Thread: My first DE shave concluded...

So today was the day. I had aquired all of the basics, a razor, blades, soap and a brush. I woke up around 8:30 am and sat everything out, excited, but hopefully about my new path to a better shave.*

I had purchased a mini gift set of White Birch and tobacco butter from Burlington Coat Factory. So, it wasn't a puck, nor really cream. It all ready had the yogurt consistency in the jar. It smelled more menthol than anything. No idea what white birch smells like, and the tobacco smell was faint. I then pulled out the synthetic brush that came with the gift set and wasn't impressed.*

I picked up my Shave Factory (Derby) razor bought from Sally's Beauty Supply and dropped it onto the tile floor. Should have taken that as a sign, but I inspected it and saw nothing wrong (as if I could tell) and proceeded. I placed the razor and the brush in my mug filled with warm water and took a shower. *

After the shower I began. I took a dime sized mount of the cream with water and placed it is the mug and tried to work up a lather. *It only made the cream more milky. Another bad sign. No matter how much I tried no lather. I checked the directions. Which were of no help. I finally stuck the brush directly in the cream and applied. I then realized this was possibly a brushless soap. I remembered a few guys mentioning that slightly in the limited reviews I had found online, but never processed what that meant to actually applying it. I proceeded to lather my face and head with the shaving soap. The smell was very minimal. The brush was able to lather ok. But, sadly I could get the blade to catch on my skin. I was able to shave without incident. I didn't have any nicks or cuts, mostly because I followed all the advice of light pressure, but the blade never really came into contact to cut any facial hair (which I had a 3-4 day growth of). Then, it happened, the cream started to run down my head into my eyes. Which made me ask should I be doing my face and head at the same time, or should it be done separately? So, now looking like Carrie (minus the red color of blood) with milky white goo running down my head into my eyes, distracting my rhythm while applying a sharp blade to my face and head-Ah, living the dream! I decided to power through, but sadly had it running down my neck to my chest and stomach. It was a bloody mess, especially compounded by the fact I didn't see any hair in the sink after each rinse. Thus, I was not impressed with the*Personna*blade (a last minute substitute from the Astra). It seemed to sit to far in and not set out far enough. Will definitely consider upgrading to VDH, Astra and possibly Feather blades-hell anything else, maybe a rusty soup can lid.*

I had planned to do 2 passes WTG only (remember it my first time). But after the 2nd pass left me with a goatee stubble (under the nose, mouth and chin) and virtually no hair removed from the back of my head. I finished and went to take a nap, but couldnt sleep, bexause I needed to address this. So, I got up and did one final pass against the grain and not duplicating the messy disaster of earlier got mostly all of the hair that remained. I still had some very light hair on my cheeks. But, I felt it was good enough as I concluded I would also need to refine my technique by much more practice. It was the closest shave I have had in a long time.

Immediate takeaways: I got over my anxiety of having the blade contact my skin (when it did) so that's gone. The knowledge that my face has many more subtle contours than I knew, but thankfully no cuts or nicks occured. *That I need to do more research on the selection and use of my tools and products. Next, it can only get better. Lastly, tSo today was the day. I had aquired all of the basics, a razor, blades, soap and a brush. I woke up around 8:30 am and sat everything out, excited but hopefully about my new path to a better shave.*

I had purchased a mini gift set of White Birch and tobacco butter from Burlington Coat Factory. So, it wasn't a puck, nor really cream. It all ready had the yogurt consistency in the jar. It smelled more menthol than anything. No idea what white birch smells like, and the tobacco smell was faint.

I then pulled out the synthetic brush that came with the gift set and wasn't impressed.*

I picked up my Shave Factory (Derby) razor bought from Sally's Beauty Supply and dropped it onto the tile floor. Should have taken that as a sign, but I inspected it and saw nothing wrong (as if I could tell) and proceeded. I placed the razor and the brush in my mug filled with warm water and took a shower. *

After the shower I began. I took a dime sized mount of the cream with water and placed it is the mug and tried to work up a lather. *It only made the cream more milky. Another bad sign. No matter how much I tried no lather. I checked the directions. Which were of no help. I finally stuck the brush directly in the cream and applied. I then realized this was possibly a brushless soap. I remembered a few guys mentioning that slightly in the limited reviews I had found online, but never processed what that meant to actually applying it. It proceeded to lather my face and head with the shaving soap. The smell was very minimal. The brush was able to lather ok. But, sadly I could get the blade to catch on my skin. I was able to shave without incident. I didn't have any nicks or cuts, mostly because I followed all the advice of light pressure, but the blade never really came into contact to cut any facial hair (which I had a 3-4 day growth of). Then, it happened, the cream started to run down my head into my eyes. Which made me ask should I be doing my face and head at the same time, or should it be done separately? So, now looking like Carrie (minus the red color of blood) with milky goo running down my head into my eyes, distracting my rhythm while applying a sharp blade to my face and head-Ah, living the dream! I decided to power through, but sadly had it running down my neck to my chest and stomach. It was a bloody mess, especially compounded by the fact I didn't see any hair in the sink after each rinse. Thus, I was not impressed with the*Personna*blade (a last minute substitute from the Astra). It seemed to sit to far in and not set out far enough. Will definitely consider and upgrade to VDH, Astra and possibly Feather blades-hell anything else, maybe a rusty soup can lid.*

I had planned to do 2 passes WTG only (remember it my first time). But after the 2nd pass left me with a goatee stubble (under the nose and around the mouth) and virtually no hair removed from the back of my head. I finished and went to take a nap, but realized I needed to address this. So, I got up and did one final pass against the grain and not duplicating the messy disaster of earlier got mostly all of the hair that remained. I still had some very light hair on my cheeks. But, I felt it was good enough as I concluded I would also need to refine my technique by much more practice. It was the closest shave I have had in a long time. I also got over my anxiety of having the blade contact my skin (when it did) so that's gone. But, I took away the knowledge that my face has many more subtle contours than I knew, but thankfully no cuts or nicks occured. *

Immediate takeaways: It can't get worse. Do more research before the next shave i.e. watch more videos, ask questions on the forum, read other members posts on the forum. I realized it's a long game and the goal is to improve

So all in all, not dissuaded, just a lot discouraged, because I thought I had prepared well for my first time-not even close: "Beware mileage may vary". I'll be doing it again, but I don't know if I'm suppose to shave everyday or when I have growth after a few days. I did feel*manly, but the little girl in me died a messy death to achieve that.

Well, it could have been worse.

I would suggest you get an inexpensive yet easy to lather shave soap like an Arko stick. They are pliable enough to easily form into a shaving mug/cup or you can use it as a stick. Practice making a lather.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4zESTQWDuw

There is no need to soak a synthetic brush. They do not hold water well and need a different technique to make lather than either a boar or badger brush. Just wet the tips in water, give the brush a little shake and start loading the soap onto the brush. Add more water if needed by wetting the tip, giving a shake and load more. When you have enough soap loaded onto your brush go to your wet face and start building your lather. Add water a little at a time, as before, till you have the right lather.

To start shaving you need to find the right angle for the DE to cut efficiently. Place the top cap of the razor flat on your face with the handle parallel to the floor. Then lower the handle till you just feel the blade on your face and that should put you in the ball park for the proper angle for that razor. If you do not have enough angle on the razor the blade will not cut well and too much of an angle will cause the blade to scrape your skin more than cut whiskers giving you a good case of irritation/razor burn.

Good luck

Bob