Not So Great!

A few minutes ago was my first shave. Not so good, hope to he** it gets better:boohoo:
I have been preparing for two weeks. I thought that I was ready.
Used a Wade & Butcher.
Soaked the brush in hot water 5 minutes.
Hit the shower, washed the face with mild soap.
Put pre-shave oil on my face from "The Art of Shaving" .
Whipped up some shaving cream in a bowl, "The Art of Shaving"
The sides and the neck were relatively easy.
I could only use my dominant hand, right. The left would have sliced me.
The sides went so well, that I decided on the neck. It went o.k.
Instead of stopping, I decided to go for the chin and upper lip:idea:
It was like my face turned on me. :mace:
There was no way those whiskers were going to be cut.

It was like trying to force my Briggs & Straton push mower through the Amazon Jungle.:nono:
I had to finish the chin and lip with a disposable.

I feel like I failed.

I put after shave lotion from The Art of Shaving on my face after the shave, sensitive does not even describe it.:eek:

The shaving creme did spread evenly, but looked thin. It was not thick like I have seen on the videos.

I will take any help, jokes, or feed back you have. How do I beat the chin and lip area??

Grow a goatee like I did.

When you try to shave the moustache and chin area, you realize why people don't shave there. You didn't fail, you've just started. Your start was no worse than mine. As you go further, you will learn a lesson with each shave. Check out this video for some ideas on the chin and moustache areas:

YouTube - Cut-throat Razor shave

Notice how this fellow minimizes the chin area issues by shaving "through" them from the top down and the neck up. If you can emulate this guy, as I have attempted to do, then the chin area is minimized and not as much a problem.

For the moustache area, going XTG as opposed to ATG is a good idea, one I will attempt to work on tomorrow. One is always learning in straight shaving. Each shave is a lesson. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Theseus

Grow a goatee like I did.

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:rofl2: Too funny! But on a serious note, congratulations on shaving the sides and neck. As far as feeling like you failed for having to use a disposable on the lip and chin, don't be embarassed or hard on yourself. Many of us here had to use our previous shaving method to clean up those areas when we were newbies too. Practice and patience are key, it may take a few weeks or a month or so before you complete an entire shave with a straight. Your shaves will get better in time and your disposable will soon be a distant memory if you keep at it. Keep us posted on your progress.

i didnt notice anywhere in your post where you bled,the first time i got a straight on my off side it left a 1" slice.very shallow but not able to hide.the second time i sliced through the meat between my earlobe and cheek.your doing fairly well as far as im concerned.i also had to finish up my first few straight shaves with a disposable.the reason i stopped using them is the razorburn and they load up with hair throughout shaving and the hair scratches my skin.after shaving with straight for several months i tried to use a disp. again,and noticed that not only had i lost my technique that i had prior to using a straight,but had terrible results and razorburn and had to finish up with the straight.were all creatures of habit.get in the habit of using one and you will get the results your looking for.it might take more time than your expecting but you will find your confidence with your off hand growing and your getting the end result you want.when you do get comfortable with yourself.try a dispo. again and see how much you really dont like the results.

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Originally Posted by glock21c

i didnt notice anywhere in your post where you bled

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I agree. i couldn't find ether. People bleeds for 6 months. you didn't fail you are the winner.
Now fix your mistake and good luck.
don' t shave against the grain,
don't use shaving oil makes worse.(later you will understand why).
gl

LOL You sound like me! I just attempted my mustache and chin today for the first time, and actually filmed it:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...tml#post758082

It went about as well as I expected: felt like the razor was pulling and not as easy to cut the hairs, and on my second pass, I nicked myself really good under the nose to where it was DRIPPING blood.

Anyway, it will get better (I'm speaking to you AND to me!). Give your face a rest for about two days and then try again. Make sure the pressure isn't too hard, the blade angle isn't too steep, and that you're plenty lathered up.

I look forward to reading your progress!

Thanks , guys. There was no blood. , no nicks. I guess that I just wanted too much, too soon. I will not give up.

Thanks for the video, ACE.

I saw a great tip on hear when I was starting and I lived with this tip for a while. Start out slow nd if at ny point you start to feel uncomfortable stop and finish the job with your old way. Give it time and soon you'll be doing the entire shave with a straight.

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Originally Posted by Hirlau

How do I beat the chin and lip area??

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I can tell you in one word ; practice . When I started ,I had to finish my shaves with a disposable razor ,too .

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Originally Posted by Hirlau

A few minutes ago was my first shave. ...
The sides and the neck were relatively easy.
...
The sides went so well, that I decided on the neck. It went o.k.
...
I had to finish the chin and lip with a disposable.

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You one bad mamma jamma! First shave, cheeks AND neck!? And no...:tameshigiri:

You should feel proud with that. Then to feel so good about how things went that you stepped up to the plate and took a swing at the chin and upper lip. That's really saying something.

Take the tips already given into consideration and keep moving forward. It sounds like you're doing better than me!

Great job! i did the exact same thing when I began.I shaved the easy parts of my face with a straight and when I couldnt shave an area I used my DE.Pretty soon as my skills and courage built up,there was no stopping me.Congrats on a great accomplisment.YOU SURVIVED WITHOUT A MAJOR INJURY!!!!!!:bow

It is a ton of new stuff all at once. Honestly, with use, it will all be second nature with time.

When first starting, a common practice is just shave down with the grain, on dominant side with dominant hand, (such as right hand/right side) only on the flat side cheek side of face. Even that will fell clumsy at first.

As you learn the feel, it will feel more comfortable to venture further to the rest of your face to more technical areas. As you explore and learn, you'll also be going across the grain and later against the grain maybe.

There are much better tutorial in the wikis, such as here, that explain much better than my quickie summary.

The main point I am poorly sharing is once you are comfortable doing this, it all becomes natural. It'll be like riding a bike; you may scrap up a knee or elbow, but once you learn, it's a skill you have forever.

Enjoy the time learning, its a blast

You should have read THIS post first.

Good luck.

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Originally Posted by Otto

You should have read THIS post first.

Good luck.

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Actually, I read it twice. I got caught up in the moment and could not pull out. Foolish,I know. Now I will read it a third time and obey.