Newbie Rant 1st DE shave

[mbwhoosh]

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