First Straight Shave, with Pictures

[LeverTime]

Some background on me: I have been shaving with my grandfather's DE Gillette for almost seven years now. I used low-quality CVS blades until a year ago when I found B&B. Now I use Kai blades exclusively, and I spend 20 minutes on a shave. I prep by taking a shower, holding a hot towel over my face for a minute, and finally rubbing witch hazel on it. I use Proraso and either use straight witch hazel or C O Bigelow #1200 for aftershave. My beard is thick and grows fast so I shave almost every day. I am happy with the results I get from DE shaving, but I would love to get the same quality of shave without having to buy new blades all the time.

I purchased a shave-ready straight from another member on the board, acquired an old strop from my barber (but I did not strop this first time) and gave it a go today. I did not shave yesterday. I spent about 45 minutes shaving. I started on the sides, and it was smooth and easy. I thought, "Hey, there's nothing to this!" Then I got to the moustache, chin and under-lip areas. I did about six passes on my chin and neck area and there was still a lot of hair left. I had a fair number of cuts in that area, and felt a bit of burn, so I decided to give up for the day. Here are the results.

Honestly, it was better than I thought, no major cuts. I assume I will get better with time, but please feel free to give me any advice you might have. Thanks.

 

[mdunn]

youre doing well!

try to avoid 6 passes though and concentrate on your angles and (no) pressure

 

[LeverTime]

youre doing well!

try to avoid 6 passes though and concentrate on your angles and (no) pressure

I tried not to use much pressure at first, although I probably used more than I should have on the later passes, due to frustration. I kept the blade around 30 degrees, I would say, on my chin. Does that angle sound about right?

 

[mdunn]

30 is a nice guide, sure. If in doubt of your angle, always err on the side of getting the spine closer to your skin.

On each pass, you want to have a lower (spine closer to the skin) angle, too. For ATG that pretty much means spine just off your skin

 

[gugi]

the pictures are close, but the shave not so much
nothing to worry about, i'd say stick to the easy areas for now and expand slowly. don't use pressure

 

[gumbo]

Anyone else look at these pictures and just think "oh a skin stretch there would have done it" or "Lower the angle ATG would have nabbed those"...

Still, nice for your first shave. Mine looked like that for a couple of weeks, but then things incrementally "click", until you nail one tough area at a time.
Good luck, and don't give up!

 

[BEAR DEN]

Anyone else look at these pictures and just think "oh a skin stretch there would have done it" or "Lower the angle ATG would have nabbed those"...

Still, nice for your first shave. Mine looked like that for a couple of weeks, but then things incrementally "click", until you nail one tough area at a time.
Good luck, and don't give up!

+1 It is a must to learn the skin stretch. Congrats on your first shave! It will get better and better as you practice your technique.

 

[Seraphim]

Were all 6 passes WTG?


Also, as another matter, witch hazel is an astringent, which is generally used after a shave. If you use it before a shave, it might be counterproductive to whisker wacking.

 

[cooltide]

a great first effort
for my first few times i only did what i felt comfortable with & used my DE to finish things off & over 2 weeks or so things improved
now i use blade angle & stretching without much thought
i guess it's like driving a car once you get used to using the gears you just do it automatically without thinking

 

[Hughies_online]

Well done!

 

[Luc]

It's a start, don't worry about it. Focus on the angle and pressure. Even if the shave isn't that close at the moment, it's still good. You might need to give your razor a few extra laps on the strop to make sure it's extra sharp!

Don't give up!

 

[LeverTime]

I just finished my second shave, and it was much better. I took everyone's advice about the importance of stretching, and re-watched some of the instructional videos. I think I stretched much better this time, and it helped. I still had trouble getting the hair off of the bottom of the chin, but I was able to get an acceptable shave on the rest of my face. I still had a little bit of razor burn, but none of the bigger cuts that I got the first time.

I cheated and used my DE for my mustache area. I cut that area pretty good last time, and I want to wait until my technique is better before trying it again.

Thanks for the advice and encouragement.

 

[gumbo]

No amount of advice will nab those chin whiskers, it just takes practice learning your own face.
Jaw line, on the other hand, can really be stretched all the way up to your cheek, which really helps.

 

[bytor]

Nice work. A few tidbits I've learned (mostly through blood) during a little over a year of straights:

Don't talk and shave at the same time, don't use too much pressure, don't hurry or be impatient, stretch your face before you contact the blade to your skin (and also don't adjust your skin stretch while the blade is on your face), if you get pulling when going ATG then flatten the angle, don't lean too far toward the mirror while holding the blade to your face.

Best of luck on your future shaves.

 

[Brent]

All good advice above. Congrats on a better second shave. The only advice I can give is if you can, try not to save yourself with the DE. I went from carts to straights and pitched all my carts the day before I started with the straight. That forces you to learn.

I'm not saying throw away your DEs but try to only use the straight going forward if you really want to get it down a bit more quickly. It's not always possible if you have to look presentable for a meeting but it helped me.

 

[mandoman]

not bad little touch ups here and there only

 

[plpenn]

All good advice above. Congrats on a better second shave. The only advice I can give is if you can, try not to save yourself with the DE. I went from carts to straights and pitched all my carts the day before I started with the straight. That forces you to learn.

I'm not saying throw away your DEs but try to only use the straight going forward if you really want to get it down a bit more quickly. It's not always possible if you have to look presentable for a meeting but it helped me.

I am going to respectfully disagree here. When I started with the Sextoblade I only did my cheeks, then I started rushing so before I cut myself or got frustrated I grabbed my DE. Same thing when I tried SE. I have learned that the best course of action for me is not to force things if they don't feel right/good. I had my first true straight shave the other day and after 2 passes on the cheeks, chin and lip I felt like I was starting to fade a little so before my good shave turned bad I set the straight down and grabbed a SE to finish my neck and do a bit of touch up. A wise man here once told me "It takes a real man to know when to stop", well maybe I made that up but it sounds good and it works for me

 

[YetiDave]

+1 to mentions of skin stretching, the difference it makes is huge. For your upper lip - try pinching the end of your nose with your free hand and moving it about a bit to get to the tricky areas. I've found myself pulling so many stupid faces when straight shaving to get various areas of skin taught

 

[Bigsurprise]

Did you guys notice this thread is from 2009? I think he has his technique down by now

 

[YetiDave]

Nobody likes a smartarse, now if you'll excuse me if I have to feel stupid for a second..