Another newbie with a shavette - used it this morning, learned a lot
Hello,
I broke out my brand new shavette - no idea of the brand - bought it new at a beauty supply place. Put in a brand new Derby blade, warmed up my face with 2 separate hot towel treatments, lathered up some sandlewood cream on my new brush, coated my face, and began my first shave with a shavette. Man, did I learn a lot! I had not shaved in 3 days, and I have what I would say is a 'moderate' beard. With my old Gillette cartridge, I shaved 2x/week, every other day, and got BBS every time.
First, it's important to me to learn to "do it right." What I mean by that is that I want to develop the muscle memory in both hands. So, I shaved the right side of my face with my right hand, using my left to pull my skin tight; then I shaved left side of my face with my left hand, while pulling up on my skin with my right hand. I am a right handed dude.
I cut the absolute hell out of my face about 15 seconds after starting - on my right cheek. After the bleeding stopped and I could see the cut, it is a very long cut - so I guess I moved the shavette or my head in a sideways motion. That was the only cut - but I did have a ton of small weepers, mostly on my ride side. My right side was not very smooth when I was done.
Next I did the left side. Again, this is my non-dominant side. No cuts, profoundly smooth, worked great! What the hell?
Did my neck by turning the shavette with the blade up - saw this in some of the shaving videos I've been watching. Got my neck BBS first try!
All in all, not bad for my very first shave with such a device!
Here is what I learned:
1. I should have done it all in the shower - I always shave in the shower - have for 20 years, and rarely if ever have any problems. My hot towel stuff did not hydrate or soften my whiskers like when I shave in the shower. I need to buy a hands-free fogless mirror, then I will try again in the shower.
2. I cannot let my mind wonder, and I cannot move while doing this. I'm certain the cut is from me moving; and I probably moved because I became distracted or off-task mentally.
3. Holy cow! I only went with the grain on my cheeks - got BBS on my left cheek with no problem at all! On my neck, I couldn't get my arm turned the way I wanted it, so I only shaved my neck against the grain - BBS again. If I can figure this out, and get BBS with one pass, or close to one pass, I will be a fan for life!
I did notice that the blade does not sit squarely in my shavette - one end is slightly more pronounced than the other. That too may have contributed to my cut.
Can't wait to get my actual straights sharped up. Welcome to a specific reference for where to send them.
I'm calling today a victory, and I am excited for round 2 - after I heal up!
Jim
