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My first partial st8 shave! :)
So, I was planning on waiting for Saturday night to shave, but I said heck with it! Bring it on scary razor! :beer2: The razor I got was from the classifieds. Was shave ready too. Probably could have used a little more stroping I'm sure, but rodb said it was good to go! Thanks again for the razor Rod!
Got my hot shower, while soaking my Tweezerman brush I got at the grocery store, in hot water. Got my CO Bigelow shaving cream. Some left over Art of Shaving pre-shave oil from my sample pack. Finally, got my hot face towel, out of the microwave onto my beard. (That part felt awesome...)
First time making a lather with that cream... to be honest I think I used a bit too much water, since after a while I noticed it was drying up a bit, and getting airy on my face. I did mix it up pretty well though.
Anyways, my plan was just to do below my side burns down to my ears and stuff. But things were going pretty well! I did most of the right side of my face, minus jaw line, chin and mustache area. After a little while, I did notice a bit of pulling on my whiskers... not sure if that was because the razor could have used more stropping or the lather wasn't good enough. I made sure that I had a good angle of the blade, and was not applying pressure. Keep in mind, I have a pretty full, and tougher than average beard, being Portuguese. I was moving pretty slow too, which was expected. I did short 1/2 in strokes. A few times I got more confident and would do 1 in or so strokes. But because I felt like the blade was not cutting as I was hoping, I didn't keep that up.
Then it came to my left side. I gave a try at my left hand it wasn't that bad actually. I think being an artist, it's helped me develop a good delicate touch if needed. Then I was like okay... lets try my mustache area. Everything is going great so far. No nicks, pretty good for a newbie's first st8 shave! Started on the outsides first... I remember seeing videos on how to stretch and hide your lips and stuff. When I got to the spot, right under my right nostril, BAM! my first nick. It bled fast too, and was decently deep. I think what I did wrong, was I didn't keep my stretched skin/hidden lips in place and probably moved or loosened it. Good thing I had a styptic pencil ready, just in case. Took a bit of time for it to stop finally, so I could continue shaving...
That's one thing I found annoying... if you get a decent cut somewhere, it slows down your shave so much... sigh.... annoying. I was staying patient though. I had no where to go, and my wife was going to bed early since she has a bad cold. After recovering from that, I stayed strong, and started my left side mustache area. Was going much better. Made sure not to move my skin while stroking. After I finished up there, as I was bringing my hand down towards the sink, I hit the blade on my nice big chin... Huge cut!! ARGH!! SO DUMB!! :banghead: I was not paying attention... I was like, this does NOT count as a shaving cut LOL! This was just me being stupid! That cut took a long time to stop bleeding. I had to apply pressure and styptic for a while...
Finally, after that was over, I was like "Okay... I think that's enough Reony... you did good, and much more than you thought you would... minus what you just did. Don't worry, I will make sure it doesn't happen again..." So I finished up with my Gillette Fusion. Immediately, I could tell a difference of the sharpness... Even though it was easier for me to shave with the Fusion, I like the feeling of the straight, when it was gliding well at least. Then, being optimistic, I left the right side of my neck to try one last time with my straight. And that went really well. Since I have a very strong jaw line, there are some steep angles around there. So I had to make sure to stay steady, and if I was going to adjust the angle of the blade, to remove it off my face first. So in total, I think I did about 1/3 to 1/2 of my face area. Not bad, thinking I was going to only do under my side burns! :beer1:
And I will never forget the experience... ever! All the mistakes I made, I will reflect on during the week, do more research and try again next week. I tend to only shave once a week, since I have more sensitive skin and it's just plain easier. And I've attached a picture of the nice big cut on my chin for you all :p
Next time, gonna try some glycerin with my lather... Either just pure glycerin and add some drops. Or purchase a Glycerin Shave Soap, which I've seen Geo, and Lynn both use before a shave, with a cream. Also, I will have the rest of my stuff coming in the mail, which includes my strop. So I'll be able to sharpen it, and hopefully notice a much better difference and smoother glide. Also, I'll probably use a bit less water with my lather too. I actually did that the second time I made a little more, to finish up with my Fusion razor. Was much creamier and better I think.
Total time of shave from prepping to clean up was like an hour I think, LOL! :( Look forward to getting faster and more confident, so I can shave again in 10 - 15 minutes.
Sorry for such a long post guys... Just love to write sometimes. :)
One question... Applying no pressure is the correct way right? Or should I apply more pressure if it's pulling a little. Pretty sure that is a no no... :nono: I felt like, if the blade was sharp enough, it shouldn't matter that I'm not applying pressure. It should cut through effortlessly... right??