When I started shaving my face about a year ago, I decided to treat myself and get a safety razor, blades, soap and brush setup.
Just yesterday I used one of those disposable three blade jobbies for the first time since I was 12, and… It was faster, easier, more comfortable, and a way better shave.
Anyone have experience with this? Was I taken in by GQ style nostalgia bait, or will I really get better results from a safety razor with practice?
The blades vary massively in quality. I use astra, which are fancy German blades that run me like… 10 Aussie bucks for a hundred iirc (they’re way, way cheaper online than in stores) and they’re great. Feather I find even sharper but “grabby” and uncomfortable to use. My first buy was actually a sampler with a bunch of different brands but that was about a decade ago now, so I couldn’t give you much advice.
Try both adjusting the razor and different blades. That said, most people use cartridge razors just fine. I feel like safety razors, straight razors, and shavettes (my choice these days) are mostly about ritual, although if you’re lazy about shaving like me straight razors and shavettes don’t clog up BUT you run a higher risk of cutting yourself. Personally although I do a good job sharpening knives I wouldn’t get a straight razor as they sound like a bugger to maintain and are expensive for a good one.
Feather was the go-to recommendation I saw when I started using safety razors and found the same thing vs astra. Sharp af but just not as comfortable as astra.