What's the best shave

[Modee]

If you really want the FINEST - get one of the pulse Gillette Fusion razors from the Art of Shaving (will set you back $150.) This razor is the finest razor known to man (or woman! for that matter). It uses the same five blade Fusion disposable blades, but the Art of Saving razor PULSES while the cheaper one from Gillette simply vibrates.

Also the Art of Shaving power razor has this cool BRIGHT white LED spotlight on it that illuminates your face as you shave.

The Art of Shaving is a collaboration between Art of Shaving and Gillette.

But you're just getting started. You need a QUALITY pre shave oil to precondition your face. I recommend the Art of Shaving pre shave oil, unscented version.

And then for the cream. Shaving creams that come out of cans contain bizarre and unhealthful CHEMICALS and besides gunk up your razor and dry your face. Also anything coming out of a can is COLD and cold lather is the ENEMY of a good shave. Use the Art of Shaving all natural creams (unscented) with a natural silver badger bristle brush to put it on your face.

And to do it really right, shave in the shower (OR BETTER YET - in the STEAM ROOM - not a public one, this steam room must be built in your house, or be in your hotel suite) with a fogless mirror.

And then when you're all done...that's when the skin care really starts, from moisturizing cleanser before you leave the shower, to toner, after shave oil and cream, some kind of regenerating serum, and finally, moisturizer and under the eye cream. And those six steps after shaving are the MINIMUM.

What! Spend all that time and money on your face? BROTHER you do that your entire ife and I guarantee you will look five years younger when you are a pup, ten years younger when you are already young, and twenty to thirty years younger when you are old. You'll never look anywhere NEAR your age!

The full regimen involves proper diet, supplements, exercise, staying out of the sun...no smoking, no drinking, no drugs...you want to hire me for something that will REALLY change your life...PM me.

[John14789]

So what exactly are all the shaving materials you use from the art of shaving?

[Modee]

I have the power (5 blade) shaver of theirs,
http://www.theartofshaving.com/on/de...-fusion-razors
plus the pre shave oil
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and shaving cream.
http://www.theartofshaving.com/on/de...-shaving-cream

I use the cream with a Badger brush. I got the brush in one of their starter kits:
http://www.theartofshaving.com/shavi...efault,sc.html
But actually, with their cream you don't even need a brush, you can just apply with fingertips, but a brush provides a nice touch.

[John14789]

It's going to cost about $250-300 for the entire set. Not much for good stuff. They have it a couple dollars cheaper on ebay so I may purchase it from there. By the way modee what shampoo do you use?

[Modee]

Yes they are expensive. You can get the Gillette fusion power razor it is almost as good as the Art of Shaving one. Functionally, the difference between the two is that the AofS one pulses, and the Gillette one vibrates. Subtle difference. Also, the AofS one has a powerful white LED light on its underside to illuminate the areas you shave.

Shampoo and conditioner - under the influence of the girlfriend, I use organic products only. She threw away anything I had that was not natural. Supposedly shampoo that contains pine shale makes your hair grow. Anyway, mine grows at an alarming rate so maybe it works.

[John14789]

I don't mind coughing up the dough if the product is good. I'll buy it in a bit. I already use a gillete fusion razor but I just don't like the vibrating function because I don't think it really does anything.

Oh wow modee is whipped! Atleast you found the right chick buddy. I'll look into the organic shampoo and conditioners.

[Modee]

Safety razor

John and I have been going back and forth with discussion on this for a while.

A month or so ago I went ahead and started using a safety razor - the old school variety. The one I used is left over in my family, and is vintage, probably 90 years old - a Made in England doubled edged Gillette.

For those of you who don't know, a safety razor uses the old school razor blades:


I continued to use the Art of Shaving pre-shave oil, and their shaving cream applied with a silver tip badger bristle brush.

Supposedly safety razors provide a closer shave, and are less irritating to the skin, such that people who have trouble shaving daily or get ingrown hairs from shaving, may use a safety razor without problems. Also the cost of safety razor blades is minimal compared to any cartridges, but especially compared to the Fusion cartridges.

What I found is that shaving with a safety razor can be fun, in that it is a real process. When safety razor shaving, you let the heavy safety razor glide over your skin and apply no pressure. It takes a bit longer to shave with a safety razor as opposed to say, a Gillette Fusion.

Any slob may use a Fusion - push hard, don't apply any pressure, whatever - the Fusion works. But with a safety razor, apply pressure and you will cut yourself! Also, with a safety razor it is crucial to keep applying shaving lather regularly - without the lubricant, the blade will cut you. (You should be re-lathering your face two or three times anyway, with any razor, but this repeated process is especially important when using a safety razor.)

Anyway, bottom line - the safety razor did give an equivalent shave on the flat surfaces of the face (the cheeks, under the nose, front of the chin, etc.). But in angled areas, such as the jaw line or the edge under the chin, and to some extend the neck area under the jaw line and chin, even after multiple passes, the safety razor did not give me as close a shave as the Fusion.

Also, I am not certain that the safety razor process was less irritating.

I may try the safety razor process again with a newer, more modern safety razor, such as one from Merkur, but functionally the new Merkur is the same as my vintage one. For now, I'm back to the Gillette Fusion.

[Modee]

For the most part I've been using the Art of Shaving power stalk with the Gillette Fusion blades,


although occasionally for fun I do a safety razor shave.

It seems that the safety razor shave is less irritable than Fusion only if one shaves with downward stroke only on the safety razor - then, yes, it is not irritating at all. But, to get a close shave with a safety razor must shave down and up (and even sideways in some areas, such as around the jaw line), and after doing all that, the safety razor leaves some irritation, probably more than the Fusion.

[American Psycho]

I use an electric shaver. I like the 5 O'Clock shadow look

[Modee]

My daily shaver remains a Fusion, but I've switched over to this one from Art of Shaving, the Lexington powerball Fusion:

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This is definitely the finest shaver known to man (or woman). When I shave with this I do a complete pass downward, another upward, and then finish up with hitting the chin line at a sideways angle. That gets me a baby skin smooth close shave. But as good as it is, for me anyway no matter how great the shaver, it is too irritating to me to shave every day with a cartridge blade like this using it at all three angles.

As noted above, one of the least irritating methods for shaving remains the safety razor - if done properly. Glide a quality safety razor over your face carefully on a SINGLE downstroke pass only, allowing it to press against your skin only by way of its own weight and not with any added pressure, and it will cut your beard with no irritation. However - if you keep using the safety razor for more passes - or use it for the upstroke or hitting, say, the chin area with a sideways angle, it will irritate your skin same as the Fusion.

My latest safety razor is this adjustable "Futur" Merkur:

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This baby is fully adjustable for different levels of aggressiveness, ranging from all the way scarily wide open, to just a little gap. I like to use it in its most aggressive position, wide open, for a single downward pass on the days when I need to shave for say a business or legal affair, but shaved too recently with the Fusion.

To summarize: use the Fusion for your closest shaves. Use it up, down, sideways. I shave like that only every three days.

Use the safety razor for any needed shaves, down stroke only, in between the Fusion shaves for in between days occasions when you need to shave but don't want to irritate your face with a full-on Fusion up down sideways close shave.

And always - the Art of Shaving products: the silvertip badger brush, pre shave oil, and the shaving cream.