Thread: First Shave done

Hi All,

my first straight razor arrived today and i completed my first successful shave, all went well, well one or two nicks, and its already superior to my wilkinson sword quatro (id need to shave again by now with that)

a couple of issues i experienced were the razor sticking? to my cheek and any tips on shaving the point of my chin really struggled with that and thats also where i nicked myself

any help/advice appreciated,

Thanks

Al

Hi Alastair,

Assuming your straight is shave ready, I'd make sure I was stretching my skin, using light pressure on the blade, and paying attention to the blade angle. Also, make sure your beard is properly prepped. I like to make sure my face is very wet before I put on lather to ensure that the blade slides nice and smooth over my skin. This is something I've heard GsSixgun mention many times and I think it's a worthwhile tip.

The wiki is a great source of information on shaving technique; it pays to review it from time to time (I do once a week).

Good luck and welcome to SRP.

-Mark

Congrats on your first shave...its a cool feeling Mark gave you some good advice here...and remember that approx 30 degree angle for the blade. The chin is always the hardest so hang in there and experiment with different angles.

Hi Mark,

Thanks I think you have nailed the problem, id had a shower to soften my beard but dried my face without thinking before I lathered it up,I had not used a shaving cream before (only canned goo) I will make sure its wet next time, I was a bit unsure if the lather was a bit dry that probably explains why

I always leave my face wet from the shower and sometimes I even have to re-wet it at the sink if I have taken a while to get my lather whipped up. Basically, I always lather a wet face.

Thanks for the tips gents, I will make sure my face is wet when I try again tomorrow, Its definately an amazing feeling post shave. The other thing I was wondering about is should I be using shave oil? Its not something I had come accross until exploring the forums on here, I am currently using Taylor of Bond Street Sandlewood shaving cream on its own?

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.