Thread: First straight razor shave and...

And no stitches or bandaids required. Good challenge and a good learning experience. Have to give thanks to this site for all the tutorials and member posted info that helped prepare me for this experience. Also to Chris Ellison for honing my razors.

I know that it is suggested to start slow, and i did have a safety razor ready for backup, but i could not help taking advantage of an empty house and no distractions and ended up doing a full three passes resulting in a pretty decent shave with only a couple nicks and some razor burn. Shave was not quite CCS and far from BBS, but enjoyable just the same. Going to take abit of work to learn to shave my neck where my beard seems to swirl, and also to get better angles on my chin, but I think I will get there eventually. One thing I learned is the importance of proper blade angle to my face. There is a fine line between the razor grabbing and skipping vs gliding smoothly across your face. Just things to think about on my next attempt.

Welcome to SRP DustySuds: Just try to maintain a sharp shaving edge on your razor. Makes a huge difference in a successful S.R. shave and poor one.

I think CCS in as few of passes as you can is the big challenge. Congratulations on getting started. It sounds like we have a new convert.

Sounds like a good start.
The chin is a difficult place to get. It just takes time to get it. Swirly hairs on the neck are about the same.

One great way to approach the problem areas is to not worry about it. Obsessing on them can result (for me) in razor burn. But if you focus on improving technique elsewhere on the face, the trouble spots tend to come along for the ride and improve over time.

Congratulations on the shave and welcome to the forum!

Hey thanks guys. And yes, I do need to improve my technique before worrying too much about the hard to get to areas. This morning I tried shave number two and concentrated more on grip and how I was holding the razor. Got a slightly better shave but after two consecutive days my skin is starting to feel a bit tender. Will probably take a break from the straight for a day or two to let my face recover a little.

Welcome to SRP and the wet shaving hobby. Sounds like you are off to a sound start. I will echo what has been said above. Don't obsess about getting the perfect shave right now. Keep working on the basics and making incremental improvements. One day it all comes together and your shaving will take a huge leap forward. Make sure you 1) Have a good lather, 2) Have a shave ready razor, 3) Good blade angle and pressure.

There are many more aspects to a good shave but if you focus on those you will get the biggest bang for your buck. As far as your face feeling tender, the most common cause is to much pressure / to many passes. A great way to see if this is the case is to use an Alum block. This will provide a slight stinging sensation where you are abrading the skin. On top of this the Alum block is a slight antiseptic and an astringent that will help your skin and help stop any weepers.

Thanks for the info/advice Matt. I do not have an alum block but have been using witch hazel and that seems to do about the same thing as alum.

I could not help myself this morning and decided to go ahead and get that third shave in. Was much better and smother than the first two shaves, and a little more comfortable post shave. Getting a better feel for angle and pressure. It is amazing how smooth the blade glides when you hit that sweet spot.

Witch hazel will do the same thing as far as being an antiseptic and astringent. It also sooths the skin very well