Take all the advice onboard

Yesterday was my first ever shave with a SR and the fact I survived it unscathed, is entirely down to reading ALL the advice (Thanks Lynn) on this site. :rock: I bought a Dovo 5/8 from Invisible edge and it arrived 'shave ready'. So Sunday morning, with the house all to myself, I did all the prep, took a deep breath and unfolded my razor. Sure I was nervous, only an idiot wouldn't be. holding a ridiculously sharp blade against your cheek for the first time isn't something to be taken lightly (although lightly is how it should be done). So with a deep breath I took my first few strokes and right away I could feel the blade skipping. I stopped and immediately thought the blade wasn't 'Shave Ready' and a small wave of disappointment washed over me, but then my grey matter kicked in and I realised I wasn't stretching my skin. I re-lathered and started again and BINGO, I was cutting whiskers. The noise was incredible and even though I only did the right side of my face, WTG, with my dominant hand (as per Lynn's advice), the sense of achievement was fantastic. I finished the rest of my shave with a hateful Mach111, and carried out the post shave routine as per Geofatboy. The rest of the day I was constantly feeling the right side of my face and I cant wait to shave again. The shaving chore, is now turning into an eagerly anticipated 'shaving routine' and I hope some other Newbie might be encouraged by hearing about my first SR shave. My advice would be to read EVERYTHING written on this site re getting started and don't do the macho thing, of thinking you know best, or have better skills/coordination than the next man. So I've taken a tiny little step on a steep learning curve and I'm happy with the knowledge that I'll soon be able to laugh out loud as I walk past the Gillette and Wilkinson stands, in my local supermarket.

Although I'm not a lot further ahead in terms of when I started, if you ever need to meet up to discuss technique, stropping, etc, let me know and we could meet up somewhere in town. I'm still altering my technique and it's reducing irritation even more.

I'm just waiting on my coticule arriving in the next few weeks and I can start to maintain my own edges.

Sounds like you went pretty well for your first time, I couldn't resist doing the rest of the face when I first tried and consistently nicked myself in the hard places for the first couple weeks lol.

I don't think I've done my chin area the same way twice, still trying to figure it out to get it close. I resisted a full shave until 3rd or 4th shave then decided just to go for it.

It was really tempting to shave more than was recommended, but I'm gonna try and take this really slowly. I intend to only shave the right cheek for the next five, or six shaves, before involving my left hand at all.
Stevie, give me a month or two to catch up and we'll maybe get something organized. I've been reading up on honing and watching videos. If the shaving works out, as I hope it does, it's definitely the next step along the road.

No worries, just thought I'd extend the offer. You might be surprised how quickly your left hand develops muscle memory. Yeah, better to leave the honing until you get more familiar with the rest.

Congratulations!!! :rock: It will only get better!!


Terry