Chreees's Shaving Journey

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Originally Posted by pfries

If I shave daily I skip the WTG and do XTG for one pas and can do AGT if I choose.

My facial hair does not grow what I would consider fast so this works well for me.

The only time I do a 3 pass is if it has been two days or more.

PS you can pick up regular witch-hazel for $2 at any Wal-Mart or Walgreens/CVS,

the smell does not linger and add essential oils, Rose water ect. later if you choose.

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Do you have sensitive skin or no? Reason why I ask is I'm trying to see what others do as far as how many passes and what kind of passes, if they have sensitive skin. Does the witch hazel irritate sensitive skin? I looked at a bottle at Wal-Mart and it said it had 12% alcohol, IIRC. Put it back on the shelf because I know alcohol irritates my skin.

I was considering trying these two methods next time: Two WTG passes, or skipping the WTG pass and just doing one XTG pass, like you mentioned.

Yes I have sensitive skin, the witch-hazel I got is 14% alcohol and it does not bother me, one thing that did help me was pre-shave oil.

It seems to leave a barrier that the alcohol cannot fully penetrate.

After I started using pre-shave oil I was able to start using aftershaves with alcohol,

Of course I still use my after shave balm for sensitive skin and I apply that prior to the after shave.

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Originally Posted by pfries

Yes I have sensitive skin, the witch-hazel I got is 14% alcohol and it does not bother me, one thing that did help me was pre-shave oil.

It seems to leave a barrier that the alcohol cannot fully penetrate.

After I started using pre-shave oil I was able to start using aftershaves with alcohol,

Of course I still use my after shave balm for sensitive skin and I apply that prior to the after shave.

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Thanks. I currently use Proraso pre-shave cream, and it seems to help a lot in general with wet shaving. I will pick up a bottle of witch hazel and try it out!

Shave #7:

I used the Wade and Butcher on this one (which I finally tuned in after about 20 x-strokes on my barbers hone- works like a dream now!), and did two WTG passes with some XTG strokes here and there in certain spots. I think this may be my go-to method. NO irritation whatsoever, and a completely nick-free shave. I got what I would consider "Directional BBS," meaning I can run my hand WTG and it's smooth as can be. I am happy with this. Especially if it means no irritation. I can live with not going against the grain if it means a more comfortable shave everytime.

Also added witch hazel into the routine... Love it. I just picked up the cheap $3 stuff from Wal-Mart, made by T.N. Dickinson. The alcohol content in it turns out is not significant enough at all to irritate my face, like other products I've used. I just poured a bit into my hand and rubbed it all over my face after a final cold water rinse.

Oh, that brings me to another point... I've been shaving with nothing but cold water. I like it a lot better. The lather is cold, which goes well with the tingly menthol in the Proraso soap. My face seems to do better during shaving, too. End result is less irritation and a closer shave. So I'll be sticking with it for now.

Still using the Nivea sensitive skin post-shave balm, now after the witch hazel rinse. Great stuff. Leaves my face feeling awesome throughout the day.

That's all for now.

Glad to hear the witch hazel is working for you.

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Originally Posted by pfries

Glad to hear the witch hazel is working for you.

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Yes sir, thank you for convincing me to go ahead and try it. Glad I did.

What pre-shave oil do you use? The Proraso pre-shave cream is working well for me now, but I am sure I'll be trying other stuff in the future, so I want to go ahead and get some recommendations.

I bounce between a homemade and Shave Secret. The shave secret is inexspensive, available at Walmart and I like the feel of the menthol and clove in it.

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Originally Posted by pfries

I bounce between a homemade and Shave Secret. The shave secret is inexspensive, available at Walmart and I like the feel of the menthol and clove in it.

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Ahhh, yes. Shave Secret. I actually have some and have used it twice since I started this straight razor adventure. I used it during my first two shaves, then swapped to the Proraso pre-shave. I feel it is not fair to judge it based on those two shaves, due to my poor technique at the time. I have come a long way, I feel at least, so it's time to try it again and see how I like it now. If I like it enough, I'll just keep using it once the Proraso runs out. I can say that I too like the feel of it on my face, though. :)

Shave #8:

Today was the second time in a long time I've shaved directly after shaving the day before, so two days in a row... Wow. I did the "two WTG passes with some XTG here and there" method again and it resulted in a nice smooth shave, "directional BBS," with no irritation. That's amazing, considering I just shaved yesterday morning and I usually get all kinds of razor burn when I shave two days in a row. So same results as yesterday, just as happy as yesterday. I'm DEFINITELY sticking with this for now, especially if it allows me to shave everyday with no irritation.

The Wade and Butcher was used again today. I'm getting used to its shorter "monkeytail." At first it was awkward compared to the longer one on my Dovo and even my Henckels, but I've adjusted and I really like using the razor now.

Speaking of the Henckels, I get that back tomorrow from Larry. He emailed me and said he is sure I'll be pleased with it. Since he did a fine job honing the Wade and Butcher, I have no doubts that the Henckels will be great as well. I think it was just a fluke the first time he sent it honed, since he seems to have really good feedback online when it comes to honing. I don't hold it against him one bit.

I also fixed up one of the vintage cases he sent me... super glue to the rescue! The material on one was coming undone so I just glued it back. Not a big deal. They both look great for how old they seem. I just wanted to make sure that the material didn't come undone anymore and get worse. I guess I still need to get some pics of the cases. Heck, for my razors too... I know I posted pics of them before, but I need pics taken with my Canon T2i. ;)

As much as I wanted to shave today, I was lazy and wanted to sleep an extra 30-45 minutes... I now regret that decision!