Thread: First real SR shave

BrickBag,

Thanks for sharing this first experience.
A very in depth description of what/how things were done!!
Congrats!!

Regards,

RazorBack

Alright, I had my third shave with the same razor yesterday. It was in 1 word: awesome. The whiskers were quite long from a week without shaving, but that didn't prove to be a problem.

Preperations
I took a half hour shower in which I washed my hair and beard with shampoo. Then the entire beard was treated with hair conditioner to soften up the whiskers.

I then made the lather(again with TheBodyShop Macaroot cream), which was even better then before(I'm getting the hang of this). Applied it and started stropping the razor.

Stropping
First 20 laps on the linen side, warmed up the leather side by rubbing it with my hands and stropped 40 times on the leather side. After a quick armhair test(where the hairs popped off while the blade was above the skin) I was ready to shave

The shave
At first I was reluctant to start shaving because the experiences of last time were still quite fresh in memory. After the first couple of WTG passes I got confident again. The blade was smoothly cutting the whiskers. At one point I accidentally shaved ATG on my neck. Usually this causes some nicks and scrapes. However, due to the thorough preparation, this didn't cause any problems.

The second and third passes were ATG. Again, no problems here.

Aftermath
After cleaning up my face with a warm towel, I applied a cold towel to my face. Now normally the aftershave balm stings a little bit, but after using the cold towel it didn't.

I cut myself on the last pass on my neck, but it wasn't bleeding after using the cold towel, so it's minor.

Because I didn't shave ATG this time, I was a little bit disappointed by the smoothness of the shave. Feeling WTG and ATG was really soft. But ATG had a really bad stingy feeling to it, but that was to be expected.

Observations
- Good stropping is key to good shaving
- Hair conditioner works very well in softening whiskers

In the future
- Keep practising stropping
- Don't shave with your girlfriend in the other room, she kept calling me, disturbing my concentration.
- Shave more often(bi-daily) to get the hang of it faster
- Buy some more creams and soaps to practice building lather.

Originally Posted by BrickBag

bleeding after using the cold towel, so it's minor.

Because I didn't shave ATG this time, I was a little bit disappointed by the smoothness of the shave. Feeling WTG and ATG was really soft. But ATG had a really bad stingy feeling to it, but that was to be expected.

In the future
- Keep practising stropping
- Don't shave with your girlfriend in the other room, she kept calling me, disturbing my concentration.
- Shave more often(bi-daily) to get the hang of it faster
- Buy some more creams and soaps to practice building lather.

First - congratulations - sounds like it is coming together for you quite nicely.

A couple of things. Over time, keep lightening up your pressure while shaving. This comes with experience and will do wonders to get that ATG pass more comfortable.

The only time I ever cut myself was when my wife was in the bathroom talking to me - so yeah, concentration is a must.

Finally, I don't know about shaving twice a day. A straight razor is one hell of an exfoliate. You need some time for skin cells to rejuvenate. I think I push it at once a day, and there are guys that do every other day.

Keep pushing - it only gets better!

Originally Posted by Alembic

First - congratulations - sounds like it is coming together for you quite nicely.

A couple of things. Over time, keep lightening up your pressure while shaving. This comes with experience and will do wonders to get that ATG pass more comfortable.

I am perhaps a little unclear there, I didn't shave ATG, only felt ATG. And the whiskers felt stingy. But expected as I didn't shave in that direction

Originally Posted by Alembic

The only time I ever cut myself was when my wife was in the bathroom talking to me - so yeah, concentration is a must.

Finally, I don't know about shaving twice a day. A straight razor is one hell of an exfoliate. You need some time for skin cells to rejuvenate. I think I push it at once a day, and there are guys that do every other day.

Hmm maybe a little unclear again on my side, I meant once every two days.

Originally Posted by Alembic

Keep pushing - it only gets better!

Even better?!

Congratulations! Don't worry about the time element. It's the fastest half hour of my day!

Originally Posted by flyman

Congratulations! Don't worry about the time element. It's the fastest half hour of my day!

It's the finest whatever-how-long of the day . I never worry about the time. I take it.

[QUOTE=BrickBag;678381]I am perhaps a little unclear there, I didn't shave ATG, only felt ATG. And the whiskers felt stingy. But expected as I didn't shave in that direction
/QUOTE]

My mistake - I thought you had - but nonetheless - your shaves really get comfortable when the right amount of pressure is used. We state "no pressure" or "just the weight of the blade".

This is just something you learn over time.

[QUOTE=BrickBag;678381]
Hmm maybe a little unclear again on my side, I meant once every two days. /QUOTE]

I think bi-daily means twice a day. I think "every two days" is correct. How often are you shaving now?

Originally Posted by BrickBag

Even better?!

Now this is clear!

Alembic, I used to shave once a week. I love to grow a beard and trim+shave it(with straight shaving the trimming isn't necessary). Because apart from shaving I also like facial hair(sounds almost paradoxical).
And I still shave once a week, but I want to increase the amount of shaving to get a feeling for the technique and build up muscle memory for stropping, which I do daily.

The shaving is easy, as I have a full goatee with mustache and a 5 inch long chinbeard. So I don't have to shave the upper lip or do a coup de maître for the time being. When my technique is good I'll try to do the upper lip.

I try not to use pressure, but sometimes it seems a necessity. It doesn't hurt or feel uncomfortable, so I don't see the harm in that. But I'll try to shave without any pressure the next time(maybe tonight).

Alright,

Just finished another shave, the results:
Cheeks => very good shave
Neck => not so much

Preparation
Shower(using conditioner on the whiskers) => make and apply lather => strop(25 linen, 45 leather) => relather => shave.

The shave
The lather looked and felt the same as last time but it was taken up by my skin rather quickly. Halfway during the first pass I relathered the not-yet-shaven part of my face.

Without using pressure the blade slid easily across my cheeks(WTG), when I came to my neck the blade had some trouble cutting the whiskers, it wasn't uncomfortable, but noticeable.

I then made some new lather as I wasn't satisfied with it. Applied and shaved XTG. Again the cheeks were fine, but the razor had some trouble with the neck. I restropped the razor and the shave was a little better

The aftershave
After cleaning my face with a warm, wet towel I noticed some redness on my neck. Which I had expected after the feeling while shaving. I then finished with a very cold, wet towel and dried my skin.

To tame the red spots, I wetted my alum block and applied to my face and neck. It did not sting at all! Which I found strange, as it usually stings like hell. After cleaning the alum off my face I applied aftershave balm.

Stropped the razor 10 times on the linen and 20 times on the leather.

The feeling
WTG and XTG on the cheeks is flawless, on the neck it is a bit rough, but not bad.
As no ATG was done, it is stubbly in that direction.

The neck doesn't feel bad, the red spots are now(1.5 hours after shaving) almost gone.

Observations
- The razor gives a high-pitched ziiiing when stropped. I assume this is the sharpness(confirmed by shaving arm hairs)
- Closing the pores with a cold towel really works

Next time
- Shower => lather => strop => hot towel => relather => shave
- ATG on the cheeks(but not the neck)
- Even less pressure
- Maybe use a different soap to compare

Cheers,

BrickBag

Sooooo,

I've been a bit lacks in reporting here but I had 3 shaves in the last week. A short report on all 3:

The first of the three
First one was Saturday a week ago. I used the WM Elliot razor(as I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of a DOVO Bismarck), The Body Shop synthetic brush and TBS Maca Root cream.

Prep
Shower => lather => strop => lather => hot towel => lather => shave

The shave
A good shave, used almost no pressure. Was careful at the neck. Did WTG, XTG on cheek and neck. When I wanted to start my ATG pass my girlfriend called me(for no important reason) and I lost my concentration. I tried ATG but I failed, so I stopped.

The result
smooth in WTG and XTG directions. A little rough on ATG on both cheeks. Finished with a cold towel and De Vergulde Hand Aftershave balm after applying and washing off some alum.

The second shave
The Monday following my dad had a retirement reception, so I wanted to get another shave before we went('cause you have to look nice ). I was a little rushed so I nicked myself 3 times.

The prep
Shower => Lather => Strop => Lather => hot towel => lather => shave

The shave
As I said, I was rushed because I had to leave at a certain time. The WTG passes were no problem, but I used a little too much pressure. The XTG pass was bad, I nicked myself 3 times and was really rough on my neck. I didn't even try ATG this time.

The result
3 nicks(2 on the neck, 1 on the back of the jawbone). A decent looking shave and a reddish neck. Both the alum and the balm stung like hell.

The red neck couldn't be noticed because I wore a shirt with a tie, but it was uncomfortable on the neck itself.

The last shave
The last shave was last Saturday, I really took the time on this one and am really pleased with the results.

The prep
Shower => Lather => long strop(40 linen, 80 leather) => relather => not satisfied with the lather itself so rebuilding lather and re-apply => shave

The shave
Using no pressure and 1/2" strokes(compared to the 2" strokes I did before) I had a really pleasurable shave. WTG was a walk in the park.
After WTG the XTG followed on both the cheeks and the neck. Again no problem. The neck felt a little bit irritated, but not as bad as the week before.

I relathered and made an ATG pass on the cheeks(again, very slowly using no pressure at all). WOW, that was really smooth.

The result
Finished with a cold towel, applying alum(didn't sting). Waited a minute and rinsed it off. Then on to the Aftershave balm. The shave was really good. Smooth in all directions on cheeks and almost entirely smooth on the neck, where some little stubble remained.

I was really satisfied with that result, there was a little redding on the neck. But that was gone after about an hour.

The final verdict from SWMBO was "ooooeh, best shave yet!"

I'm gonna try to shave Tuesday or Wednesday(and I really hope I can, cause it's great to do) and report back.

Cheers,

BrickBag