Wet Shaving - Irish online communities?

Pen Rua wrote: »

Hey - I recently began wet shaving (double edge safety razor), and have joined a couple of Facebook groups based on wet shaving. Most are US based, so some of the products aren't available here.

Just wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of some Irish, or even Europe, based Facebook groups?

Cheers!

https://Atgshaving.com is UK based, you'll find everything you need there.

beardybrewer wrote: »

There's a small group of wetshavers that do regularly check in here. I find theshavingroom.co.uk to be good with an active community, good b/s/t, and even discounts to many uk suppliers. It is certainly nicer to have a more local forum as the US sites often discuss products hard to get here.

Not to mention the fact a lot of them refuse to sell stuff outside of the US.

hitemfrank wrote: »

Not to mention the fact a lot of them refuse to sell stuff outside of the US.

Well, for me there's only Maggards which has really reasonable shipping. If it's not available from there I'm not interested.

Azatadine wrote: »

They love their Sterling and Maggards stuff over there. Are they as good as they make out? Never seen them over here.

Maggards is a big retailer that also has their own line of razors and soaps. Sterling is a popular low-cost artisan. Maggard's are also great for samples of all these artisan soaps (seems to be 3 new ones every month... impossible to keep up). Go check out a B&M soap sample. Lots of great stuff there. I've spent hours combing over that site. Use them several times a year. They really open up the US market up to the rest of the world.

I still think mantic59 has some of the best, accessible videos on wet shaving out there. They're corny but full of good info and tips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjhIy9rgWQU&list=PL2DB6D82F52BA7608

I also liked this guy and watched a few of his videos when I started especially about the post-shave:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MiQOx3dPVg&index=2&list=PLL2XUXP2B67xGJ9eef-uPamtlsXylhH7T

When I started I watched these guys as you can't just read about it and jump in. I started with the brush and soap but I'd actually recommend you just try the DE razor to start. In my case, building a good lather with the soaps I started with was harder than DE shaving so best not to learn both at once would be my advice. There are benefits to a brush and great, slick soaps but I think a DE razor, light touch, and, if necessary, a preshave routine would carry you most of the way there.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Sorry about the cut 'n paste job, fixed the links above. Do please ask any questions here and you can also search this forum and shave rash is a common question. It's the reason I switched to wet shaving and with a bit of experimenting hopefully you can figure out what works best for your beard so that your raw neck can be a thing of the past too.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=106523382
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055178016
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=59501628

Really common issue people have with neck rash is they're shaving across the grain rather than with it. Take a careful read of this thread and follow the link to map out your beard. I'm pretty sure mantic59 covers this in his video series as well:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=95019382

Okay, other things to think about...

Are you getting a thick yogurt like lather out of your Arko stick? You could always try canned shaving gel to remove your lathering ability from the equation.

There are a lot of different blades and maybe Astra aren't best suited for you, your razor, or your shaving technique. Order a variety pack as a different blade may suit you better.

Think of shaving as beard reduction, not beard removal. Only ever pass over an area once, then reapply more lather to pass again or for touch-ups.

Are you using a shaving brush? Using a brush should help exfoliate and prevent ingrown hairs.

While store bought razors and foam aren't great the aftercare products generally are (perhaps to make up for the former). So take a look at the aftershave options next time and you might find something nicer than sudocream (eck, that smell!).

Oh, one last get an alum block. A great feedback tool, the sting lets you know where you need to improve (watch your angles, no pressure!) while also stopping bleeding and acting as an antiseptic. Leave it on for 30 seconds or so and then rinse off. Then try a soothing shave balm.

https://www.shaving.ie/products/omega-alum-tube-stick.html

Those are the only pearls of wisdom I can think of first thing in the morning. Good luck!

I think that's simply because the tradition of wet shaving largely died with our fathers and grandfathers. I was given an electric razor at 15 which is what my dad used at that point. So that knowledge just wasn't passed over.

I know it can seem daft to talk at length about something so mundane. But when you've managed to so something wrong your entire adult life and then figure it out I think it's worth sharing. After 20 years of thoughtlessly hacking at my face and only shaving 2 times a week due to my neck rash switching to DE was a eureka moment for me.