Thread: Frustrated Newbie Seeking Advice

Just got one of the same feathers and blades myself for my birthday in September. They are lazer sharp but a little palm stropping will soften the edge. As has been said a couple times pressure is a big point. You only need contact not pressure. The blade will do all the work you literally just want to kiss the skin and float over it. Do basic strokes and finish with the de till you have the feel for it and add more as your skills grow. Good luck

The Feather Artist Club blades are quite sharp. Thus, proper technique is crucial. As has been mentioned by others you have to use a very light pressure when shaving. The blade should contact your skin, but not depress it significantly. Also, keeping the blade angle low will allow the blade to do the job for which it was designed, removing your beard without removing a lot of skin cells. The spine of the razor should barely clear your face.

Also remember that what causes cuts is lateral movement of the blade. You can hold the blade between your thumb and forefinger (with one or the other toughing the sharp edge) without cutting yourself, but as soon as there is lateral movement, blood will flow. Thus, focus on making straight strokes with the razor.

When starting out with a straight razor or shavette, I recommend that you start out shaving only your cheek. With your vision issue, you might even want to stick with one cheek. Shave that with the grain until you are comfortable holding the razor and moving it across your cheek. You can then finish your shave with the DE razor you have used for years.

Once you are comfortable with one cheek, practice with the other cheek until you are comfortable with that one. Even though your might not be able to see quite as well on that side, try to focus on the feel of the razor in your hand and the feel of the blade on your skin. Being able to see what you are doing is not as important as being able to sense what you are doing.

After you can shave both cheeks with confidence, then move on to the more difficult parts of your face: jawline, neck, chin, and stache. Shave with the grain until you are confident in your ability to shave these areas. Only then should you start the process all over learning to shave across the grain and against the grain.

I know you are concerned about needing to shave with your dominant hand only due to your vision. However, you may find that your opposite hand can still be used. When shaving WTG, I shave with the hand on that side of the face. However, when shaving ATG, I find it easier to reverse my grip on the razor and shave with the opposite hand. However, some folks shave with their dominant hand only. Do whatever feels best for you. Learning to use your opposite hand may feel awkward at first, but if you follow the same pattern you used for the initial learning process, you may find that it comes more easily than you think.

There's a lot of good advice here. The only thing I would add is on the importance of skin stretching. This will help for the Hard-to-reach areas like the jawline and the adam's apple. It's also important for getting a close shave, once you get past the basics.

But definitely take it slow, and know when to put down the shavette and go back to what works before you hurt yourself!

Wow... This has been fantastic. I can't thank you guys enough for all the great replies, friendly tips, and all-around confidence building. I'm sure I'm not the first to try this and think, what the hell am I doing with this thing?!

I read every reply very carefully, many multiple times, and then gave it another go a little while ago... WITH SUCCESS!!! Let me explain.

The Feather Professional blades are evil for first timers like me. I switched to the new Feather Professional Softguard blades I received yesterday, and, OMG, what a huge difference!

The biggest advice I carefully applied from all your replies was 1) only do one pass for now, 2) don't try for a baby-butt finish, 3) apply short strokes with the blade fairly flat, and 4) LIGHT pressure!

Anyone reading this who is new, like me, I *highly* recommend the Softguard to start. The blades have these little ribs of metal that reach over the blade, keeping it from sinking completely in the skin. They are very forgiving to angle differences and variations in pressure.

So, with frightened respect, I tried it again and had no cuts, nicks, or weepers--NONE! I was amazed! At first, I limited my shaving to only the cheeks, but that went so well that I ventured closer to my chin. That went so well, I did the chin, then the jaw, then below the jaw, then the entire neck and Adam's apple. I washed off the soap after this first pass and felt. What a fantastically uniform first pass. I could still feel bristles, but that's to be expected after the first pass. The bristles felt uniform over my whole face. I thought of doing the second pass with the SR, but decided not to press my luck and listen to you guys. After a week or two, I'll try the second pass. Some areas still feel a little awkward, so I need to nail down my technique and get so there are no areas that feel awkward.

As suggested, I finished my second pass with my DE razor. Funny... The DE razor gave me a few weepers, as usual, but the SR with the Feather Softguard blades did not!

I've read spotty reviews about these Softguard blades, so I was expecting they wouldn't work well for me. But they most definitely did! I'm actually excited to wait a few days so I can shave again. I'm curious to see how close they get when I finally put them to the test on an entire shave (first pass, second pass, and touchup).

One question to you guys: I tend to wait two or three days between shaves. The DE razor is a little rough on my face for everyday shaving. All shavers I've ever used in my ~38 years of shaving have been a bit harsh. I've tried probably three dozen different blades on my DE, and none of them are mild enough to allow me to shave daily. I have sensitive skin. Do you guys find SR shaving to be easier on the skin than DE or commercial razors?

Okay... To address a few people who provided some super comments:

dinnermint: Great advice about the mirror! I hadn't thought of that. When I DE shave, I don't use a mirror to see my face. Being blind on one side, I can shave by feel. I only use it to get my starting point. I start my shave at a specific point on my sideburn so both sideburns are the same length. So I need to see where the SR is starting to ensure the two sideburns are uniform in length. The mirror you suggested is a great idea! Hadn't thought of that--thank you!

jfk742: Your suggestion (which a few others also stated) of pulling the skin up to move the skin on the jaw to a better shaving location was a great suggestion. Did it with today's shave with great success! Also did this with the Adam's apple. I'm learning, skin pulling is far more important with SR shaving than with DE shaving.

Don't mean to leave others out... There were a lot of replies here. I just wanted to report my progress/success today and thank everyone. I was considering trying to figure out how to back out of SR shaving, knowing my loving wife was so kind to spend the money on this shaving system. I didn't want to go that route and break the news to her.

Funny... After I shaved, she came in and I excitedly reported all this success. She just smiled and said, "That's nice, dear," and walked away. Ha! I think getting excited over shaving is a guy thing!

Originally Posted by FeatherMan

One question to you guys: I tend to wait two or three days between shaves. The DE razor is a little rough on my face for everyday shaving. All shavers I've ever used in my ~38 years of shaving have been a bit harsh. I've tried probably three dozen different blades on my DE, and none of them are mild enough to allow me to shave daily. I have sensitive skin. Do you guys find SR shaving to be easier on the skin than DE or commercial razors?

Very good to hear that you are having success with the shavette.

I have been a daily shaver for 50 years with DEs, carts, electric and finally straight razors. It might be that your face is not that sensitive but that your shaving technique is a little off with a DE.

Find the right angle to use by placing the top cap of the DE flat on your face with the handle parallel to the floor. Then lower the handle till you just feel the blade on your face. That should be near enough the right angle to use and you have to maintain that around all the curves on your face. Just try and let the weight of the razor do the work for you when shaving as in very little to no weight on the blade. Give that a go and see if you have less or no irritation.

Bob

With a very sharp blade you don't want the blade "fairly" flat... you want it VERY flat against the face, nearly dragging the spine on the skin. FAIRLY flat, a normal shave angle, is with a gap between the face and the spine equal to one spine thickness, on a straight razor. Stand the spine further out away from the face than that, and you are scraping your face, not shaving it, and you will cut yourself a lot more, especially if the skin is not stretched very tightly.

Glad you got it working for you. Once your confidence is up and your muscle memory is kicking in, you should consider trying the Pro blades again. They are very good blades and will give you a great shave.

Glad to hear our words helped another newbie. It makes us all feel good so thank you for the good report.

I dug through my blade drawer and found the Pro Guard Blades by Feather. Took a close look and they do have an extra piece on them. I will give them a try sometime. As far as doing a finish with a DE, You could wait and shave the next day with the Shavette. This will allow you to shave daily and for your whiskers to be longer and that alone can help to give a more comfortable shave. I find that skipping a day makes for better shaves. Longer whiskers.

Most newbies that come here say they have sensitive skin. Its normally because of your abilities. Now it is possible you may, but... I too thought I had sensitive skin when I started with a straight. Nope. It was me.

The blade angle is very important. With a DE most will say to start around the 30-degree angle. The way Bob said to do it is best as not all razors are the same. With a straight, the one spine width is a good starting point. But you are not using a straight. With that Shavette, make it as flat to your skin as possible and still cut. Too low and it won't cut. Too high and it will cut more than whiskers. LOL.

I am glad to see you are making progress. I guess the Softgard blades are sort of like training wheels on a bike. If they help you get started and develop the skills you need....wonderful!

If you are getting skin irritation even using a DE razor, there are a few things that might help.
1. Be sure your face and beard are properly prepared for the shave. I like to shower before my shave using shampoo and conditioner on both my hair and my face to be sure the beard is clean and hydrated. That make it far easier to shave.
2. You might be different, but I find that if I wait too long between shaves, my beard is harder to shave and I can get more irritation.
3. Consider upgrading your lather. Nearly any soap and cream will work for those whose face is not sensitive. However, if you do have sensitive skin, using a superb soap that offers outstanding slickness, ample cushion to protect your skin from the blade, and wonderful post-shave moisturizing and conditioning can make a big difference.
4. People with sensitive skin often think that they can reduce irritation by using a mild razor and a mild blade. However, if you end up applying pressure during the shave because your razor is not efficient enough to do the job or the blade is not sharp enough for your beard, then you might be creating more irritation.

Originally Posted by FeatherMan

...
Funny... After I shaved, she came in and I excitedly reported all this success. She just smiled and said, "That's nice, dear," and walked away. Ha! I think getting excited over shaving is a guy thing!

Yeah - this is very true. After a particularly good shave I’ve often asked my wife to feel my face so she can see how smooth it is. Usually she does and then remarks the same way every time - that’s nice honey - end of excitement!

Adam

You have gotten great advice. I'll just add "go slow" not only on each shave but with trying to add face areas and techniques. It will come together with time if you're patient.

BobH has hit the nail on the head with DE. Angle (and light pressure) are the keys.