Thread: First Shave Pics

Well I finally had time to have my first shave with straight razor. Last couple of nights I haven't even had the time to shave even with disposable. I still did a rush job, which is why I believe I ended with a little burn (Too many go overs to get all hair).
It wasn't as bad as I thought once I understood how the blade moved across, I used dominate hand on both sides because my left wasn't too steady. The hard part was the three day growth. Definately something to do daily, unless there is something to do for that stubborn tough growth. Anyways, was very satisfying and not too many nicks. The stypic pen is definately worth it. Well here it is.

You're off to a good start. Do try to learn and shave with both hands. The faster you get used to it the easier it will be. Just go slow. A good prep to help soften the beard. Congrats! The fun only begins.

Nice, better than my first shave, which was a bloody mess.

You'll be just fine. Always keep in mind to use no pressure and let the blade do the work. Pretty sure we all looked like you, if not worse after our first attempt..lol. It'll only get better

I intend to use both hands, I could tell the difference in difficulty but was not really comfortable with it and wanted to be done. Had 8 kids running arond the house.
That being said, I only had 3 actual nicks, the rest was just a little burn from multiple passes. I will have to try to use less pressure, but I think I did that because I felt I needed to because of the "tough growth". I am going to get some glycerin soap to try on my face while in shower before shave. Maybe that will work.
Also, the soap would dry and get snowy on my face. I lathered the whole face, then relathered as I went along. It also sorta made the blade slow and stick.

once you get used to shaving and get better technique you might find you actually prefer shaving with a three day growth, it gives the razor more stuff to dig into. Personally myself Ive been known to straight shave every twelve hours but I can only do that about three times in a row before my face gets tore up.
Now I shave every 24 to 48 hours and I never have a problem with mowing rough beard

Great job...very familiar...except I had what looks like more razor burn and didn't look as good on my chin. No kidding, one of the better pieces of advice I just read recently was you are trying to just every so gently squeegee the lather off your face...just barely touching. When you find the right angle the very light squeegee will take everything off if it's sharp.

+ 1 on the learning with both hands. Also, if you're in a rush or distracted by kids I would wait until you can do it without distraction. If you're feeling rushed/distracted/stressed you'll have a tendency to use more pressure and bad angle and rush the shave and that's when I've nicked myself. I tell my wife it's "me" time when I shave. I've had the same problem with soaps getting dry and flaking. I'll say use more water and make sure your face is wet when you apply it. I'll get a nice thick rich lather but then it seems too dry too quickly. Also, you're slower shaving starting out like me and that's part of the problem. I'm sure someone more experienced will chime in with advice on a better soap to use that might not do that. Keep experimenting with everything, lather, shave angle, skin stretching, pressure, etc. It will all come together and you'll be like Ahhh! that's how it's supposed to be! Feels great. I just really had my first Ahhh! moment the other night. I've only been shaving with a straight for about a month.

I can't speak from experience but I'll say get a quality soap like Mitchell's Wool Fat or Tabac or another quality soap. The one thing you don't want to scrimp on is your soap or cream. I've been using a cheaper soap and another member sent me some Cella soap and it makes a difference. Lathers more easily. I plan on ordering some MWF soon to try also. Good luck!

P.S. I ordered another shave ready razor and only shave with it every once in a while just to make sure I'm maintaining my daily shaver properly. i.e. stropping. If I feel the shave quality starts lacking I give it 5-10 strokes on linen with chromium oxide to refresh it. I also plan on learning to refresh it on hones so it's good to have a reference to compare it to. The last thing I want to do is have a dull blade. That just puts another variable in the learning curve I don't need.

These type of threads make me cringe and laugh both. My first straight shave, I was red all over my face and went out to eat that night proud anyway that I completed the whole shave. You'll do fine and get much better. I'm only 30 shaves in and get little to no irritation or nicks now - although I don't get a shave as close as I want.

Some guys seem to go the route of do or die nothing but a close straight shave. That hasn't been my path as I figure I'm improving all the time and don't want to butcher my face in the meantime, but for those it works for more power to them.