Thread: The beard is GONE !

I've been wearing a beard for the past 3 years. I found out about straight razors, and said to myself that this how I'm going to start shaving again. I got a brush and some proraso, purchased some str8s, found out about this great community and sent the razors out to Lynn for honing. The razors are still with Lynn, but I got my hands on my grandfather's 1932 gillett tech DE razor since then. A friend of mine was nice enough to give me a wilkinson sword blade, and I decided that I just couldn't wait for the straight razor to start shaving, so I took out my new brush, my new soap and my grandfather's 78 year old DE.

WOW !!!

I completely forgot about the feeling of a freshly shaven face. I forgot how smooth it feels, and how nice walking in a cool breeze can feel.

I'm definitely going to keep shaving, I really enjoyed taking my time to prep my face, prepare my lather and slowly shave using my "new" razor. I can't wait to get my straight's from Lynn.

I thank evey single one of you from this forum for the great experience I had this moring, it's because of you that I decided to start shaving again.

Have a great day !!

That is cool, congratulations. There is nothing like a smooth, close and clean shave. I wore a mustache for years and finally shaved it just to have something else to shave. When you begin shaving with the straight take it slow and read Lynn's suggestions for the first straight razor shave here for best results. Also read my sig below to avoid nicks and cuts.

Without photo's it just didn't happen!

Glad you enjoyed the whole experience. It's great to take time to appreciate it, rather than the drudgery of dragging a multiblade over your face.

Thanks for the advice ! I will definitely take it easy, and step by step when I start with the straight.

Congrats!

Out of curiosity, did the beard have anything to do with cartridge razors, either the crazy prices or a general dislike of shaving with one?

I had about a month's growth last Halloween for a costume and while it drove me crazy not shaving, it was indescribably gratifying to watch the mass of hair just slide off my face.

Congrats!

Some of the best shaves I've had are when I've waited a few days..! Very satisfying!

Originally Posted by commiecat

Congrats!

Out of curiosity, did the beard have anything to do with cartridge razors, either the crazy prices or a general dislike of shaving with one?

I had about a month's growth last Halloween for a costume and while it drove me crazy not shaving, it was indescribably gratifying to watch the mass of hair just slide off my face.

The beard was there for 2 reasons:

1- My wife liked it when I had a bit of facial hair, so I let it grow a bit and TADA ! A beard magically appeared on my face & she wanted me to keep it.
2 - I never enjoyed shaving. I didn't hate it, it's just that I found it bland, boring, I never looked forward to doing it. The cost of catridges wasn't a factor since I don't have a strong beard, so my cartridges lasted a while before I needed to change them. Now that I think of it, I'll add shaving cream to the list. I hated that stuff. I found it gooey, too perfumed, just not fun. I couldn't beleive the difference after buying the soap and 20$ boar brush.

I, too, had a beard but not as long. Just a little over a year. I started shaving with a straight about 3 months ago. I'm letting the beard grow back now but I'm going to keep shaving the neck, mustache and topline. I'm going for the gnome look.

I also had a beard for a few years, and my skin got infected because of that. It was too strong and my skin too soft. Since then, I now have problems with my skin and I have to be careful with it and on the products I use.

But I also, as you, discovered the pleasure of a soft skin. An since I shaved my head many years ago, even before it became popular for the youngters, I can't tolerate hairs on my head, and it feels just like not shaving my face for many days, just not normal...

And shaving with a straight made me discover a new pleasure.

Salut...

Gilles