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PaperclipPerfector  11hr ago (text post)   439 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for October 3, 2025

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What razor do you use? And what is the process for shaving that you use to cut yourself the least?

I used to shave every 2 or 3 days in high school. I didn't use any shaving cream, I just got in a hot shower and then either shaved afterwards, splashing hot water on my face, or shaved while I was in the shower. These days, I just use hair clippers to clip my face. It works okay, but I should do it more often. But I think I should probably start getting close shaves again.

Double-edge razor, brush/soap; cheap stuff (found a brand of blades I like and bought a hundred pack; no fancy scents). I used to do it very regularly, but the wife likes a beard, so now I just do my neck less often. I follow the standard with-the-grain/across-the-grain/against-the-grain pattern for three passes. I almost never cut myself anymore since I got the hang of it.

I've played around with a lot of shaving stuff, but have not done straight razors because I'm a scared pussy.

For the safety-razor hardware, I used Gilette like everyone else. Then I used Dorco (DSC supplier) to save money for a bit. Even bought women's razors because pink plastic is cheaper than blue. Quality dropped off for some reason, though, and I knew I couldn't buy Gilette products again after they told my gender to go fuck themselves forever on national television. I ended up buying Harry's razors and recylcing a couple of promo codes to get essentially 3 years worth of razors for $35. I use them on my face till they wear out then put them on a different handle for my body.

For shaving creams, I dabbled in the boar-bristle brush + soap part of straight razor shaves. I wanted to sort of pamper myself a bit, and tried to relax and take my time with shaving. Over time, soap pucks ended up lasting for so long that the scents were no longer enticing and I just have too busy of a life. I tried other fancy creams, and none of them were able to compete with the convenience, price, and nostalgia of Barbasol. So now I just alternate between OG and + Aloe variants of that.

One thing that is is worth splurging on is a nice aftershave. A lot of irritation I end up getting is removed by using the right one. Harry's is OK and what I travel with. The best I've tried is Art of Shaving's (available cheaper elsewhere). For $40/$50 you might be correctly thinking "Holy shit" but I only just killed my first bottle after a decade.

Back when I used to shave, I used a straight razor. It was amazing. Some days I used shaving cream, most days I just did it straight out of the shower with a room full of steam. When I'd freshly sharpened it, it was like a magic eraser for hair.

It does take some practice for getting into the nooks and crannies around your jaw line. But there are really only two things you need to do in order to not cut yourself. Never, ever, no matter what pull along the blade. You will instantly slice yourself. Probably not deep if it's just sloppiness, but you're getting cut. Second rule of thumb is to go with the grain at least once, and then do another pass against the grain if you want it extra smooth, but I rarely found it necessary. If you are having trouble, ease off on the angle.

The other nice thing about is over disposable razors was I got a lot less skin irritation. Since it lifts the cut hair off and away, instead of gumming up the 3-5 blades and grinding it against your face, it felt a lot better. You can also keep it sharp, so you use a lot less pressure, meaning your doing a lot less damage to your skin attempting to scrape the hair off your face.

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