Frequently Asked Questions

First of all, welcome! That’s really exciting! We’ve put together something just for people like you—a Grown Man’s Guide To Wet Shaving. It’ll tell you what you need, and how to get started. A whole new world of shaving goodness awaits you!

You can also check out our Hand Picked Shaving Sets of our favorite items curated into perfect easy to purchase sets.

If you’ve never wet shaved before, a safety razor is a better starting point for a beginner. It works like a disposable razor, except that you have to change the double-edged blade in the head, rather than the whole thing, when it dulls.

A straight razor, while immensely satisfying to use, requires more skill and time to master and has a steeper learning curve. The blade must be stropped and honed occasionally, and requires, in general, more maintenance.

Having said that, if you still want to jump right in and get one anyway, don’t let anyone tell you what to do and what not to do.

Go for it but proceed with caution.

We recommend a double-edge safety razor. Specifically, the Merkur 34C, or an Edwin Jagger Diffusion. If you have a bigger budget I would suggest the Edwin Jagger Chatsworth or Feather Safety Razor. These are simple to use and as effective as can be.

No! This happens to almost everyone in the beginning! Pretty much any activity that yields satisfaction eventually—learning to ride a bicycle, drive a car, play a sport, etc—entails a learning curve. If you don’t have one already, the best thing you can do is to arm yourself with a styptic pencil and (it’s antiseptic, soothing, and stops the flow of blood) and get back to the bathroom with newfound resolve.

For those of us with sensitive skin—and there are many!—we recommend experimenting to find out what works best for you, your skin, with the mineral content in your water and the lather you are using.

It is always recommended for beginners to try different blades.  You will often here people say "Your Milage Will Vary" when talking about razors work for different people.  Don't buy a 100 pack of razors right off.  Take the time to learn what works for you.  To help with this we have created; Razor Starter Packs and Premium Razor Packs.

These are just different ways of preparing and packaging the same thing. Kind of like how you could get deodorant that’s solid, liquid, cream, etc. All of them get the job done, but different wet shavers have different preferences, usually trying a variety of products until they find what works best for them.

Our shaving sticks come in a smaller form factor and are intended mainly but not exclusively for men on the move.

This is one of these infinitely subjective wet shaving questions. Having said that, we think it helps reduce friction especially if you have sensitive skin, and recommend D.R. Harris Almond Oil.  We can't keep this in stock!

A badger shaving brush makes use of three gradations of carefully selected badger hairs, Best, Super, and Silvertip. These are the finest lather-producing natural bristles known to man.

The synthetic brushes we carry emulate badger hairs. Craftsmen have studied what makes badger hairs so soft and effective for whipping up luxurious lather, and worked tirelessly to recreate the same qualities in man-made fibers. Suffice it to say that plenty of wet shavers like them. And what’s more, they’re absolutely vegan so badger's love them too!

Read more in our Grown Man's Guide to Shaving Brushes.

Badger hairs are known the world over to be the best nature has to offer for the wet shaver. There’s simply nothing else that even comes close. Horse and boar hairs do work, but they’re stiffer, coarser, and not in the least as pleasant to the touch—and face—as badger hairs.

Our purpose in creating Grown Man Shave was to curate the finest grooming implements and toiletries on the planet, not to offer as wide a selection as possible. As such, we’ve decided to leave out anything we felt wouldn’t offer the kind of satisfaction and joy we want to our customers to experience while shaving.

There are three gradations of badger hairs, Best, Super, and Silvertip. They’re all good and they all work, but Best are ever-so-slightly stiffer and less expensive, Super are somewhere in between, and Silvertip are the choicest hairs—thecrème de la crème—luxuriously soft and plush.

Read more in our Grown Man's Guide to Shaving Brushes.

It's not uncommon for a number of hairs to shed when you start using your brush. These are the ones that didn't quite glue properly, and with so many hairs, you won't miss them.

We would have loved to ship our badger shaving brushes to our lovely customer overseas. Really. But because of unreasonable—and maddeningly complex—customs, we're only able to send out our synthetic brushes, which are equally marvelous. Although this is not something that’s really in our hands, we heartily apologize and hope you understand.

Yes, all orders are trackable, regardless of what shipping option you’ve chosen. After your order ships, you will get an email with tracking number. You can also log into your account and find your tracking number.

If you’ve placed your order before 1 PM Eastern Time, it should ship the same day. Orders within the US and Canada shipped using the default option arrive within two business days.

For international orders, the best thing would be to refer to the email with the tracking number. You can also always log into your account and see what’s happening.

Please refer to our shipping policy for more information.

We certainly and happily do! When you check out, you’ll be able to choose the kind of shipping, and the cost will be calculated automatically.  We ship in volume so we get huge discounts on FedEx International shipping which we pass onto you.

We'll do our best to sort you out. Really. Head on over to our Return Policy and we'll take it from there.

That would be a RESOUNDING NO! We’re here to bring you the finest men’s grooming products on the planet and do everything in our power to make sure you’re happy with them. Not to sell anything of yours for a quick buck! We value your privacy as much as we value our own. Read our Privacy Policy for more details.

We’ve tried to cover as much ground as possible here but we’re still, when all’s said and done, fallible grown men, prone to committing errors like the rest of humanity. The good news is that you can always contact us, and we’ll put our best minds to the task of finding a great answer to your question. Or consult a magic 8-ball. Or whip up some lather and try to read your fortune in it. Either way, we’ll get back to you. Rest assured.

We do our best to stay on top of inventory and get items in before they run out. Sometimes, though, availability is not in our hands—all the companies we work with are relatively small and family-owned, carefully producing their products in batches. If a product is not in stock, please enter your email address on its page, and we'll notify you as soon as it's back in stock. We promise.

You made my morning glorious!  No need to thank us.  This is what we do.  If you want to share your happiness with others we would love it.  Please leave a review on one of the product pages or share our your love of Grown Man Shave with your social networks.   If you are an influencer, we have an Affiliate Program we would love you to join.