Thread: A Bad Beginner

I'm glad to hear you are sticking with it, despite the difficulties.

I think one of the things with straight razor is that, because it exfoliates the skin so well, doing lots of passes will always result in irritation.

Also, what are you doing in the way of beard prep? I remember when I was starting I went totally overboard to make sure my hairs were as soaked and soft as possible to make up for my beginner's technique.

One other thing I found that makes a shave much smoother was using a guillatine stroke instead of moving the blade completely perpendicular to the edge. Adding a slight horizontal movement to the strokes, with the razor angled a bit so the toe is lower than the heal. See my profile pic for illustration.

Anyway, I hope some of this helps and again, good job for sticking with it.

Also, along the lines of a pre-shave prep... Do you use a pre-shave oil? I purchased one from The Shaving Company (here in New York). While I admit that it smells like Castor oil, it’s very viscous. I've shaved with and without it, and I find that I get less resistance from the blade when I use it.

Pre-shave:
1) Soak brush in hot water.
2) Have hot shower with soap and sometimes conditioner (conditioner or not has not made a difference to much, either with SR or DE) in beard
3) Get out and splash water as hot as my hands will stand
4) T&H Pre-shave oil
5) T&H Cream (usually) or SRD West Indies Bay Soap on badger brush in scuttle
6) Let soak while I strop
7) Apply a touch more lather if it has thinned
8) Shave

Post shave:
1) Cold water rinse
2) Thayers Witch Hazel
3) T&H Balm
4) Aftershave or Cologne

Originally Posted by markevens

One other thing I found that makes a shave much smoother was using a guillatine stroke instead of moving the blade completely perpendicular to the edge. Adding a slight horizontal movement to the strokes, with the razor angled a bit so the toe is lower than the heal. See my profile pic for illustration.

Anyway, I hope some of this helps and again, good job for sticking with it.

I would highly recommend that you think twice before adherring to this advice. Use slightly too much pressure and you'll peel your face like a banana. This is an advanced technique that you will regret if done improperely. I say stay with the basics until you've mastered them.