Thread: First shave - an equivocal success!

Just finished my first ever straight razor shave, using a Shavette. Wow!

I was dead nervous, until the razor touched my skin. Short, light strokes - no pressure at all. I remembered reading somewhere on here to imagine a jumbo jet touching briefly down on the runway before taking off again. It went smooth as silk.

I did two passes, both WTG (I'm holding off on XTG and ATG until I'm more confident). Turns out the lather was too dry, as it dried out before I finished the first pass. Couple of drops of water in the cup fixed that right up for the second pass - l'm learning as I go.

I had decided to start easy, just doing the cheeks and finishing up with the Fusion. No need. Before I realized it, I'd completed the whole face, chin and upper lip and all.

Washing off with cold water and applying some Boss after shave balm left my face feeling slightly rawer than after a Fusion shave, but I chalk that up to inexperience with the straight razor. And best of all: only a teensy weensy nick just below the adam's apple. Oh, and I tore a zit open while drying my face off with the towel afterwards, but that doesn't count, does it?

Needless to say, I'm pretty psyked about this new way of shaving! Never the Fusion again! Naturally, I'm aware of the dangers of over confidence, so I will go as slow - if not slower - on my next shave. The whole experience was very "zen", so there's no need to rush it.

And, to anyone reading this, wanting to try but not having the guts: go ahead! All your fears will vanish once that knife starts scraping your face. Just keep cool, respect the blade, and you can't really go wrong.

Happy shaves, everybody!

Just wanted to say welcome and good for you, your first "real" shave.

I know exactly how you feel since I'm a newbie myself who just started last week.

I'm sure you'll find alot of useful stuff here on the boards and if you can't find it, you can always ask and I'm sure the more experienced members will be there to help you out and answer all your questions.
As for now.... keep it up.

Patrick

Congrats on the shave! I had the same feeling about my M3Turbo....NEVER AGAIN!

As you get a chance to try other things out, I'm sure you'll find other soaps and skin care products that fit your face and keep it raw-free .

Also, you are definitely right about taking your time. I don't spend ANY less than 35-40 minutes. Sometimes even longer. It's just nice to relax and put on some music.

Here's a small tip I've found useful (you may already being doing this, sorry): for the Adam's Apple, stretch the skin to the side so you aren't shaving right over the tip of it. You'll get closer and be less likely to nick yourself.

Congrats again!

I threw my Mach 3 away long before they they came out with these new vibrating models...
It's good to hear you did so well on your first try. It sounds as if you really got it. It's not about removing the hair, anything can do that... It's about taking the time to do it right. I can do a 2 pass shave in 15 minutes with my straights, but I chose to take my time, and spend a good 40 or 45 minutes of me time. Relax and let the world go away for a short while.
Just wait till you get a traditional straight... They aren't quite as sharp as a shavette, but talk about smooth. There's nothing like a well honed razor.

Pleidelmeijer said it: this was my first real shave. From now on, I can loudly exclaim "how great for the kiddies!" whenever I see a Gillette ad.

Good tip about stretching the skin to the side of the adam's apple. I guess I was kinda doing something like that, but not with enough determination it seems.

I have traditional straights in the mail already. One shave-ready and one not, for honing practice. With the Shavette being sharper, does this mean that a traditional will yield more pulling? Or is it simply more demanding with regards to technique?