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OK, how many of you are like me and shave using the bathroom mirror about the sink? I'll tell you, my back starts to bother me after leaning so long to be closer to the mirror. Does this happen to anyone else?
I am wondering if most people have better eyes than me and stand straight up while shaving, or if anyone uses a different kind of mirror. I am thinking of getting a wall extending kind of mirror. Anyone have experience with these?
Any other ideas, comments, thoughts?
showme
Hi showme, Nope never had a back issue at all. I shave over the bathroom sink and the above wall mounted mirror. My sink is a medium sized one and am pretty close to the mirror when I shave.
I'm right with you on this one. I have to lean way in too and not only does my back start to ache, but leaning against the sharp edge of the countertop gets me on the frontside as well. I fold up a towel for a cushion which cures that, but I have been looking at those extending mirrors on ebay that attach to the wall. I really like the one that has a 3x magnification on one side.
I tried one of those wall mounted 3x mirrors at a hotel last month. I was more comfortable just standing straight at the sink and using the regular mirror. I admit I had to lean in before Lasik, though.
Wayne
My vote is for the 3X wall mounted extendable mirror. I have it on my Xmas list. No joke.
Sorry! I was the guest in the above post. :oops:
I've been looking at those extended mirrors, haven't brought myself to spend the $$$. Rather spend it on razors. That being said, I really haven't had a problem shaving with the wall mirror, I just use it to position the razor, I mostly shave by feel.
The biggest problem I have is that every time I look into a mirror, it breaks.......lol. :lol: Lynn
I just got one of those mirrors and it's pretty good. It's on an extending arm that brings it right to my face. The only thing is the magnifying side is 5x, and I think that's a little too much.
I use a 3X standing mirror my wife has....I have a 5X and a 10X, but they are WAY too powerful! The 3X is perfect. I will probably get two for myself - one for travelling that sticks with a suction cup (my 5X does, but again, it is too powerful) and another that extends out from a side wall over the sink. The 3X helped me *VERY* much in the beginning.
The downside of a magnifying mirror, in my opinion, is that you can get TOO fussy, and try to go after every little hair that you see left. That is when some of my nicks occurred.
Had to learn that sometimes "good enough", is.
Best -
I'm with you Showme. In our bathroom the countertop is a little higher than normal, hitting me right at the beltline. When we built this house I thought that would be better thinking my wife and I wouldn't have to stoop so far to spin toothpaste, wash the face, etc. Well it doesn't work too well for up close shaving. Add to that the mirror covers the wall flush mounted rather than a medicine cabinet, so there's a few more inches I have to lean. We were in Target yesterday and I looked for one of these mirrors you speak of, but no luck. Maybe we'll hit Bed Bath & Beyond next weekend. She loves that place anyway, so it'd be easy to talk her into. In our walk in shower I have a 8" or so mirror suction cupped directly to the wall face height and I can stand right up to that one. Maybe I'll try using the str8 in the shower and see how that works out.
Umm, be careful using straight in the shower. I would use a razor that had jimps on both sides of the blade and tie a string to your wrist because if you drop a straight razor in the shower, well, I am thinking that it would be a little different than just dropping it in the sink. And I am not refering to the differing distance of the fall, I am thinking of the appendages between your shaving hand and the shower floor!
We have a Bed Bath and Beyond right by the house here and my wife is not allowed to go inside anymore. Let me know if you have any luck with a mirror there. If you do I will do a covert mission and get my mirror, dispose of anything that says BBBeyond on it, and install the mirror late at night so she never knows what happened. HA! My wife would be able to smell BBBeyond on my clothing! and would demand I take here there. Hmmmm, maybe I will wait until I get an SRP razor and am feeling guilty about spending money; then I will let her go in there.
Good luck, and I hope your shaving is better than your putting.
showme
5x hanging mirror. Works great.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...&n=3736411
Oh man good point showme. Didn't think about that. Too bad too because I wouldn't have to worry about my face drying out. The steam would be great for the shave I think. Oh well, not worth dropping a razor on my toe, or worse yet on something else a little higher up. Thanks for that link Jim. That looks like a nice one.
Good advice: never shave in the shower with a straight! The shower is for the safety razor. Along with a cheap boar bristle brush, stick-on magnifying mirror, and a cake of Dove soap when those "no time for a straight razor shave" times occur. For a real straight razor shave the shower is where (after the washing part) you shampoo your whiskers and then lather up with the Dove bar. Use a hand towel as a wrap after it was previously wraped around the shower head (hang it down like a tube from the shower head and twist it at the bottom) while the water temp. is on hot as you can stand it. Once for the shampoo and then the Dove lather second. This really gets whiskers soft. Then I use a swing out mirror at the sink, but a folding magnifying mirror (which you can use for travel; I do) on a makeshift stand will work. Make it work for you; shaving while learning is hard enough. We all need to see clearly what we are doing.
Just saw one at IKEA for $10Quote:
I've been looking at those extended mirrors, haven't brought myself to spend the $$$. Rather spend it on razors. That being said, I really haven't had a problem shaving with the wall mirror, I just use it to position the razor, I mostly shave by feel.
here is a link:
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/store...ts=13716*13721
And if you wipe your backside with twenties....
http://www.homecenter.com/product_de...U%2E6918%2DAPC
Haven't tried it with a straight yet, but 95% of my shaving is in the shower with no mirror whatsoever. When trying to shave the back of you head and sides a mirror is useless, unless you want to use 2 or 3 of them.
Ok, so the first year I cut myself once a week ... now I am down to maybe once a month. You do get to know every hair on your head by shaving "blind".
Picked this one up this afternoon from Bed Bath & Beyond for $30 and put it up this evening. Will try it out in the morning! Seems well made for the price. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...p;SKU=11726275
I bought one of those 1x 5x mirrors that Ray sells at Classic Shaving. Expensive ($50) but it works great. At first I did not care for the 5x, but now I really like it. You can see the individual whiskers being cut, and you can see why you don't cut certain areas well.
You can see where you are going too much with the grain for example, and just what angle of approach works best. The 5x has convinced me that all my razors are plenty sharp, and that my technique is what makes the difference. I can see that some difficult areas are in mini valleys. I can use the tip of the razor to get into those valleys and it works great. In other areas, the grain of my beard is too strong, and it will lie flat no matter what. There, I have to go a bit side grain. I can see that going over some areas time and again makes no improvement - that I have to approach that area differently.
It takes a while to get used to shaving with 5x, but once you do, it is really valuable.
Bob
Bob: interesting. i can get great shaves with my straights on my cheeks but i dont do well on my neck. even with a feather straight. ive got a 3x cheapo mirror i will try tonight. if that works, and i do better, ill buy rays. or maybe go to bed bath and beyond. any other tips on how to get a stubborn neck ?
sam
I use the mirror above my bath sink, but I don't need to lean over to see what I'm doing. I would probably have worse back problems if I did. The 3x wall mounted sounds interesting though. I may have to ask my lady friend if she wants me to install one so I have an excuse.lol
Sam -
I think that the mirror could be the ticket to discovering how to get your neck. If you are a middle aged plus type guy like me, your neck skin is a bit loose. I have to lift my chin to stretch it. Then I use the other arm in a choke hold to pull the skin down. Then I have to find the right stroke angle to the grain. I have no chance of getting close there with the grain, as the mirror shows - with a Feather or regular str8. I have a lot of different grains on my neck, so different strokes in different areas.
I believe that if you can feel the whiskers stroking your hand in a given direction, that the blade won't get those whiskers either. If my hand feels the whiskers too hard, then the blade is going to stall and want to back up. So it is just a matter of finding the right path.
There are some valleys in my neck, as the mirror showd. For those, I use the heel or tip to get in there.
Bob
I am looking for one of those mirrors that are connected to the wall but can be pulled up closer. Old, bad back and blind as a bat. I really need it.
i had a 3 x mirror and i attached that to my shower door and swung the door open next to my sink. that way, i could get right up on the mirror. it is amazing to see how close you can shave. you can see what you miss and how close you come on each pass and what a touch up pass can and will do. did not help with my neck problem, but for the small cost of the mirror, a nice touch.
now, i tried to look at how much hairs were cutting on the neck. it is wierd, because with the mirror, as well as you can stretch your neck and still look, i could not SEE stubble, but i can sure as heck feel it. i even can shave my beard by leaning my head all the way back and by feel shave with the straight. the club razor is lighter and smaller in length and width than the TI 6/8 bison i have, but i really cant do all that much better with a feather straight. my fat pad under the goatee to about the adams apple and then the hollows of the neck. i can kinda stretch and pull my jaw line near my ears and the very sides of the neck and get that with a straight.
but guys, seriously, you can see where you lose the stubble. remember, your beard is hydrated and if you have dark hair like i do, it still seems as though there is a tad bit of hair. but as lynn has said, your face's oils come back and it seems as though what looked like was gonna be stubble is gone.
i even sometimes, and this may be heresey, shave with my de and let the neck hang loose. i may try that sunday night and if i cut myself, well no work monday, lol
sam
sam