2nd shave...questions

Hi everyone,

Shave #2 is in the bag, and I'm still loving it. I've switched my routine from morning shower/shave to evening shaves to give myself more time during the learning curve, but I'm enjoying the end of day relaxation, so I might keep it up.

I had my first problem with lather today, a shaving cream sample from Origins just flat out didn't lather. I finally gave up and switched back to the SRD soap, and got a nice lather going. But I realized for my first question, how much lather is enough? Realizing the correct answer is going to be enough to cover your face for as many passes as you're doing...but more I'm wondering, when do the veterans feel like they have enough lather in the bowl, mug, etc? Should it primarily be in the brush, and I'm just a nervous rook that would like to see a pile in the bowl? Do you like to see a thin to decent coating around the edges of the mug before you say, "right, enough of that, time to apply!"?

I tried the neck today for the first time, just a WTG pass, but that is something of a rush feeling the blade pass over your trachea. I got a little bit of razor burn in the usual spot just under the point of my jaw on the left, but (probably just self-delusion) it seems like there's less than with a cartridge. However, I did notice as I was nearing the end of the shave, that I tend to go back a LOT and re-shave areas that I've already passed over and are no longer lathered. Sometimes returning 3 or 4 times, In part I think because my beard is dark enough I keep thinking I missed spots and go back to touch up...habit from cartridges I think. So first, I know I need to develop a pattern and stick to it. But I was also wondering, how bad is this habit? Is it something I should train myself hard to stop doing? Or does everyone not making a video of how to shave go back over places a few times (occasionally) before re-lathering?

Thanks very much for suggestions and advice!

Best,
Greg

i don't use a bowl, i just make the lather straight on my face, so everything beyond pass #1 comes from the brush.
it's easy to get experience with lather though, you can just set aside half an hour and do it over and over until you get the hang of it. once you've made it cover your face, rinse it, repeat and see how many passes it lasts you. then correct for the amount on the next try.
of course when you shave for real there is some time between passes and the lather will typically diminish a little bit, more if you haven't done it well, but as a first approximation practicing should get you quite close.

as far as multiple passes, i don't know how bad it is, i'd aim for not doing it, unless you don't get irritation from it in which case, i guess it doesn't matter too much.

I have always used about an almond size amount of cream for lather
I would think your soap just did not like your tap water, try distilled water and see how it works.

For the razor burn, after the pass with the razor run a finger in the same direction as the razor and if you feel just the smooth skin, then you move on, no need to come back untill your next pass (XTG or ATG) even if it seems like there is whiskers there.

Gugi - I haven't really considered face lathering yet, for some reason intuitively it seems more advanced/tricky to me, but maybe I'll give it a shot. As for the multiple passes, I'm not getting irritation on my cheeks (I think), but I think you're right that I should aim to not do it. Self control!

Mainaman - I ended up using about double almond size. I'm curious how different soaps are affected by water, because I THINK I'm getting decent lather from the SRD soap (looks like microfoam, etc), but not the cream. I'll definitely take your suggestion and try filtered water next time around and see if there's a difference with the lather.

And thanks very much for the suggestion about feeling the skin. For some reason I've always wanted to keep my hand off my face when shaving, I need to relearn that this is a tactile pastime, and it's ok to touch my face rather than just rely on my eyes as the sole judge.

Cheers!
Greg

Stephan,

Wow! You just saved me hours of experimentation. I read this last night and this morning my shave (only my 5th shave) was the BEST YET! I too had been obsessively going over some spots WTG, only to fail in trimming the whiskers and causing occasional (albeit inconsequential) nicks. This morning I shaved in 3 separate passes with applying lather between each pass: WTG, XTG, then ATG. My shave was fantastic - I hardly missed anything and definitely had a BBS shave. Although it's all there in Lynn's video and in multiple other places, I guess I just didn't realize that I wasn't totally following instructions. Thanks - you made my day.

Greg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mainaman

...after the pass with the razor run a finger in the same direction as the razor and if you feel just the smooth skin, then you move on, no need to come back untill your next pass (XTG or ATG) even if it seems like there is whiskers there.

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I'm with gugi on this one...I build the lather directly on my face. A nice advantage of this is that you can add more soap if you need it. e.g. lather up for a 1st pass, and if there's not enough lather left on the brush for a second, simply swirl it around on the puck a few more times.

Thanks guys, maybe I will give face lather a shot! I love all the experimentation I get to do in pursuit of the perfect straight shave.

IME having started as a face latherer I do better in the bowl. My best lather comes from loading the brush on a puck of soap and using the almond sized bit of cream in the bowl. Until I watched Mantic's videos on youtube I wasn't getting great lather. I wasn't taking enough time or adding enough water.

YouTube - How To Build And Apply Traditional Shaving Lather

Thanks, Jimmy.I definitely learned yesterday that I wasn't using enough water. I think getting a brush bigger than a wee scot will help too...just not comfortable in my hand. Thanks for the suggestion, I do need to try the soap and cream mix someday too.

Best,
Greg