As a change from the political fossicking and knowing that quite a few of our forum members are hirsute, could we have a straw poll on hairy V smooth?
As a follow on, for those who are smooth and remain so by means of a wet shave, may I ask how long it is reasonable for say, a Wilkinson, or Gillette, 3 or 5 blade unit to last?
Firstly, to answer my own poll query I am among the smooth, feeling really scruffy if I do not wet shave every day.
Secondly, with quite a tough beard, needing a shave in all directions to clean up properly, am I unreasonable in expecting a premium brand blade to last at least a fortnight, used every day?
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Not sure i get the reference of the title? Anyway, i do have to shave for work as it's expected. When I'm not at work as long as I can get away with it. maybe a week then one of those trimmers.
Hirsute never heard that word before.
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Do you wear a uniform for work Sooty? Or is it just a very formal dress code?
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>> Do you wear a uniform for work Sooty? Or is it just a very formal
>> dress code?
>>
A uniform of sorts, mostly.
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>>>>
>> A uniform of sorts, mostly.
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Er, your job doesn't involve whips and long leather boots, does it?
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>> Er, your job doesn't involve whips and long leather boots, does it?
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Nothing so err stimulating I'm afraid.
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Did anyone else read 'I have to shave for work' and think 'porn star'?
Just me, then.
I need to have a quiet word wth my German colleague whose otherwise impeccable English regularly features the phrase 'I need to shave myself'. It isn't wrong, but we just don't do it.
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I think just you yes, perhaps too long in Germany.
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>> Not sure i get the reference of the title?
Some fairytale or other.
I have been wearing a beard for many years, and use the old safety razor for tidy-up round the edges.
Rinse then store the razor in a small jamjar with aloe vera at the bottom.
Can't recall when last i bought blades.
Last edited by: Ian (Cape Town) on Sat 16 Apr 16 at 12:05
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>> Not sure i get the reference of the title?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOsYN---eGk
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I've had a goatee since last Mow-vember. I'd have shaved it off by now but my wife is keen for me to keep it. It's actually much more faff to keep it trimmed and shaped than to shave it off but I'm getting used to it. In answer to your supplementary question, I used to expect a week from a blade but now I'm getting two weeks due to the smaller area to be shaved I suppose.
Incidentally, for those who have never tried a beard, the first three or four weeks were a miserable combination of it feeling itchy and growing in spiky and in all manner of random directions. Once it settled in it grows in soft and lies flatter.
Tomato soup is the only real downside, you do have to be careful with tomato soup.
;-)
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Sat 16 Apr 16 at 10:58
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I have a full beard so only need to scrape my neck every day. Two weeks from a disposable, or three if I forget which week I need to change it.
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I'm like Reliant Rebel, beard wise. I just use a £50 (or so) Braun rechargeable shaver to do my neck area.
I've had whiskers on and orf since the '80's, although I was beardless when we lived in Tenerife.
I'd actually feel naked without a beard now.
8-E
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>> you do have to be careful with tomato soup.
>>
...on the plus side, a bowl of it will see you through the day....
;-)
..been "hairy" since late teens (apart from the one time I shaved everything off for a beard-growing competition - you had to make your own entertainment in my day!)
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>>Tomato soup is the only real downside, you do have to be careful with tomato soup.<<
Spaghetti, long noodles, and cooked, stringy cheese all have similar problems.
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I've been Esau's brother for a while now. I have fluctuated over the years, especially when I was on the road and being turned out at all hours. Then, a beard was fine....woken up by the phone, coffee and out.......much simpler. I never liked the beard up my cheeks or down my neck....I kept it neat with a blowlamp and strimmer.
Now, I'm more or less shaven all the time..I don't bother every day, usually I give meself a really good wet shave in the shower at the pool...well, why not use their hot water...it's all free .
Sadly I've not been for a while, I contracted cellulitis in my offside leg and foot about a month ago leading to daily IV injections of antibiotics at the hospickle. I suspect I may have picked it up at the baths but who knows ? I won't give up ther swimming though, I've lost quite a bit of blubber !
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Smooth for me by way of a daily wet shave. Although, as I can't be faffed packing all the wet stuff, it's a leccy shave when on holiday.
I've just started using a new Gillette Fusion Proglide (Thanks VXF!), having discarded one of the same that I've used for a moon or two, and find that the blades last me around 6 weeks.
Talking of blades; can anyone recommend a non Amazon supplier?
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Costco when they have an offer on. Last time I bought 14 Fusion Proglide Power Blades with 6 cans of Shaving Gel free fpr £32 should last for about 2 years
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>> Costco when they have an offer on.
Thanks, Riddler.
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I managed a two year supply of Gillette blades when I bulk bought them online cheap, a billy bonus vat free as well.
Last edited by: sooty123 on Sat 16 Apr 16 at 19:41
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>> I've just started using a new Gillette Fusion Proglide (Thanks VXF!), having discarded one >>of the same that I've used for a moon or two, and find that the blades last me around 6 >>weeks.
>>
>> Talking of blades; can anyone recommend a non Amazon supplier?
>>
Yesterday I bought a pack of 12 Fusion blades plus razor, in our local Savers store for £24.99.
Seems reasonable enough.
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Thatt's a whole new definition of reasonable. I generally buy a pack of 10 disposable razors for aroun £2.50
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I'm not sure where my wife obtains my toiletries or how much she pays for them. She sees to that sort of thing.
:-)
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Would have thought you had a vast collection of the stuff from all those hotels you stay in complete with shower caps and shoe polishing cloths. Don't suppose you're short of sachets of Nescafé and sugar either. :-)
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I fill my flask with those, I generally always have a flask of black coffee in the car. It's a lonely existence sometimes...
;-)
Edit - I've never really felt tempted to use or aquire a shower cap, why would you shower and not wash all of you?
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Fri 22 Apr 16 at 21:55
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The elasticated shower caps are perfect for covering dough as it proves, so it doesn't form a dry crust before I bake it. They don't last many uses though, so I need to make some more trips soon.
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I put my car keys and mobile phone in a knotted freezer bag when I'm mountain biking. Not that I ever intend to get that wet, but y'know, stuff happens sometimes.
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You need a new F-Pace. It comes with a waterproof 'activity key', which you use to lock the actual driving key and your valuables in the car while you are off getting wet.
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Freezer bags are bit cheaper though.
;-)
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I guess if your wife buys the toiletries she buys your underwear too. Came across a fascinating study whilst googling (don't ask!)
"Men's underpants buying activity reaches a peak at the age of 23, but declines gradually until the age of 33 when it falls to zero - because many men are in a stable relationship.
It picks up again between the ages of 38 and 40, when some men are going through relationship break ups and are seeking new partners again.
But it goes into a sharp decline again and slumps to zero at the age of 44 when they are generally in another stable relationship.
After the age of 44 men remain strangers to the underwear department for the rest of their lives, handing all responsibility for their underwear to women"
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Fri 22 Apr 16 at 22:38
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True enough, they are just 'there' in a drawer. Sometimes there are new ones and sometimes old ones disappear. Never give it much thought, same with the socks in the next drawer down.
It's very convenient come to think.
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It's not the buying new ones I have the problem with its culling the old ones. I always buy black socks as you don't have to worry about pairing them up. When I buy new ones I just lob them in the drawer with the old and a week or to later they are all mixed up and I don't know which ones to chuck so I keep the lot. If you multiply up this process you will see that it soon gets out of control. Life is full of unsolvable problems
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Don't know if you're familiar with 'Kimble guns' they're the things that retailers use to attach swing tickets and so on to garments on a little nylon tag.
A guy I used to work with ( single of course ) used to use one to attach the socks he took off at night to the undershorts he had also taken off before putting them in the wash basket.
Idea being that after they were washed there was always a 'set' to hand of clean skiddies with a pair of matching socks attached.
Deeply disturbing of course but quite a clever idea.
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>> I always buy black socks as you don't have to worry about pairing them
>> up. >>
>>
>>
Same here. Not worn any other colour for decades.
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My three pairs of jim-jams are identical in a pale blue shade. Saves pairing up the tops and bottoms.
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My wife buys my socks. Some of them are acceptable but others are somewhat more challenging to the eye. I find wearing boots mostly is the line of least resistance.
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>> My wife buys my socks.
Same here. She's been buying (mainly) from the Calvin Klein range at TK Max. Usually black with the odd discreet pattern. Competitively priced, so she says.
Quite honestly, I can't remember ever buying my own socks, or pyjamas, come to that.
;)
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I don't think I've got any pyjamas. Generally commando in bed but if decorum requires I might stick a pair of boxers on to move about the house at night. Startling the dog while completely naked might not be the best idea.
;-)
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>> Thatt's a whole new definition of reasonable. I generally buy a pack of 10 disposable
>> razors for aroun £2.50
>>
It was only about a month ago that I turfed out a large pack of disposable razors that had been languishing in a cupboard for years. Goodness knows why I bothered keeping them, as I had tried one or two and thought they were utterly useless.
Now, by comparison, my Gillette blades at £2.08 each will give me an excellent shave for around 6 weeks, and for me, will be more cost effective than any disposable razor.
A bit like comparing a Renault to a Bentley.
:)
Last edited by: Clk Sec on Sat 23 Apr 16 at 09:21
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'xactly, CS. The cartridge blades (I generally use Hydro 5 or Quattro Titanium but I have a Fusion too) last for weeks on end if I keep them clean. 40 shaves at 5p a go seems reasonable to me too.
Disposables are horrid and wasteful.
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>>I suspect I may have picked it up at the baths but who knows ?
Could well be:
"Some cases of cellulitis can develop if a wound or other break in the skin is exposed to water that is contaminated with bacteria"
www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cellulitis/Pages/Causes.aspx
Get well soon guv'nor!
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Last edited by: Dog on Sat 16 Apr 16 at 12:08
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>> Sadly I've not been for a while, I contracted cellulitis in my offside leg and
>> foot about a month ago leading to daily IV injections of antibiotics at the hospickle.
>
I've had cellulitis at least twice and b***** nasty it is. Commiserations Ted.
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>> I've had cellulitis at least twice and b***** nasty it is. Commiserations Ted.
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Thanks Roger and Doggo. This is as painful as anything I've had, including heart trouble. Just taking lashings of Co-Dydramol painkillers now. Seems a bit less painful today.
Went on Amazon during half time ( Chelsea 0..Man City 3 ) and bought a pair of neoprene swimming socks. They're white in colour so I'll look like a big schoolgirl but what the hell...I don't want this lot again in a hurry !
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>> bought a pair of neoprene swimming socks. They're white in colour so I'll look like a big schoolgirl but what the hell
Any pics?
8-)
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I'll wait and see which side is labelled xenophobic before I decide whether my avatar is clean shaven or not.
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Smooth. It never grows very well anyway so I have little choice.
Many months ago I purchased a card of razors from Lidl's for very little money. OUCH OUCH and more OUCH. They were returned. Lidl asked no questions. It would have been far more effective and comfortable being shaved with a Lawn Mower!!
However.......
.... I have recently Purchased their (Lidl) Multi blade razor £2.99. 10/10 ...
... and a pack of 4 refills £3.99 as yet untried.
I think they are branded as Shark or have that name on the packaging. So far I have enjoyed half a dozen shaves with the original blade and am a very happy bunny..
Gillette and their silly prices are now literally out of the window.
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>>>>
>> Many months ago I purchased a card of razors from Lidl's for very little money.
>> OUCH OUCH and more OUCH. They were returned. Lidl asked no questions. It would have
>> been far more effective and comfortable being shaved with a Lawn Mower!!
>>
>> >>
Try a bumper pack of 25 from the 99p shop. It's like shaving with an angle grinder.
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I had some very good results from a 5 blade razor kit from ALDI.
Of course, when I went back for more they were discontinued and only the 3 blade type are now stocked. Tried them - they are vile!
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOsYN---eGk
Genesis 27:11
English Standard Version.
But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.
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Wet shave every day for me.I have fair hair turning grey always had a quick growing beard.
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Wet shave 6 days a week, occasionally twice in a day if I'm going out in the evening. King of Shaves Azor, 4 blade cartridge lasts 3 or 4 weeks.
Unfortunately the 4 blade version I use is getting difficult to find in the shops, so I may be forced into upgrading to the newer 5 blade cartridge soon.
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Genesis 27:11
>>
>> English Standard Version.
>>
>> But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.
Ah right, can't say I'm a great reader of the bible.
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In my youth (18 - 25) I had thick bushy hair, (Leo Sayer style) and a beard that put ZZ Top to shame. Without a word of a lie, I could wrap it around my neck like a scarf or separate it and pass it through the first two belt holders of my jeans!. I met my first wife whilst I had it, but as soon as we married (aided by insistent step-daughter (13) who aspired to be a hairdresser, and had got through at least a dozen "Girl's World" toys ) it had to go!
Now, I still have a full - Head of hair but a lot thinner on top, no beard, and I get about a month out of a Gillette Pro-glide blade unit.
Forget Tomato-soup, try dipping it in a tin of White gloss Paint!!
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Haven't been clean-shaven since the early 1980's; even in the Army I had a tache.
With two exceptions; firstly, a few days before my first wedding I decided the beard needed a trim, made a mess of it and ended up getting married with me chin exposed to the elements. The marriage didn't last; I regard it as an omen.
Second one was when I was foolish enough to allow meself to be persuaded to have my hair and beard shaved off for a charity night at my local pub in Derby. I drew the line at removing the moustache; the result bore a striking similarity to Zebedee from the Magic Roundabout!
At the time I was commuting from Derby to Stafford (IIRC) on nights, mid-November and I was using my old Harley side-valve wearing the obligatory open-face lid. I have never been so damn cold since the Brecon Beacons in my Army days.
During the 1990's I did used to trim round the edges with a razor, as I was in a collar-and-tie job. Once I went back to lorry driving even that got binned, only time a razor touches my head now is when I go to the barber's for a haircut and they shave the back of me neck.
For me, you've either got a beard or you haven't. Detest those silly little mini-goatees, and cultivated stubble, especially on someone otherwise smartly dressed, just looks lazy and scruffy.
I never eat soft ice-cream in public. Especially if it's got raspberry sauce on it.
Last edited by: Harleyman on Sat 16 Apr 16 at 13:53
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I enjoy looking lazy and scruffy. It suits me.
;-)
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>> I enjoy looking lazy and scruffy. It suits me.
Dunno if it suits me, but that's usually the way I look.
Multi-blades are fine if they are fairly new. They soon get blunt. I shaved today because we're going out for dinner this evening.
I've taken the puffin badges off my lapel and replaced them with a flat silver image of a Citroen Light 15, my first car and an all-time great jalopy. The silver is tarnished and the whole thing is dark grey as a result.
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I find multi-blades pull painfully and use the cheapest Bic single-blade disposables. However, these now blunt after about 20 shaves whereas they used to last for months on end. I assume this is what is known as value engineering, or "make 'em buy more often". It is what used to be said of nylon stockings, when the early ones were found to be virtually indestructible. It seems to apply to most cars, HJ reckoning that 7 years is their economic life.
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I use a Gillette Fusion Proglide Power. I shave daily.
One blade lasts 4 weeks - it used to be 6 but a bit too scratchy..
Last edited by: madf on Sat 16 Apr 16 at 15:56
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Get a Razor Pit from Amazon. You can sharpen the blades got 3 months of my last one
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>>Get a Razor Pit
Whatever happened to those old leather strops that I remember hanging from a hook, and those pyramids that magically sharpened the blade?
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>> Get a Razor Pit from Amazon. You can sharpen the blades got 3 months of
>> my last one
>>
Got one, too, but I think the before and after blade strips on fancy razor blades make it hard for the steel to hit the rubber.
Wilkinson Hydro 3 blades have a bit of blue plastic on the trailing edge with holes filled with some gloopy muck. What's the point of gloopy muck being deposited after the blades have passed over one's skin? If the razor is left damp after shaving, aforesaid gloopy muck erupts into a slime-ball which is blooming hard to shift.
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Remember the Rolls Razor ? My uncle had one. Never understood how it worked. I have one of those 3 rotor things for quick, emergency strims.
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>>Remember the Rolls Razor ? My uncle had one. Never understood how it worked.
Vividly. A fellow recruit had one and used to drive us crazy in the barrack room with its infernal clacking. The blade was sharpened by stropping it vigorously back and forth in a metal box lined, I suppose, with leather. The blade flipped over at the end of each stroke, ready for the next one. The box measured about 6"x3"x1".
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My favourite razor is Gillette Mach 3.
It gives me a smooth feel for my face.
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I normally shave after a gym then sauna session. In the shower. Half a dozen manky disposables kicking around in my gym bag. I just grab wot ever comes to Hand, so no idea how long they last.
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Me too Leggy, but be careful. I keep a few in a small tupperware in my bag after plunging my hand in and taking a big chunk out of the end of one finger.
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My friend Lauri the leather craftsman up on Bodmin Moor used to say his beard was a sex aid.
Gawd knows what he used to get up to up there in his isolated moorland cottidge.
:o}
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>> Beards are sexy!
>>
>> Pat
>>
True; but they need to be well groomed. I hate to see stubble on a woman. ;-)
(Let me know when it's safe to come out of the bunker.......)
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Acting Lieutenant Dodger served just over 2 years before deciding that full time military wasn't for him
Served with 45 Cdo. R.M. in Cyprus, chasing EOKA & Col. Grivas. Failed, of course!
Later, in civvy street, joined the "Pongos", aka "Brown Jobs" (TA) firstly with The Sherwood Foresters and then the Royal Sussex Regt.
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A couple of weeks ago I had an alert from the U.K Hot Deals email for a free Wilkinson Hydro 5,
I dutifully filled in the online questionnaire.
One of the questions was about one's present razor. I filled in 'own brand' and was not eligible for a fee razor handle and blade. A hasty back track and mention of Gillette as my norm quickly allowed the claim!!
I received the thing today..
A win for me!
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My brother Esau is a hairy man:I am a smooth man. - sooty123
