I'm about 25 shaves in with my straight, and figured I'm overdue to start my journal. I took a brief break from it in order to explore my Fine Superlite, which I love, but it's time to get back to my straight.
I'm not likely to be able to get a shave in today, so I'll document yesterdays.
Razor: Ralf Aust 5/8 Spanish point(currently my only shave ready straight)
Brush: Vintage Blades 22mm Finest
Soap: RazoRock XXX
Aftershave: Thayers Cucumber and RazoRock XXX
I've gotten to the point where I can get a BBS on my cheeks down to just under my jawline. The jawline takes a little work and there may be some irritation, but it is doable. My main issue is my neck. My neck hair grows like a cane field in a hurricane and it's still difficult to map it out properly, especially since in the same direction patches there always seem to be a hairs that go against the flow. I usually end up doing a clean up pass with my DE, and my goal is for that to no longer be a requirement for a decent shave.
So, fresh out of the shower, razor stropped and brush loaded. I'm loving this brush. I've only recently switched from bowl and hybrid lathering to face lathering, and this is a really good combination of very soft scrubby tips and backbone. not the best flow through, as it is pretty dense, but still easy to whip up and apply a good lather.
A word about lather. I've read posts from a lot of people who seems to swear by whipping up the lather until they get stiff peaks and leaving it there, but when I do that my lather is not as slick and dries on my face faster, even when I do quick passes with DEs. I always add water when I get to that point, so the lather is creamier, and the peaks droop. I seem to get the best results from that.
Back to the shave: WTG on the first pass and it goes fine. No surprises, angle seems good and it's cutting through the hair nicely without scraping my skin.
XTG on the 2nd pass, and the blade is singing. This is where i usually start having trouble with my neck. I can see and feel that some hair is being removed, but compared to what is left on my cheeks the hair on my neck seems to be longer than it should at this point. I've fussed with the angle a little bit and still don't have it down. I've seen people that have the blade almost flush with the skin and some that have a couple blades width worth of space between the spine and the skin. Neither seems to give me the desired result and I've done the too-much-angle post shave pain dance with the alum bar enough to not want to repeat it. So I try to content myself with the fact that I'm still removing hair and finish the pass.
ATG pass: Cheeks done in a flash, jawline a little slower but still in good shape. I'm ready to tackle the hardest portion of my shave. The main problem I seem to have with my neck is that most of the hair grows parallel to my jawline, making it impossible for me to position the blade in a way that actually goes against the grain. I've tried, and will continue to try, various ways of holding the blade, blade buffing, light scything motions, and switching hands. Today I'm changing the direction I stretch my skin. I usually stretch straight down, with my fingertips under the razor. Today I'm attempting to stretch to the side, with my left thumb positioned under my right ear. Finding a grip on the blade is tough, and my hands are getting in the way of each other, but this seems to remove more hair than previous attempts.
Still not great, but better, I do a quick clean up with my DE and call it acceptable.
I end up with a couple small nicks on the right side of my neck, along with some irritation. My biggest problem area is the hollow of my neck on the right side. I have yet to get a close shave(with any razor, even cartridges back when I used them) without irritation. I always seem to have to sacrifice one for the other.
So that was shave journal entry #1. I'm always looking forward to the next shave, even if I'm not where I want to be result-wise. It is the most relaxing part of my day; a combination of face massage, aromatherapy, and overcoming challenges, not to mention the faceturbating for the next several hours
The next shave will probably be tomorrow afternoon, as my schedule until then is jam-packed. Always more to do than there is time to do it.
Thanks for joining me,
Eric
I'm not likely to be able to get a shave in today, so I'll document yesterdays.
Razor: Ralf Aust 5/8 Spanish point(currently my only shave ready straight)
Brush: Vintage Blades 22mm Finest
Soap: RazoRock XXX
Aftershave: Thayers Cucumber and RazoRock XXX
I've gotten to the point where I can get a BBS on my cheeks down to just under my jawline. The jawline takes a little work and there may be some irritation, but it is doable. My main issue is my neck. My neck hair grows like a cane field in a hurricane and it's still difficult to map it out properly, especially since in the same direction patches there always seem to be a hairs that go against the flow. I usually end up doing a clean up pass with my DE, and my goal is for that to no longer be a requirement for a decent shave.
So, fresh out of the shower, razor stropped and brush loaded. I'm loving this brush. I've only recently switched from bowl and hybrid lathering to face lathering, and this is a really good combination of very soft scrubby tips and backbone. not the best flow through, as it is pretty dense, but still easy to whip up and apply a good lather.
A word about lather. I've read posts from a lot of people who seems to swear by whipping up the lather until they get stiff peaks and leaving it there, but when I do that my lather is not as slick and dries on my face faster, even when I do quick passes with DEs. I always add water when I get to that point, so the lather is creamier, and the peaks droop. I seem to get the best results from that.
Back to the shave: WTG on the first pass and it goes fine. No surprises, angle seems good and it's cutting through the hair nicely without scraping my skin.
XTG on the 2nd pass, and the blade is singing. This is where i usually start having trouble with my neck. I can see and feel that some hair is being removed, but compared to what is left on my cheeks the hair on my neck seems to be longer than it should at this point. I've fussed with the angle a little bit and still don't have it down. I've seen people that have the blade almost flush with the skin and some that have a couple blades width worth of space between the spine and the skin. Neither seems to give me the desired result and I've done the too-much-angle post shave pain dance with the alum bar enough to not want to repeat it. So I try to content myself with the fact that I'm still removing hair and finish the pass.
ATG pass: Cheeks done in a flash, jawline a little slower but still in good shape. I'm ready to tackle the hardest portion of my shave. The main problem I seem to have with my neck is that most of the hair grows parallel to my jawline, making it impossible for me to position the blade in a way that actually goes against the grain. I've tried, and will continue to try, various ways of holding the blade, blade buffing, light scything motions, and switching hands. Today I'm changing the direction I stretch my skin. I usually stretch straight down, with my fingertips under the razor. Today I'm attempting to stretch to the side, with my left thumb positioned under my right ear. Finding a grip on the blade is tough, and my hands are getting in the way of each other, but this seems to remove more hair than previous attempts.
Still not great, but better, I do a quick clean up with my DE and call it acceptable.
I end up with a couple small nicks on the right side of my neck, along with some irritation. My biggest problem area is the hollow of my neck on the right side. I have yet to get a close shave(with any razor, even cartridges back when I used them) without irritation. I always seem to have to sacrifice one for the other.
So that was shave journal entry #1. I'm always looking forward to the next shave, even if I'm not where I want to be result-wise. It is the most relaxing part of my day; a combination of face massage, aromatherapy, and overcoming challenges, not to mention the faceturbating for the next several hours
The next shave will probably be tomorrow afternoon, as my schedule until then is jam-packed. Always more to do than there is time to do it.
Thanks for joining me,
Eric