Straight Razor Shaving & Giveaway Details
I used to be one of those sad guys who shaved with a cartridge razor. A gillette in fact. Then, about a year ago, I discovered the art of using a straight razor to shave. There really is a lot to it, but I will try to be brief and explain the details and also talk about the giveaway I am doing on Instagram.
Here is the complete package I am giving away on Instagram that will get you started and will last at least a year, if not two. That’s right. It could last up to two years! (It all depends on how much shave cream you use.) The whole package is worth over $100.
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First things first. The Razor. This is the STRAIGHT SAFETY RAZOR. It is different than what you are used to. And that is a good thing. It is simple and straight. Exatcly what you need. You see, when you shave, you are running a blade along your face which is cutting off your whiskers. That is it. For some reason, the big razor companies like Gillette abandoned this approach and came out with lots of different styles and added lots of blades to their cartridges. If I am truly honest, I think this was a way to make money. But the cartridge razor doesn’t work well. You don’t need multiple blades that get bogged up with cut whiskers and cut your face more. You need one solid blade that stays nice and sharp. But you have to be careful.
Here is where the straight safety razor comes in. Now it’s not perfectly safe, but it is better than a regular exposed blade. The handle unscrews and you slide a blade right in between the head and you are good to go. (I will have more details on this later). This particular safety razor is a Merkur, which is my favorite maker of these razors. They are a German company and this razor sells from about 35-50 online. It will literally last a lifetime. Imagine that?! Never having to buy a new razor. Just blades. Crazy. And awesome.
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Next up. The stand and the brush. The brush is a very important part of the shaving process. Many guys have no idea that prepping your face is actually more important that shaving your face. Also what many fail to realize is that shaving your face is also WASHING your face. It is very important to do this. Modern day shave creams and gels leave out important ingredients that your face needs to get clean. This is why so many guys struggle with razor burn or acne. Because they might as well be using dirt water to shave with. Your pores are getting clogged and not clean and that is no bueno.
You might think your hand is a great way to get a lather. Wrong. You need a brush. The common options are a boar hair or a badger hair. Boars hair is cheaper but badgers hair is better and will last longer. The goal is to get a little (less than a dime size) of cream on your face and then start to lather it up with a partially wet brush. Included in this set is a badger hair brush. Because I would never give you a boar hair.
Also, here is my handcrafted razor and brush stand. It is hand made out of Oak and will display your shave essentials in a proper fashion!
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Next up is one of many options. The shaving cream or shaving soap. I use both a cream and a soap, but for this giveaway, this is my favorite option. You don’t need a bowl or shave mug. This is called Proraso shaving cream. It is Italian and it is simply incredibly. You literally need less than a dime size. A gentle squeeze out of the tube and then put it on your face. Then you wet your badger hair brush and lather in a circular motion. You will be blown away by how much shaving cream you have lathered on your face. Again, it is IMPORTANT to take time on this step and get a good lather up. You should spend twice as long preparing and lathering your face than actually shaving it.
I also shave with a soap and a mug from time to time. I’ll explain that some other time.
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Lastly, I am throwing in an additional 10 razor blade pack made by Merkur. There is one included with your razor, so that means you will get 11 blades. This will easily last two years. It all depends on how much you have to shave. I can go a month or two on one blade. But I shave twice or three times a week.
There you have it! Hope this helped and got you interested in straight shaving. If you haven’t checked out the giveaway on Instagram make sure you do and you could win this complete package!
