Wet Shave or Dry (Electric Razor)?

I'm feeling in the mood for tradition today, the day after Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. Therefore I am posting this article on whether to Wet Shave, or use an Electric Razor (often called "Dry shave").

Wet Shave or Dry (Electric Razor)?

The truth is that most guys shave the way their fathers shaved. My father used a SensorExcell (Gillette) for a long time while I was a kid. Although my father never really taught me to shave, he influenced me to wet shave also. I have many friends who's fathers used electric razors and they have used them ever since they started. In the battle between Wet versus Dry the lines are becoming more blurry with the introduction of waterproof electric shavers and other new technology. In reality both shaving systems have their pros and cons.

Wet Shave:

• Guaranteed a close, professional looking shave
• May be cheaper if you dont opt for the best blades available
• Extremely refreshing when done right
• Blades serve to remove dead skin and make you look rejuvinated
• - Can cut yourself
• - Need a sink and mirror (or shower and mirror)
• - Can take longer than a dry shave
• - The best blades are expensive
• - Not so easy to clean up all those hairs stuck to the sink
  

Dry Shave (Electric Razor):

• Shave anywhere you want, car, bathroom, office
• Shave without a big mess, little clean up
• Less chance of shaving bumps (but high chance of irritation)
  
• Impossible to cut yourself because the blades are well protected
• - Dry shave isn't quite as close
• - Possibility of razor burn from poor razor/ electric blades
• - Need to recharge the bastard, or feed him batteries
• - Not nearly as rejuvinating an experience as wet shave
  

Which system is right for you really isn't for us to say. Your preference is what matters. Just know this, if you want to try a different system you should give the new method some time. You and your hair need time to get acquainted to a new shaving system. If you shave on a daily basis you should try and shave with that system for at least 2 weeks, we recommend 20 days. Your hair grows a certain way once you start shaving and it needs time to adjust, so don't make your decision too quickly, or you will find that your not as satisfied as you expect/ could be.

My personal preference? I've always wanted to try an expensive rotary razor, however my trusted weapon of choice in this battle is the M3 power razor from Gillette (VERY WET).

The End of the Earth

The End of the Earth

So, now that The Sunday Sink Routine is up I decided to take a look around and see if anyone else has had the idea to topic shaving on their bloggs. Who knows, maybe I'm not the only guy in the world who thinks shaving is important enough to dedicate 5 articles in one 24 hour period to. Well, it turns out I am... kind of. This guy, (he goes by adam) made me laugh pretty hard with his November 1 post on shaving with a pink razor. Need we say more? Take a look at his site. Its really too bad he doesn't have a place to contact him or leave comments. I'd like to let him know I'm about to send a thousand people his way.

A lost shaving tips site

Try this site on for size. Its ranked high on yahoo, so it must be good! Right? Actually we are posting the DashingMan.com shaving tips page here on Sink Routine because this page recently lost its spot on the search engines. After a site redesign in early November, it appears that this usefull shaving advice page has gotten lost, and we wanted to help it get found again. This page, created by DashingMan.com, can be found at shavingtips.info, shavingadvice.info, and howtoshave.info (Yes, they are all the same).

Review: Gillette M3 Power Razor

Athough its been a while since the launch of the Gillette M3 Power Razor system (Product Website), I thought it would be a good idea to cover a review of this product for this christmas season. Many people have thought of this product as a great "stocking stuffer" for a son, husband, brother, uncle, pet goat... Whomever! And the great thing is you can now know what your getting into, thanks to The Sunday Sink Routine.

Price: A Gillette M3Power razor set [razor, two cartridges, one Duracell AAA battery] will retail for approximately $14.99. A Gillette M3Power 4-pack of refill cartridges will retail for approximately $10.99; an 8-pack will retail for approximately $20.99. As always, retail prices are the sole discretion of individual retailers.
Packaging/ Contents: The M3 Power razor comes in vacuum formed plastic packaging and includes 1 razor, 1 duracell battery to power the razor, and 2 new M3Power razor blades.
Product Features: (Manufacturers Description)
Our judgement: The M3 Power is a great product, and does shave better than Gillette's predecessor, the Mach3 Turbo. Based on many of the same patents as the Mach3, this razor's improved blade coating has made a noticeable difference in the comfort of the shave, though slightly less noticeable of an actual difference. There is significantly less "tugging" and pulling of the hairs which provides a smoother shave. The pulsing motion of the razor takes a little while to get used to, but once that original shock wears off you are very comfortable. The trick is to mix this new razor with other new products in your shaving routine. This way you will notice the most difference, and improve your skin at the same time. Overall, I honestly received a great shave, with an improvement over my typical Sunday Sink Routine.
Pro's: A great shave, probably the best you have had yet, unless you take as much time to shave as I do. A nice product, that most people who try will upgrade to. Plus if you don't like it you can continue to use the razor with your old mach3 blades. (It is backwards compatable)
Con's: Most expensive razor and blades, Not a gigantic improvement over Mach3 Turbo Quality, bright green color of razor-blade head.
Better Than: Gillette Mach3 Turbo, Mach3, Schick Quattro
Not Quite as Good as: Best so far.
Rating at time of writing: 10 of 10

Where to buy: Although the M3 Power is available nationwide (U.S.) and is slowly expanding to global markets, we feel that shopping online is probably the easiest (and cheapest) way to find the product. I recommend you try DashingMan.com for their M3 Power razor combo, or blades. Their combo is the cheapest you will find, and includes free shipping.

Ammendmant: I noticed something recently that I want to share. If a guy does not like the Mach3 style razors from Gillette --more often than not-- he will dislike the Gillette M3 Power razor when he makes a switch. The 2 products are related, and both incorporate the same flexible pivot point, which is a deciding factor on which razor to use for many men. So, I suggest that if you arn't currently a Mach3, or Mach3 Turbo fan, it may be a bigger adjustment for you than others.

Has anyone used ZIRH?

You know, I recently had the opportunity to start selling ZIRH mens products, and I decided not to go the whole way. Instead of stocking this entire mens line of products, we have opted to create an affiliation with the Zirh.com website. A couple Zirh products are available in the shaving cream category right now, and I recommend them. But for even more selection, I would probably just visit Zirh.com directly. Personally, I would go with another, slightly lesser expensive product such as something from Muhle Pinsel or Musgo Real, but Zirh has a web only offer for the holiday season, giving you three travel size ZIRH premium men's skin care essentials Free with $50 purchase. (Not bad at all.) Since no other retailer is allowed to offer this special and no one I know of carries ALL the Zirh products. I suggest you stick with Zirh.com when looking for their products.

A shout out to my site!

Yes, I live in the world of webmastering. The kind of world where a guy (or girl) believes his website is a living entity that needs care... and sometimes a little tough-love. I am starting this blog today this 23rd day of November 2004 in the hopes that I can share what I know and learn about shaving, and comment on whatever I please. I hope my ownership doesnt influence my blogging, but I also dont care too much if it does. If you read this blog, let me know, and remember that most everything on here will be an opinion, unless it sounds like fact. I happen to be nearing the "expert" level of shavers, and have kept ontop of the shaving industry for an entire year while developing an online grooming site for men. Im sure you will find it soon enough. So read some more, and take a look at the links... I'll try and post when theres something to report.