Thread: First full shave with a straight

Not sure of your logic however. It would seem that by waiting the lather dries out which doesn't seem to be softening up the beard. I might suggest you spend a little more time lathering up the chin area. IMHO.

Originally Posted by LeBois

Not sure of your logic however. It would seem that by waiting the lather dries out which doesn't seem to be softening up the beard. I might suggest you spend a little more time lathering up the chin area. IMHO.

As I said in my OP, I should have relathered my chin but didn't. I recognize that was a mistake but do thank you for the suggestion. I do have this tendency of "needing" to finish once I start and I should have seen it was dry, stopped and re-lathered then resumed.

Originally Posted by Weaselsrippedmyflesh

As I said in my OP, I should have relathered my chin but didn't. I recognize that was a mistake but do thank you for the suggestion. I do have this tendency of "needing" to finish once I start and I should have seen it was dry, stopped and re-lathered then resumed.

I have recently found that the addition of a pre-shave ritual has significantly extended the amount of time my lather stays moist.

What I do is rub a small amount of shave cream into my beard , add some water, rub, add some water... At first it seems as it's working up a bit of lather but then absorbs and there's a bit of thin milky consistency left. Then I leave it on as I mix up the actual lather, which takes me a couple of minutes. Then I rinse my face and lather as normal.

I think this is somewhat like the barber routine of lathering, hot towel, cleaning and then lathering again. Aside from softening whiskers, the cream moisturizes the skin and so when I apply the actual lather my skin isn't pulling out as much moisture. I'm still kind of slow but with this method I am no longer ending with dry lather on my chin and moustache. I used to use plain water in a simlar fashion but it just didn't do the job as well.

Originally Posted by Nubo

I have recently found that the addition of a pre-shave ritual has significantly extended the amount of time my lather stays moist.

What I do is rub a small amount of shave cream into my beard , add some water, rub, add some water... At first it seems as it's working up a bit of lather but then absorbs and there's a bit of thin milky consistency left. Then I leave it on as I mix up the actual lather, which takes me a couple of minutes. Then I rinse my face and lather as normal.

I think this is somewhat like the barber routine of lathering, hot towel, cleaning and then lathering again. Aside from softening whiskers, the cream moisturizes the skin and so when I apply the actual lather my skin isn't pulling out as much moisture. I'm still kind of slow but with this method I am no longer ending with dry lather on my chin and moustache. I used to use plain water in a simlar fashion but it just didn't do the job as well.

Great suggestion, I'll try it!

What I did was after showering I mixed up my lather, wet my face and applied a layer of lather to my face. Then I went and stropped my razor (40x linen, 40x leather), went back and rinsed off the lather with hot water then re-lathered and started to shave. My system is similar to yours (I think) but not exactly the same so I'll try it your way and see if that's better.

I think part of the deal here is that, being new with a straight, I'm pretty darned slow so it takes a good long while to do my whole face and neck. I'm guessing the lather drying out will become less of an issue as I get more confident and shave faster but in the meantime I just need to make myself stop and re-lather if needed.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Another thing to add is glycerin to your mixture. It has really helped me.

Originally Posted by LeBois

Another thing to add is glycerin to your mixture. It has really helped me.

I've never tried it but will. Thanks!