First Straight Shave: Success!
Today I received my first straight razor in the mail, a C-Mon Hollow that I bought in the classifieds. It's simple, gorgeous, and affordable, and of course the most important thing, shave ready.
I first took a hot shower and scrubbed my face really well.
Next, I used baby oil as a preshave treatment, which I have found to work extremely well with my old razor. I figured I'd give it a try and massaged it in.
I went on the cheap end of things with the soap and brush, using the Van der Hagen soap, boar brush, and bowl kit. Again, starting at the very lowest to work my way up.
The lather I'm still a little unsure about, but I got it going before I stropped. I'll ask more about this later.
Stropping actually seemed pretty simple, and I did about 30 passes before I put the lather on my face and began to shave. The stropping was pretty slow, but I was holding the razor like it was a lightsaber before I started, almost terrified.
I worked a good lather onto my face and began with my dominant side right at the top of my sideburn. I gained more confidence as I shaved down to my jawline and then over towards my cheek and nose area. I even attempted a bit of the mustache.
I then switched hands and did the same pattern on my left side. Things went smoothly there as well. I'm happy to report that there are currently no nicks or cuts on my face to speak of, simply BBS skin. It was a truly awesome experience, especially since I had to apply virtually no pressure to my face other than what the weight of the blade provided.
After shaving I put on some Gillette Fusion ProSeries aftershave, which is a gel and also has a slight SPF in it. It was a nice aftershave that didn't leave me feeling oily.
One of my main questions regards the timing of stropping, working up a lather, and applying it to ones face. Which do you do first? Is it simply a matter of preference or is one more important to take care of first?
Also, any of the process is open for criticism, it's greatly appreciated. I look forward to many more fantastic shaves!