Your story about your first steps in wet shaving

[Wayne]

I was a canned Goo and cart user, shaved for neccessity only when I had to. I was looking for a product to resharpen cart blades, I think it was called a Razor Pit or similar, anyway I thought, there must be a shaving forum they may know. I found TSR, the rest is history.

 

[Ventastic]

2008 with the influence of Mantic, I purchased my first razor, the 34c, along with Proraso and a cheap synthetic brush. I have come a long way since then and think I could actually get a decent shave from my beginners gear now.

It is the small things you learn along the way that make all the difference.

 

[Tortuga]

I bought a Merkur 38c about 6 months ago after seeing a post on Instagram about DE shaving, thought I'd give it a bash after using blue 2's for years, I've recently gifted the Merkur to my father because I have an allergy to nickel and invested in a Gamechanger, I'm loving the whole ritual, it affords me a nice bit of me time and I love the way my skin feels, thanks to this forum I'm gleaning some valuable knowledge (Thayers whichhazel&cucumber wow!) one thing I've noticed, and all hobbies have them I suppose, is the frenzy over certain products, seems to be soap with this hobby, you've just got to be aware of the hype train anyway that's my 2 penneth.

 

[TheChrisC]

I was a canned Goo and cart user, shaved for neccessity only when I had to. I was looking for a product to resharpen cart blades, I think it was called a Razor Pit or similar, anyway I thought, there must be a shaving forum they may know. I found TSR, the rest is history.

I had the Razor Pit as well, can’t remember if it was any good or not.

 

[Manumik]

I'm 36 and started balding more than 10 years ago. I started cutting my hair shorter and shorter over the years, to the point of buzzing it all off last year. It was last year's summer, when I was at something like marionette theatre festival with my wife and daughters and I saw this guy with cleanly shaven head. He did really good job with that shave Picture of his shaven head somehow burned in my mind and I started thinking about doing it myself. Then, about 2 weeks after that festival, I typed "how to shave your head" to google and that started it all. Here I am, with hudreds of € worth shaving gear waiting for me in my bathroom

Sometimes I am having the urge to do the same , but have always maintained a semi bald haircut..

 

[Manumik]

Macca root cream and Bodyshop brush bought when they had a sale which piqued my curiosity, then I relegated the cartridges to travel use only and bought dived in and bought an EJ DE89, an EJ 23mm synthetic brush and a tub of TOBS St James's cream.

I also kidded myself that I would save money

I agree with you, even with this quarantine going on could not help myself getting some stuffs online!

I have pondered what got me into this nightmare and cannot for the life of me put my finger on it. All I know was my 'interest' at the time which led to it was fragrances ... I can only think it was something I read connected with that. Also I fell for the 'cheaper' than carts propaganda.

What was your first soap/cream?

I've always loved the look of old shaving gear and 1990 or 1991 (I'm 51 now) my mother bought me a noname boar brush and a Palmolive cream. I used that for about a year with a Gillette cartridge razor but got tired of it and went back to canned goo. Fast forward to 2012 and I saw an ad with a 34c and started google about shaving and shaving gear. I bought a 34c (that I still use as a travel razor) a Muhle Pure Badger (terrible brush) and a Proraso soap. From that moment I have spent way too much money on shaving gear, but I've really enjoyed it. And my skin feels better than ever. Now I'm a daily shaver, before I couldn't shave two days in a row. This hobby has also given me friends all over the world

You're Mother is so sweet!
I also found lots of friends thru wet shaving and on forums like this.. Some of them helped me with my "stuff"..

 

[Randomangle]

I'm only joking in calling it a nightmare ... I am still completely sane. First cream was The Mighty Green (Proraso).

 

[HereticHermit]

My dad had a 1962 Gillette and I always watched him shaving with it, when growing up. When it was time I had my barber give me couple of straight shaves every few weeks. Combined effect of watching my father going through the shave like a ritual and my barber who set up his shop after leaving army had me hook line and sinker about wet shaving. Elsewhere in world P II razor was very happening but my barber was still about straight razor, strop and boar brush. He was about to retire when I was in my late teens and taught me the basics of beard prepping and let me out with an advise "don't be afraid son, I have never seen any man kill himself with a shaving blade". I went out and bought me a simple no model name 3 piece Parker razor, a cheap Gillette nylon bristle brush and a tube of Old spice shave cream.
Nearly 33 years now, as a self taught beginner, I never knew a thing about P II blades except when I started earning and needed few shaves done in hurry. Almost always used DE razor and came to look for replacement online when my no name Parker was done. Since 2018 I must have squandered more money than I might have saved in 31 years !!
So my ex-army barber got me into wet shaving and weaned me through my formative years when I was a kid to always have a 'proper' haircut. End result, the only shave I know is wet shaving and the only hair style I know is, a crew-cut.

 

[sm1h]

I think what initially piqued my interest was an ad from gillette, they had a new fancy razor out that they wanted to promote - but all the comments were basically making fun of their ”innovation” saying the older ones were better. When I saw that I could save money and have a lesser environmental footprint I got myself a vintage gillette and haven’t looked back.

 

[Nishy]

Similar to yourself @Manumik, it was straight razors as well as fragrances that piqued my interest. I managed to grab these lovely straight razors post auction (venue) for a mere £50 (July 2014)

Developing a new skill, the challenge and succeeding in sharpening as well as shaving with a straight was worth every minute. I was initially very apprehensive about DE let alone straight razors, having started (badly) with a cheap shavette. I mean who really wants to persevere whilst damaging their face.

Scented soaps and creams alongside aftershaves, which I already collected were a bonus. Following this, with the correct guidance I discovered the wonderful world of badger brushes. I now have a whole room dedicated to wet shaving and a forum started a few days before I got married