Thread: 2 days of whisters = uncomfortable shave

I'm a cold water shaver, personally, 1 day or a full beard, I know that three passes later there will be nothing but a darn fine shave....makes no difference to the blade, it's cuts the hair at the same place.

As a matter of fact, as has been mentioned before, I'd rather have a good beard going than have to do a clean-up shave....more fun to hear that blade sing if you're using a hollow or growl if you're using a wedge!

I generally shave everyday but if I skip a day, the first pass I do wtg. I usually start xtg on a daily shave though. Find the method that works for you and its all trial and error, no one can show you how to shave your own face.

Thanks for the comments guys. As usual it seems I'll need to keep shaving to determine what the most comfortable shave on my face is achieved. If the shave with extra whiskers was rough due to a dull razor I'll need to keep working at my stropping skill. I really think this is the problem. Well, one of them anyway. Another may be my technique which seems to change a bit with each shave. I've been shaving my chin and upper-center of my neck first because it's much thicker/coarse than my cheeks and below. I picture my face in three vertical sections. Right, center and left sections. I shave the center first, then the cheeks and below. If I want as close a shave as I can manage I do the center first then shave all three areas. This results in a second pass on the coarser areas (chin/neck) where the whiskers are thickest. I haven't "mapped" my face regarding WTG or XTG yet. I may try to do that soon.

Even though I need to figure everything out based on my face/beard it helps to get replies from people who have already been where I am now. Learning from other's experience is much better than learning from my own. Well maybe not "better" but definitely less painful.

I rarely go more than one day since I started SR shaving because I enjoy it so much. When I do I get the opposite feeling. It seems much easier

Stropping is the next most important part of straight razor shaving after not cutting yourself. Practice with dull razor shaped objects (a butter knife with a non serrated edge etc), it will build muscle memory.

Originally Posted by Jack0458

If the shave with extra whiskers was rough due to a dull razor I'll need to keep working at my stropping skill. I really think this is the problem. Well, one of them anyway.

I didn't shave again yesterday like I said I was going to. So today it was back to normal amount of whiskers. Just wanted to mention the routine because of how well it worked. I used Neutrogena face scrub and then rinsed my face. Then I used Castle Forbes pre-shave. Then I used Wool Fat soap (warm lather). I stropped both my razors prior to shaving and used both. This was a very comfortable shave and both razors cut very well (for my experience). No pulling or anything. The razor glided smoothly on my face. I got great results with only one pass. There was a couple of light stubble spots but one quick stroke over them was all it took. No additional lather or anything. So I found one pre-shave routine that seems to work great for me. I also used Neutrogena's Post Shave lotion. This feels good but has no impact on how the shave went. I like it though.

My pre-shave routine today:
1. Neutrogena face scrub
2. Castle Forbes pre-shave
3. Warm Mitchell's Wool Fat soap

Post shave:
Neutrogena post shave lotion

Still on the fence about using a scuttle or face lathering with cold water. Both, as several have said work well. So it's a matter of what I want to do on a given day I suppose. When the bathroom is cool I prefer a warm lather. But if the bathroom is hot (steamy) a shave with cold water and face lathering is very nice.

PS
I heated the scuttle with water in it for 2 minutes prior to shaving. That's where the warm lather came from. Not from warm/hot water from the tap.

I have coarse whiskers and with a couple days' growth I really need the hot towel treatment to soften them up. Makes a huge difference.

Hello to All,

For me, I find that the 'apparent toughness' of my whiskers increases in the zero (0) to three (3) days period, then starts to drop again.

This is entirely empirical, and based on the feel of the shave on the first pass. It possibly may mean nothing

The shave, as a whole, works just as well (or badly ) on any day

Have fun

Best regards

Russ

I seem to get better shaves if I dont shave for a couple of days.