Thread: First shave

Well I got my razor today and gave it a shot, I showered and lathered up, the mug I had planned to use turned out to be to deep and narrow so I had a hard time swirling the brush and getting a good lather but eventually it worked its way up. I spent a couple minutes lathering my face and gave it a go. One of the first things I noticed was that the blade seemed to stick to my face, this concerned me because I was having visions of me taking a nice big lunchmeat shaped slice off of my cheek. I lathered again and it seemed to stick less. I made it through my entire face and neck but had to go over some areas several times. I put aloe on after and have almost no razor burn.


Questions,

What angle do I want to hold the blade at, when I did a very shallow angle, as in almost flat on my skin it did no seem to cut. And when I did a very steep angle like on my jaw at almost 90% it seemed to just make a scraping noise but didn't cut either. Is there a magic angle that will help me get under my jaw and neck? I am super smoother on my cheeks and around my mouth but under my jaw and neck it feels like it did with my electric. Is this likely just because I am new to it and don't have the touch yet or am I doing something very wrong?

I started on my neck at the bottom and shaved up and when I got near my jaw I went side to side.

Originally Posted by Nurumkin

Well I got my razor today and gave it a shot, I showered and lathered up, the mug I had planned to use turned out to be to deep and narrow so I had a hard time swirling the brush and getting a good lather but eventually it worked its way up. I spent a couple minutes lathering my face and gave it a go. One of the first things I noticed was that the blade seemed to stick to my face, this concerned me because I was having visions of me taking a nice big lunchmeat shaped slice off of my cheek. I lathered again and it seemed to stick less. I made it through my entire face and neck but had to go over some areas several times. I put aloe on after and have almost no razor burn.


Questions,

What angle do I want to hold the blade at, when I did a very shallow angle, as in almost flat on my skin it did no seem to cut. And when I did a very steep angle like on my jaw at almost 90% it seemed to just make a scraping noise but didn't cut either. Is there a magic angle that will help me get under my jaw and neck? I am super smoother on my cheeks and around my mouth but under my jaw and neck it feels like it did with my electric. Is this likely just because I am new to it and don't have the touch yet or am I doing something very wrong?

I started on my neck at the bottom and shaved up and when I got near my jaw I went side to side.

Congrats on making it through your first shave successfully.

Generally people recommend an angle of about 30 degrees. It's not set in stone, but it is a useful start until you can decide what works best for you. Play around with the angle (small variations from that 30 degrees) over your next few shaves - you should feel what cuts best and give you the smoothest shave. And just to add to the confusion some more, different parts of the face can require different angles too. But don't worry, it becomes almost subconscious after a little while.

The neck can be a problematic area - do you know how your beard grows there? (direction of growth and so on)

James.

I suspect that I'm using a little over 30 degrees, it's working pretty well for me. It takes some play and a lot of trial and error to really get it right. Just keep working and everything will get better over time.

Use your senses....

Start flat on your skin and gently pull up the back of your blade, motioning down your face.. Once you will hear the hair being cut, that will be the right angle for you..

Enjoy!

Originally Posted by Karakoup1

Use your senses....

Start flat on your skin and gently pull up the back of your blade, motioning down your face.. Once you will hear the hair being cut, that will be the right angle for you..

Enjoy!

Good Advice!!

Take a gander at Dr. Moss' The Art of the Straight Razor Shave. I found it very helpful.