Thread: First Shave

First shave last night, seemed to go fairly well.

Dovo 6/8 Special, round point, swedish steel, honed by Mr Abrams himself (yes I know it is a simple blade, but that's what I wanted to start out with). Vulfix best badger, not too big, not too small. Large ceramic mug of bay rum soap from classicshaving.com.

I did 30 laps on the paddle strop, made sure that I went really gentle-like, no pressure, some rasping sounds when I was moving it over the fine leather side of the paddle. Also, since it was a 3" paddle I did not do the X pattern

Filled the mug with water, put in the brush, and let it all sit in a sink full of hot water.

Showered, scrubbed the face really well.

Emptied the water out of the mug, swirled really well until I got what I thought was a good lather.

Applied to face appropriately in circular and painting strokes.

Started on right side of my face going downwards, no real problems. But there seemed to be some skipping. I wasn't sure if the angle was 30 degrees, so I played with it a little bit until I found the optimum angle.

The left side of my face went well, but really slow. That was expected.

The neck was hell. I started going downwards on the neck until I realized that wasn't a good idea. With the electric it never mattered which way I went, but with the razor, I quickly discovered it made all the difference. The hair on the neck tends to grow upwards, which means I had to reverse the direction and go upwards. Kind of a pain in the ass, but seemed to work.

The chin and lower lip area took forever for me to get the angles right, and I still didn't really get the area where the chin meets the neck. Consequently, that is also the area where the growth on my neck reverses direction, now growing downwards, another huge pain in the butt. There were a few hairs left on the lower lip, and honestly they were so close, I jus left them where they were for now.

The upper lip was just plain weird. I could not for the life of me get the downward angle, so I switched to diagonally upwards side stroke, using only the toe of the razor, which worked just fine. There were only a few small hairs left. I continued to use the toe for the corners of the mouth, which also seemed to work well.

I'm not sure how it happened but the jawline was a complete bust, thought I was getting it but apparently not. I also missed one small patch on the right side of my chin.

Finished off with hot water and a hot towel to get everything off the face, some cool water, and witch hazel. Three nicks, all stopped well before I did, no need for the styptic. Very, very little razor burn last night along with some very minor redness, and a small amount of irritation today, but nothing more than I am used to with the electric.

Overall good shave, but here are some particulars that I would like to throw out there for anyone who may have some advice.

1. There were a few occassions when I got to the jawline and the neck that I am positive I was pulling hairs. I swear I could feel them coming out of my neck. I also experienced something akin to that on the upper lip and the chin area (downwards strokes), but not of the same magnitude. I made sure that all the movements were coming from the arms and elbows, not the wrist, so I was wondering if maybe I should put more pressure? Not sure. Also, I did my best to stop when I met resistance, tried not to "push through" but not always to avail, sorry about that.

2. The soap I have is kind of crappy. I got it from classicshaving.com. My technique may also have something to do with it, but I had to re-lather my face often, and when the lather dried on my face - baaaaaaddddd. It was like trying to shave bubble-gum off my face, big mistake. I think maybe I should just paint one part of my face at a time, at least until I can get some stuff from Colleen I did refresh the lather from time to time with more water, but it seemd the best idea was just painting one part of the face at a time, about 30-60 seconds before I go there with the razor.

3. I think this paddle thing is not for me, I might need to get a real strop. I'm still gonna keep with the paddle for a while though, want to make an educated decision, instead of being rash about it.

4. One of the hardest/weirdest parts is learing how to stretch the skin the whole time and to stretch it the right way to garner the effect I desire. I had a heck of a time trying to strech it a particular way and then move my body around the razor and the mirror so I could see what I was doing.

5. Surprisingly enough, switching off to the left had wasn't bad at all. I thought for sure I would cut myself with the left hand, but nope, nary a mark.

6. That's about it, any comments or suggestions are welcome, I could use all the help I need.

Yea, heres some advice, drive carefully in Kuwait! After my 7th "visit" I was driving at night with my lights off too.

Sounds like you learned a lot from your first shave. It also sounds like you could spend some more time reading and learning.

Try aggressively pulling the skin around the jawline upwards so it becomes your new cheek skin and shave it there, where you can see it.

Great advice Alan.

I might add that the more you shave the better it gets. The first few times getting used to the razor and for your face to get used to the razor can be a little rough. Remember....use very little to no pressure on stropping. The prep and stretching are critical.

Lynn

1. NO PRESSURE! If it's not shaving well it's either your technique or the blade isn't sharp enough. Try leading with the tip slightly. A gentle cutting angle (30º) makes a big difference for me.

2. You could also try a little more water in the mix.

Everything else seems to be good thinking to me.

X

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

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Try aggressively pulling the skin around the jawline upwards so it becomes your new cheek skin and shave it there, where you can see it.

This works for me as well. As far as the soap is concerned --don't dismiss a soap without considering the type of water you're using. I was just messing around in agony until I started using distilled water --now it's lather heaven. With distilled water you can add more water and get superior lather. Later,


Justin

Shaved again last night, same prep with similar results.

The cheeks went really well, was able to go both downwards and also did a side stroke on them both, which worked to my benefit. While doing both the down stroke and the side stroke, stretched really aggressively, which turned out excellent results for the jawline, although I had to go back over the left jawline a third time, but still w/o any real problems to speak of.

The neck was hell again. Obviously, I am thinking it may have a lot to do with the fact that I am just starting this whole endeavor, and it will just take my face some time to get used to it. But, it is a major cause for concern for me. I cannot seem to get the angle just so on the neck, no matter if I am going up or down. I feel my neck, and if I move my hand upwards it is relatively smooth, if I go downwards, it is rough. That means the hair on my neck grows in an upwards fashion, right? Logically, I would assume that to shave with the grain, I would do an upwards pass first. The outer portions of my neck, closer to the ears, give me no problems, but when I start to work farther inward - towards the adams apple - is when I start to see some skipping (hopping) of the blade. Also, it seems to be slightly more painful, again with the feeling that I am pulling hairs instead of cutting them. When it get near the underside of my chin, the direction of growth reverses slightly, still causing me much consternation . I almost felt like doing a sidestroke on the neck last night, but fear got the better of me... I am hoping that this is just an experience issue, and not some wierd mutated gene hair growth issue. I have watched Lynn's DVD 10 times, and kept re-watching the parts about the neck, and I can't figure out if I am doin something wrong, or if it is just the skin getting used to it.

Chin was not as much of a problem as last night, but it definitely requires the utmost focus on my part to get it done right. It seems that I am getting used to the angles on the chin. The upper part of the chin, near the lower lip went very well, got all the little hairs that were hanging out afeter the first shave.

The upper lip went badly. I got the left side fairly well, but two major nicks on the right side under my nose, requiring my styptic powder. That hurt. I am gonna leave that alone for a day or two to let it heal. Not sure what happened, but I think it might have been a pressure issue. Again, with that area, I just cannot seem to get the downwards angle right, and I feel as if though I am forced to do a sideways stroke. Any ideas?

Finished off with hot towel, hot water, cool water, and some witch hazel. Some residual burn on the neck, but nothing major other than this time it lasted a little longer than the other night. All gone by this morning. Two major nicks, several minor ones that were finished before I was.

I found that lathering portions of the face about 1 minute before I shave there worked out well for me, as it prevented the sticky gum feeling I got from the other night. Not sure if this is a good idea, but it did work for me.

I am just going to watch the DVD again to see what the heck I missed, and re-read some of the comments here. Thanks guys, further comments are always appreciated.

As for switching to a different water, I suppose I could use bottled water, not sure what kind of water is here on the camp (from the tap), but it doesn't have any problem making a good lather. I think it might be partially my technique, because last night, I just made sure I left more water in the cup this and swirled and pushed more aggresively, which yielded better results this time. The drying out still happened, but it took longer to set in, and I made sure I only painted one part of my face at a time. Again, better results from using that particular technique.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Yea, heres some advice, drive carefully in Kuwait! After my 7th "visit" I was driving at night with my lights off too.

Sounds like you learned a lot from your first shave. It also sounds like you could spend some more time reading and learning.

Try aggressively pulling the skin around the jawline upwards so it becomes your new cheek skin and shave it there, where you can see it.

Ahhh, the Kuwaiti drivers.... Still not as bad as Kabul, Afghanistan or Brussels, Belgium... Sorry to any Belgians out there

Last night I tried again. Changed the prep a little bit, put only a little bit of water on the top of the cake in the mug. Still filled the sink with hot water, and this time I put the brush in the sink. This time the lather was wonderful, now I know what everyone means when they talk about the lather looking like the topping for a meringue pie.

The cheeks went really well, both down strokes and side strokes went smoothly, but even through I forced my self to go really slowly, I still managed to nick both ears, the right one near the bottom, the left one near the top, but nothing major. Other than that no problem with the cheeks. Still pulled aggressively and got the jawline, which is presenting less of a problem to me now that I am learning how it is supposed to feel.

The upwards stroke on the neck went well, no problems at all. No hell today.

The upper lip I left alone, as per my previous posts, as both sides still have big healing nicks on them.

The chin went better last night, learning the angles and going very slow is a huge deal, and I pretty much got everything on the chin and on the underside of it. The biggest problem area there ended up being the right side of my chin, where it meets my cheek. This got a few small nicks, and is still a little irritated today.

After finishing up, I decided to be bold and do a downwards stroke (ATG) on my neck, the right side went well, extremely smooth (BBS), with no nicks. I should have stopped while I was ahead. I started on the left side and had to stop almost immediately due to the extreme irritation, the skipping (hopping) as described before, and general burning feeling that comes from doing that side. There is a patch on the left side of my neck, near the adams apple, and about the size of a half-dollar that does NOT want to take the razor on a ATG stroke. I am a little bit crestfallen about it, wondering if it something I am doing wrong, but I will give it a day or two, then try it again.

Two things that helped out a lot last night. 1) Putting the lather on my face about 60 seconds before I am going to shave that area, and only lathering that area, and possibly the opposite side of the face, same area. 2) Cleaning my face off with a hot towel on a regular basis, and then rinsing the towel in really hot water, putting it over my face, holding it there for awhile, and then lathering the area to be shaved. The constant cleaning and hot toweling seemed to make a difference, but I am not really sure, first time I tried to do that.

More nicks than usual last night, but I figure it is my penance to pay for learning this craft, so I don't really get upset. Most of the nicks are just the result of the razor gliding over bumps in the skin, and then shearing them off, so to speak.

Cleaned everything off with a hot towel, hot water, then cold water and the witch hazel. Skin is definitely getting tighter, and possibly a little dried out, ordered some GF Trumper skin food to combat this problem. There is a very minor amount of lingering irritation this morning, but I think that is mostly because of dryness.

Again, most important thing learned last night - GGOOOOOOOOOO SSSSLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW.

Still working on that focus, and forcing myself to go slow, trying to remember it is NOT a contest to see who can get it done the fastest.

I can deffinitely relate. For me I can get most of my face nice and smooth with one pass WTG. But the way my hair grows right under my chin along the jaw line, it is really hard to get as close. If I run my hands from my chin down towards my adam's apple, it feels smooth. But if I go ATG, then it feels like haven't even shaved there yet. I will have to master the second pass, at least for this area. This will have to come with time I guess.

My skin seems to be getting used to the razor now, as I only have minor irritation and it is gone by morning. I have been using an alchohal based aftershave though. I am afraid this was a very bad idea. I will have to get something more sensitive. Maybe I will get some witch hazel as well.

I also had my razor honed by Lynn. I also stopped it when I received it. I read that improper stop technique can ruin the "edge". I also had some rather unpleasant first shaves.

I purchased some hones from TILLIE. I use small circular motions on the hone. Now I use stop VERY gently in small strokes. I use a 15 degree angle or so so the razor seems to cut the wiskers. I shave after the shower and still use a hot towel, then lather, hot towel the lather, then lather, then shave.

I also pull the skin UP on the jaw line and cut it on the flat. I have been going DOWN then AGAINST the grain UP in SMALL strokes. Under the nose is a treat, first down, then sideways for a finish.

Seems to be getting better. My neck still seems to be a problem. Maybe I will just slit my throat instead of trying to shave it, might be easier.

Jerry