Thread: Confidence

The barber who taught me to shave with a straight told me that you will get your best shaves when you find the perfect balance between confidence and trepidation. If you're over confident, you will cut yourself. If you are too fearful, you'll cut yourself. Great advice that I still follow to this day.

Being the happy owner of a goatee who has tried a 'full' shave long after I was comfortable with my straight. I can affirm that the goatee makes life much simpler as you miss out on the top lip & chin.
Congratulations on beginning your journey.
Enjoy and keep a firm but light grip on that razor

Positive thinking is a great asset when learning this great way to shave. It also helps when you hit some rough shaves (like eveyone does in the beginning) and rminds you to learn from them and move on. Congrats on the progress so far.

Thanks, all.

I enjoy the learning.

It is true each shave seems to get better, though I am sure there will be steps backward every now and then. I just wanted to share what seemed to unlock a door for me. It might be hard to have instant confidence, but a little positive thinking cannot hurt.

Have a great weekend.

Well done! It's great when it all comes together. I normally wear a moustache, soul patch and goatee, i.e all separate 'islands', but a little while ago I shaved off my goatee (I left the moustache and soul patch) just so I knew what it was like shaving my chin. I left it like that for a few weeks. I've never shaved my top lip with a straight, though...

I think that's a good insight, unit. As soon as I started reading your post, I thought of another mad late-life undertaking of mine, playing the fiddle/violin (I sort of clumsily straddle styles). My personal axiom is that the violin can smell fear. It can't literally cut you like a straight razor if you mishandle it, but it can make your ears bleed. That balance between confidence and trepidation that the barber spoke of can be elusive, but it's a great thing to strive for.

~Rich

I also think you have a very good observation here Unit. I have been experiencing something similar as I work through my "newbieism". I think the key is confidence with sure movement of the blade, tempered by a healthy respect for its ability to cause damage.