Thread: Fun 1st..... Suggestions?

Gentlemen.

Noob here. Bought all of my shaving equipment, and read all I could, and watched Lynn's video. I decided before I tried to shave myself, I would have a professional do it so I could watch closely and get the feeling of the pressure to use when I shave.

When I arrived at the barbershop, the girl was finishing up a straight shave on an older gent, who told me how good she was and that he came to her 2 times a week for the treatment. The girl, Judy, used disposable straight blades. I was in her chair for 2 hours while she conditioned my face,hot towel and tried to shave me, changed blades, conditioned me again, another hot towel. She repeated this process literally 5 times, including the blade changes. Needless to say, she shreaded me up pretty bad. She told me that my beard was extremely coarse, and grew in all directions, and that she had never seen growth like that in the 20 years she has been shaving people. She appologised profusely, and refused my cash. (although I left it anyway).

Anyhow, the experience was making me second guess myself, and considering not to try the shave. I decided this morning that I am going to do it anyway and that I would ask for any suggestions on this forum before I start. I think I will let my beard grow out for a couple of days, though first.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Regards,
Mark

Wow it's to bad you had that bad experience. A Shavette is not a straight razor. I hope you have a razor that has been sharpened by a qualified honemeister. The face needs some adjustments and toughening as you proceed with shaving. You will do fine by keeping the angle low at first and using a light touch. Shave prep is very important with the beginner also. Take your time and you will be OK. It will take a month or two to get comfortable with your new hobby. Have fun.

bj

Well if you've ever had a decent shave before using some other tool(disposable razor, or electric) than I see no reason a straight can't do the job with a little practice.
If you don't mind me asking, what type of straight razor did you purchase?

Like with all new folks, I strongly recommend that you start off by only shaving from the sideburn down to the jaw on one side of the face for a couple days to learn how to hold the razor and the proper angle for cutting your whiskers. Once you feel comfortable there, move to the cheek. Next do the same on the other side of the face with the other hand. Then the down stroke on the neck. If you are starting to feel really comfy, move to the chin and take it on over a couple days. Lot's of angles to play with and the tendency there is to flatten out the angle of the razor. You can move on the against the grain strokes from here and the up stroke under the neck.

Take is slow and adjust to the razor and you should do fine. Your face may feel a little dry for a couple days, but that should go away and a nice balm or skin food after shave should help.

Enjoy,

Lynn

Thanks for the input! It is much appreciated. As far as my razor. I bought a beautifully redone, ready to shave World-Master from RayG.

Hi submarines, where did you go. I've had looked for places that do straight shaves and there few and far between.
Also, are you a Nav. Vet?

Spent 10 years riding boats. Loved every minute of it.

I went to the Auburn Barbershop at the corner of Rt. 44 and East Washington st. in Auburn Township, Ohio. Prior to that, I hit up every barbershop in the area. No one does it anymore. A couple of the shops told me to go to the barber school in East Cleveland, But I didn't want to get shot after my shave.

Quintanas Barbershop in Cleveland Hts. does them. I've heard of a shop near downtown Cleveland but don't know the name.

There's an oldtimer in Solon too they say still does them. One of theses days I'll get to it.

More power too ya man. I was offered sub duty but felt I'd be better off on the surface.

I took a lot of advice from the people in this community and although I'm only on my fourth shave I make sure to do a good pre-shave prep and only shave my side burns and cheeks. Now I have a good feel for the blade and am comfortable with less pressure then I started with. My next shave I'm going for the chin. Just take your time and don't let a bad experience stop you. You'll develop your own technique soon enough. From what I've been reading anywhere between 1-3 months your skin will adapt to the blade.
Oh yes, do not go ATG!