Thread: First straight razor head shave down

Been following. My question concerns how to do the back of your neck using a straight?
I dye my hair and the 'fuzz' that comes up below the hair line is white and with the rest dark brown its very noticeable. I've been doing it blind, just by feel with a DE, but thought I'd give the Str8 a try. I can do the sides that I'm able to see but how are you setting up to see this area when you do your whole head???

I can only speak for me, but basically you don't see the back of your head - it's done by feel. Which is why practice and time are important when head shaving with a straight.

In your particular case I can see the problem - if you are just trimming the hairline along the neck area it's probably quite important to have it neat and straight. Maybe with practice you can do that "blind", but I seem to recall some people in the past using a double mirror setup (not sure how successfully). If you decide to try that just be careful - I've never done it but I can imagine a double reflection might get a bit confusing. Could be worth a couple of "dry runs" first to make sure you know how the reflected image corresponds to your actual hand movements.

James.

i keep my hair something like a high and tight but with a defined edge i use the double mirror method
and switch hands for each side till i meet in the center but i have been shaving my head with balding clippers
for 15 years before i started with disposable razors a year ago and straight razors the last few months so i have worked my dexterity up actually shaving my head is what gave me the push to straight razors because the multi blade disposables clogged up so much and would where out almost every time i used them.

I shave my head with a variety of straights. Definitely no clogging as with cartridges. You have to develop techniques for your specific head. They are all snow flakes, with no two alike. Stretching the skin is tough with a full head of lather so you have to plan it out. When shaving the back of the head blind it is best to bend the head down to stretch the skin on back of your head. I do cross left to right and right to left on the back because of teenage acne ridges. The top of the head can be challenge as the skin can bunch up and you risk nicks or worse. Stretching the skin on top is crucial. And if you are brave and have a good edge you can tackle against the grain passes.

If you take the time to learn to shave with and maintain a straight you will never go back to cart or DE? My DE just sits lonely in it's stand hoping for a chance to play but never seems to get in the game.

Have been shaving my head a good while now usually with what is left of my unused Gillette plastic blades until this year I chose to shave my head with my straight razor. I would have to say the first five shaves were tricky since I had to get use to shaving my head with my straight razor and it is a two handed operation. While one have holds the razor the other has to stretch the skin and feel where the uncut hair is located especially in the back of the head. In the end you get use too it like shaving one face with the straight razor I still use the fusion blades for the third clean up pass at least until the remaining run out.

Originally Posted by Avenolpey

I shave my head with a variety of straights. Definitely no clogging as with cartridges. You have to develop techniques for your specific head. They are all snow flakes, with no two alike. Stretching the skin is tough with a full head of lather so you have to plan it out. When shaving the back of the head blind it is best to bend the head down to stretch the skin on back of your head. I do cross left to right and right to left on the back because of teenage acne ridges. The top of the head can be challenge as the skin can bunch up and you risk nicks or worse. Stretching the skin on top is crucial. And if you are brave and have a good edge you can tackle against the grain passes.

If you take the time to learn to shave with and maintain a straight you will never go back to cart or DE? My DE just sits lonely in it's stand hoping for a chance to play but never seems to get in the game.

I agree with you I only use a cartridge razor when I'm traveling by plane.

I thought I would kill two birds with one stone here, as my reply is really just a way to subscribe to this thread. I've ventured into the head shave for the first time just this week, so I want to see what people have to say, and advice given to the OP may well apply to me. I used to clip my hair from #1 through to #3 in a progression. I would always shave the back of my neck 'blind' with a DE to keep a neat hairline, so I thought I would try for a head shave this time around just for the hell of it.
I used clippers to knock it down as close as they could go before using a Merkur slant with an Astra blade to do the shave. I found the only issues I had was at the crown at the back. I just couldn't get it smooth. I had other places that felt a little patchy but they would be fixed with more practice I would think.
I don't know that I would have time to make a regular thing of head shaving. I think my practice will have to come over a longer period of time, with various hair lengths between head shaves. For the moment I'm chrome




Mick

Originally Posted by MickR

I thought I would kill two birds with one stone here, as my reply is really just a way to subscribe to this thread. I've ventured into the head shave for the first time just this week, so I want to see what people have to say, and advice given to the OP may well apply to me. I used to clip my hair from #1 through to #3 in a progression. I would always shave the back of my neck 'blind' with a DE to keep a neat hairline, so I thought I would try for a head shave this time around just for the hell of it.
I used clippers to knock it down as close as they could go before using a Merkur slant with an Astra blade to do the shave. I found the only issues I had was at the crown at the back. I just couldn't get it smooth. I had other places that felt a little patchy but they would be fixed with more practice I would think.
I don't know that I would have time to make a regular thing of head shaving. I think my practice will have to come over a longer period of time, with various hair lengths between head shaves. For the moment I'm chrome




Mick

You look kind of scary, but the scowl doesnt help with that.

No I don't normally scowl, I took the photo on my mobile 'phone for a joke 'selfie' to put on facebook. I had the caption "I got a new haircut! You got a problem with that?! Didn't think so!" added to it.


Mick

I started shaving my face and head with straights a few months back. That being said I find that using three razors per day produces the best results for me. One for my face, and two for my head. Shaving my head dulls a razor in one pass so I use one for each pass to get a truly smooth shave and touch up the blades between shaves. Additional benefit is the excuse I can give SWMBO for having a 21 razor 7 day set. Just my 2 cents.