Go old school with wet shaving and DE razor and blade. Your face will thank you.
edit:
Get a cheap "Omega boar professional brush", about $15. Gets better after break in, but works well for day 1. I like it better than my badger brush.
Arko shave soap stick is super cheap. Costs about a buck in bulk, but get 1 for $2-$4.
Blades are a little tricky. There are cheap, but good blades. For me the best is polsilver super iridium, which is a little pricey compared to other (but much much cheaper than Gillettes) and I have to buy via eBay.
For real old school experience, use Clubman after shave.
Razor: I used to use my dad's 40+ year old Gillette. But just got a Merkur slant which is gentler, almost no cuts, and just amazing.
I tried this and cut the hell out of my face and never went back. It feels like too much effort when I can just use a modern razor and daydream while I'm shaving. I still have the old school razor but it sits on a shelf in my bathroom collecting dust now. Perhaps I'm just doing it wrong?
Shaving after a shower, shaving every other day, I can get a lot of usage out of a modern safety razor, i.e. weeks with the same cartridge without much irritation. My yearly razor costs are already low at this point, and the effort of learning how to use a straight edge just doesn't seem worth it.
A safety razor shouldn't be any more likely to cut your face than a cartridge one. If anything, I find them much less likely to cause razor burn and skin irritation since they don't get clogged with hair as easily, and are easier to clean when they do.
If you're talking a REAL old school razor, like the cut-throat type then yeah. They take a lot of practice to get decent with.
> A safety razor shouldn't be any more likely to cut your face than a cartridge one.
That is inaccurate. Safety razors will absolutely cut the heck out of you if you get the angle wrong (and everyone's face is different). I have this one spot that my DE cut half a dozen times before I figured out the correct direction and angle, a cartridge blade never cut it. It takes years to master a DE.
You also need much better lather due to the sharpness of DE blades, otherwise the razor burn will be significantly worse. If you just grab some cheap generic shaving foam from a retailer you're going to have a bad time.
I ultimately gave up my DE after using it for a year. Super close shave. Cheap. But it turned a 10 minute mindless chore into a 20+ minute careful one. Each to their own but pass.
>Safety razors will absolutely cut the heck out of you if you get the angle wrong
The angle is literally to just not go side-to-side, which is true of cartridge razors too. I've honestly never had a problem and picked it up with no effort on my first try. It takes many many uses before the blade dulls to the point where it's a problem.
The most time-consuming part is cleaning the soap out of the brush and waving it dry, but if you use a foam that's a moot point. And it's not as if I have a light beard or anything. My face has a full beard within 2 weeks.
Would also like to recommend a double edged safety razor--you don't need to go through the whole rigmarole of a "badger hair brush" and fancy shave cream, it'll still be a far superior shaving experience
I shaved with a DE razor for years and never got even remotely close to a Gillette cartridge razor in terms of irritation. No matter what blades, cream/soap, or technique I tried DE razors always left me feeling raw for an full day after shaving. I only shave once a week or so anyway, so cartridges don't break the bank for me. I stick with a Fusion these days and my face thanks me for it.
edit: Get a cheap "Omega boar professional brush", about $15. Gets better after break in, but works well for day 1. I like it better than my badger brush.
Arko shave soap stick is super cheap. Costs about a buck in bulk, but get 1 for $2-$4.
Blades are a little tricky. There are cheap, but good blades. For me the best is polsilver super iridium, which is a little pricey compared to other (but much much cheaper than Gillettes) and I have to buy via eBay.
For real old school experience, use Clubman after shave.
Razor: I used to use my dad's 40+ year old Gillette. But just got a Merkur slant which is gentler, almost no cuts, and just amazing.