Thread: How Long does it take?

I've now completed my 3rd shave without to much drama, a few nicks but cleared up instantly with the Alum block so I think it's safe to say I'm making progress.

My question is does anyone know if the skin becomes used to straight razor shaving and the razor burn becomes less of an issue, and if so roughly how Long does it take? I know everyone's skin is different but I was wondering about others experiences.

Ive shaved for three days in a row now and plan on using the SR everyday to get as much experience as possible to get to the point where I'm really comfortable. Maybe I'm overdoing it but I'm hooked. This is costing me a small fortune and I can see it's only going to get worse. Ouch

Your face will get used to straight razor shaving. Some guys can shave daily and others have real sensitive skin. Do what you feel comfortable with. Make the edge is always "shave ready" and all should be good for you. Take of that SR and it will take care of you!

Oddly enough I don't think that your face gets used to the razor, I think you just get better at using it and the issue get resolved. Some pointers that helped me are angle of the blade, keep the spine about two thicknesses of the spine off your skin. Try to shave just the lather, like you are trying to get all the lather off of your face without touching your skin. Skin stretching and holding keeps the skin smooth and the blade moving freely. Related to the skin stretching is direction of whisker growth. Learn the lay of the whiskers on your face. As you get better at shaving you will find ways to optimize your shave, so you actually shave less and get better results, which is the final item on my list, learn when to stop and do not over shave. Many people here have found great benefit to cold water shaving and other have become minimalist shavers. For me the use of Noxema for pre shave helps a lot too. I tend to be slightly soap sensitive. Practice goes a long way too.

With RezDog on this one, skin is skin. Technique with strop and razor makes the difference. Balm helped while I was starting out and still use one my wife made if I am feeling any burn. Like Hirlau said, no reason to rush. I prefer to shave every 2-3 days, and take the time to enjoy the moment.

All above is good advise. I would only add, since you've had three good shaves; keep using the same equipment and focus on your stropping, lathering and shaving techniques.

If you start adding new stuff like strops, razors, soaps and creams, the possible variables could go thru the roof and leave you frustrated and not knowing what went wrong.

Overconfidence and rushing will bite you with a straight razor. I wouldn't know, but that's what a friend told me...

Thanks guys, when I said I was comfortable, I meant comfortable with placing a very sharp object close to my face.
I did take time on the prep, had a shower, added pre shave balm to my face and used Poroso sensitive shave cream. But used a razor that didn't come shave ready and attempted to fix it with advice from the guys in the honing section, it seemed to shave fine however. I've caught myself going over the same spot on my skin a couple of times, rather than doing one pass and moving on and I guess that is not good practice.
I'm expecting a new SR from SRD which I know will be shave ready and I think that will give me the benchmark to judge my other SR's.
I do remember way back that when I used a BIC disposable razor I got razor burn like I'm experiencing now.
I'm going to give my face a rest for a day to let everything settle down, before the next shave. I'll spend my 'shave time' practicing stropping to get that going better.
Thanks guys for all the input, this is truly a great community of shavers.

Well, first things first, yes your face gets used to the change in razor, but the burn usually comes from several things, not doing a good prep on your lather, too much pressure while your shaving, too many passes with the wrong angle , a less than stellar edge on your razor , technique, soap that may be irritating your skin, and so on and so on. 3 shaves is a long way from getting to the point of comfortable shaves with a straight , I will suggest you give your face a break instead of trying to rush the process. Right now you need to focus on proper stropping(assuming your razor is shave ready) good lather making , learning your face and skin stretching, go slow and only do part of your face until you get the hang of that area then move to another area till your comfortable. Shaving your face while it's getting burned will only aggravate the issue.
There is no shave using your old razor for part of you shave or till your razor burn settles down. Be patient and soon enough a hundred or so shaves under your belt and you will be irratation free. Tc

The Wet Shaving Journey is meant to be a pleasurable one; no reason to rush, as there is no finish line to cross.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

The Wet Shaving Journey is meant to be a pleasurable one; no reason to rush, as there is no finish line to cross.

I went through that 'pleasurable' journey when I switched to DE shaving years ago. Will never go back to 'cartridge land.' My dilemma after 6 SR shaves is, do I want to go on another journey? The SR journey certainly intrigues me. My adventuresome self is hard to suppress. I get fantastic BBS with my current DE setup. All the learning nicks and cuts along that path are basically history. Soooo, I'm trying like the dickens to convince myself that SR shaving is (I'm told) the greatest thing since sliced bread! All these years with my DE tools have given me what I consider extremely outstanding results. How much better can SR shaving be after the technique is mastered? Do I really want another journey? The answer, right now is, let's stay the course and persist with the SR experience. How long? That's the $64 question! At least, I'm aware of most of the areas (stropping, pre-shave routine, etc.) that need attention. When I feel I've exhausted those avenues and frustration still reigns, I think I'll have the answer to my $64 question! Thanks for listening.

Everyone is different, I know plenty of guys who have went back to a DE, it's a great tool, now my experience is this . I have over 40 years using a DE and I really had no complaints with it,i still get great shaves. The Straight was just calling to me when I found one I bought back in the 70,s that didn't really work out. So with the new info we have today, 2 years ago I went down the path again. I shave every day with my straights and I will till I can't, I like it better , either from nostalgia , coolness , not too mention the shave is great . But it takes time , I didn't put the DE away for almost 4 months straight before it clicked. Tc