OT: Shaving Products - YouLookFab Forum

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OT: Shaving Products

Frances

Please let me apologize in advance--I know the issue of shaving has come up recently, but I've kind of got a situation here. My favorite shaving cream (Aveeno) seems to have been discontinued in the past month or so. To make matters worse, my trusty Venus Divine is falling apart, and when I went to the drugstore to replace it, I couldn't find anything on the shelves except for new disposable versions called the Venus Embrace or the Venus Oceana. Does anyone have any experience with these (and if so, how do they compare to the Venus Divine?), and can anyone recommend a shaving gel to replace the Aveeno? Thanks so much.

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15 replies

Latest reply was from Frances

Scarlet

Veteran

Frances, the recent consensus was that men's razors are actually cheaper and better than women's anyway. The Gillette 5 bladed version was heavily favored. Cheap hair conditioner was recommended as opposed to shaving gel.

Kate

Veteran

I use the aveeno body wash instead of a specific shaving gel/cream and it works very well! It lathers up pretty thick if you don't use too much water, and I've been very happy with it!

Also, I've found that sometimes disposable razors can be cheaper than the cartridge blades for more long term razors, so check the prices before writing them off.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

What Scarlet-Rosie says.

We've found that the cheapest mens razors are best. In every country that we have lived we have found this! In the US we use the obnoxious plastic white and orange kind by"Bic".

Greg has extremely thick facial hair growth. These are the *only* razors that do the trick.

Maya

Veteran

I tried a man's razor and was so not impressed I went back to my Venus immediately. I'll have to try the obnoxious one from Bic.

Frances

Thanks for the feedback, Ladies, and Scarlet, thank you for giving me just the upshot of all those shaving discussions that happened a few weeks ago. (I'll admit I was feeling a bit lazy about searching for and reading back through all the responses on those threads.) Kate, I will pick up some of that Aveeno body wash the next time I'm in Target and test it out.

Regarding the men's razors, my experience has been similar to Maya's. Everyone always says the men's versions are superior, but years ago when my boyfriend and I decided to test out this theory, I found that the orange & white Bics left my oversensitive skin with horrible razor burn, and my boyfriend discovered that he actually preferred the women's version of a Gillette sensitive skin razor (which has also been discontinued, sadly enough). But this was years ago, so it may be time for me to experiment again. Either that, or I'll just order the Venus Divine from Amazon or drugstore.com to save time and hassle. Sorry to be a big whiner, but sometimes I just like my reliable old standbys to be there when I need them.

Maya

Veteran

Can't you just go to a different store or see if they have restocked? The Divine isn't discontinued to my knowledge. I just bought one.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I only use Alba shaving cream. It's not cheap but I a little goes a long way. Plus I love their scents.

elpgal

Veteran

Lately, I have been using some conditioner that was too goopy for my hair. I like the Alba products too but have used only the unscented versions.

April

Veteran

Frances, you might be able to find a recently-discontinued product at Harmon Discount. A couple of years ago a soap company discontinued a product that both SO and I adored, and I found it there and ordered so much of it that we still have stacks and stacks of soap bars in his linen closet.

They do seem to have the Venus Divine, though I didn't see your shaving cream.

Vani

Veteran

I've used several brands over the years and had almost given up on shaving my legs altogether - too many ingrown hairs, razor burn, scars etc.. Just before i could swear off of shaving I happened to use DH's disposable Gillette Mach3 razor. It was nothing short of a miracle. I've continued to use Mach3 disposable (imp - not regular but the disposable kind only) razors for 2-3 month now and I have found my HG razor. I use it with Nivea Men's Sensitive Skin Shaving Gel. And I heartily recommend it to anyone who has coarse, thick, fast growing hair like I do.

Scarlet

Veteran

Again with the disposable razors. huh. I am going to try that too. I did try the regular 5 blade razor, and while it gives a great shave, my legs were a mess to begin with, so I can't say if it hurt or helped the situation. Bic razors are instant razor burn for me, though. Interesting how we all have different razor needs. Who would have thought?

The best razor I ever used was those ones from Schick with a wire wrapped around the blade to prevent nicks. This prevented razor burns for me and really helped with the irritation issue. I think for some reason they stopped making them though.

Vani

Veteran

Scarlet, I've found that apart from using the right razor, shaving in the right direction etc. it is important to exfoliate on a regular basis to avoid ingrowns and some razor burn. I use exfoliating gloves in the shower and after getting out of the shower, use a roll on product called "Get The Bump Out Of Here". I'm pretty sure it is the entire routine that helps keep my legs pain and scar free. The "after shave" is a little expensive but a little goes a long way and it lasts forever.

Sarah

(website)

Veteran

I love shave gels, and my favorite is actually my husband's ZIRH that I purchased at Sephora for him (haha) awhile back.
http://sephora.com/browse/prod.....inate=true
I also use the men's Mach III razors. I've tried women's razors (including Venus) and no thing works as well as the Mach III. Since my husband uses that also, I can save money by buying refill blades at Costco in bulk.

Scarlet

Veteran

Hey Vani, Thanks for the tips. I do exfoliate religiously but it's not enough. I guess I must need some kind of "after shave" product.

As a side note, it was very warm today and all the young women around me were wearing pretty summer dresses or shorts. I was secretly marveling at how they all have such perfectly groomed legs and thinking, uggh, please no one look at mine. Then I comforted myself to think that most people are probably not noticing so much because they are not as obsessed with this issue as I am because it is clearly a non-issue for them. I'll just hold onto that thought and look for a similar product available in Germany. Actually I am getting so desperate with the thermostat going up and no air conditioning anywhere, that I think pretty soon I will pay just about any shipping cost.

Frances

Weird. I wrote and posted a response this morning thanking you all for your suggestions and it seems to have vanished! But please know I've taken notes on all your great suggestions. Thanks so much.