Major Points of Straight Razor Shaving

Ok, I’ve been doing a ton of reading up so far on straight razors, how to use them, care for them, etc. My fear is that I’ve missed a fair bit of key information here and there as I’m still a full time student with 18 credit hours who’s maintaining a 3.95 GPA so far, and my brain seems a little… overwhelmed. So, here I’ll try and sum up the main “big ideas” that I’ve learned so far. These are either large concepts that are key, or small pieces of advice which are vital to getting a good shave. My primary intention with this is to lay it out for me so I remember it better while having it checked over by more experienced members, as well as to hopefully have it join the myriad of advice available here at SRP.

• Prep! Prep prep prep! Primary goal is to remove the skin oils from your beard and allow as much moisture into your hairs as possible. Minimum of 10 minutes, if not more, with lots of hot and wet. Hot towels, hot water, hot shower, hot face in a mini table sauna. The softer you can get your hair, the better the shave.

• Sharp! Really bloody Sharp! SPR HONEMISTER sharp! A razor that isn’t sharp enough will destroy your face better than some electrics out there, as well as make you hate shaving. Bottom line here is if it didn’t come from an SRP member as “SHAVE READY” than it isn’t. Mail it off to one of the guys here, they will make sure that it’s as sharp as it will get. “If it’s not SRP sharp, it’s an expensive face auger!”

• Lather is your warm, comfy friend. Lather should be moist and lubricating. A foam that just obscures the skin is good, much thicker and you’re wasting soap, not thick enough and your face will pay. Respect your face, and if need be, err on the side of caution. Practice making lather, as you can do it any time of day.

• Angle! You want to hold your razor 2 spine widths away from your face throughout the stroke. If you’re having trouble gliding over your face, check your angle. Practice with a popsickle stick. Feel free to wash it first if you don’t want your cheek to be super sticky. If the stroke feels funny think about your angle.

• No pressure. You should not have to push through your hairs. If you’ve prepped and lathered correctly, and your razor is SRP Honemiester sharp, than you will not have to push. Pushing leads to red lines and dots forming across your face, as well as fields of pink angry skin.

• No pressure. Take your time. Don’t rush. Be calm, and enjoy yourself. If you’re not going to have enough time, don’t use a straight. Treat this as a time to relax, get in touch with your fascination of sharp implements against your skin, and talk it over with your friend warm lather and hot towel. You can even “pamper” yourself.

• Take a break. If you’re having a rough time of things (razor burn, bleeding gashes, pulling hairs, etc) give it a day or three’s rest. Your face may need time to heal, you might need to shake a bad idea out of your head, your elbow could be too tense. A few days, and give it another go. You’ll thank yourself later.

• Don’t over do it. You don’t have to have a perfect, baby butt smooth shave the first time. Or the first 20. Or 50. It will come, and when it does, it will be glorious. Don’t force the glory, it will drop the L on your face. (that makes gory on your face. Yum)

Anything I missed? Anything I got totally wrong? Please tell me, before one of my SRP Honemister Sharp razors arrives in the mail and I do something horrible to my face!

You did good. Before you offend anyone its spelled honemiester. :) Just kidding.

Skin stretching and support under the stroke is helpful too.

Keep in perspective that most of the threads you read are emphatic comments to help fix a problem.

Generally, shaving with a straight razor isn't too far away from shaving in general, with the exception of learning angle, stroke, and stropping.

For example, good prep helps, but you might find that the difference between say 5 minutes of prep and 10 minutes are minimal. Good prep involves time and quality.

I'm not sure I would say the shaving stroke uses "no pressure", sometimes that gives the wrong idea. Very light pressure might be a better description. It depends on peoples interpretation.

Finally, its a skill. I know the internet world has spoiled us a little and we have begun to think that, armed with sufficient information we can do anything. Learning to shave with a straight is a little like riding a unicycle. Reading about it is only a small portion of the overall learning curve.

I think your next paper should be on honing.