One month of straight razor shaving!

SRP members,

I've had my straight razor for just over a month, and I wanted to share a few of my thoughts and experiences.

-I was lucky starting out, as I was able to meet with a fellow member, TrilliumLT, who has become a mentor. I recommend anyone new go ahead and use the introductions section and try and find a local member who can do this for you. It will be a tremendous help!

-I've got two old razors & plan to start restoring them. I'm doing it carefully, & I plan to post up pictures of the finished work!

-I've learned how to lather properly, perhaps the first real victory I've had in my SR shaving career. After getting a nice lather out of each of the products available to me, I realized how much better it is than the canned goo I was used to using. Hot lather worked in with a brush is a luxury I'd be hard pressed to ever give up! :tu

-Straight razor shaving is difficult! I've yet to get a truly great shave, though I've been told that can take up to a year. What I have been doing is taking the time to be present in the moment in each of my shaves to learn something new about the direction of hair growth on my face, areas where I have more difficulty vs. relatively easy areas etc. Each shave brings with it new knowledge and growing confidence!

-Cuts don't hurt as bad as I expected. They're also preventable. I once tried to rush through, that was where I really ran into trouble. Taking your time is essential!

-The most important thing is that I now find shaving as something to look forward to! I used to dread it as a daily chore I wished I could skip over. Now I find that I can't shave enough!

Anyone who took the time to read this, thanks & share some of your stories! Here's for chasing the fabled BBS shave!

I can say for a fact that the bbs shave is no fable, up around my 80th shave and getting great results, with the odd bbs if i take my time and do three passes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BiggsHoson

-The most important thing is that I now find shaving as something to look forward to! I used to dread it as a daily chore I wished I could skip over. Now I find that I can't shave enough!

Anyone who took the time to read this, thanks & share some of your stories! Here's for chasing the fabled BBS shave!

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That's the reason I stuck with it! And BBS will come sooner than you think. To me, it took analyzing each shaves and improving with new found technics or old perfected ones ( holding, angle , pressure and scything). I see you are in the right track, keep at it and congratulations! Double O

Hey Biggs,

Nice post! You've got a great attitude about the adventure, and it's paying off. That BBS will come, and then you'll spend the rest of the day rubbing your face, like, it's too good to be true!! Well, at least I did!! :D

Keep enjoying!!

Regards,
Howard :)

The BBS IS attainable but it takes some analysis to get there. In the early going, just running the blade over your face with confidence is a struggle. Now that you’re a month in, you’re probably not afraid of the blade any longer. Now is the time to begin thinking of the various places on your face and how to get them completely smooth. Most people will report that the sides of their faces are the easiest since the hair usually grows predictably in that area. Start by getting that BBS. That usually means three passes (sometimes two) with the last one against the grain. After that set the next place you want to conquer as the goal for the next shave. Check the area out prior to your shave. Take note of the grain of the beard. If you weren’t 100% successful, take note of what the problem was for that area. Did you have trouble holding the razor in such a way as to get it clean? Was it the angle that the blade needed to travel at that was keeping you from getting it all? Was it a problem the way the hair was growing in that area? Then think of how the razor needs to approach this area in order to get it clean. There is usually a solution that involves either a special grip, left or right hand, or method of stretching the skin that can help you nail it. Sooner than later you’ll find that there is only one or two problem areas left and you’ll devise a plan for those too. I probably have about 8-12 different areas that need to be treated in their own way and that’s with a goatee. One by one you’ll knock them down and suddenly you have that elusive BBS shave. Good luck.