Professional Shave

In Lynn's First Straight Razor Shave he does not recommend shaving your entire face with a straight razor. I am not sure why, but I suspect it has something to do with getting your face used to the straight edge. But...

What if I have my face shaved professionally? Like say at the Art of Shaving store in San Fransisco?

Would this be ill-advised? Would you still recommend sections at a time, professional or no? Suppose you all say, "can't hurt" and I get professionally shaved; do I still need to do sections if I am shaving my own face?

Thanks,
Jason

First off, WELCOME! We're glad you're here!

Next, about the recommendation: It's mostly for your sake learning. It's much easier to shave your cheeks, and much easier to cut the dickens out of your neck and chin. Hence Lynn recommends you just do the cheeks until comfortable, then adding areas as you go. (Lynn, if I've learned all your teachings wrong, please correct me!)

About the AOS: I sure wouldn't. They sell some decent, if a bit overpriced stuff, but their people really aren't professionals in the older sense of the word. They are sales clerks who sell razors. You might do better looking for an old barber shop where they could shave you with a shavette- it wouldn't be quite the same as a straight, but you're more likely to find skilled hands.

OR the best of all, you could learn to do it yourself! We'll be happy to help. :D

AOS uses cartrige razors so having you entire face shaved would be fine... unless you get ingrown hairs with cartrige razors.

The reason Lynn recomends only a little bit at a time is because you are teaching your hand what to do. 'Muscle Memory' That is the main purpose for the slow start. Even after you are shaving your entire face you will need lots of practice (years) to get as good as some of the veteran shavers on the board are.

I personally only did the cheeks a couple of times and then moved to the entire face. I only did WTG passes for about a month. The other passes was with my Merkur HD DE. Slowly you work you way to XTG passes and for some (not all) ATG passes.

The recommendation to shave only the sides of your face when starting out has to do with gaining a comfort level with the razor and learning to control the pressure and angle of the blade. The relatively flat sides of your face are the easiest to shave and least likely to result in cuts and irritation. There is lots of info about this throughout the Newbie area of the forum. Also, Lynn just did a post about handling your first straight shave that has been stickied (and posted to the Wiki, I think).

Your skin may take a little time to adjust to straight shaving or it may not. Mine didn't, but I had already gone the DE and injector route for a while before trying a straight.

So, go ahead and get a barber shave. If the barber is good you should walk out iritation and nick free. The whole process is wonderful, I do it every chance I get. Bear in mind that unless the barber is exceptional you will be able to get a superior shave (from a closeness standpoint) by learning to do it yourself. After all, the barber gets one crack at it, and you get to practice every day.

Welcome to SRP!

Hey Jason,
Welcome to SRP. The other posts seem to answer your question adequately enough, but I just thought I would give you a recommendation on a straight razor shave in San Francisco. You should check out 1512 barbershop. It's at 1512 Pine St. Salvatore Cimino is a third generation barber who specializes in the traditional straight razor shave. This guy is the real deal. He will shave you with one of his vintage blades or you can bring your own in with you. You will have to make an appointment, but you can do it online at 1512barbershop.com or look it up and call him. I've been going to him since April and I wouldn't go anywhere else in SF for a shave or a haircut.

Sections at a time is more about the learning curve and gaining confidence with small successes that you can build upon.

However, my first time out I tried shaving my whole face with a very sharp disposable straight blade with a sharp spike point. A lot of weepers, a cut, and I had to call in the Mach 3 to finish it up. Each time, I still tried shaving the whole face and I used the Mach 3 to finish up. But each shave got gradually better and the Mach 3 was used less and less until I didn't need it anymore. One day I was using the Mach 3 to finish up and it wasn't cutting anything because I did it all with the straight. To my amazement, the straight was getting a better shave than the Mach 3. Today, my face is so use to a blade gliding along it WTG, XTG, & ATG. These days, the Mach 3 feels cheap, rough, and unrefined as a shaving tool.

From my humble beginnings, I can easily see how someone else could get discouraged trying the whole face the first time, so the sections part would have worked better for them.

AOS - overpriced and you are buying from sales people. Go with the on-line advertisers on SRP. Better prices, better selection & better service.

Welcome to SRP!

Pabster

Pabster

Go slow and enjoy the process. There are some things in life that should be enjoyed and not rushed. Using a straight razor is one of them. Once you have gained the touch both with the razor on your face and the razor on the stone you will have a much better insight into this art. Enjoy and welcome.

Lewis

All of the above posting are right on. One extra point of advice is don't think straight razor shaving is a quick way to shave. While learning it may take you 30 minutes to shave, and even after 6 months it take me 15 minutes or more to get a good shave, but don't you deserve it!!!!!!!!!!