Thread: Shaving some one else

I was visiting my Dad this evening, he had surgery two days ago and while I was visiting he asked if I could shave his head. He's not to raise his arms above his head for now and we both sport the same hair cut....so a good choice to ask me.
Well talk about nerve racking! Whipped up some Tabac and lathered him up and watching my angle and pressure, because you know he's going to feel a cut way before I even know what happen.....
Anyway just did a two pass shave with some touch ups, all went well, no nicks, or cuts...he told me before I started, the styptic pencil is down stairs if I wanted it. Me being cocky, I said we won't need that! Lucky me, I didn't!
I offered to go get one of my straights, and he said whatever you want to do... so I missed my chance their

Anyone else ever get to test their skills on someone else? Who doesn't do this stuff for a living...

my first experience shaving someone else (with a straight) was my wife's legs, went pretty smooth (pun totally intended), and she loved it and now asks me all the time to do it. Never tried to shave someone else with a DE though, I think it would be awkward finding the right angle.

My guess is that it is a bit tricky. How you do it and the feel is different. But with a little practice one would work that out too.

I've thought about it. You are completely robbed of the feedback your skin gives. Audible and finger sensations is all you have to judge your engagement with the hairs. I'm sure it's easily learned with practice, but yeah--that first time or two has to be nerve-wracking.

Reminds me of the time my sister, who was in barber school at the time, cut my hair. It took 4x longer than a pro. That was before I started clipping it.

I've shaved people for a long time as a barber bit starting off was tough. Might be safer using a disposable if you're not sure

Sinnfein - I tried my wife's legs with a straight too, and took one swipe and decided that at the time I didn't have enough experience, quickly switched to a DE

Originally Posted by WadePatton

I've thought about it. You are completely robbed of the feedback your skin gives. Audible and finger sensations is all you have to judge your engagement with the hairs.

You got that right!

Originally Posted by sinnfein

my first experience shaving someone else (with a straight) was my wife's legs, went pretty smooth (pun totally intended), and she loved it and now asks me all the time to do it. Never tried to shave someone else with a DE though, I think it would be awkward finding the right angle.

Same here, except I went out and bought her a DE of her own and now she rather enjoys doing it herself and having silky smooth legs.

I've been weighing up the pros and cons of this after hearing about my local barber who first trained himself to shave with a straight razor without using a mirror. Pure feedback.

On someone else, very little feedback (hopefully none, assuming they're not writhing or screaming). But, on the plus side you have the benefit of having better angles of sight, and would be easier to focus on how you stretch the skin, the angle of the shave, etc... I think there are ups and downs. But I haven't tried it yet.

Originally Posted by WadePatton

You are completely robbed of the feedback your skin gives.

Yeah. That's what I was thinking.