16 Year old beginner

Hi!

Let me introduce myself; my name is Ellis, I am 16 years of age and have been interested in straight razor shaving for a few years.

I recently got my first straight razor. Of course being the eager teenager I am I used it as soon as possible. I do not own a strop as of yet but I have whetstones in which I can use to sharpen the blade. The razor came pre-sharpened and honed. I did my research online, about the form in holding the razor, shaving technique and etiquette; 30 degrees etc.

So I put a hot damp towel over my face, then creamed up (Actually used shaving foam like you would with disposable razors) using badger fur brush. I (being stupid) shaved my whole face, and throughout my endeavour, came across some strong tugging on my upper lip, chin and slightly on my sideburns. (Wasn't yet fully shaved) So I stopped for 30 minutes to see the outcome. All looked well so I carried on. Finished up the shave and noticed that my lip and chin were red. (I would assume due to the tugging and abrasions) but no cuts! So for that I am happy. I then used post shave balm for the sensitive skin, and I applied generously. After 2/3 hours the burn stopped but was still a dull red, almost not visible.

Is there any way in which I can go about next time rectifying it or is it just apart of the learning curve?

Look forward to hearing the replies, expect to hear regularly from me, I am very keen. ;)

Many thanks!

-Ellis

Welcome to SRP, Ellis!

Wow....I'm impressed....wish my boys would have the desire to use a straight razor as you do. Ages 16 and 17.
You seriously need to get yourself a strop. Very important part of keeping a razor ...."shave ready" and sharp.

Yes the redness will go away in time as your technique develops...chances are, you used too much pressure or your angle wasn't quite right. I would lesson the angle from 30 degrees tho. Don't get into a hurry about shaving your whole face....learn technique first. Read the beginners guide on shaving.

Get that strop as soon as you can.

Good luck!

Welcome to SR shaving, enjoy the learning process and don't get discouraged. By the time you're an old man of seventeen you'll be getting consistent, smooth, irritation-free shaves! There are too many variables at the moment that could need improvement. The first thing to do is to ensure your razor is properly sharpened. If you post your location you will more than likely find someone near you who can help with that. Once you've eliminated a poorly sharpened razor as the possible cause, you can start working on the other possibilities. If the razor is poorly sharpened nothing else you do will make much difference. Good luck

Congratulations on starting your manhood with a straight razor. I've been shaving with one since I was 14. If you are like I was at 16, your facial hair is probably a lot softer than what it's going to be in a few years. This will give you plenty of time to get your techniques worked out for when you have whiskers like barb wire. Just take your time with each shave. Get your razor angle right. Let the razor do the work. If you feel ANY resistance in the stroke STOP. Get a good shaving soap or cream. Get a good strop and use it before each shave. These are things I had to learn on my own because my Dad shaved with electrics.

greetings from norway, young fellow - just wanting to say hello. you are obviously on the right track and doing fine :rock:

Welcome to the forum Ellis.

Could you tell us what razor you bought and if it was honed by the seller before being shipped?

One thing I would do is get a good shave cream/soap and learn to make a good lather that way. Just ditch the canned foam. A good lather made with a brush and shave cream/soap really contributes to getting a good shave.

Yes, you will need a strop to help maintain that razor. I might not jump right into honing right away though. If you are used to sharpening knives, honing a straight razor is a different ball game.

When you start shaving with a SR it is possible to get tugging because of poor shaving technique even with a shave ready razor.

Redness and razor burn is usually caused by using the wrong angle on the blade and too much pressure on the blade. I would try using a gap between your face and the spine of the razor of about 1 to 2 spine widths and virtually no pressure on the blade. Poor lather and a poorly honed razor can also be factors. When you are new to this it is really hard to tell which of these is causing you the most trouble.

Take it slow, play with your shaving technique and try a better lather. There is a long learning curve to this and no rush it will all eventually come together.

Bob

Welcome to the forum. If you ad your location it makes it easier to find hands on help. There are a lot of people here happy to share their experience and knowledge.

Hi and welcome. Most of the likely causes have been stated. Poor soap, poor technique, razor sharpness, pressure and angle. Pressure and angle are usually 2 big factors when starting. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask

Welcome young sir and congratulations on your initial steps into wetshaving. An essential part of your kit is a strop and proper shave soap and brush. You really should not straight shave again until you get those and learn how to use them. Learn how to face lather and bowl lather to see which you prefer. Good luck.

Hi and welcome. Always great to see someone so young take up the hobby. My oldest son is 11 and is already pretty good at honing. If you don't yet have a strop it's well worth looking at using newspaper to start with, it's cheap, doesn't matter if you cut it, helps you learn technique and it works well.

Have you used your whetstones yet? It's possible if you have that the razor isn't quite as keen as it could be. If you've not used them make sure you have the right grit stones.

Good luck, you've come to the right place to learn, the knowledge here is immense.

Hi Ellis

One of the best moves you can make is to get with an experienced razor. SRP has Mentors who will gladly help.

Here is a link to find SRP members near you.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/memberlist.php?do=search

Welcome. Good on you starting with the best tool for the job. As mentioned, a bit more info on your kit would be useful. Don't grab a cheapo strop from an auction site. Straight Razor Designs, vendors on here, whipped dog and most quality makers do good beginner strops that won't bust the bank. Library also has some very good information.

Welcome to the forum Ellis. Great to see someone so young wanting to start their shaving journey with a straight. My youngest is 17 and won't let me anywhere near him with a straight. He uses a crappy disposable about once a fortnight. I despair!!

Already some great advice on here, but at the risk of being repetitive...

Get a quality strop. No need to spend too much initially, as you may well nick it several times. You really do need a strop to maintain your edge for your shaves. As for your redness, was the SR properly shave ready? Use a very light touch, no pressing. Just let the razor glide gently across the skin. Aim to shave off the cream/soap. The hair will come with it. Which leads me onto my next point. Cream or soap. Bin the canned goo and get a proper cream or soap. Make a good, creamy, cushioned lather.

Don't interchange or swap different aspects of your shave at once. You'll never know what was good or bad. Change one aspect at a time, so you can assess each part and narrow down the options if something isn't working for you.

Lastly, where do you live? If there's a mentor close by, I'm sure they would willingly give you some hands on help.

The very best of luck Ellis.

Welcome! You have come to the right place for help and support, this forum is full of helpful and friendly people.
You seem to have gotten off on the right foot, follow the advice given above and every shave will get better. As you come across questions please ask and we will be glad to help:)

Welcome to an older but better way of shaving:tu

A properly honed razor is a must, a poorly honed razor or an inferior razor is your enemy. You will need a decent strop and a brush and actual shaving soap is also an essential.

This age old art takes patience so go slow, it's not a race.

Learning to hone should be at the very last of your list of things to learn. It's an art all of it's own. Learn how to Properly make lather, strop and shave. I always recommend that someone should wait at least a year before even thinking of learning to hone.

I'm a former meat cutter and I'll tell you straight out that honing a razor and sharpening a knife is as different as black and white. The time will come, be patient

Please add your location, there may be help just down the street. Here's a very good example:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...questions.html

See post #9.

Be sure to read all you can in the Wiki there's a lot of good info.

It's a long strange trip but well worth the journey :y

Welcome!!
The redness probably came from to much pressure and angle, almost everyone does that at first, start with the razor flat on your face and add angle. Real shave soap will help quite a bit as well.

Welcome to the forum Ellis.
I started at about the same age as you, it only gets better with time and practice. But just as everyone has stated. Soap/cream, "STROP"!!, and mentors, then learn to hone.
Congrats on a successful first full face shave, I did it too.
Mind you get a styptic pencil, youll need it eventually

Better shaves coming!!

Mike

Ellis,

We get a lot of new members here all the time but rarely do we get one as "new" as you. Everyone has already provided you a lot of great guidance to start off with. I'm sure I can speak for everyone in that we are delighted to have someone your age join us. Whether this group is able to hold your interest long term is debatable but I hope that straight shaving always will. Good luck! :gl:

I started straight shaving at 16 too. I used folded up newspaper on the edge of a table to strop with for a few months. Leather is pretty cheap for decent strops. A better soap wouldn't hurt you either. Canned foam never felt slick enough for straight razor shaves to my face. My first razor was a 6/8 hope cutlery improved German Eagle My grandpa found at a gun show for a few bucks. I'm not sure where he had it honed but it worked well for years with a barber's stone refresh and newspaper stropping.

My grandpa used Gillette foamy and a Schick Injector. He said he was too old to waste time on his razor.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rodb

Welcome!!
The redness probably came from to much pressure and angle, almost everyone does that at first, start with the razor flat on your face and add angle. Real shave soap will help quite a bit as well.

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It also could be his face is not used to a SR and/or face prep. Going back to my first shave 2 months ago, my face looked like it was sun burnt! But what I did wrong was in face prep, lathering, and technique. For face prep, I just washed my face with a wet rag and placed a hot rag on as hot as I can stand. Taking a full shower beforehand would have softened my,skin more thoroughly. My lathering was too thick and I tended to drag the razor a bit. MWF is a very good soap, but in retrospect, its finicky lathering qualities probably make it not the best choice for a first time wet shaver.

With my technique, the angle was fine as I went for about 2 spine heights. My problem was that I didn't stretch the skin as well as I should have done. This caused me to make multiple passes just to get smooth as I wanted. But I soon figured it out and my shaves soon were irritation free.

Very true I didn't think of that. Maybe just shaving in general. I remember my 1st shave at 13 with my dad's Gillette adjustable DE and it wasn't pretty..lol!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by donaldjr1969

It also could be his face is not used to a SR and/or face prep. Going back to my first shave 2 months ago, my face looked like it was sun burnt! But what I did wrong was in face prep, lathering, and technique. For face prep, I just washed my face with a wet rag and placed a hot rag on as hot as I can stand. Taking a full shower beforehand would have softened my,skin more thoroughly. My lathering was too thick and I tended to drag the razor a bit. MWF is a very good soap, but in retrospect, its finicky lathering qualities probably make it not the best choice for a first time wet shaver.

With my technique, the angle was fine as I went for about 2 spine heights. My problem was that I didn't stretch the skin as well as I should have done. This caused me to make multiple passes just to get smooth as I wanted. But I soon figured it out and my shaves soon were irritation free.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by donaldjr1969

It also could be his face is not used to a SR and/or face prep. Going back to my first shave 2 months ago, my face looked like it was sun burnt! But what I did wrong was in face prep, lathering, and technique. For face prep, I just washed my face with a wet rag and placed a hot rag on as hot as I can stand. Taking a full shower beforehand would have softened my,skin more thoroughly. My lathering was too thick and I tended to drag the razor a bit. MWF is a very good soap, but in retrospect, its finicky lathering qualities probably make it not the best choice for a first time wet shaver.

With my technique, the angle was fine as I went for about 2 spine heights. My problem was that I didn't stretch the skin as well as I should have done. This caused me to make multiple passes just to get smooth as I wanted. But I soon figured it out and my shaves soon were irritation free.

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I agree ....
The skin is fresh for newbies to the straight, and has not adjusted to the exfoliating effects of a straight.
The exfoliate properties make are skin produce lanolin type oil (dont recall proper word) quicker over time.
In essence.... Your face is not tempered yet!!!! JMHO

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rodb

Very true I didn't think of that. Maybe just shaving in general. I remember my 1st shave at 13 with my dad's Gillette adjustable DE and it wasn't pretty..lol!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by outback

I agree ....
The skin is fresh for newbies to the straight, and has not adjusted to the exfoliating effects of a straight.
The exfoliate properties make are skin produce lanolin type oil (dont recall proper word) quicker over time.
In essence.... Your face is not tempered yet!!!! JMHO

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Hello to another fellow Akronite!!! Technically I'm in Cuyahoga Falls, but Akron is easier to find on a map. :)

Anyway, even so, one can still get razor burn. We all have off days for anything and shaving is no exception. Just today, I have some burn right in the corners where the upper and lower lips meet. Some days I get it there while others I do not. I had the same thing from time to time with cartridges.

But don't let that worry you. Razor burn is easily tamed with a cold rag afterwards as well as using an alcohol free, cooling post shave balm such as Nivea. I'd still rather have a little bit of razor burn from a SR but with a BBS/DFS shave than a burn free cartridge shave that's not as close. :)

Bravo to you.

never to young to begin

Hello again every one!

First of all I must apologize for not getting back in touch, but I'd just like to thank you all for the deep information you gave me! Believe me when I say that I read it all and had taken it in.

I'm now 18, I have a very in depth knowledge on shaving with a straight, honing, face prep etc. Most of my knowledge is thanks to you all and throughout my journey as a Straight razor user! It took me about 4 months to finally get the knack of what I was doing, fully.

I found someone near me whom helped me learn and practice my technique. (it was very sloppy at first as you may have guessed)

2 years down the line and I am still enjoying every shave I have!

Again, thank you ALL! Take care, stay classy.

~Ellis

Alright, way to go. I hope you have continued success.

Bob

Thankyou Bob!

Good to hear from you again.
Congratulations for sticking with it, for they only keep getting better and better.

I started when I was 17 and even now at 48 or 49 (don't care) I cant wait for the next morning ritual.
So why you not post your location.? Hell you might live just down the road from a bunch of us.
So how many of your pals think your nuts. I just love seeing peoples expression when they find out what I shave with, the girls usually want to feel how smooth my face is. [emoji6]

Thankyou! It has been definitely worth the 2 years!

Every time I shave about every 4 or 5 days, because I enjoy the grow back length, and I too look forward to it!

I don't know how to through settings and if I'm honest I'm not all too bothered but if the slight chance anyone on this thread is close to me then I'd be astounded! I live on the south coast of the UK, in a town called Eastbourne.

I'm always getting compliments on my soft skin, they have a tendency to touch it because they find my skin is very whole. I'll take any compliment I can get lol! :)

If you have time or projects related to shaving, there are spots here to hang out and learn other aspects. I am happy you have stuck with it and are having happy shaves. I started and then grew a beard for 20 years and came back.

I'll definitely keep that in mind, cheers!