Thread: First shave. done and ove with.

hello gents! well it happened last night. i did all the preshave routine. and tried my two day scruff with the straight and well it pulled alot. i dont know if i was doing it wrong or just two much hair. so after about 5 mins of pain i shaved with my de and then i tried it again after the the scruff was gone but still it pulled really hard and felt like the razor was scratching my face the whole time. can anyone give me ideas of what i did wrong. i used preshave oil, lavender cream with a bagger brush and very hot shower before hand. Thanks and the razor i used is a 5/8 i forgot the brand i got it from whippeddog.com and its very sharp and was told not to strop before i shave the first time so i did not i just whiped the oil off.

No personal experience with whippeddog.com, but what I have read here, the razors seem to come ready to go. I would first point to technique. The improper angle will give a pulling sensation every time. 2 day scruff should not be too much at all for a sharp razor with proper technique. Just last night, I took 4 days off with no pulling at all.

Unless two days worth of growth is several inches long, I don't think the problem was too much hair .

That being said, my first suggestion would perhaps be to decrease the angle with your face and the razor. I've accidentally used too steep of an angle several times and it produced the scraping sensation that you experienced. A very steep angle also greatly increases the chances of cutting yourself, as I have found out...

Congratulations on your first shave, by the way, and just have faith that they will improve a little bit each time!

thanks guys now when u say decrease angle you mean bring the spine closer to my face or more perpendicular? also my face is a little bit tender today. feels like i am going to get the razor burn bumps pretty soon. should i wait till they go away to try again?

Originally Posted by krism

thanks guys now when u say decrease angle you mean bring the spine closer to my face or more perpendicular? also my face is a little bit tender today. feels like i am going to get the razor burn bumps pretty soon. should i wait till they go away to try again?

Decrease the angle generally means to have the spine lay CLOSER to your face.

C'est correct. Spine a bit closer to your face will decrease the angle with your face.

Here's a tip I read that made a lot of sense. It can get confusing when we talk about blade angle. One guy said to touch the blade to your face with enough space between your face and the spine that you could slip in two or three quarters, and you'll be at about 30 degrees which is good for a WTG pass. Another good tip I learned when I had my first experience was to start with the spine against your cheek and slowly move the spine out until the blade cut smoothly. I'm 99.99% sure this is your issue and if you can find that sweet spot around 30 degrees you'll be amazed at how nicely the razor cuts regardless of the length of growth.

Every so often when I'm shaving I'll take a pass that doesn't cut closely or pulls a little. If I adjust my angle the hairs slip off and I get BBS. It feels like the razor's dull, but in reality my angle is too steep (too many quarters between spine & skin) or too shallow (nearly touching the skin...which is sometimes necessary for ATG passes).

I would suggest you let your face recover before trying again.

Edit: Don't know why I didn't think of it but skin stretching is FAR more important with the straight than the DE...and pressure as Birn mentions below is also a killer. Just touch your face with the blade, don't press it against your skin...that makes for some serious razor burn.

What you are experiencing is quite common. Don't worry too much about that.

You could work with the angle as have been mentioned earlier in this thread.
However, don't get too hung up on that 30 degrees advice.
It is a fine starting point to work from, but it can definitely be higher or lower. That all depends on a lot of factors, and it is always meant as a starting point for the WTG stroke.
On XTG and ATG you are better of lowering that angle a bit.

I would suggest you also focus on the pressure of the razor. A very common mistake starting out is using too much of it.
My suggestion would be to try a bit lower angle, and go with absolute zero pressure. Let you skin heal properly first, then do 1 or 2 WTG passes using zero pressure. Oh, did I mention Zero pressure?
Good luck, I'm sure you will find your way soon enough

Thanks guys! i will wait a few days and try again. but as a update ive now got some serious razor burn going on. but only on my neck.

I strongly agree with laying the blade flatter, closer to your face, on the first pass. (Most of my face, I start at 30 degrees. But, on some of the tougher areas, I lay the blade flat.)

When you lay the blade flat, you will be slicing whiskers at an exaggerated diagonal. You can expect some resistance, some pulling. But, the angle will keep you from razor burn and being cut (because the blade is largely moving parallel to the skin.)