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-   -   Life on a Razor Edge...Shaving the retro way (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/152507-life-razor-edge-shaving-retro-way-10.html)

Wetshaving has changed my outlook on the best possible close shave. Thanks to a few youtube channels and a few Facebook communities who swear by wet shaving. They have certainly influenced me to take this rather interesting habit and one which gives me immense pleasure. I'm relatively new to this wet shaving world with just around 1-year mark.

Cartridges used to give me a lot of ingrown hairs and bumpy skin overall. So after 20y of cartridge shaving I've now transitioned over to proper old school wet shaving. I've been able to enjoy and pamper myself with all that wet shaving has to offer thus far and probably will never go back to anything else in future.

Below is my current toolkit lol:

1. Feather Kimisori artist club- Daily driver
2. Straight razors(2) - Indian brands.
3. Parker 91R DE
4. Pink and wolf - sandalwood and Oudh shaving soap
5. Gillette shaving cream.
6. Park avenue synthetic brush.
7. Biotique aftershave balm
8. Bombay shaving company aftershave balm
9. DE blades- Wilkinsons / Feather Pro guard.

Cheers!

There is a thread for just about everything in tbhp. I didn’t know the technicalities of DE safety razor wet shaving. I have been using the Gillette’s plastic handle with plastic head safety razor for 2-3 years now, the reason for me switching from 2 blade cartridge to disposable DE blade safety razor was because of environmental & cost concerns, just a few days back I stumbled upon this YouTube channel called Joy Shaving, binge watched some of his videos and then I did Team-bhp search half expecting not to find anything. Surprised to find this thread, I’m definitely going to upgrade my kit now, will post the details soon.

What is a good Menthol Shaving cream?
I was using C.O. Bigelow (Proraso OEM) but It's too hard to find/expensive in India.
I am looking for a strong Menthol Cream(enough to substitute for my morning caffeine kick as I have been advised to stop drinking tea/coffee due to hypertension).
I tried Vinkam & godrej, not particularly happy with either.

Take a tub of regular shaving cream, and add a few drops of any mint essential oil to it. You can even add eucalyptus oil.

A nice touch would be to dip brush into tub, then add a drop or two of oil of choice, and proceed to lather. This means you can experiment with different flavours of essential oil and enjoy your morning time alone.

I am really missing Biotique Bio Plamyra Shaving cream tub, it was one of the best cream I had used, I had purchased one for my Dad too and he too was a big fan of it. I do not understand why would Biotique discontinue such a loved product and replace it with Shave Gel.

Are there any other products similar to Biotique Shave Cream.

May not be the most appropriate, but I need advise on hair scissors. My barber comes to my place and I stock all items at my place, but scissor is something which I can not get hang of. Please advise.

BTW, got Topaz DE blades, as good as 7'O clock platinum ones. Somehow didn't like Parker or Wilkinson blades. How are others?

Muhle or Merkur as a brand and which one to get? Using a Parker B06XJBBJMQ safety razor now.

Merkur all the way. I have one, good weight and grip.

I had ordered willys DE blades and these are surprisingly good for the price. The only issue is that it's very hard to procure the same and they are always out of stock on most websites. I was able to source the same after talking with some contacts from the website. However, apart from the pain of procuring, the blades themselves are one of the best except for feather.

DE blade users - do try if you can.

Thanks Deep. Can you share the details of the seller. I have been trying to procure these blades without any luck.

Ive not come across these until I saw it in your post. If available, they appear to be reasonably priced as well. How long have you been using Willys? Since you mention they are almost at par with Feather, that speaks a lot.

For me, from the time I moved to DE shaving a few years ago, I keep switching between Feather and Astra. I did try to use the local Wilkinson Sword and 7'oclock for a few days. But in terms of sharpness, nothing to beat Feather and in terms of gentleness, nothing like Astra. These have settled down pretty well for my face.

For scissors may I suggest Ikonic Academy line scissors. We use them
In our salons and they work really well. Go for a 5.5 inch one. About 850-900 bucks. The barber will also be happy to use them.

Have been a DE shaver for a very long time now (12 years or so). I also shave my head regularly and found the best way to do it is using the Gillette Guard razor. It’s easy to do a head shave and no nicks or cuts as well.

I have been using only for the last 3 months. So take my feedback with a pinch of salt. However, I felt perhaps the first shave of the blade was definitely better with feather,but with the second or 3rd shave, willys was equally good (again my opinion).

Other blades like Wilkinson sword would go bad in 1 to 2 shaves. I almost stopped at one shave per blade with all these, but willys goes on nicely for 3 to 4 shaves...

Ahh man! I should have posted before...anyways, better late than never :). 5.5 inch is the std size? I keep my hairs short, barber usually comes every ~20 days. While the return window has expired, got this as cut-throat and brush. Very soft.

How are Smith Chu & Danial scissors, came across it on amazon. Already placed order of Ikonic at their website. Thanks :thumbs up.

I got Topaz as a freebie, works well, a bit better & sharper than 7'O Platinum. Lasts 3 to 4 shaves.

Original Smith Chu or Jaguar scissors aren’t so easily available. They are excellent scissors for long hair cuts as they don’t ‘split’ the end. Also they have to be maintained (kept in fridge when not in use, oiled regularly etc. ) one drop or bang and they are junk.

We generally get the Jaguar as a gift for our best hairdressers. For regular hair cuts the ikonic would work well. You may also keep it in the refrigerator and it stays sharp and true for long.
The straight razor you bought and brush are good. You could also buy some disposable neck strips (helps to keep the hair out of your neck and back).

If price is not an issue, Jaguar Solingen is the way to go. My Hair Dresser, had this, and it just felt amazing when used on my hair, he used it only on his regulars only due to price of the scissors.