First Shave: bit off a little more than I could chew

[lethies91]

Hello,
This is my first post and thought I'd share my first SR shaving experience for your enjoyment, and also to hopefully get tips for how to do better next time.

I just got my first straight razor in the mail today and as you can probably imagine I couldn't wait till after my shower tonight to try it out. I may have gotten a little too excited though. After getting out of my shower I applied a lather to my face and used a warm soaked towel against my face to prep. After this I applied another lather. I started by shaving WTG in the side burn and cheeks area as suggested. However, after this small area and short wonderful experience I was left hungry for more of it. Greedily, I moved down to parts of my neck. Now, having been given my first pocketknife at the age of 5 I felt pretty comfortable with a blade. I didn't think that straight razor shaving would be such a different beast but sure enough my lack of experience started showing, and it has a color, red. Yet, even after having nicked myself multiple times, I decided to venture further to try shaving XTG. It was a poor decision but I can't exactly say I regret it. Overall, despite the mild discomfort, it was an awesome experience and I can't wait for hair to grow back in order to give it another try.

Places I think I went wrong

• Trying to shave more than just my cheeks the first time. I got to excited and definitely don't have the technique down yet.
• Not waiting for my shaving soap to come in. I couldn't wait to try, so i just used what I have which is Old Spice shaving cream in a can that you would use with any cartridge razor.
• May not have done a great job stropping. For now I am using an old pair of jeans and didn't feel as if laying the blade flat gave the right tension so I elevated the angle.
• Again, not having the technique or the experience.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure that with more practice and less eagerness I will become better but it wouldn't hurt to hear it from others as encouragement.
Thanks for reading.