, the rest is a matter of personal preference.
 
Hi new2DE

You can spend as much or as little as you want on a kit, my recommendation would be to get as much info as you can by spending some time reading what others have written on this forum, and then decide what you think would suit you. Otherwise I can recommend a razor from Edwin Jagger for around 20GBP which is what I started with and many here enjoy them, and a sample DE blade pack from Connaught Shaving, if you want a badger brush get a New Forest brush from a member here called Fido, if you PM him he will help you, I have several of his brushes and they are fantastic, great quality at a great price. As regarding soaps and creams, take your pick, I recently tried Body Shop Maca Root having read many positive reviews and I also bought the aftershave balm both are very nice and reasonably priced, you can also buy a sample pack from GFT or T&H, I bought the Truefitt sample pack with creams/aftershave balms and cologne, I like their products very much especially the ultimate comfort cream, and also the luxury soap (that is not included in the sample pack). Thats all you need to get started, and an alum block of course.

All the best

Adrian
 
Adrian said:
Hi new2DE Thats all you need to get started, and an alum block of course.

All the best

Adrian
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Hi Adrian,

Thanks for your reply. Firstly apologies to everyone as ive just realised this was not in the welcome section as i thought it was. What I don't get Adrian is all the stuff you need. So for starters:

1)DE razor (and blade),2) lather brush, 3)shaving cream or block, 4)aftershave or balm,

What I don't understand is this thing about pre shaving oil which you put on before you put on the shaving cream - is that worth having? Also what about cologne? I've never used that - can that be used as an aftershave or is that just some posh men's perfume?

If i'm missing anything for those 4 items let me know, Also where can i get hold of these freebie blades from? their online shop or another retailer?

Cheers
 
Pre shaving oil is controversial, to say the least. Suffice to say it's not a necessity. Don't use cologne as you would aftershave, it's purely fragrance and as such another non essential - it's not for your face as you'd quickly find out if you tried it.
 
I don't think that I said anything about free DE blades, but you can buy a sample pack from Connaught Shaving's website. I would keep things simple at first, as Arrowhead mentions above, there are lots of things you can try over time, I would advise getting DE Razor/sample blade pack/brush/cream or soap/aftershave balm/alum block. I prefer using an alum block which I find works well for me, stopping bleeding from nicks/weepers it also calms the skin if you get any irritation, you can also use a styptic pen.
 
Hi & welcome New2. For what it's worth my (tentative suggestions would be;

1) Edwin Jagger or Muehle R89 DE razor. There are some good prices on these at the moment, specially from Amazon. There's a link to Amazon from this site which costs the user nothing however does get TSR a teeny amount to help cover running costs.
2) Send me a PM & I'll send you down some free sample blades to try out. It's amazing the diff you will find from blade to blade, and which suits your personal choice of kit & shaving technique is down to personal choice.
3) Proraso is a very nice soap indeed & gr8 value for money, as long as you don't mind the menthol in it. Other than that a nice way (my opinion) to start your lathering career is with a stick of Palm Olive soap from your local supermarket for under £1. I'd suggest grating it into a suitable jar or container & then just swirl a wet brush round in it & lather onto your face.
4) Brushes, you can spend as much or little as yuou wish really. A pm to Fido on this forum may well pay dividends in both good advice and / or a suitable first class product.
5) A tube of Proraso gel from Connaught Shaving is absolutely first class at stopping any minor cuts or weepers unobtrusively. It's so good that I even have it in our first aid boxes. Can't recommend highly enough.

At the moment that's really all I suggest you invest in. If at some point you want to branch out then Prof Blighty and Sunburyboy on this forum have various pre & post shave oils, balsaams & assorted unguents. At this point the sky becomes the limit & you (& your pocket book) are the only arbitrers as to how far you go.

Have fun & don't take any of this too seriously; at the end of the day we're just cutting stubble with a sharp blade.

JohnnyO. \ :D
 
You need 4 things to start learning:
Razor.
Blades.
Brush.
Soap.
You can get all of these for about £50, depending on what you buy.

You might choose to pick up a few other luxuries as you go along. These are optional:
Alum.
Balm.
Aftershave splash.
They might cost you another £30 or so.

Anything else is just luxury / experimentation. I'm a pre shave oil user (sometimes)... it's not necessary, I just like the smell and the feel of the face massage, but I save it for Saturdays only! Don't rush out to buy it.
 
Watch the B/S/T forum. You can often pick up for free a second hand razor to play around with, blades and soap. Brushes don't appear so often for free. You just missed one noob pif, but there will be others. People here are happy to help.
 
I can send a sample of a few different blades as a PIF (pay it forward/pass it free). Basically a freebie in the hope that you will one day do the same to someone else starting out. If you're interested send me a message (click the pm button) with your address. Then you only need soap/cream, brush, razor and some practice.
I would get a Palmolive stick or cream, men u brush from Boots, and also in boots either Wilkinson sword plastic de razor or the boots own brand razor, just to start with. All that would set you back about £15. There are also some very decent people on here who are good to buy from.
 
Do you have a Home bargains near you (got loads here in Liverpool but they are based here)

You can pick up Real Shaving Co stuff like shave cream and aftershave balm for £1.29 each. If you don't like them you can always pass them on for that price.

Yep go for a sample pack from Connaught to see what YOU get on with.

Also check out the blades pif thread and put your name on it.
 
The men-u brush is what started me looking at DE razors. Its really good and just tried the real shave co cream today from home bargains in glasgow and it is fantasticm as is the face wash (it is a few more pounds in Boots I think). However the shave cream that comes with the men-u brush is pretty good as well!
 
and just tried the real shave co cream today from home bargains in glasgow and it is fantastic
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Real Shaving Co cream = Creightons of Peterborough.
Truefitt and Hill cream = Creightons of Peterborough.

They're not quite the same cream (The T+H creams generally have a better fragrance but even that is dependent on point of view). It does however just prove the point that Creightons make good quality creams, they don't turn out rubbish.
 
ahh, explains why it is good stuff! but so cheap as well!!! have some samples of the tnh and with you saying that and looking at the shave co it looks the same. But have to admit i love the lemon and lime one just for the smell!
 
Thank you all for your advice and patience! I really appreciate it. This is one of the nicest forums I have been to. :). On the razor front I was wondering if there is a good shop in London where I can go and feel the razors for weight? On that note would you suggest heavy or light razors? I've always use gilette mach 3 so am used to light razors but don't mind going for something heavy if there's method to the madness? Do heavier razors glide much better? Also I have two links:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edwin-Jagge...4L2W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308435389&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Merkur-Heavy-Double-Safety-Razor/dp/B00133LT58/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Does anyone have any recommendations on whether I should go for one or the other or another other razor? :). Might start watching some youtube videos on different razor review too :).

Also ty for the kind offers on the razor blade front. Is there a safe way to go about this? I've never given my address to anyone on forums before and am a bit hesitant. How do I distinguish the psychopaths who want to kill me from the genuine people (not pointing fingers!)
 
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