Thread: Danger Face

Hello All,

When I first started I was amazed that any small mistake I made with blade position or movement would result in a cut that would bleed.

Now I do my best to pay attention to where the blade is on my face and what I am doing with the edge of the razor.

Frequently I find that I have done something stupid, or made an obvious directional mistake. I remove the blade from my face and prepare to survey the bloody damage.

I have recently been amazed that I have not cut myself whatsoever.

What do attribute this good fortune to? I do realize that my technique is getting better, but after a few introductory and bloody shaves I find it rare that I cut myself seriously.

Thank you,
--Shoki

I'm not sure. For me it seems to be using a light touch. Once I start focusing on shaving the whisker instead of the skin, the resulting cut that might occur is also focused on the same area. So for me the cut at the base of the whisker is the same cut at the first layer of the skin. My skin doesn't start bleeding until I cut quite a bit deeper down.

Fortune favors the foolish.

As long as you don't become too foolish and remain focused on shaving your good fortune should stay with you (as far as shaving goes).

With practice and experience I think we "catch" ourselves sooner. A lot of times, like you, I'll catch myself with the angle/direction/pressure and I know if I had continued just another 0.5 second it would've been a nick.

How do I know, well...let's just say I occasionally make the same mistake more than once.

I think most of it comes from recognizing what the razor can and cannot do shaving wise and knowing how it can cut you and instinctually steering clear of that. In addition, after a certain amount of experience the razor becomes an extention of your body. Where as in the beginning you had to focus on how you were holding it, the angles, the stretching, the strokes, in time all that becomes integrated subconsciously and becomes "the shave."

I think you just have to make the same mistakes that we all have and learn from them. My first two DE shaves were horrible. My first few straight shaves were even worse. I have gotten to the point where the nicks and blood loss don't bother me as much as the fact that I've made another mistake. Each mistake I make is a reminder to me to go back to technique and learn from what I've just done to my face. It took me only two weeks with a DE to go from lousy to great, blood-free shaves with no razor burn. The journey with straights is taking more time, but, in the end, the mistakes are really gifts from the shaving gods to keep you on the straight and narrow path.

Maybe you've cut yourself so many times starting out that you've developed enough scar tissue and that's what you're cutting.

Seriously, congratulations on your progress. I will be starting straight shaving in a few weeks, so I'm sure to be building some scar tissue of my own.