Thread: Worst shave I ever had

When I switched over to str8s,I shaved all the easy areas with the str8 and shaved the harder areas with a DE.Little by little as I got my angle down I would shave a little more around my problem areas till it became easy and put my DE away.Dont be in such a hurry to slit your throat.Take your time.You'll come around.

Originally Posted by BeeEss

I do not know what I am doing wrong.

Probably a hundred things that you'll only be able to iron out with practice. Reread all your books and material every few shaves and keep practicing.

I don't think there's any other way

First, the skin on your face needs to become accustomed to the new kind of blade. The sharpness and complete openness of the straight blade can be hard on your disposable-conditioned skin at first. Try going a couple days in between shaves until you're seeing less irritation.

Second, take it SLOW and vary the angle of the blade on your face a bit. Sometimes, it's not always 30˚. And if you have to push down on the blade to get it to cut, your blade is not sharp enough anymore.

Third, I'm not sure what your stropping technique looks like right now, but I would suggest taking it very slow. Concentrate on keeping that blade flat, follow the X pattern, and make sure that the strop is flat as well as taut.

Just some ideas,

As a new straight shaver myself I second....or third....what was said above about taking it easy. I still haven't completely switched. Each time I shave I feel more comfortable and I shave a little more with the straight and less with the DE. This has allowed me to better learn proper angles before I get to the more delicate areas of my face.

Also, I don't know that you said if you did or not but you may want to only go with the grain until you become more used to the straight razor.

Worst comes to worst give your face some time to heal before jumping back in, you may be just irritating the areas over and over again. The day you finish you shave routine with a BB smooth face and little to no irritation it will all be worth it.