5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Wet Shaving

I've been straight and DE shaving since I was 15. Dad was a trained barber from the old country so we spent a lot of time together as he taught me what I needed to know at the time. As time went on, more and more info was shared by him. The best information that he shared with me is "ENJOY YOURSELF" as it will be a task that will last you the rest of your life. That's when things started to change for me. It drew my Dad and I even closer. My pals over the years mess with cartridges and electrics and inferior results as compared to DE and straight razors yet stuck to their way while laughing ours. A while back, I thought that I would check out for a new DE on line and a world of straight and DE on line info and sharing opened up to me (thanks to algorithms) and been enjoying it. I realized that your co. refreshes and tunes old razors. I have Dad's old Gillette and will be sending it your way in the very near future. So happy that there are others out there that are DE and straight razor fans. Shine on! butch

I don’t even remember the last time I touch the forbidden cartridge

Thanks for the great advice! Only been at it a few years, but here's 5 more tips from me: 1. A shavette can be much easier than starting with a straight razor. Odd thing to say? Yes, they're actually sharper so it'll be more daunting at first, but if you cork the blade and be careful, you will learn to ride a stallion before riding a pony so to speak. A straight also needs maintenance, you can't swap blades and can easily feel "off" for several reasons. May seem backwards, but I fell in love with shavettes that way. They can also be much cheaper starting out, and even "dirt" cheap ones can give great shaves. 2. Buy sample packs. Want to try blades? Don't buy a pack of 25, 50 or (please god don't) 100. Now you're stuck with it for years. Buy sample packs (with like 10-20 different blades but only 1-5 of each). Same thing with soaps! Want to try a soap but not sure you'll like the scent? Sample packs. God's gift to wetshavers. 3. You don't need a fancy pre-shave, and certainly not starting out. Bloom your soap in hot water, clean/scrub your face as you normally would, have a nice shower, when you come out, pour that water into your hands and rub it into your face. Boom, great cheap "preshave". Now use the soap normally and shave. When you feel more acquainted, maybe it's time to try a preshave. Still think it's the single least necessary item in wetshaving though, unless you have extremely sensitive skin or you're taking down a really thick beard. 4. You are going to cut yourself. Accept that now. I'm not saying "go nuts and shave like a madman", not at all. Take precautions, go slow and easy, be very careful. But getting nicks and cuts is part of wetshaving, the same way accidents are part of sports - the good news is you probably won't get HUGE cuts, they're usually fairly minor or at least "thin" and quite painless. Be careful and prepared (alum can be good to have around but I honestly prefer just a good mild aftershave balm, can work wonders as well). 5. My biggest advice to minimize the amount of those inevitable cuts and nicks: prepare your face like Matt said (a shower, a face scrub, bloom your water for a preshave, a hot towel, whatever floats your boat), but I would also advice to only shave when you have time to do it, preferably alone. It's your zen moment, your time of day or evening to yourself, a little "spa treatment" of sorts. Don't throw a razor to your face if you have kids screaming, you're in a hurry to be somewhere or you're really sick/exhausted. That's when accidents happen, or on really nonchalant second/third passes.

Thank you for the first tip. It really helps to put the quality of a shave back into reality.

I was falling into analysis paralysis, but I snapped out of it. Low on budget, I bought a King C. Gillette for $15, a 6 dollar after shave balm and continued to use the same shaving creams I used with my cartridge razor. No regrets! I keep on learning and refining my technique. The alum block came later. Later on, father's day came by, so I got a brush and a shaving cream. With a better prep I am getting closer shaves with less irritation as I learn, I even got a couple BBS under my belt now! Matt is right, guys, there will never be a better time to jump in than right now!

You are right, no talking about it ,get starting. You are the only master in your face. Long live wet shaving.❤

It’s all in practicing and repeating. I’m a white guy with curly hair, on my head and my beard. Started losing my head hair around 21-22 years. Shaved it couple of times with cartridges 3/5/6 blades and I was a painful experience with a ton of razor bumps. Then it hit me: I started googling the problem and found out that a lot black men do have this problem, learned a lot from afro websites and message boards. Bought a safety razor, soap a cup and a brush and the rest is history. Only shave with the grain, not baby butt smooth, but it looks good, and no more irritation and pain! Decided after 5 years to shave my beard to the same style as this guy in the video has. And I’m just finding out a good way now to shave my neck to prevent razor bumps. It’s a learning curve, but one of the best techniques to invest time in for a good and painless process

Great video Matt, I enjoyed it immensely.

That's it: Get Started! Most people most of the time can find what they need locally. Razor, brush, d.e. blades, shaving cream, post-shave balm; and mostly already there is a bowl (if want to bowl lather) somewhere in the house. The one big risk is, a person can find some fairly bad razors locally which are really troublesome in one way or another, like give a bad shave or give too many skin cuts and this may NOT be the person's fault. The quality of any first razor MIGHT be a risk; this is just something to be aware.

I get a BBS every time with the exception of a couple trouble very small spots... and of course, I spend like 10 minutes trying to mow those down.

Howdy Matt and Co! Have a blessed day y’all.

Shaved with Atra I keep for two reasons-it's vintage and i use when I have no time for a proper shave.

Not to knock you on having different razors, brushes & so forth, but my dad had one razor, one brand of blades (Gillette), & one brush. I have no idea what brand of shaving soap he used but it was only one. As far as aftershave he used Old Spice, Aqua Velva & Lectric Shave. That was his whole arsenal for shaving. 😊

Gracias Matt, todo es cierto. 😅 Algunos están buscando el “Santo Grial” de las brocha y maquinillas y no disfrutan del ritual del afeitado clásico. Saludos! Felipe R.

As a fellow guitar player that owned 6 Epiphones before I bought my first Gibson, your point is well taken. Jumped into the DE pool with a Henson AL13 because I like the design and heard good things about the ease of use. Recently grabbed up a Rockwell 6c and loving it as well.

I have been doing the BBS shave for 30-years. After you get used to it, irritation is not an issue. Granted I don't have thick course hair either.

Great, thanks very much for this video. Very nice to hear from a shaving expert that for example the bbs doesn't make sense at all. Even after achieving 'bbs', it's a state which lasts shortly, a couple of hours at the most...🤣 Best wishes!

Good Stuff Matt:goodvibes:

I would say my number 6 would be: Relax. Don’t be overly serious about it. Don’t be that guy.

Completely agree on the terms...😊 Its tbs