Thread: First Shave photos

So I received my Dovo in the mail yesterday thanks to johnmrson, and after an excited shriek resembling that of a 12 year old girl I went to do my man-stuff in the bathroom. (Shaving, get your mind out of the gutter!).

I gave it a stropping as best I know how, (I've read the posts and seen the videos and feel confident enough for now), had a hot shower, lathered up with the Faulding cream that I've always used, and took to ma' face!

Now I kinda sorta almost had every intention of following Lyn's instructions in his helpful "First Shave" post, and was only gonna do from my sideburn to my jaw on my right side. But I'm sure I don't have to explain to you guys how hard it would have been to stop at this point! I managed both cheeks WTG and then with a second ATG pass, wouldn't say I got it BBS, but at least as good as I get it with the disposable Sensor I usually use. Also had a very patchy WTG and occasional XTG crack at the neck - the neck being one of the main reasons I took up STR8 shaving in the first place. I stayed away from the mouth because I had a big dirty mo (definitely for the best methinks!) which I shaved off this morning for Movember.

Here's how it turned out:



Didn't even notice that nick until I saw the photo! The irritations are from the last ATG shave I did with my disposable Sensor, trying to see exacly how good a shave I could get before beginning my long and allustrious STR8 shaving career...


Observations From a First Shave:
-The razor didn't glide as smoothly as I expected it to from watching many videos. I'm sure this could be for many reasons, none of which I have any idea about!
-I found it much more effective to use a steeper (more perpendicular) angle on the neck. Which of course made the razor glide even less... or not at all... but the hair wasn't cutting the other way.
-Disregarding the patchiness, the neck shave was just about as good as the regular lazy shave I give it with my disposable Sensor, so considering that this is my first shave I am optimistic about being able to get a good shave on the neck with some more effort!
-Shaping around the mo was all I had dreamed it would be with a STR8, woo hoo! (The second reason I took up STR8 shaving)
-I probably should make sure I'm stropping properly, and get a better strop than the cheap one I got off eBay!
-I need to experiment with pre-shave preps and try some different creams, the only reason I have always used Faulding is because it's my favourite of the two available in the supermarket!

I'm also gonna get a DE to play with, just so I know all my options :-)

Epilogue:
I shaved off my dirty mo this morning for Movember. I couldn't help myself, I lathered up and shaved most of it off with the STR8 without using clippers first. (Stayed away from the edges of the lips though, now THAT scares me!). Being able to shave longer hair is the 3rd reason I took up STR8 shaving, even though I didn't really know if it would actually work or not. Seems it does! Still questionable as to whether it's easier than using electric clippers first, but I guess I will find that out with time!

Thanks for reading men!

Dean

Shaving with a straight is definitely a learning curve and it'll take you quite some time to get a true BBS shave. But, as you already noticed it can deliver a result at least as good as your disposable on your first use. It does get better with time and practise.

Looks like a good first shave!

Now those are some heavy duty whiskers!