Thread: should I start off with a safety razor?

If you were learning to drive would you rather learn on an auto tranny or a manual?

If you have never wet shaved before that regime will give you experience on lather building and brush use and shave prep and using an appliance with little pressure on your face. As far as actually using a straight you will only learn by using a straight. it's about that simple.

I didn't! I just jumped and went for it. I shaved in the evening when I could spend more time learning. Once I got it down I switched to mornings.
Straight razor shave everyday before work.
I do have DE's to play with and because I have fond memories of my Dad using them. And having the stuff around the house as a kid.

I started with a DE, mostly because I was new to wet shaving and didn't want to bother with the maintenance. Now slowly working a straight into my routine. I think the principles learned about wet shaving in general (lather building, brush, shave prep) were valuable, though I don't see why you couldn't jump right to a straight. I still love my DE because I can use it when I'm tired in the morning and be pretty certain I won't cut myself. Three inches of steel if I don't have the time to pay attention sounds like a bad idea. Best of luck whichever route you choose

I went from full beard to straights only. I did get a fatboy and cut the hell out of myself with a bit of burn, besides that it's been a straight pepper diet since December. I too shaved at night to avoid being or feeling rushed. If your daily life permits I would just jump in with a shave ready straight and take my time. One other thing, try to stick with a wtg pass for at least a couple weeks, You can get quite a close shave and it allows your skin to recover more quickly if you tend to be a little more heavy handed or your angle isn't quite right. It made a big difference for me and accelerated my learning curve.

Originally Posted by molimo140

I started with a DE, mostly because I was new to wet shaving and didn't want to bother with the maintenance. Now slowly working a straight into my routine. I think the principles learned about wet shaving in general (lather building, brush, shave prep) were valuable, though I don't see why you couldn't jump right to a straight. I still love my DE because I can use it when I'm tired in the morning and be pretty certain I won't cut myself. Three inches of steel if I don't have the time to pay attention sounds like a bad idea. Best of luck whichever route you choose

This is exactly what I would say. I also started with a DE mostly due to the lower initial startup cost. I'll just add that while the mechanics of shaving are not the same, many things to carry over between the two methods; like building good lather, mapping your beard growth and knowing your face, using no pressure (which can be tough to learn coming from cartridges!) and good face prep. DEs have are simpler to use, so I think it's easier to focus on building those other skills. I just started with a straight last week, and I definitely think having those fundamentals down before picking up a straight razor has made it easier for me to focus on the technique of shaving rather than trying to learn everything all at once. Of course this is just my personal experience and doesn't mean you can't jump right in.
What I would recommend though is to start using a brush and soap for a month or two with your current shaving method to dial in a good lather, as well as taking the time to figure out what direction(s) your beard grows. Those two things I think help immensely when trying to figure out the straight. This is just humble advice from one straight razor newbie to another, so good luck on your journey!