Two things I wish someone had told me

[Bootstrap]

Here are two things that I wish someone had told me before my first shave:

1. The most important task is to learn how it feels when you are shaving correctly.

You can't know this before you start shaving, as you shave you begin to realize that some things work better than others. That's why beginner's instructions suggest that you try a little at a time, get comfortable with the grips, and get a feel for the razor.

It's easiest to learn how it should feel in the safer, simpler areas of your face. That's why beginner's instructions start there, and move on to other areas on later days.

And you only have to learn one way to hold the razor at first, if you stick to with-the-grain strokes on the easier parts of your face. That's good, because it's more important to learn what it feels like than to learn many ways to hold a razor.

2. He who hesitates is lost

Beginners are likely to try to position the razor on their face before moving it, just to get a feel for the razor and how it is held. That's a really good idea as long as the razor is not on your face.

But it's a really bad idea to hold a razor against your face without shaving. The razor is safest when it's moving in the right direction - use very little pressure, think of shaving the hair rather than the skin, and keep the first strokes short, 1 inch or so.

Now mind you, I'm still on day 7, I may be wrong about some of this, but learning these things helped me.