Thread: First Shave - Did not go well

I, like Matt, wonder what your pre-shave preparation was. It is not clear from the description of your shave. You need to prep your beard, either with a hot shower and/or hair conditioner or a hot towel to soften the whiskers prior to shaving.

You may also want to recheck your blade angle, perhaps reducing it a bit from the 30 degree angle you are holding the blade at. Perhaps 20-25 degrees?

Just my 2 cents

It's going to take a few shaves before you get the hang of it. The angle is tricky. If anything, try less of an angle. Two days of growth probably didn't help matters either. Maybe just try the sideburn area first, until you get the hang of it. Like the other guys mentioned, prep is important, Hot Shower, or Hot Towel...Pre shave oil helps, you can even use Olive Oil if you don't have anything else, a few drops goes a long way....Some guys even use hair conditioner in shower on their beard.....

I`ve only been straight shaving for a month. I had loads of tugging on my first few goes aswell. Angle was a big problem for me at first too, I was too shallow. When you eventually get it right (and you will) it`ll be so satifying ! I felt like I`d hit a sweet spot with it, all of a sudden, I got the angle right and it worked really well so stick with it and just take it easy! Eeeeeasy. I caught myself getting a little frustrated a few times and had the good sense to put the razor down before I cut myself and finish up with my M3. My point is, it just takes a while. I`ve gotten to the stage where I can do an acceptable shave (nothing special) most times. I`ve been lucky enough to have ONE amazing shave so far too which was very very encouraging. So dispair not! Only a few steps down the line and you`ll start making progress......