Thread: Face becoming "conditioned"

Is my shaving skill/technique getting better or is my skin becoming conditioned to the straight razor?

After alot of shaves, gradually I have become able to shave over the feared chin and upper lip without incident. I suppose there may be alot of factors involved in my success.

Possibly:

1) I am getting my razors sharper with improved honing/stropping.

2) More experience shaving.

3) Facial skin is getting accustomed to the SR.

I think #3 if a big factor and a little underrated. Beginners should consider that in time a nice shave seems to happen all by itself (well almost). It has taken me a couple of months but it seems that my skin is accepting the edge of the straight razor much more readily now than when I first started.

Emil

Sounds like you've got it comming along nicely. Those three points are dead on the money in my book.

X

All three are important. I'm going to put a little extra weight behind the first two points. The chin is probably the toughest, and the couple of months experience is huge in tackling those curves. Most people's faces adjust to the extra exfoliation a straight provides in a couple of weeks, although mileage may certainly vary.

You are correct also going slowww and a light touch is very important.

The chin and upper lip are tough but it does feel good when you get it right.

Yes, I think your skin does become accustomed to the straight. But at the same time, you also become more skillful in using it, and scraping a blade across your face, for the most part, isn't a new experience for most men (even if it was five or six or eight blades, or whatever we have in razors now).

I'm still working on getting the chin and neck perfect. :P

Your skin will become acustomed and I have also noticed since I started shaving with a straight that my stubble sticks straight out more and doesn't lay down as much as when I used anything else.

Keaton