I use Van Der Hagen shave soap, and have for years. So far, it's the only lather that keeps the blade from skipping.

I tried the DE blade awhile back, but didn't like the results. I bought a new holder, but found the one the my grandfather used to give the best results...and it still wasn't a good experience. I shave my head as well as most of my face while in the shower, and the DE caused razor rash on the sides and back of my head. Too painful for my liking.

If my hands were steady, I'd used the straight razor. I've had some of my best shaves with it, but since I enjoy NOT bleeding out from slashes to my neck, I put that up a few years ago.

Joe, that method worked for my dad for years, but the cheap plastic blades and I have never gotten along. I can still see the faint scars from my last encounter with them. They work fine for my son, who's only been shaving for a year, but I cringe everytime I see them. I'm not much a fan of pain, and that's what those blades always gave me.

I used to go to a barber buddy of mine years ago. Once a week I'd go in for a perfect shave. My face never felt better after those shaves, and my cheap blades would keep me looking professional between straight razor visits. He was the only person I trusted with a blade near my throat...

I've been trying to save money with my blades for a few years, but always end up back to the Fusion Proglide. It's given me the closest shave so far. I'll use a new blade on my face, and when it is a few weeks old, I put it on the handle in the shower for use on my head. I'm just trying to get that close of a shave without paying through the nose. It's also the only disposable with a straight razor that I know of other than these, that I can use to shave around my mustache...and I think everyone knows how much that mustache means to me. If I were to screw up and ruin the 'stache, I'm not sure I could show my face around the kids. They don't remember me without one, as I've had a 'chu since 1995, and it's now the longest I've ever grown it...12.5" from corner of my lips to the tips. When held out to the sides, it's 25" end to end. Heck...the last time my wife saw me without a 'stache was when I was 7 and she was my babysitter!

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles