Thread: The Mystery Comfort of Straight Shaving.

A couple of years ago I finally bought some wet shaving gear. A Simpson Tulip 3 brush, a Merkur 39 C Slant, a Georgetown scuttle, some Feather blades and different soaps and creams. I also bought two identical 4/8 Dovo straights from a barber in Norway. I tried shaving with the Dovo Straight, but they were not shave ready. I bought a Norton 4/8 waterstone and tried to hone them, but never got a good shave with them. So I gave up after a few cuts and a lot of blood. The Merkur and Feather blades gave me what I thought was the ultimate shave, BBS and very seldom a small cut.

What I really wanted was to learn to shave with a Straight, and my turning point was when Lz6, Bob sent me two shave ready Straights a few months ago. One was a 6/8 Robeson Shure Edge and one wonderful Wade&Butcher 5/8 from the 1880`s in mint condition. Suddenly I got a perfect shave with Straight razors, it was my old Dovo 4/8`s and not me that was the problem earlier. Now I shave with Straight`s at least five days a week, and now I come to the point of this thread.

I have noticed that when I shave with a Straight my skin feel so incredible soft for hours after shaving. It must be something with the way a Straight cut the beard and remove old skin? I did a little experiment. One day I shaved with my old Gilette Fusion and got a shave that felt horrible after a couple of hours. Lot of stubs everywhere, even if I shaved ATG. My skin was not happy either.

The next shave was with the Merkur 39 C slant. I now got a perfect BBS shave, and my skin felt great for a couple of hours, then I felt some stubs a couple of places, and my skin was not as smooth and soft as it had been the first two hours.

The next day I shaved with a Thiers-Issard 7/8, and the difference was very noticible. And that is a feeling I get after every straight shave, the ultimate comfort of a BBS shave in combination with the wonderful soft skin. And after shaving with a Straight this feeling last for many hours.

So shaving with a Straight razor not only gives me the great feeling of shaving the way my great grandfather did, the proudness of mastering such an instrument and the enjoyment of looking at the beautiful Straights, it also gives me the best shave and comfort there is withing shaving.

My skin just seems to love beeing shaved with a Straight, and my reward is a silky smooth face and a fat grin every Straight shaving day

Originally Posted by ama015

I have noticed that when I shave with a Straight my skin feel so incredible soft for hours after shaving. It must be something with the way a Straight cut the beard and remove old skin?

I've noticed the same thing (and so has my wife ). I recall having read somewhere else in these forums a couple of folks suggesting that shaving with a straight might be performing micro-dermabrasion, which I guess is actually a kind of injury that your skin then repairs by generating new cells. Whatever the cause, though, my experience matches yours.

I also switched over to cold water about 6 months ago, which resulted in even longer-lasting smoothness and softness.

The stubble seems to grow back with a smoother feel to it when shorn by a straight razor than by other implements. It also seems like this is easier on the skin post-shave. Regardless why it happens, I like it

Congratulations!!! You have described so well how I feel as I use a Str8. The feeling is addictive!!! Bob (Iz6) is a great influence. I have several razors that he has honed and each is supurb. One of the tricks I have learned from SRP is to add two or three drops of glycerine when I mix the soap/cream. What a kick that gives to the routine.

That's a nice experiment ama, I'd try it as well but I don't have any shaving gear except straights anymore. I have the feeling I am experiencing the same thing, if I put a little effort in touch-ups I can get a shave that stays BBS for several hours and I just can't stop feeling my face. I managed to completely forget what my gilette felt like
I think you are on to a piece of the solution to the mystery when you mention the exfoliating effect of the straight.

"My skin just seems to love beeing shaved with a Straight, and my reward is a silky smooth face and a fat grin every Straight shaving day"

Exactly! I hate it when I have to shave with the Fusion razor because I don't have time to use my straight. Yeah, it happens from time to time.

Rob.

Srt8 Razor shaving gives my skin the smoothness like a baby's bump,a wonderful feeling after each shave .

Everyone above described it really well. I can only add that I am now used to a certain standard of shaving and I would find it very difficult to go back to any other method of shaving.

My skin is alot better since I switched to a straight a while ago. I get no rashes, bumps or ingrown hairs at all anymore. I usually use an aftershave milk balm which also keeps the skin feeling soft and smooth all day as well.

I've been shaving with a straight for a while now, and once in a while when I'm in a hurry & need to shave, I grab the DE. I get just as close a shave, but here's where I notice a difference:

The stuble feels "sharp". after using a straight, whatever stuble that grows feels like, well stuble.. Normal re-growth. But with the DE, the stubble is much more prickly. It annoys me to touch it. Wheras the stubble after a str8 razor shave feels more blunt.

So in my case, I think that my facial hair is cut just as close to the skin when using a straight VS a DE, but I notice the re-growth from the DE earlier because of that "sharpness" that my stubble has.

Does this make any sense ?