Thread: first time poster, waiting for first time shaving

Hello all. Recently picked up a few vintage straight razors in need of a restoration and waiting for a new "shave ready" straight to show up.

My skin is highly sensitive and I've always like the feel of a straight razor barber shave.

I am curious to a few things...
I need a mug, brush, soap, aftershave and a few other lotion type items. Any place I can get a sample pack for multiple items until I find something that will work for me?

Also, how does a beginner get past the beginner jitters? Lol!

Great site here.

Jake

You will get lots of help right here on finding your items, maybe even a donation. You will get over the jitters after a couple shaves. Read as much as you have time for right here on TSD. You will learn a lot

Welcome to SRP. There is a ton of information and videos in the library section. There is also a first shave thread. It is always recommended that you don't start with a full shave. Start with your sideburns and cheeks, and as you gain razor control and confidents you can start to go a little. Start with a simple with the grain pass.

I just used amazon for most of my initial stuff as the items have a lot of reviews. With that said, for me, a "scuttle bowl" is far superior to a smooth bowl and I wouldn't scrimp on cheap soap if you have sensitive skin. The Truefelt cream ($25) really changed everything for me early on as I was getting irritation with some of the cheaper soaps.

I was looking at the Proraso sample pack. Would this be a decent start?

Hi and welcome. The Proraso is a quality brand and many here use it. Best thing for the jitters is as rezdog said start small and work into it. Check out the beginner's section in the library and check out the vids on YouTube by Lynn Abrams. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask.

Like eddy79 said. Lynn Abrams is good. Another good youtube video guy is geofatboy from Shavenation. Always use a good, professionally honed razor to start. Straight Razor Designs is a wonderful place to shop because they will hone your razor before they send it out. Use a high quality strop. I picked the 3" Latigo leather strop with a extra fine linen reverse. Always pre strop 30 times on the linen side and 60 times on the smooth leather side. Proraso is a nice soap to begin with. Use a good brush because cheap brushes don't lather well. The biggest piece of advice I can give is after watching the technique videos is to simpy start and go SLOW. Straight razor shaving is a chance to kind of pamper yourself. Go slow and be mindful of razor position. It surprised me how different straight razoe shaving was as opposed to DE razors. May all your shaves be close, smooth and comfortable!!!

I guess that's the next question. I've seen a few brush and mug kits. Not sure what a good brush would be for a reasonable price.

Welcome Jake77. If you have sensitive skin I would suggest that you start with soaps/creams that are designed for sensitive skin. Many shavers are sensitive to common products in the soaps/creams. Most are sensitive to menthol, eucalyptus and Shea butter. Those are the standards. Some are also reactive to the various essential oils used. A cheap, decent beginning brush would be a Van Der Hagen, available in almost all drug stores and the like. About $7 USD. You might also want to try their glycerin soap. It is unscented and does not contain known irritants. Any big coffee mug will do for building a lather. After you feel comfortable with the process, then you can branch out and try other brush types and soap/cream types. Proraso is good, but they have several varieties and you need to read the fine print to see the ingredients.

Lots of luck and do ask us questions.

Where in the states are you? There are many Mentors around and one could be near you. A couple of one-on-one sessions before and as you get started would be more beneficial than just reading in the Library and watching the videos. If you are within 50 miles of me (easiest travel time) I would be most happy to sit down with you and go over things.

Welcome to SRP!
I'll second the Van Der Hagen as a starter soap. They make a starter kit with soap, bowl, and mug for around $12 at a lot of drugs stores and wal marts, etc. It's actually a pretty good boar brush, the soap lathers pretty easily, and I haven't heard of the soap causing any irritation issues. You will probably also see Williams Mug soap next to the VDH in the stores, and while I do like Williams it is one of the hardest to build a lather with - so I wouldn't recommend it as a first soap.

For aftershave, I definitely recommend witch hazel - Thayers is a nice one. For scented stuff, there is a lot out there. Maggards razors has samples of aftershaves and soaps for a decent price.

And definitely pick up a styptic pencil - I hope you never have to use it, but if you whack yourself you will be glad you have it.

For the first shave jitters, try to remember to breathe. I remember sweat running down my nose after taking my first swipe with a straight. After a few shaves the jitters pass.

In the mean time, check out the Beginner's Section in the Library and ask the forum if you need help.