OMG it burns!!!

My first shave, and it really hurt. No nicks but insane burn. I started with a week or more of hair though and was trying the stache/chin. Bad idea? Use my electric stubble maker and then try it?

I tried 2 different razors(both supposedly shave Ready from ebay), the one from imperial shave seemed to tug/shave way worse(and has weird grind mind on shoulder/edge by heel) than the wilbert cutlery that I got from some dude in texas.

The wilbert did my cheeks fine, but I tried to use my schatt & morgan on my lip/chin since it is 1/2 size. But all it did was pull, the burn I got was from trying the wilbert. My lather might have been too dry also.

Thoughts/opinions?

Whether the razors were sharp or not...too steep an angle = burn. Too steep angle + too much Pressure = ultra burn

Was it the after shave or the alum block, or just on it's own?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HunterHagan

I tried 2 different razors(both supposedly shave Ready from ebay)=

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Your statement above gives me great pause. Many a thread had a similiar beginning. After the library and beginner's thread, you might give yourself quite a talking to.

Both razors are going to need a reputable pro-honing. Plain and simple. Many here and SRP vendors as well.

I think that possibly you bought razors that were less than optimally sharp and more importantly they were not sharpened to a"Smooth" condition.
I have bought many razors on Ebay and even though some even bragged of using expensive honing equipment, they shaved just like you said yours did.
There are a lot of razor honers out there that just haven't reached their peak ability to hone to smooth but haven't realized that yet.

dry lather, lack of stretching, too steep an angle, too much pressure would be my guesses, not necessarily all of them, but probably one or two.

oh and too many passes over the same area.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HunterHagan

My first shave, and it really hurt. No nicks but insane burn. I started with a week or more of hair though and was trying the stache/chin. Bad idea? Use my electric stubble maker and then try it?

I tried 2 different razors(both supposedly shave Ready from ebay), the one from imperial shave seemed to tug/shave way worse(and has weird grind mind on shoulder/edge by heel) than the wilbert cutlery that I got from some dude in texas.

The wilbert did my cheeks fine, but I tried to use my schatt & morgan on my lip/chin since it is 1/2 size. But all it did was pull, the burn I got was from trying the wilbert. My lather might have been too dry also.

Thoughts/opinions?

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This is what I just read:

Hi I am brand new and did exactly what everything on SRP's guides for beginners says "Don't Do" and now I am wondering why my shave sucked ????


Sorry to be so direct, but we have spent years compiling info on this forum to help new guys shave with SR's and honestly you just about broke every rule we gave for newbs, except to get a Shave Ready razor to start

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

This is what I just read:

Hi I am brand new and did exactly what everything on SRP's guides for beginners says "Don't Do" and now I am wondering why my shave sucked ????


Sorry to be so direct, but we have spent years compiling info on this forum to help new guys shave with SR's and honestly you just about broke every rule we gave for newbs, except to get a Shave Ready razor to start

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From the great wilderness of Idaho comes the words of wisdom and brutal truth...
Ignore the words, and the wisdom of the Wiki at your peril.
Comfort and smooth shaving bliss are yours with patience and study...
It is worth the effort...
The Oracle of Sandpoint has spoken...

Smooth Shaving...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

This is what I just read:

Hi I am brand new and did exactly what everything on SRP's guides for beginners says "Don't Do" and now I am wondering why my shave sucked ????


Sorry to be so direct, but we have spent years compiling info on this forum to help new guys shave with SR's and honestly you just about broke every rule we gave for newbs, except to get a Shave Ready razor to start

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I agree.. I assume the difference between my first experience and HunterHagan's is that I spent a few weeks (while waiting for my razor) reading the fine articles here on SRP, on other sites (which, frankly, took Lynn Abram's newbie article and gave it cosmetic changes), and watched videos to realize how to even hold the razor correctly, not to mention the understanding of the importance of the angle of the razor.

My 2 cents from a newbie to a newbie:
I STRONGLY recommend going to SRP library. It has infinite wisdom in it.
And as someone once said: "Wisdom is not given, it is earned", you should earn your wisdom, slowly, with much patience and willing to learn.

HunterHagen - Personal instruction can make the learning curve much easier. I suggest putting out a call to meet up with any other SRP members around your area. As an alternative, you may wish to book an appointment with a local Barber, get a professional shave to see what it should be like, then tip big and ask for a few minutes of instruction.

The answers you just got may seem to be critical of your decision making, but they are not intended to be mean or demeaning, just helpful.

Truth is, you just got THE best advice you could possibly get, now step back, do some reading and video watching, rest your face, and then try again SLOWLY. On the up side, you probably didn't cut or nick yourself because you had SOME basic technique right (or the "razors" were really dull).

Good news is, your best shaves are ahead!

When you read up on this site you will find that if you start one side of your face cheek only till you comfortable , that way you are concentrating only on that aspect ,, Sedona shave any more of your face till your comfortable with that , slow and steady , Lynn has a video that shows this and it is very helpful. Good luck , and is true, the word of the oracle from Sandpoint Is gold! Tc

welcome! sorry to hear about the shave :( folks need to bear in mind that not everyone starts out on the forum before getting into straights. I am self taught and was shaving and honing my own straights way before ever joining the forum. I was happy to stumble across straightrazorplace and find that my own self taught techniques were what advanced shavers were teaching others, but I will also say I have learned a LOT that I hadn't picked up on myself.
some folks come here only after they have tried a straight and like you they were perhaps put off a bit by the bad first attempt, so they hit up google and started searching for answers....voila! here you go.
Now you may or may not have been familiar with the forum before jumping into some face time with a straight but now that the journey has commenced, and in a not so pleasant way, take pause. read the criticisms above and don't get discouraged. go in the library and read up and by all means, watch as many youtube videos as you can, carefully watch what the users are doing and try to pinpoint different things they are doing that mirror the advice you read in the library section here. don't get discouraged, many good shaves are in the future, the learning curve "straightens" out the more you read and practice. feel free to send a pm if you have any other questions. :D

Try shaving after a bath. If it still burns it is probably the razor not the technique..

Well me personally I wouldnt use so many razors on one shave. When you are using different sizes and you arent on point with technique you may be the problem more so than the razor.

to be honest you only want the razor going over any patch of skin no more than 3 times in 1 shave or you will get burn.

avoid alcohol based balms etc in your first few weeks because most people use too much pressure etc.

use the lighest touch you can

It could be a combination of the way you were shaving and the amount of lather than you were shaving with. Lather can protect your skin from razor burn while shaving so if you're saying it was too dry this may have been the case. Also try to alternate your shaving technique, you could just be using a bad angle.

The razors were from reputable vendors. One was imperial shave.

Today went a lot better. Got my whole mustache done, and 90% of my neck/chin. My shave went bad from 3 things; dry lather, too long of hair, and bad angle. I corrected all 3 and my face feels great.

When my columbia gets back from honing I will test to see if it is any more shave ready than the 2 i'm using but I doubt it. My guess is it will just be smoother.

I've also been extra careful stropping and I can tell it made the shave easier. Also I stuck with a single razor per shave, it's sound advice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HunterHagan

The razors were from reputable vendors. One was imperial shave.

Today went a lot better. Got my whole mustache done, and 90% of my neck/chin. My shave went bad from 3 things; dry lather, too long of hair, and bad angle. I corrected all 3 and my face feels great.

When my columbia gets back from honing I will test to see if it is any more shave ready than the 2 i'm using but I doubt it. My guess is it will just be smoother.

I've also been extra careful stropping and I can tell it made the shave easier. Also I stuck with a single razor per shave, it's sound advice.

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Sounds like you are making progress, that is good!

Now, you say your shave went bad because of 3 things.
With a bit more experience you can check all of those out.
Angles and lather is just a matter of a bit more practice.
A straight will go through whiskers equally well regardless of lenght.
One might say that is yet another benefit with the straight razor.

Keep at it.