Thread: Newbie Rant 1st DE shave

INTRO:

Hey guys,

Names John, I grew up without any male role models so I was pretty much self taught when it came to shaving. Starting off when I use to smear toothpaste on my face after brushing my teeth and then "shaving" it off with the toothbrush then to the disposable double blades then to the mach 3. When I was young someone told me (for the life of me I can't remember who) that if you shaved atg your hair would grow in backwardsbut I could never get a close shave wtg (it looked like I never even shaved) so I tried atg and boom bbs. For years afterward though I remember checking the mirror to see if my beard was growing up!(guess I was a little gullable when I was younger) Later I joined the military and "learned" (forced) how to shave in half the time with no cream(goo), and then when I deployed to the middle east where I learned how to shave without water YAY! Milk or saliva works well, I read someones signature that says peanutbutter works well wish I'd thought of that, I have a fast growing beard and had to shave twice a day to keep in regs with an electric it would be every couple hours (not doable). I decided that when I seperated from the military I wanted a comfterable shave, I decided I wanted to use a straight razor, which led me to SRP which led me to B&B and TSD where I discovered DE's. I figured I would try both and see which one appealed to me most, I sent my straight to get honed and purchased a gillette slim and red tip from a member over at TSD who was kind enough to throw in a 40's SS. Well they arrived a few days ago and I finally worked up the courage(and whiskers) to try them.

Hey I told you guys in the title this is a rant

THE SHAVE:

[color="Black"]Equipment: razor- gillette ss
blade- gillette super thin
brush- tweezerman (cheapie $12)
soap- VHD

I lurked on SRP, B&B and TSD absorbing all the info I could, I read the wiki countless times and watched mantic's videos in continuose loops for hours on end. So I came into the shave nervouse but prepared, I hadn't been able to find any soap locally and didn't want to wait for some to be shipped, luckily today I found some vhd soap wedged between the back of a shelf at walgreens (last one!). I had never lathered before always using either just plain water or a nutragina cream. I decided to try it before I shaved just in case, I grabed my puck of vhd my tweezerman brush and a coffee mug and had at it. I soaked the brush and mug in warm water rinsed them both out and began loading the brush, all in all it turned out okay(I think) it may have been a little dry(my hand cramped like four times) because there wasn't much volume (but it wasn't sticky or runny just kinda flat) and my brush sheded everywhere I decided it would get the job done but switched to a bowl cause the mug just seemed like it prevented me from whipping fast enough. I took a shower making sure to rub my whiskers really good. I hopped out and emptied my, now warmed, brush and bowl and began lathering. I loaded my brush alot this time thinking the lack of volume might just had been an inadequate amout of soap. I turned out a little better ,thicker definetly, still not getting the volume I think I should be getting though (will have to work on that) at least my brush stopped sheding. I lathered up and picked up the razor, I decided to go with the SS because people suggested that adjustables are bad to begin with (too many variables) and the red tip is considered by some to be aggressive and..well..I chickened out. I held the razor too my cheek and rocked it down till the blade touched my face and proceeded with my shave WTG. I figured I'd do my sideburns and maybe my cheeks, if it turned out super awesome fantastic I might consider a second pass. Well guys I gotta tell ya.....it went EVEN BETTER! I had wound up doing my entire face neck, chin, moustache and all. I was having a blast, it just kinda came natural....after weeks of doing research heh I was so happy I lathered up again for a second pass. I tried working the lather up but was unhappy with the result so instead I squeezed the rich lather from the center of the brush and decided since this would be my last pass might as well go ATG (which if you were paying attention is what I am used to doing from the get go). I lathered up (looked like santa) and started my ATG pass it went smooth as silk no nicks or cuts, I got a little razor burn on my neck but that was my fault trying to get some stray hairs by going over the same place multiple times. Wanna know the best part?.............. BBS!!!!!!!!!!!I never have to buy cartridges again mmwwwwhahahahahahahah!!!

I attribute my success not to my technique (or lack thereof) but to the fact that I let my whiskers grow for 2-3 days before I attempted this. I find that the face is very forgiving if you have a fair amount of stubble built up. Tomorrow if my face isn't red and sensitive I will try and shave again this will determine whether or not I can shave decently, if not no matter it will come with time and practice at least I know its only going to get better from here on out

Thaks guys for bearing through my ramblings, for those of you who don't read books this counts a your novel for the year!

and thanks for all the time knowledge and support you guys offer, I'll keep you posted on how the next shave turns out.

I really hope the usps didn't lose my straight 0_o T_T

Sounds great! It's great to hear about people's first time!

Welcome to SRP!

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. A couple of days growth tends to provide me with a closer shave in the end as well. I think everybody should do it a few times to learn the direction of hair growth for their face. You go WTG for the next few shaves to let your face rest and adjust to your new implement of beard destruction.

Great story! Sure hope you enjoy the straight (when it gets there). Let us know...

There are many people here who like to skip a day on the weekend so that the next shave is more ejoyable. However I for one can not resist the urge to shave for more than a day. You'll have to let us know how you go with your straight.

Thanks guys you sure know how to make someone feel welcome. I was planning on following kyle's advice and just doing a wtg pass today. Only one problem my beard never came in I shaved at 11pm (pst) on wed its now 12:40 am fri! I have the faintest hint of stubble just now coming in. Undisputable proof that was indeed the closest shave I have ever had, I'm both ectastic and saddened (i really wanted to shave again). Guess I'll just have to wait till morning,maybe I'll practice my lathering and peruse the interwebs for some soap/cream/stick samplers, I'll keep you guys posted.


Anyone know some good places in so. cal to get soaps and such? I'm going to check out bath and body for that poraso they sell but I really wanna find some tabac and witch hazel. I know tons of places online sell it but I have a very sensitive nose (I can't use cologns or after shave) and smelly stuff gives me headaches. I really wanna go and smell the stuff before I fork over the cash on something I won't use. Thanks guys!

Originally Posted by mbwhoosh

. Undisputable proof that was indeed the closest shave I have ever had, I'm both ectastic and saddened (i really wanted to shave again).

wait until you get a really good straight
it's bittersweet sometimes

I never connected 2-3 days growth with a better shave, but I guess you guys are right.

That's why I love this place. I learn so much.

glad to hear you kicked the cartridge addiction

and now you have all the male role models you could want !
I'm actually semi serious about the last one....

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

I never connected 2-3 days growth with a better shave, but I guess you guys are right.

That's why I love this place. I learn so much.

glad to hear you kicked the cartridge addiction

and now you have all the male role models you could want !
I'm actually semi serious about the last one....

I wonder if its not necessarily a closer shave, but a more comfortable shave. After 2-3 days, any damage/irritation should be healed up from previous shave.

Congrats on your success with the super speed. When I first went to the straight from the DE it was with some trepidation. It felt awkward in my hand and it took me a number of shaves to begin to feel like my eye/hand coordination was working together.

Once I got the hang of it I never shaved with a DE again, at least I haven't up until now. I found in retrospect that I was far more likely to have irritation or to nick myself with the thin blades of the DE than with the straight.

BTW, I enjoyed reading your OP but if you are writing a long post it is a lot easier on the eyes of the reader if you insert spaces in your text more often than you did in that post. More people will take the time to read it. Excellent post though.

I wanted to start out with the straight but its in limbo somewhere with the usps I have to wait the 21 days before I can put in a insurance claim so I started with the DE instead.

I don't think 2-3 days beard growth results in a better shave but instead a more forgiving shave. I find that after 2-3 days stuble I can whip the cartridge around all willynilly (yes I just typed willynilly) without much consequences. Also since most people experience at least some irritation thier first DE shave and I had little to none I attribute this to the xtra stuble.

Hows my spacing Jimmy?

btw I had my second DE shave today, just one pass wtg, it turned out very nice. Not bbs but I only did one pass, I also noticed that when my beard did finally come in it was very fine and light,kinda like when I first started to grow hair on my face(except without the patchyness), anyone else have this happen?

I had better results with the lather too. I practiced just adding water and stirring until I got great lather all the way till runny soapy foam to get a feel of how much water to add and how long it would take to whipp it up I only got 2 cramps this time (man how do you guys do it?).

I also tried a different brush on one of the practice lathers. I recently bought a set of boar brushes off the BAY ( man I need to get a photobucket account so I can show you guys) one of them was a dubl duck M-3. I found it softer than the tweezerman suprisingly, it was hard to load the soap and it was more of a mopping action than a brushing action do to the length of the bristles but it whipped a nice lather though.

Oh I found out that boar brushes smell far FAR worse than badger hair brushes when you first get them wet ack! I think I'm gonna buy a silvertip not from goldennib and use it on the M-3 handle.

Has anyone ever used one of those candle warmers(looks kinda like a tiny hot plate) to keep thier lather bowl/mug warm? I was thinking about it while my bowl was floating in the sink. Its either that or go get myself a redneck scuttle cause I am not liking the ring of hair that happens from filling up the sink.

I was using a comb (the kind with the long handle for parts) to practice stroping since it resymbled a razor but now it only makes me think of my (for now) lost razor I'm really enjoying my DE shaves but want to get started on straights, guess I'll find out on the 16th thats when the 21 days are up.Hmm maybe I should start looking for a cheap german roundpoint in the classifieds just in case.......yeah I got this RAD thing under control

ok I'm starting to go all over the place hear time to rest the eyes