Traditional wet shaving

I thought I'd start off the new year by blogging about one of the unlikeliest activities you'd ever believe could be enjoyable... Shaving! Up until two and a half years ago, I did what most of you probably do. I'd wake up in the morning and after a hot shower I'd grab a metal can of goo and a horribly over-priced cartridge razor and go at it. I can remember back then that I would only shave three or four times a week at the most because it was such a hassle where redness, irritation and ingrown hairs were a common occurrence.. Basically it was a chore that I did only because I had to.

Then I began searching the internet for a better way to go about it and in due course came across the concept of traditional wet shaving. Now it's a given that any shaving in which water is involved can be considered "wet shaving". Traditional wet shaving on the other hand incorporates tools and techniques that haven't been commonly practiced since the introduction of the Trac II razor by Gillette in the early 70's (and earlier considering that canned foam was introduced in the 1950's). Traditional wet shaving requires the use of items such as a shaving brush, a mug or shave scuttle and some form of shaving soap or cream. In a very short time I had acquired myself a Merkur safety razor, some blades and cream and never looked back.

Two-and-a-half years on I'm still enjoying a wonderful shave every morning. In that time my tools have changed somewhat but the core elements are still there; a razor (straight razor), creams, soaps and a brush and I am now getting the best shaves of my life! So from now on I'll post my daily shaves and comment a little about them, the equipment that I use and why I like them so much.