Thread: Made it through my first straight shave today!

This is a long one so sorry guys, I just wanted to document my first experience and initial thoughts to help with the learning process.

As the title says, I made it through my first straight shave today, with no nicks or cuts, just a touch of razor burn. I did my usual prep of hot shower and washing face with Nivea face wash. I face lathered with Cade soap, as it's been my top performer the last couple weeks. I made the first swipe down the sideburns on my right side, and it felt good so I kept going. I did my whole face with the grain, and across the grain. I know it was adventurous, but it felt good so I kept going. I needed some cleanup with my Slim set to 3, but all in all not a bad shave! My upper lip and a spot on my right jaw line where the grain shifts directions are the only bit of razor burn I sustained. I followed up with witch hazel and Nivea sensitive balm mixed with a couple drops of glycerin in my hands. My face feels a bit "warmer" than my usual shave, but I can't say it's any worse than when I picked up a DE for the first time. At least now I know how to make proper lather!

Some observations transitioning from DE to straight:
1. knowing how to make a proper lather was definitely a plus. I can see how the first time could be rough otherwise.
2. Knowing to pay attention to blade angle and pressure without having to constantly remind myself helped me focus more on the shaving technique and blade positioning on my face.
3. DE shaving definitely tought me to know my face, and having an instinctive feel for the growth patterns and contours made it easier to go so far the first time through.
4. There are definitely a few areas of my face that I need to figure out how to best hold the razor and attack. It's definitely different with a 3 in. long blade.

Sorry for the long post, thanks for all the help and support guys! I couldn't have done it without this helpful place.

Originally Posted by Guitarguy118

4. There are definitely a few areas of my face that I need to figure out how to best hold the razor and attack. It's definitely different with a 3 in. long blade.

I know exactly how you feel. I'm a straight razor rookie too. Got about 8-10 shaves under my belt now and I'm still struggling to find a way to hit a couple spots just under my jaw line where my beard grows sort of front to back. I can't quite seem to get the razor in there comfortably and at the right angle, but I'll eventually figure it out and so will you. All I would say is to take those areas slowly and don't worry too much about getting them really close for awhile. Just work on it slowly.

Good luck and good job keeping the blood on the inside.

Glad to hear it's going well. Ask questions if you have them but in the end it's your face. We can only tell you what works for us.

Being a newbie myself for the first shaves don't try a bbs shave just get comfortable shave, the angle, the pressure, the lather and the direction of the growth. On my first shave i did 2 pass whit the growth and finish up whit a DE. After the 5 or 6 shaves i was able to do 3 pass, now i do 3 pass whit touch up and i'm really close to bbs shave whit out any irritation or razor burn. I found straight shaving so pleasent that i don't use much my DE so much now. The post shave of the straight is just amazing. A nice welcome to traditional straight shaving. Gino

I'm not too concerned with BBS right now, that's what the DE is for. I'm mostly concerned with getting at least some hair off and not slicing my face up, which seems to be going well so far. I do like my blood better on the inside I'm sure all the odd angles and spots will get better as I keep practicing

Congratulations on finding out how easy it is to shave with a straight. The shaves just get better from here.

I wouldn't say its "easy" but it's definitely not as hard as I expected. And you're not constantly at risk of auto-decapitation. I think once you realize that the blade isn't so scary as long as you take care with it, it's definitely a learnable skill

In the beginning I watched many different youtube videos to see what techniques other guys used to get to the tricky places. That seemed to help me find and settle into a routine hand/blade/angle, and helped me build muscle memory. Keep with it and enjoy.

If you do have a bad shave (and you will), give your face a day or two to heal. Walking around with razor burn all week sucks!

Good post and good advice. Glad it went so well. Still on the fence on trying a straight and posts like this help my confidence. Perhaps I'll look for a good, shave ready and give it a shot.
Got into DE a few months ago and the keys are prep, good lather/soap and take your time! It's one of the things I have come to love about wet shaving is slow down and enjoy it. So many years spent doing the deed as quick as possible and get it over with!
Good luck in your SR journey!

Congratulations and thank you.

You have hit on some key points that all beginning SR users should pay heed to.

The first is lather -- I still occasionally skimp on lathering when in a rush and I can never get a good shave then, usually reverting to my DE and some extra water (and care). Building a lather is an important learned skill!

The second is knowing your face. As odd as it sounds to someone starting out, you should go over your face with your hands to learn the contours and beard pattern to enable you to better approach it successfully with a SR.

Last, as you pointed out, there are some areas that just make more time to figure out, and they shouldn't be rushed. Every time I see someone new saying they shaved with only 2 or 3 "nicks" I wonder what they tried to do that they shouldn't have.

Good advice in your post.