Thread: First time!

WooHoo! I have been reading this forum for quite some time, and finally last week decided to purchase stuff to begin down the road of straight razor shaving...well the long wait was worth it. My razor arrived today..and having built up the anticipation I couldn't wait so decided for an evening shave!

Razor looked great, bought in classifieds as shave ready, passed the AHT which i know doesn't necessarily mean anything...but i tried it none the less.

I'm fairly comfortable with blades but decided against stropping my first time, I'll give that a go next time around...

Went through all the prep sans shower, splash hot water, get a nice cream up, lather it in for a minute, masssasge with my hands for a minute, and then a 2 minute hot towel soak, rinsed and re-lathered and decided to give it a go...

I had re-read lynn's post on starting out, and had decided to just give my sideburns and maybe my cheek a shot...well i'm sure we all know where this is going. As i was gliding down my sideburns, to my cheeks i was astonished at how confident and comfortable i felt. I stopped, and slowed myself down, and decided to give the jawline a shot...passed, down on to the neck...not too bad. Eventually switched hands, and started the left side of my face, a little more awkward being very dominantly right handed...and got my first nick, sat the blade on my upper cheek and put a little too much pressure, very minor, dabbed some cream on it and it was done. back to shaving...went fine again til i got to my upper lip, left hand again just a little too much pressure.

Finished up my face WTG, and decided for a XTG on my cheeks and jawbone to try and catch what I missed or didn't get quite as close. no issues here, other than awkwardly trying to go XTG on some spots but I figure i'll get them as i practice more. Didn't go ATG at all, didn't want to press my luck.

Overall, two nicks...and a very close shave...as good if not better than the results i see from my Fusion Power! I have no idea how much time it took as i made it a point to not look at my watch, i jsut took my time and had fun, i do have a big grin on my (smooth) face though - feels great to have accomplished a great shave on my first try.

So far i'm just using canned shave gel, but using a brush to get a good lather, that alone made a difference in my shaving. But I really want to get some decent shave oils and creams and aftershaves as i think my sensitive skin will appreciate them.

Thanks to everyone who helped me shop! Very much appreciated!

Congratulatioins, Mellman

I had a great first experience as well, and I was instantly hooked. I'm sure that you are as well. Welcome to SRP

Enjoy your journey

Had a few cuts at first myself but it is a great feeling when shaving with a straight.

Congrats.

Sounds like a good first shave, ditch the canned yuck though lol. My first proper soap was Wilkinson Sword (which is dirt cheap) and makes a world of difference.

Originally Posted by Yorkie

Sounds like a good first shave, ditch the canned yuck though lol. My first proper soap was Wilkinson Sword (which is dirt cheap) and makes a world of difference.

I have heard of Wilkinson Razor Blades before, I didn't know they made soap also.

Who Says You Don't Learn Something New Everyday?!?!

Bought mine from my local supermarket.

Have to keep an eye out for that. Looks worth trying.

Sounds like a very nice first shave! Congrats, and welcome to SRP!

Congratulations! The first one is under your belt. When I started a year ago, everyone made sure to mention the shaves always get better. They were right. The shaves get better with time, and the motions and technique becomes increasingly natural. I still have issues with an awkward weak hand, but there has been noticeable improvement there was well. You should expect to see a nice change in how the razor glides with the move to a good cream or soap. Straight razor shaving is pretty easy to get hooked on too.