I started traditional wet shaving at the end of March 2014 and it transformed a twice weekly tedious chore into a 5 times a week anticipated ritual. My curiosity for wet shaving lead to internet searches that educated me to its benefits and I quickly acted to embark on this exciting journey of learning a new skill. Ten years ago, I had tried a cheap soap and brush and didn’t use it properly. When I couldn’t easily find another puck of soap at the pharmacy and found its smell less than enjoyable anyway, I reverted to canned gel with my disposable multi-blade cartridge razor.
Products Used During My Humble Beginnings, Before My Current Acquisition Disorder.
I’ve spent countless hours reading about wet shaving to learn technique and determine the products I might like, and watching videos to see how the techniques are applied and to be entertained by product reviews. My membership in bulletin boards and various social network groups dedicated to all things wet shaving now make me think about shaving all the time, and I want to try all the products that are available. I’ve been bitten by the Acquisition Disorder (AD) bug, and despite my success in being less materialistic in most aspects of my life, shaving has a hold on me that often leads my rational mind away from my neurotically justified impulse to growmy den, my collection, my dare-I-say, hoarding!
So here I am, perhaps having a mid-life crisis, with an intense desire to try all sorts of shaving products. Financially, it’s indulgent, and materially, it’s unreasonable to have this many soaps and aftershaves. I have a few DE razors and a few synthetic brushes, which I think is considered normal. I’ve increased my frequency of shaving partly to use and enjoy my products. I use aftershave even on days that I don’t shave, and several times a day at that.
So it seems I’ve done everything possible to minimize the hoarding effect in my mid-life crisis, short of applying all my will power to the nth be beautiful objects that represent a time when practical products were not only durable, they had a certain esthetic appeal. I’m inexplicably attracted to the notion of having Gillette vintage birth/year razors.
So as I purchased my birth year/quarter Gillette vintage razor, and I realized that this was something that was easy to love. It was certainly easier to love than convincing someone toadopt wet shaving methods. I think everyone is attracted to something that relates to the time when they were born.
Vintage Gillette Razors For The Guys On My Side Of The Family.
With my passion in full gear, my powerful acquisition disorder locked in, and my strong admiration for instant-heirloom-status vintage gillette razors, I had the founding elements to inspire my idea to act in a thoughtful and generous way: to give customized shaving kits for family and friends. This was my way of sharing my passion. The AD is appeased as I sometimes add an item for myself in the ordering of products. In the last two orders, I expanded my AD to bath soaps.
These shaving kits have a birth year/quarter Gillette vintage safety razor, a synthetic brush, matching shaving soap/aftershave products, razor blades and styptic matches, along with a detailed email explaining the kit, how to use it, and references to more information. The razor and the soap/aftershave are customized. The criteria for the razor are simple: birth year and quarter. For the soap and aftershave, I choose artisans who have a feature or scent that corresponds to a quality from the recipient, whether it’s Green Irish Tweed scent for someone with an Irish heritage, or an artisan from a certain state, or an artisan’s background that matchesthe recipient’s, or a name of a scent that strikes a chord. I’ve given 8 kits and they’ve all converted to wet shaving. My next 2 kits are for a friend who wants to give a kit to her father and to her brother.
Customized shaving kits for the in-laws with birth year/quarter vintage Gillette razors, soaps & aftershaves, synthetic brushes. Missing from the photo are the blades, styptic matches, and the email providing: explanation of the kits, how to shave, and sources of information.
The recipients’ reaction to the shaving kit has been universal. They were stunned by the surprise, and impressed by the customization. I believe the HAIRloom (heirloom) razor is the most cherished item in the gift. Until now, the recipients had been reticent to adopting wet shaving or hadn’t even considered it, but receiving all the tools with a personal association and hearing validation that it’s in fact a closer and more comfortable shave have motivated them to try. They’ve conquered their apprehensions and have made the switch to superior shaving.
It costs about $100 to assemble these kits, so I can only build a few kits at a time. I’ve reached the closest people in my life, so now, it’s the friends who stay at our place who get a shaving kit. We’ve named our cozy urban cabin, Hotel California, as it’s a tiny oasis in the middle of Los Angeles. We’re programmed to receive and host many friends at the Hotel. During their visit, they will undoubtedly hear me speak about shaving as toiletries are always part of a hotel stay along with a bit of relaxation, am I right? In exchange for hearing about it, they’ll likely get a shaving kit a few weeks after their stay – seems like a decent trade! Seriously, my passion shows and it intrigues people. So much so that they openly express curiosity and hint at wanting to try wet shaving. That’s all I need to consider getting them a customized shaving kit. I’m not sure what to do about those born after the 80’s, but I’ll surely find something, and hopefully will not have to rely on the uncertainty of an eBay auction purchase.
Giving a customized shaving kit makes for an excellent gift. At first, I was reticent to give grooming products, but as I’ve learned in speaking with people, most guys have issues with expensive and uncomfortable shaves. The initial awkwardness in the conversation immediately turns to keen interest and sharing of their current unpleasant chore. This kit is a solution to solve their problem, plus it has personal meaning, which should help them more easily adopt wet shaving.
My acquisition disorder has led me to build these customized shaving kits. Spreading the awesomeness of traditional wet shaving with a gift feels great and makes the conversion to wet shaving easier. Everybody wins and that’s a great outcome. I’m not sure where this will lead, but in the meantime, I’m happy to promote this zen ritual.
Christian Lévesque is a French-Canadian New Brunswicker who’s been living in Los Angeles since 2008. He’s a stay-at-home dad to a charming four-year-old daughter, and who also works part-time managing various projects at an independent film production company. He loves preparing and eating food, laughing with standup comics, IPA “tasting”, and is a fanatic about traditional wet shaving.
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