Thread: Was my Great Grandmother a Brillo Pad?

If you track down through that deep and dark path called my genetic lineage , you must end up with a brillo pad. The stubble on my chin and mustache are like steel wool --and the closer you get to my lips , the tougher they get --like some sort of petrification going on here. I'm working on my prep work and trying to figure out the best shaving technique, so does anybody have any suggestions, any recommended products short of a blow torch? Thank ya kindly.

Justin

Justin, hair conditioner is a must in this case. It's supposed to penetrate, moisturize and soften hair. Here's a routine that should work:
1) Wash your face (remove the water-blocking oil)
2) Apply some hair conditioner on your face and work it in with moist fingers. Leave it on for about 2min (while you strop)
3) Get your face wet and lather up without rinsing out the conditioner.
4) Shave

Thank ya FireStart, I'll give it a go.

I do this, but in the shower. After I wash my head, rinse, and apply conditioner, I put some on my face as well and let it sit and "soak in" while I finish my shower.

The conditioner makes a big difference.

I put it on in the shower and let it sit for a few minutes and rinse it off just before I get out of the shower. This makes a big difference, especially if I have more than one day's worth of beard to contend with.

I don't find that washing it off makes a big difference - but I strop before I shower so there's less time between when I rinse the conditioner off and when I start shaving than is the case if you strop just before you shave.

Another tip is to take a bit of the very wet lather you have in your mug/bowl when you just start building your lather and spread it on you face while you continue to make your lather. The few extra minutes of soap/water on your face help a bit as well.

In addition to beard prep, the sharpness of your razors is even more important if you have thick and/or coarse hair. Also, try angling your razor slightly so that the edge meets the blade at less than a 90 degree angle - this replicates the effect of a slant DE and gives a slight slicing effect - which improves the cutting action (IMHO).

If you meet a lot of resistance, or the blade stops altogether, try lowering the spine - especially when going against the grain.

I've got a very coarse/dense beard and share your pain. I need to do with, across and against the grain passes to get a BBS shave along my jawline and chin. During the first month, I found that heavier grinds and moving to a 6/8 full hollow helped. I can now get a good shave with any size/grind, but still prefer a heavier razor (1/2 or 1/4 hollow) - especially in a 5/8 razor - and hollows between 6/8 and 7/8.

As your prep, sharpening, stropping and shaving techniques improve (there are a lot of moving pieces to a good straight shave) you'll notice a big improvement. The learning curve in the first couple of months is quite steep, but you should notice a big improvement after your first month. Also, don't be ashamed to use a safety razor to do clean up for the first while.

Good luck.

Thanks for the replies fellas. Suzuki, I've noticed that a slight slicing action helps plenty--especially for those hairs right around the lips --- those are some tuff little bastards -I mean break out the wire cutters. Thanks again,

Justin

I've been using conditioner in the shower and then lathering up before stropping the razor.

Today I used the conditioner while stropping and working up lather in a bowl method, then hot toweling off the conditioner before lathering my face. The results were fantastic, particularly on my neck. I was using a first time ebay blade that I got a particularly nice edge on so don't know how much a variable that was, so will continue using the conditioner this way to see if I like the results with other razors as well.

Thanks for the tip, Ilija.

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

Suzuki, I've noticed that a slight slicing action helps plenty

Slicing helps amputate parts of your face. I really hope you meant "scything"

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

Slicing helps amputate parts of your face. I really hope you meant "scything"

I should have said an angled attack or scything. Thanks Ilija

Justin

Conditioner on the face...interesting

Must try this