First "Real" Shave

I posted a while ago about an issue I was having with a straight razor that my wife bought me, a kriegar. As you all advised I went on the classifieds on this website and bought a shave ready razor. It came in Friday and I got a chance to try it last night.

First, I took a warm shower and used conditioner on my week old beard. Second, I used pre-shave oil and then lathered up. I warmed the blade under hot water and started shaving my cheeks. I decided not to strop because I was afraid of messing up the blade and I wanted at least to see what "shave ready" felt like.

Let me tell you, it worked great until I got to the thickest area my beard, my neck. By the time I got to my neck , I had ran out of hot water and the razor started to pull really bad. I ended up with a little bit of razor burn on my neck, what caused this?

I think it was a combination of things.

1) Long shave time (had to relather 2x)- 20 mins

2) Not stropping

3) Improper technique.

4) week old long beard

What do you guys think?


Also, my blade came with chromium oxide - what is that for?

Hey sk8rgui,
This is merely my opinion on your questions:

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Originally Posted by sk8rgui

I posted a while ago about an issue I was having with a straight razor that my wife bought me, a kriegar. As you all advised I went on the classifieds on this website and bought a shave ready razor. It came in Friday and I got a chance to try it last night.

First, I took a warm shower and used conditioner on my week old beard. Second, I used pre-shave oil and then lathered up. I warmed the blade under hot water and started shaving my cheeks. I decided not to strop because I was afraid of messing up the blade and I wanted at least to see what "shave ready" felt like.

Let me tell you, it worked great until I got to the thickest area my beard, my neck. By the time I got to my neck , I had ran out of hot water and the razor started to pull really bad. I ended up with a little bit of razor burn on my neck, what caused this?

I think it was a combination of things.

1) Long shave time (had to relather 2x)- 20 mins
20 min and 2 latherings? Believe it or not, that's pretty good for a newb.

2) Not stropping
This depends. If the razor was hone by someone like Lynn, then not stropping would be acceptable. But if the blade wasn't truly shave ready then you should have stropped.

3) Improper technique.
Almost definitely. As a newb there is more than a good chance that technique would be a factor here. Things like blade angle/pressure and growth direction come into play. Going ATG , when inexperienced, can cause some serious razor burn too. Read some older threads or the Wiki for more info.

4) week old long beard
This could be subjective. Though facial hair is softer the longer it grows but IMHO a shorter beard would be better when shaving with a straight for the first time.

What do you guys think?
Overall not bad for a first shave. It does get better with practice. Lynn suggests taking it easy at first - start from your sideburn down to your jaw, and perhaps your cheek as well, then finish with your normal razor. As you get a feel for a straight you will become more confident.

Also, my blade came with chromium oxide - what is that for? Chrome ox is a finishing paste that can be used for minor touchups and smoothing out an already scary sharp blade.

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I hope this info helps. Good luck man.

1) There is no shame in re-lathering, lather is lubrication so the edge will glide over your skin but cut the whiskers, so if your lather dries out before the end of the shave dab on some more…. and take your time, there is no rush.
2) Usually our members who sell “shave ready” razors will pre-strop the razor before sending it out… and most will insist you do not strop the razor before the first shave.
3) I usually recommend shaving with the razor flat or almost flat on the face. If the angle is too high the whiskers will be coming at the edge “sideways” and will force the edge to “fold over”… future shaves may be uncomfortable.
4) And now for number four…. Every one of us has different whiskers and this may or may not be the issue but I believe… longer whiskers give the edge more work than necessary… I will try to explain…

Your face is round but the razor’s edge is straight. So picture a straight edge against a round surface, the edge will touch only a small part of the crest at a time, so edge will cut whiskers that are in direct contact with the edge, but will cut only the tops of whiskers over the crest of your round face (remember… those whiskers are long so they get in the way). When you shave another area of your face the edge will again cut those whiskers it previously cut the tops off.
So the edge may be cutting the same whisker multiple times. That one shaving session on a week old beard growth may be equivalent to 4 shaves… 4 shaves without stropping can be a bit hard on any razor… not to mention your face.

Give your face a couple of days to rest and try again… 2 days growth is not so bad. Go slow and do only your sideburns and cheek until you develop the skills to tackle the chin and other difficult areas… we all go through this… you will get there.


Keep us posted on your progress and don't forget we are all here to help.


Hope this “long wind” helps.

Congrats on your first str8 shave. My first str8 shave was at least 45 minutes! I probably re-lathered today's shave 8 times. If the lather looks thin, I add to it. If it looks dried out, I splash hot water on my face and re-lather. When a razor comes back from the honemeister, I do not strop the str8 the first shave. After that I strop 30 laps linen and 60 laps leather.

Technique - keep the str8 under 30 degrees. No pressure. The neck, moustache, and chin are difficult areas. Just shave the cheeks with the str8 and finish with your old razor. Just shave WTG. As you gain confidence and skill, add the XTG and ATG passes. Then add other areas of your face - slowly. There's a lot to learn and it's easier if you take baby steps.

As I've read many times on SRP: Don't try to remove all the whiskers in one pass - think beard reduction, not removal. Move slowly, no pressure, and stretch the skin. Aim for a comfortable shave and the BBS will follow. :gl:

Hello Nathan. I am sure it's just a matter of experience now. The one week growth might have been the problem. A two day growth seems to me to be the easiest to shave. Bring your blade to the Mid Mo Meetup and we will fine tune it for you. Also bring that Kriegar so we can give it a proper burial in my back yard.

bj

Ok. So I posted last night about my shaving experience on Sat, well I tried again tonight. I did all the same prep except this time I stropped the razor about 60 times or so. I made sure to really take my time stropping so not to dull the blade, I even re-stropped halfway through.

I did the pre-shave, the lather and then shaved. I did fine on my checks and lips, but my chin and my adams apple feel like i used sandpaper on it. I have the worst razor burn that I can remember. What went wrong? I tried to keep the angle to a minimum, I relathered, I took my time.

One side note is that I have a slight allergy to nickle, I have never been able to wear cheapo watches due to the nickle backs. Could that be part of my problem. Is there nickle in straight razors? I know mine is a high carbon blend.

Will the razor burn get better over time, does my skin just need to toughen up and get used to the new shave?

A bit frustrating, but I am not one to give up!

The chin and the neck are tough spots. Stick with the cheeks for a while until you get used to moving the str8 around. Finish your shave with your DE, cart, or whatever you used to use. It will take your skin time to adapt to the str8. Try using a skin balm until your skin adjusts. If you can, give your face a day off between str8 shaves. Use your DE, cart, whatever on your rest day if you must shave every day.

Hang in there. It gets better.

You may see some reddening on your face for a week or so until your skin gets used to the straight razor, but heavy burn is a totally different thing. That is usually caused by improper angle (blade not flat enough on your face) and dry lather. Other factors can be not enough proper stropping (I use 70 passes after linen) or just bad stropping technique in general. This is my face prep process:

Hot shower, badger brush soaks in steaming hot water while I shower.
Wash face in the shower, then apply conditioner to the beard area.
after rinsing everything off, press a super hot washcloth on my face for a few minutes.

Once out of the shower rub preshave oil into my beard.
Follow this up with more hot washcloth pressing into my face (hold it there for a few minutes, rag should be HOT).
Apply lather to my face, keep adding water to the brush to make the lather slick (not too much!)

Strop while lather rests on my face.

Shave.

the hot towel thing really makes a difference with a straight shave.

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the hot towel thing really makes a difference with a straight shave.

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Good to know. Thanks!