Traditional Shaving Enthusiasts

[Spilornis]

One of the joys of Asia is the barber shave. Each country has its slight variant.

They are all great but perhaps my favourite is Bangladesh and Kolkata which both share Bengali history. What makes it special is the use of a crystal when the shave is complete to rub all over your face. While the crystal is room temperature its interaction with your skin is such that it feels that your face is being rubbed by a block of ice.

Can't say I love the ear cleaning in Vietnam.

Such joy for around US$1 or 2

[RayOday]

I bought a Henson razor on Lazada as well as Feather and Personna blades. I cheap out on the excellent Arko stick, except it smells like Parrot Soap, also available on Lazada.

Quite happy with the setup.

[Yagoda]

22 hours ago, Bangkok Hound said:

Most places I ordered from listed a low amount on the customs form. If you're really into shaving as a hobby, you'll need to order from the USA. That's where the wet shaving action is from soaps, splashes, brushes, razors, etc.

You can get all you need in BKK

[Yagoda]

21 hours ago, Dionigi said:

where did you get the brush?

All over Bangkok. Siam Shave.

 

I use a Jagger 877 and have for 25 years.

13 hours ago, JAG said:

If worked into a good lather, in a mug, using a shaving brush, it does the same job at a fraction of the cost.

I occasionally add a couple of drops of coconut oil (I use it for cooking).

Plus the quality of the shave.

 

I shower shave if I can:

Wash face, nice and hot

Coconut oil face

Prep Soap and Brush: if using a croap/soap like Mitchells Woold fat or Castle Forbes, I wet the brush and build lather partially in my hand. If using a cream like Truefit and Hill, Aqua Di Parma (I think at Emquartier), TOBS, etc, I soak the brush and build on my face. Flick your brush after soaking.

Shave, never more than one stroke per side of razor

 

[Yagoda]

On 5/12/2025 at 3:14 PM, connda said:

What do you need other than a bar of soap and a razor?  That's all I need.  If you need something different you're just making a big deal out of nothing.

In not in Pattons 3rd Army, if thats all I have to shave with, Im not.

 

And yes, I have used Ivory Soap and a Bic. Once.

[zhounan]

23 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

I shower shave if I can:

Wash face, nice and hot

Coconut oil face

Prep Soap and Brush: if using a croap/soap like Mitchells Woold fat or Castle Forbes, I wet the brush and build lather partially in my hand. If using a cream like Truefit and Hill, Aqua Di Parma (I think at Emquartier), TOBS, etc, I soak the brush and build on my face. Flick your brush after soaking.

Shave, never more than one stroke per side.

 

These are the steps I've been following lately when I shave:

 

- I heat up some water and soak a small towel in it, which I then apply to my face for a couple of minutes.

- I remove the towel and wash my face with the remaining warm water.

- I soak the synthetic brush in the water.

- I apply an oil (usually coconut or jojoba).

- I take the brush, squeeze it, and start swirling it on the soap (lately I've been using Whitebeard's Peppermint, made in Thailand by a farang), then I lather it in a bowl.

- I apply the lather to my face and begin shaving with one of my Japanese-made safety razors. (I use different blades, I have a set of about twenty, to find the one that suits me best.)

- At the end of the shave, I rinse with cold water and apply a pass of alum.

- I wait a minute, rinse again, and put a drop of oil on my face (as I haven 't yet found a good aftershave).

[sikishrory]

There used to be 2 online shops selling straight razors and all that stuff. I think one died completely and the other has downsized a lot and still going. Already mentioned in this thread.

The razors that were for sale here were marked up way too much. I got mine from cutthroat club in the US but it was recommended to me by a shop in australia. I'm thinking it ships worldwide.

There are a few gold dollar razors etc on shoppee that ship from phuket.

Razor blades and shavettes are very easy to find. I would stick to them

[ThreeCardMonte]

I must shave every day.  The mustache of the 80’s and 90’s is history.

 

Not into beards, the mountain man look nor the one or two day stubble homeless farang look.

 

I understand why some guys get rejected.  Grooming.

 

I’ve experimented with razors in Thailand but always look like I got into a fight with 3 alley cats.

I always buy a bunch of Gillette Fusion type razors on every trip to the States along with my favorite shaving cream and deodorant and bring them back.

 

Gillette razors are more expensive but worth it IMO.  Nothing is too good for my precious mug.

 

Once I did run out and the Lazada version worked well.

 

In Thailand I just use Barbasol when I run out of my favorite.  Still double the price compared to the States.

 

Once I bought  two 300 baht plus Gillette gel from Villa Market and neither had enough CO2 to discharge the gel.  TIT!

 

 

[sikishrory]

On 5/12/2025 at 3:11 PM, alien365 said:

I bought my Dovo straight razors and strop while in the UK and brought them over. For the soap I use Maniculus, found on Lazada, which is adequate. I have a contact through Line who I send my razors to for sharpening.

I bought a $250 dovo and tried sharpening it myself. I have 1000, 3000 and 8000 stones and a strop etc.

It ended up blunter than before.

Then I discovered jewellers loupes and found a very good vid on youtube. Now it's got a great edge. 

How much does that guy charge out of curiosity. I have him in line too but didn't know he did sharpening.

[alien365]

18 minutes ago, sikishrory said:

I bought a $250 dovo and tried sharpening it myself. I have 1000, 3000 and 8000 stones and a strop etc.

It ended up blunter than before.

Then I discovered jewellers loupes and found a very good vid on youtube. Now it's got a great edge. 

How much does that guy charge out of curiosity. I have him in line too but didn't know he did sharpening.

I bought some stones too but I didn't dare use them in case I ruined the blades. The price including return delivery was 450 baht last time I used him.

[zhounan]

2 hours ago, ThreeCardMonte said:

I must shave every day.  The mustache of the 80’s and 90’s is history.

 

Not into beards, the mountain man look nor the one or two day stubble homeless farang look.

 

I understand why some guys get rejected.  Grooming.

 

I’ve experimented with razors in Thailand but always look like I got into a fight with 3 alley cats.

I always buy a bunch of Gillette Fusion type razors on every trip to the States along with my favorite shaving cream and deodorant and bring them back.

 

Gillette razors are more expensive but worth it IMO.  Nothing is too good for my precious mug.

 

Once I did run out and the Lazada version worked well.

 

In Thailand I just use Barbasol when I run out of my favorite.  Still double the price compared to the States.

 

Once I bought  two 300 baht plus Gillette gel from Villa Market and neither had enough CO2 to discharge the gel.  TIT!

 

 

 

I usually shave every other day, not because I care too much about what Thais think of my face (I’m quite sure that when someone wants to hate you, they'll always find a reason anyway). It's more of a necessity for me to let my skin breathe. With the heat and humidity here, my super-oily skin tends to get hyper-oily, and having a beard only adds to that greasy feeling on my face. It's a bad sensation for me.

[ThreeCardMonte]

A friendly reminder.  Shave every day.

 

We have to look at you.

 

 

[livram]

I only shave twice a week so the 3 blade and 5 blade do a terrible job as they keep getting clogged.

 

I found the best and cheapest shaver to buy are Gillete plastic disposable razors.  

 

I get 8 to 10 close shaves before changing blades. Very cheap and vaery effective.