A LITTLE BACK GROUND FIRST

Proraso is probably one of the better known brand of shaving soaps and creams the world over, and for most part, Proraso is the gateway drug to going down the path of using Artisan soaps and creams and wanting that good wet shaving preparation and experience.

Over the next few days I’ll go over some of Proraso’s stuff since its the brand that I own the most.
Getting it at the local stores in Singapore is difficult, given that shaving in Singapore, in general, is a Gillette monopoly.
Literally nothing but Gillette products on the shelves. Soaps and foams are all the “in a can” variety and lets face it, its rubbish.

However, there is a store in Balestier (King’s Barber) and one in Geylang (The Panic Room) that do carry Proraso to sell to the general public but if you don’t want to run around to look for the brick and mortar stores, you can order online via several options.

My advice is to be careful especially with Lazada and Qoo10 if those are your preferred online stores as some of the vendors overcharge for Prorasos
They should cost around $17 for a tub of shaving soap / tube of shaving cream, $16 – $18 for the pre-shaves (Proraso only has Green line,White line, and the very hard to find, Pro Line ($30) pre-shaves), $22 for the aftershaves ( Green / white / blue lines)

My goto online store for the moment to get Proraso in Singapore is SGPomades https://sgpomades.com/collections/proraso they might not be the “best” price overall, but they are actually cheaper then most and they are very fast with delivery usually on the 2nd – 3rd day.
I have found them to be reliable.
The cheapest price for Proraso though, is from Amazon SG prime USA ordering (min $60 spending to get free delivery) but it can sometimes take two weeks or more for stuff from the US to arrive.

The only downside is that they don’t carry the more recent Proraso Pro line, for example, the Cypress and Vetyver scented cream, which are not only made for Straight blade razor shaving in mind (shavettes and old school straight razors) but also has some of the best scents you’ll smell from a soap.

Now that’s enough about me going on about Proraso stuff, lets get to today’s shave.
Proraso’s Green line.

PRORASO GREEN
Proraso green line is the Gorilla in the room. There are as many shavers who swear by it as there are who hate or just can’t use it.
Part of the reason is because of the really strong Eucalyptus and menthol formula.
It goes onto your face like a truck without brakes and for some the green line is too harsh especially if they have both sensitive eyes and skin.

For others, that icy cool shock and heavy minty smell and feel to the skin is just the thing you want, to wake you up in the morning. My advice is just buy a single tube of cream or a tub of soap to start, see if you like it, if you do, great!
if not, it’s only $17.


PRE-SHAVE

Proraso’s Green pre-shave is like a slicker “mopiko” that you use to prep your face with before the lather goes on. This is an important step especially if you have very heavy growth or are using a straight razor or shavette.
That extra layer of slickness, softened hair and toned skin helps prevent nicks or cuts by giving your razor’s blade that extra glide.

You don’t need to do this, but if you love the green line or are using “thems badass razors”, you would want to.

For the uninitiated, using this the first time will be a shock.
You will immediately feel the icy burn and for many this is a deal breaker. For others like myself, prepping your face with this when you are still bleary eyed even after a shower, that shock will wake you right up and is step one to eucalyptus bombing your face.

SHAVING CREAM

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You can choose to go with cream in a tube, or soap in a tub.
I have both, though for the moment I am going to use the cream as it is easier to show just how much you need to make a good lather that can last at least 3-4 pass applications.

Just a little goes a long way. Sometimes you will see on YouTube, shavers who squeeze a 5cm-8cm length of cream, you really don’t need that much. About 2cm+ is more then enough if you have light hair growth, a little more if your have heavier growth.
While you don’t want to be wasteful, you don’t want a lather that’s only air bubbles.
It should be thick and slick that when you apply to your face should give you that “Santa Claus” look. At the same time you don’t want it so thick that it’ll dry out on your face and form a sticky layer instead of a layer of cushion for your blade to glide over.

The cream is rich and smells great, very minty and fresh. The lather you get is a beautiful whipped cream texture that you’d expect from a quality product. And yes, as you would expect, that ice cool feeling, is strong in this one.

And once you are done with the shave, finish up with either the lotion or balm.
I chose to use the lotion, which while harsher then the balm because it is alcohol based, has more “oooommph!”.

If you prefer non alcohol based aftershave, or just a milder feel, go with the balm.
Either way it is another layer of the eucalyptus bomb in your morning shave.
Needless to say, the entire bathroom smells of mint, your face (and you) are shocked awake with the icy cool feel and for me at least, feels damn shiiiooooooik!

Finally, today we get to use something that you don’t have to order online and can be easily found all over Singapore. As far as I know most Bodyshop’s outlets carry them, usually on the men’s shelve (small little section compared to the rest of the store) or you might need to ask the store assistant.

Cost for the shaving cream is $24.00 and Post shave gel goes for $25.00. They are a little more on the pricey side, so there is that.

SHAVING CREAM
Its scent is mild, soapy and reminds me of Hazeline Snow, slightly pleasant but nothing you would boast about, its pretty much neutral.

On the plus side it doesn’t take much to lather up and you will easily get lots of very rich good foam.

The lather goes on easy and as you lather in to build it up on your face you don’t feel the tightness you do from some of the stuff you find in cans, it feels slick and paints on easily. It’s definitely much more gentle than even other quality soaps say, Proraso Green.

As long as you don’t go crazy using huge amounts at a go, a tub should last you a few months easy. While it is better to have more foam than you need, you don’t have to make more than 4 applications worth.

Experiment a bit, there is no harm having more on your brush when you start, having more foam is not a bad thing. With experience, you can scale down the amount you use to what you actually need + a little more “just in case”.

POST SHAVE GEL
The post shave gel has almost the same scent but there’s also a hint of eucalyptus or menthol so it smells fresh.

Again you don’t need too much of it, just small amount will be enough to go over your neck and face.

Going onto your skin once you are done with your shave routine, this post shave works really well together with the properties of the shaving cream. The gel has a cooling sensation and dries off fast. There’s little to no scent, and it fades off fast.

It’s very gentle on the skin and is a nice finishing touch.

For wetshavers in Singapore, this is probably the only easily available cream and post shave.

Heath is another UK company that makes creams with Tasmanian Pepper and Tea Tree extracts.

You can buy this again off Amazon Singapore, though finding it in Local stores can be a pain. I bought this on a whim but am pleased with it. The shaving cream cost $20, the post shave repair cream cost $24.

SHAVING CREAM

The first thing you notice is the scent. The pepper and tea tree blend worked really well and as you lather, especially if your brush is warm and using a little warm or hot water, it’ll fill the room with a warm and soothing scent.

You don’t need much to form a good lather.

I got a full bowl of really great lather. It goes on great onto the face.

POST SHAVING REPAIR CREAM

Initially, I was concerned that it came with a rather small bottle and the pump mechanism wants to pump out a huge dollop. Don’t do it. A full pump gives you way too much cream and your face will feel both greasy and heavy if you put that much cream on your face.

Pic shows about the right amount, maybe halve a full pump. Again you will notice the scent, the pepper notes are a little stronger and last a long time, I could get a whiff of it several hours later.

Once it dries off, it feels really good. The soothing feeling holds for a long time as well.

All in all, this was a great shave and is part of why wet shaving is as addictive as it is. Women have their spas, we have this.

Bluebeard’s Revenge is a company from the UK, its products is one of the few you can find locally in stores as well as purchasable online with fast delivery, Tangs for example has it in its perfume and cosmetics area, look for the Men’s Grooming display area to find it.

Each item, the pre-shave, shaving cream and post-shave balm are about $21.00 – $25.00 +/- each, if you are lucky and you can find the “gift box” that cost about $59.00 and comes with additional shaving brush (pretty sure its a boar hair brush, it is just slightly lower in quality that I am used to) and a deodorant.
The brush is a little on the small side and the bristles are a little rough, though with use I believe they will soften but hey, its more or less free and considering the price the gift box is a steal

THE PRE-SHAVE

One thing you’ll find about this product if you read the labels and instructions, is that the people who did them, have a sense of humor. Very British, very tongue in cheek.

You need very little of this in application, I had this for a while and barely used it. (I actually prefer my Proraso pre-shave but that’s another story)
You essentially rub a little to areas where you will be shaving, this will help the blade to slide and glide without nicking. It won’t help you if you use your razor like a hammer and smash the thing into your face, or if your technique is bad, like pressing with the same force as you would a Gillette shaver, or if you have a badly made Chinese shaver that has the damn blade sticking pass the safety bar or set the blade at such an aggressive angle that even at holding the shaver at 30 degrees or less it’ll still stab you in the face.

It has a very very mild smell, kind of nutty. Hardly noticeable, and while it’ll make your face slick to the blade, its not heavy, and does not leave your face feeling like you just had motor oil on it. It’ll be taken off after a few passes and washes off easily.

THE SHAVING CREAM

The label recommends using a brush and adding a dollop (how much is a dollop… damn Brits…) to the brush, and that doing so this 100gm will last you about 50 shaves (1 and 1/2 month give or take)
You don’t really need that much
Just stir in your wet brush a little (not dripping wet, just flick water off the brush while its wet and you are good), you don’t need to put much pressure, just enough that your brush’s bristles get coated to about this much.

Then, add about a half a teaspoon to a teaspoon or so of water into your bowl (use less water to start, you can add more if your lather is still very thick and looks thick paint, what you want is whipped cream) and start lathering by whisking the brush.

The cream lathers very well as you can see. I actually had too much cream on the brush and by the time I was done, I had almost a full bowl of lather. My bowl isn’t the a small thing, it’s actually a mid-size Japanese soup bowl (much bigger then the dinky ones you see at Yoshinoya’s, maybe two or three times the capacity of those) I had enough lather for at least 5+ passes. (you usually only need 3)

The smell isn’t very strong, kind of like coconut and almond or something similar. Very very mild scent, not very noticeable.
The lather was good though, you can easily get the Santa Claus look for the first pass and depending on the amount of hair growth you have, still have enough left over for at least 3-4 more passes.
The lather itself feels slick and cushiony which I like. For us Asians with little or light growth if you are shaving daily, you might not need the pre-shave oil with this quality of lather. I still make a habit of using pre-shave since I use a shavette to shave sometimes. (More baddass!)

All in all, that tin of cream is going to last me months if not a year at least since I rotate it in an out with my other shaving soaps. If I am using it exclusively, it’ll definitely last me 2 to 3 months.

THE POST SHAVE BALM

Bluebeard’s post shave is a little disappointing.
Many skip this part if you are using Gillette cartridges, or people who find shaving a chore, not as a ritual in the Art of Manliness. So for the most part the post shave is when you want your product to shine, to give you that
“Fuck yeah, that felt good!” as you put the finishing touch to your face, much like a baker placing that last cherry, that last bit of icing on the cake.

The balm itself has the same nutty mild smell, very very light, very unnoticeable. Its very soft, like watery aloe gel (which is what it’s made of amongst other things) goes on light and easy. Just dab a little to areas you have shaved and lightly massage it in or put about a small almond size bit on your palm, rub your palms together to spread and activate and apply to face.

What is good about it, is that it doesn’t leave your face feeling sticky, oily or tight *cough* Gillette post shave *cough* and your face do feel fresh after use. As far as post shaves go, its not bad at all, but as I have said at the beginning, it lacked that last “omph!” you want from a post shave.
This though, is just me, I am sure other users might feel differently.

Just drop in chat if you want to know where to get this online or other shops I have found that have it.

One of the problems with starting wet shaving in Singapore is finding supplies especially if you are in this to save money.
While you can easily visit the more upscale shops where you can find custom shavers, overpriced blades and artisan shaving creams, lotions, aftershaves, bowls, brushes that can set you back several hundreds of dollars I am pretty sure this is not what you want to do when you first start out.

To start, you will need to buy a good razor. This will be your first investment and the tool that you will use for most of your journey into wet shaving.
While you can get a cheap China knockoff from Lazada, Qoo10 or even from your regular pasar malams (if you can still find them) for $10 or less, don’t. Your razor determines how the actual blade will cut and you really do not want a faulty or bad tool when it comes to really sharp blades of metal in contact with your face and neck.

For the moment, the tried and true razors that have been recommended to newbies and beginners starting wet-shaving, is either the Merkur 34C https://youtu.be/oimwz5wzrfk or the Edwin Jagger DE 89 https://youtu.be/YtGOmEVhTp Both very good first purchases and usually you will keep coming back to them even while owning other razors in your lifetime.
My personal favorite is the Merkur 34C
The Merkur cost about S$55.00 on Amazon (if you are an Amazon Singapore Prime member, its free shipping from the US with purchases at $60.00+/- )

The Edwin Jagger DE89 will set you back $51 with free same day shipping for Amazon Singapore Prime members within 2 hours time slots from 10am to 8pm.
If its not available from the local Amazon store or if you want other models with different handles that the Singapore store doesn’t carry you can get it from the US with free shipping as long as you spend $60+/- .

There is one more razor I want to mention, the Rockwell 2C, it is relatively new but I think this might overthrow the above two once it gets going. Cost is S$41+/- either through Amazon or direct from the Rockwell Razor company themselves (minimum $US60 purchase for free shipping) https://getrockwell.com/
I will review this once mine arrives.

Next will be razor blades themselves.
The cheapest you can get from what I have seen, is from Mustafa. A box of Derby extras cost you $9.00 for 100 blades (about S$12 on Amazon). Considering that each blade will last around 3 shaves, that’s almost a year’s supply of blades for $9.00

Derby blades are really good for beginners, though they are not the sharpest, they are one of the smoother blades you can use. This is good as it’ll reduce nicks and cuts for the beginner. You can start to look for sharper blades once you want to “graduate” from the Derby, though I know of people who just stick with this because they work. Just don’t go straight to Feathers on day one.
Generally speaking, sharpness of the blade and smoothness of the shave is on a balancing scale. The smoothest blades won’t be the sharpest and the Sharpest blades won’t give you the smoothest of shaves.
The Feather though, is an exception. Even experienced shavers have been known to cut themselves without realizing it, that is until they see bleeding. It is a great blade, just use it with respect for its edge.

Next you need a brush and shaving cream.
Please don’t buy a $2 plastic bristle brush from China, though, the Chinese faux badger brush that goes for $5-$10s are actually quite good.
Natural hair brushes are traditionally made from boar, badger or horse hair. A new brush will smell “off” and for some, really bad if you take it out of the box and use it right away. You’ll want to treat it by first soaking it, then using your favorite shaving soap, lather up the brush and then leaving the brush with a good build of lather on it overnight. This helps with softening the bristles and removing the smell of a wet animal from it.

Again Mustafa has a relatively cheap and “good” brush for $9.00, though you can get much better ones for around $20 to $50 for synthetic and some badger brushes.
Badger Silvertip brushes however can set you back a huge chunk f change, some going for several hundreds of dollars.

I’ll get into brushes in detail in another post.

Mustafa also sells cheap shaving creams / soap.
Palmolive shaving soap goes for about $7.00 and some indian brand called Godrej that’s about $5.00
(Udate : Check on the new post as those prices were from memory years ago)

Personally I rather use the Italian brand Proraso which cost about $17.00
They all last anywhere between 3 months to 6 months depending on your shave frequency.

For Proraso you can order online with free delivery in Singapore. I use this online store SGPomades https://sgpomades.com/collections/shave-oil-soap they send almost immediately and you’ll get the item within 3-5 days so the wait is not long.

And that’s all you need to start with the basics.
I would however like to say that even though the above is the bare minimum you need to start, you will want a few more things to make your shaves a better experience.

The first, getting an Alum block cost around $15-$30 and you can get this from a store like Tangs, but online purchase is more or less needed as not many stores carry this anymore. It used to be very common, available at Cold Storage / Orchard Area or Holland Village supermarkets but except for one store that is located in the heart of Orchard Road, at Cuppage Centre, I haven’t seen this being sold anywhere.

While you don’t need this if you don’t want to buy it, it is very useful for cuts and nicks. An Alum block is an antiseptic astringent, meaning that it’ll stop bleeding, seal cuts or nicks and disinfect. Its also useful in making your fingers non-slip. Get it from Amazon, Lazada or Qoo10, just search for Alum Block.

Or you can get Witch Hazel lotions or wash. Such as Thayer’s.

Witch Hazel works the same way as the Alum block (get the Medicated version though, that works better then the Rose Petal version) and cost about $15-$20 and also doubles up as an aftershave. You can get these from Lazada Qoo10, or if your neighborhood beauty / ladies supplies happen to carry “ang moh” stuff as it is also used as a skin toner and after makeup removal conditioner.

One more thing that while is not really needed but most do use them as it is easier to lather your soap or cream in a bowl rather then do a direct face lather.
Of course there are some old school shavers who prefer direct face lather but I personally prefer to make a lather in a bowl before applying it to my face.
While you can find and buy shaving bowls that are all over the place or online from as cheap as $9 to anywhere around $90 (for a damn bowl!) my suggestion is to go to Daiso or any of your local $2 shop and just get one there. You can either go with a steel bowl, a ceramic or bamboo bowl.

Both of these cost only $2 each.

The last thing you need, is a safe way to dispose of used blades.
With cartridge razors, these just go into the trash and you think nothing of it.
However with double edge razors just chucking these into your trash is not safe nor advisable since they can cut your bags if not hands.
The best, cheapest and most enjoyable way to do this, is to drink a can of beer.
After a good drink, just wash the can out so it won’t attract ants and leave it on the counter for you to drop used blades into.
After a week or a month if you prefer, or whenever you are ready to throw the can, just tape over the hole to prevent blades from falling out and dispose.

Replacing the can is no real issue in most cases and in case of an emergency and you really need to get a can in a hurry, you can always tell yourself that you really needed to drink that can of beer.