Goatee is Gone

Hey Groupies. I took the plunge and shaved the goatee. May or may not have been the smartest thing to do since I'm still relatively new to the whole str8 shaving scene with about a month under my belt. Anyway...I've noticed a few things... 1. my chin looks like I've body surfed on an old backwoods asphalt road...of course that's hard to miss too...lol...could be due to the goatee making the skin sensitive to shaving overall or could be the fact that I get some eczema in the beard and the skin is still sensitive from that...or both... 2. wondering if the razor is getting dull already?...since I'm a daily shaver I wonder if it's possible? I think I remmeber part of Lynn's dvd when he commented that a st8 daily shaver should last 2-3 months as a daily shaver... 3. I think/hope that my stropping technique has improved...I was doing 25 stokes on the linen and 100 strokes on the leather but again, remembering the dvd ("fewer strokes is often better") I cut back to 10 and 50 respectively. I also remember reading here that some folks feel that "oiling" the leather part isn't per se absolutely necessary, that you can rub the stop with the palm aevery day for a few storkes and the oils on your hand should do the trick. So...if I don't "palm" the leather I'll "dry my hair" with the leather part of the strop (like using a towel) and see if I can let some of the hair oils do some good... 4. honestly too, I think I've rushed the shave a few times. I already took out the baby oil as a part of the prep...still on the fence as to if it was good or not. Sometimes the cleaning crew will come in early and of sourse, I'd rather not be in there too long with a straight razor along with folks trying to clean up around me...not a good combination for the integrity of the skin on my face huh...lol... 5. still chasing the BBS...right side seems to be coming closer more frequently than the left (right hand dominant)...keeping the skin tight with my free hand got me turned around so I just "make faces" in the mirror as I contort myself to tighten the skin...may have to learn to go with learning how to keep it tight with the free hand after all. Anyway...any ideas/input are welcomed.

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Originally Posted by certifiedbodyman

Hey Groupies. I took the plunge and shaved the goatee. May or may not have been the smartest thing to do since I'm still relatively new to the whole str8 shaving scene with about a month under my belt. Anyway...I've noticed a few things... 1. my chin looks like I've body surfed on an old backwoods asphalt road...of course that's hard to miss too...lol...could be due to the goatee making the skin sensitive to shaving overall or could be the fact that I get some eczema in the beard and the skin is still sensitive from that...or both... 2. wondering if the razor is getting dull already?...since I'm a daily shaver I wonder if it's possible? I think I remmeber part of Lynn's dvd when he commented that a st8 daily shaver should last 2-3 months as a daily shaver... 3. I think/hope that my stropping technique has improved...I was doing 25 stokes on the linen and 100 strokes on the leather but again, remembering the dvd ("fewer strokes is often better") I cut back to 10 and 50 respectively. I also remember reading here that some folks feel that "oiling" the leather part isn't per se absolutely necessary, that you can rub the stop with the palm aevery day for a few storkes and the oils on your hand should do the trick. So...if I don't "palm" the leather I'll "dry my hair" with the leather part of the strop (like using a towel) and see if I can let some of the hair oils do some good... 4. honestly too, I think I've rushed the shave a few times. I already took out the baby oil as a part of the prep...still on the fence as to if it was good or not. Sometimes the cleaning crew will come in early and of sourse, I'd rather not be in there too long with a straight razor along with folks trying to clean up around me...not a good combination for the integrity of the skin on my face huh...lol... 5. still chasing the BBS...right side seems to be coming closer more frequently than the left (right hand dominant)...keeping the skin tight with my free hand got me turned around so I just "make faces" in the mirror as I contort myself to tighten the skin...may have to learn to go with learning how to keep it tight with the free hand after all. Anyway...any ideas/input are welcomed.

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1. My sympathy, a goatee is a hard thing to part with.

2. Your razor should be good for about 2 - 3 months. I shave daily and just sent my razor in to Lynn and Don for a Honing. I was shaving with it for about 2 1/2 months till I started feeling a slight tug from it.

3. Your 10 linen and 50 leather should be fin as long as you are using very light pressure (only enough to keep the blade on the strop). I do about 30 - 50 on each side (always the same number for both sides).

4. You can always try shaving in the evening after a shower or about 30 - 45 minutes before bed. Sometimes shaving in the evening is helpful so you are not rushed. Other than that you could wake up a little earlier to compensate for time.

5. Don't worry about BBS right now. Just get use to the blade and work on stropping, stretching and overall technique. The BBS will come in time, No Worries.

6. Take your time and enjoy, shaving with a Straight is a pleasant thing. Enjoy the shave to its entirety.

Happy Shaving :beer1:

I shaved my goatee off once too. Dumbest thing I ever did! You'll find that area quite sensitive to a blade if you haven't shaved there for some time. As well, that area really takes a little more finesse. I preferred my goatee, I look ridiculous without one, and my children teased me too much :D


Mick

certifiedbodyman,

I shaved off my goatee for the Movember event; it was a real shock to my chin to be exposed to fresh air and daylight :)

I had the goatee for over ten years, so the chin and mu upper lip are the only place on my face that I hadn't shaved with a straight ! It made a pleasant change, though I do look a bit 'chinless' !! :)

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

For Sure...I'm finding all if the rounded areas and the point of the chin in front and the bottom are incredibly difficult to even get close, forget BBS. This is affecting my sides too. Before, when I had the goatee, I got BBS on the cheeks a few times and the neck was approaching BBS as well. Now, for some reason, it seems as though my proficiency has dropped off all around. I may very well grow the goatee back again...gray hair be damned...lol.

Could be the sight of more skin than you are use to. I know when I shaved my goatee some time ago it was weird seeing my chin and lip and having to shave them. It takes time but it is possible to get use to. Then again if the Goatee looks good why not grow it back, all personal choices either way.

Hey Groupies;
I have a question...when using the linen side of the strop, is the red or green paste required?

No pastes are required for the linen or the leather. I use my linen before the leather every time. I think it helps clean and micro-gunk off the edge of the blade.

I heard about that from another member here and it makes sense to me.

Hey Roomies. The goatee is still gone. I had to give the cinny chin chin a break from shaving...too tender....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwww. ..lol. I contemplated letting it grow back but...oerhaps later. Still, I think that my razor may be dulling out on me so I decided to get some hones and see what I can do on one. I'll send the to one or more of the honemeisters here and compare my novice results...THIS should be REAL interesting...lol. I honestly think that my stropping technique needs some refining. Either way, I'm still using my straight...still enjoying the badass feeling of doing something everyone else in the sink area either says "wow man that's cool" or "woah, no way I could do that"...not that I do it for their approval...I do what I do in life for me...whether it's lifting weights or whatever I do...it's for me. I like connecting with my grand-daddy in this way since it's the only way I can do so now. The men from that generation are indeed "The Greatest Generation" from enduring the Great Depression to fighting in WWII and making this ciountry great and we would all be a bit better off to remember some of the "old timey ways"...maybe not shaving with a srt8 per se but in our own way doing something to pay hommage to what your forefathers endured. If I become half the man my Grandaddy and my Daddy John were then I'll be fine. Enough of my rant roomies...thanks for lending an ear/eye and happy shaves to all...t'cahu.