The King of Shaves Kinexium oil is horrible. It clogs up the razor, and also leaves a horrible residue in the sink (ie oil containing hairs) and on your face (oily). You need something like a hand towel to wipe it away.
The King of Shaves Alpha oils are good though - much better.
I havn't tried the Azor, I think that's next on my list.
Very interesting. I have the Alpha oil and my impressions are in the original post, see link in #1. The Kinexium is on order. We'll see. If you get the Azor don't buy it with extra blades yet. Just get the cheapest razor with one blade to try it out. I really don't like it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UnoriginalGuy
I have this really kick butt mirror that allows you to fill the back with warm water and stops it from steaming in the shower. Absolute MUST have product if you shave in the shower (which you should!). It is so simple in design that you wonder why every mirror doesn't have a little pocket for water behind it.
By the way, shaving in the shower makes it totally mess free and gives you a closer shave since your face would have been under the hot water for several minutes. Also zero chance of leaving any shaving stuff behind.
Good idea about the water. There are actually heating pads that can be put behind any normal bathroom mirror to stop it from fogging.
For shower shaves I can see how it is mess free but I never had that problem with sink shaves to start with. Whether the shave is closer, I am not so sure. If you shave directly after getting out of the shower your skin and beard will still be nicely softened. They also say not to over-soften and over-wet your skin as it swells thereby covering more of the hair you want to cut. Do you leave the water running while shaving in the shower?
For shower shaves I can see how it is mess free but I never had that problem with sink shaves to start with. Whether the shave is closer, I am not so sure. If you shave directly after getting out of the shower your skin and beard will still be nicely softened. They also say not to over-soften and over-wet your skin as it swells thereby covering more of the hair you want to cut. Do you leave the water running while shaving in the shower?
I put the shower head on its lowest height and continue to wash while I shave.
Then switch to cold just before I get out to stop my body from sweating and to close up my face before applying after-shave gel.
I have this really kick butt mirror that allows you to fill the back with warm water and stops it from steaming in the shower. Absolute MUST have product if you shave in the shower (which you should!). It is so simple in design that you wonder why every mirror doesn't have a little pocket for water behind it.
By the way, shaving in the shower makes it totally mess free and gives you a closer shave since your face would have been under the hot water for several minutes. Also zero chance of leaving any shaving stuff behind.
What kind of mirror is it? Where did you get it? I need to get one of those. I'm a shower shaver. At home I've mounted a glass tile to my wall which I just wipe with shampoo to keep it clear for the shave. However, on the road I just sink shave (not the same).
Lordhamster, did you see post 57 in this thread? That sounds like just the right thing for traveling shower shavers.
I might try it myself one day but I am not sure I can rationalize why it would be better than a sink shave after the shower. If you leave the water running it will definitely waste more water than just showering and sink shave. There is also a somewhat higher risk of slipping in the shower and hurting yourself with the razor in your hand. I once saw a woman who slipped in the shower and hit her calf with the razor. Ouch. Very bad cut.
I also think I might be able to shave without a mirror if I had, too. The side burns might be a little tricky but otherwise I could go by feel.
Lordhamster, did you see post 57 in this thread? That sounds like just the right thing for traveling shower shavers.
I might try it myself one day but I am not sure I can rationalize why it would be better than a sink shave after the shower. If you leave the water running it will definitely waste more water than just showering and sink shave. There is also a somewhat higher risk of slipping in the shower and hurting yourself with the razor in your hand. I once saw a woman who slipped in the shower and hit her calf with the razor. Ouch. Very bad cut.
I also think I might be able to shave without a mirror if I had, too. The side burns might be a little tricky but otherwise I could go by feel.
Till
I checked out that link from post 57, but all they seem to have are mirrors with an anti-fog coating. I've had those and found them useless. I like the idea of the water-reservoir behind the mirror. So simple and no coating to wear off.
I like the shower shave because all the steam keeps my shave soap nice and moist for the whole shave. I don't worry about slipping because I'm not doing a "river dance" in the shower while shaving. I stand fairly still, more so than when I'm doing the rest of the shower routine. The only thing I would not recommend is a straight razor shave in the shower. Too much danger if you drop the razor
Using an electric shaver when on the road. The lighter/smaller the better.
So far happy with a Braun. But unfortunately its hard to find replacement foils.
Using an electric shaver when on the road. The lighter/smaller the better.
So far happy with a Braun. But unfortunately its hard to find replacement foils.
Gawd I wish this worked for me. My beard is coarse and unruly. I can never get a shave I'm happy with with any electric razors. God knows I've bought every top of the line unit out there.
Using an electric shaver when on the road. The lighter/smaller the better.
So far happy with a Braun. But unfortunately its hard to find replacement foils.
Which Braun do you use? Light and small is usually not a quality Braun is associated with. Even the travel razor is heavier than many razors from other brands, if my info is correct. Blades and foils can be found very easily on the internet. Also Bed, Bath and Beyond might have some, as well as Best Buy.
The smallest one I've seen is the Panasonic ES518. It can be had for around $25-30 online with knock-offs for even less than that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordHamster
Gawd I wish this worked for me. My beard is coarse and unruly. I can never get a shave I'm happy with with any electric razors. God knows I've bought every top of the line unit out there.
Have you tried the Panasonic I just wrote about above? It was their former top model without cleaning station which is really not necessary with a Panny. I got that thing refurbished for $70 (comes with completely new head and blades, was in impeccable shape, indistinguishable from brand new). It shaves seriously well and without any irritation. Very fast, too. On my previous razor I took about 4 minutes. This one reduces it to 3 minutes. Weight is barely over 200g including pouch and charger. Can shave wet and dry and cleans under the faucet. The handle is heavily rubberized for anti-slip while using in the shower.
I have used a Merkur Travel Razor for the last couple of years and have not had any issues so far traveling with this razor in my carryon. I love an old fashioned wet shave so this razor works great for me and it breaks down into a small leather pouch for traveling.http://cgi.ebay.com/Merkur-Travel-Cl...d=p3286.c0.m14
Last edited by TexasMiguel; Sep 22, 09 at 4:32 pm.
I tried the "art of shaving" travel kit. The kit itself does look "and feel" well made.
The badger brush is nice, but it is very hard to dry, and when you are on the road, you'll end up with a stinking brush after a few days. The razor is just a Gillette Mach 3, but with a nice black plastic handle (and they don't even include a spare blade). The price for this "luxury" razor? $80!
The Merkur Futura and fitting brush can be had for that price or even less. The thing about a good badger brush is precisely that it holds a lot of water and that the bristles are soft but stay stiff enough to whip up a good lather and exfoliate the skin. I have never timed the drying time of my brush which is a best badger but a cheap one. It probably has a 20mm knot so it's not huge.
Of course, Brush and soap can add considerably to the weight and are not so practical because they need more preparation and more time.
Did you try out any shaving oil? That plus a Schick Quattro Titanium with trimmer seem to be the golden goose for wet travel shaving. Minimum weight, minimum bulk, great functionality and a very good shave at a cost of around $15 for razor and oil together. No need for a brush and no need for an after-shave even.
I just shaved with the KoS Kinexium Oil. Took off a 48 hour beard with the Schick Quattro Titanium after a hot bath.
The Kinexium contains a silicon formula. It is indeed more slippery than the alpha oil. They say it has no fragrance but either the silicone formula has a smell or the thing does have a fragrance. It's a weird smell rather; menthol with mold. Not so good. The good thing is that the smell doesn't stay on the skin at all.
The container is bigger than the Alpha Oil vial and has a pump spray with a metal ring. While you could smuggle the Alpha through security in your trouser pocket, the Kinexium vial might (perhaps, maybe) trigger the metal detector depending on how sensitive it is. It contains 20ml as opposed to 15ml for the Alphaoil. The one I use is the antibacterial version for sensitive skin.
So how is the Kinexium?
The most important thing first: It provides an extremely close shave. As close as I get with the best creams and soaps whipped to a warm lather with a good brush. I was positively surprised. Better shave also than the Alphaoil and the Alpha is already very good. The blade glides very effortlessly.
Now the not so good things:
Aus_mal was right when he said it clogs up your razor. The Alpha does that already but the Kinexium is worse. It doesn't influence the shaving really as I still needed to clean up with a little brush only three times during the shave. But it is harder to clean the razor afterwards. I didn't notice any residue in the sink, that Aus_mal mentioned, though. Perhaps my sink is smoother and thus it washes away better.
I used two squirts this time. Maybe one would have been enough and would have resulted in less gunk.
The other thing is that while the shave was super close it also did burn a little on the skin. This was not due to the razor abrasion of the skin; the Schick is very mild on the skin. It was clearly due to the shave oil. The Alphaoil burns less than the Kinexium. The Kinexium penetrates into the skin less than the Alpha. This can be good or bad. It means you will want to wash off a bit of the slick film the Kinexium leaves. With the Alpha you can just leave it on and it will go into the skin and moisturize. For me that's a point for the Alpha because you really don't need an after-shave with it. With the Kinexium I did use my Nivea Balm for Sensitive Skin afterwards because I felt I needed a bit of soothing. There was no redness, though, so it wasn't like any major irritation.
Finally, if you want the ultimate shave closeness the Kinexium gives it to you with minimal hassle and in a very small form factor. If you don't need the a super excellent shave but just a simply excellent shave, the Alphaoil is smaller, cheaper, less burning and less clogging, as well as more readily available, and it is "smuggle-ready" for those of you who have scaled down their liquids to the bare minimum, where it becomes worth considering if you even need a 311 bag.
