Thread: First Shave done

I don't use a pre-shave oil that you leave on and lather on top of, if that's what you are talking about. Sometimes I use a pre-shave balm that I let sit on my face for a while (10 or 15 minutes) then wash off while I'm in the shower. I don't really know if I notice a difference between the times when I use it and the times that I don't. I just kind of like it. You absolutely do not need to use one though. A good hot shower, with lots of steam, that softens your beard and hydrates your skin is really all you need before you lather up.

First - congrats on the first shave. I know you have a strong sense of accomplishment.

So it could be your beard prep and it could also be just getting used to the pressure and blade angle envolved in using a straight. Watch that your blade angle is not too steep.

As far as prep, what works for me is to rub a bar of Olivia soap direclty into my whiskers while in the shower. Then I kick the water to as hot as I can take and saturate a wash cloth well. I apply that directly to my beard until the water starts to cool and then re-saturate and repeat the wole process 3 or 4 times. This soften my beard well. Then, on exit I do not wipe my face dry. I go straight to the sink for lather and shaving.

Hi Alastair,

I have two pre-shave oils. One I made myself based on formulae I saw here on SRP, it being 50% olive oil and 50% castor oil. The other one has another kind of oil that honestly I can't remember right now (sorry). Edit - grapeseed oil

For me, neither one had much of an effect. Simply making sure my beard was prepped and having plenty of water on my face before I lathered worked fine. In fact, since oil and water don't normally mix very well, it may be a little counter-productive to use it, especially since you want your beard hairs to be as saturated with water as possible. Now, I'm no expert nor chemist, but at the very least oils do nothing for me. YMMV.

If you do use shave oils you'll need to take special care of your brush to make sure it's clean of them; the oil can reduce the ability of your brush to soak up water and lather. So for me, it was an easy decision; after two months of using oil and some time without, and without the additional worry of oil in my brush, I decided to kick shave oil out of my routine. This is, of course, only my experience.

I'm one of the least experienced members here, but for my prep I sometimes would use a hair conditioner that soaks up moisturizer on my beard just before I get out of the shower. My theory is this helps my beard stay wetter while I create my lather. Whether it really makes a difference or not I can't say quantitatively, but it seems to make a difference for me. Alembic's advice probably works better, and in another recent thread another member speaks of lathering his face and wiping that off and re-lathering again.

Experimentation is your friend. Congratulations on your first, and all your subsequent shaves.

-Mark

I'm one of the least experienced members here, but for my prep I sometimes would use a hair conditioner that soaks up moisturizer on my beard just before I get out of the shower. My theory is this helps my beard stay wetter while I create my lather.

I've done that, and it works for me, too. Hair conditioners contain various lubricious ingredients, and they smooth out the shave.

Charles

Hi All,

Second shave completed, the wet face and a little more water in with the cream really did the trick, no more issues with the blade sticking and the chin went much better this time to, only slight problem was I got a tad over confident when doing my top lip and nicked myself, easily fixed with a styptic pencil though.

Al

alastair,

Thanks for letting us know how it went. Congratulations. Every day your technique will improve. I'm glad you had a styptic pencil. I didn't start out with one myself. I'm glad that's a mistake I remedied thanks to the advice of a friend.

-Mark