Found this forum looking for product reviews on shave cream/pastes for head shaving and stumbled upon this thread. Figured I'd give my .02 after a year of a new routine. Like many black men I suffered from the ill effects of PFB when shaving. I tried everything except Magic Shave.... electrics never gave me that satisfyingly close shave, tried the rotaries, 3,4,5 blades and I still had issues. Then, one day I stumbled upon the straight razor and it all changed. I've been using a cutthroat for about a year now and have had no razor burn or ingrowns.
Like others here have said, prep is very important as the brush raises the hairs and has an exfoliating effect but using that hot towel prior to the shave to soften the hair goes a long way to getting a smooth shave (or taking a hot shower prior to shaving). I also use pre-shave oil because I tend to have very dry skin and it gives me a great barrier as well as ensures my skin is moist prior to passing a blade over it. I've been using Dovo's Shavette with the black holder and long blades which more closely mimic a traditional straight razor.
Between shaves I use pure coconut oil as a moisturizer because I hate heavy lotions which seem to increase my skin irritation by the end of the day. I could go on and on, but that's pretty much the basics.
Nice to meet you all. I'll go back to lurking now.
