Havent shaved since Friday morning in anticipation of this most glorious moment. I finally got up the nerve to put a straight razor to my face and shave with it.
I like IT. Yes, IT is here. And IT is a straight razor shave.
My routine -
Turned on the radio and tuned into the Sunday AM blues show. If Im going down its going to be with rhythm and a good beat.
Washed my face and applied a hot towel for a couple of minutes.
Built a fine lather with Tabac. Brushed on that slick lathery goodness with the C&E BBB brush I got from Rob a couple of weeks ago. Sweet brush BTW, thanks Rob. Perfect for soaps and the right size for my face.
Took a deep breath, put my left arm over my head and stretched the skin of my right cheek as tight as I could. With my right hand gripping the razor (thanks for the tutorial Joel) I laid the blade flat on my cheek, raised the angle and pulled it down towards my jaw.
No pain, no irritation and best of all no blood. Im thrilled!
Continued down past my jaw and began shaving my neck. Took a little bit of time to get this far, but finally found the correct angle. I felt the blade tugging halfway down my neck so I stopped. This is where my beard changes directions and grows E-W instead of N-S.
Now heres where I got really scared because I am right hand dominant. According to all the straight shaving gurus I had to use my left hand to shave the left side of my face. To my surprise it was much easier than shaving with my right hand. With right handed shaving I found that I was using the fingers and wrist to try to guide the blade down and across my face.
Shaving left handed, I had locked my fingers and wrist in the correct angle and was using my elbow to pull the razor. I dont know if this is considered proper technique but it sure felt better to shave this way.
I only shaved both cheeks and my neck down to my Adams apple. I couldnt get the grip or angle to keep the blade from tugging on my chin so I skipped this area entirely.
All in all, a good experience. Cant wait to do it again.
I like IT. Yes, IT is here. And IT is a straight razor shave.
My routine -
Turned on the radio and tuned into the Sunday AM blues show. If Im going down its going to be with rhythm and a good beat.
Washed my face and applied a hot towel for a couple of minutes.
Built a fine lather with Tabac. Brushed on that slick lathery goodness with the C&E BBB brush I got from Rob a couple of weeks ago. Sweet brush BTW, thanks Rob. Perfect for soaps and the right size for my face.
Took a deep breath, put my left arm over my head and stretched the skin of my right cheek as tight as I could. With my right hand gripping the razor (thanks for the tutorial Joel) I laid the blade flat on my cheek, raised the angle and pulled it down towards my jaw.
No pain, no irritation and best of all no blood. Im thrilled!
Continued down past my jaw and began shaving my neck. Took a little bit of time to get this far, but finally found the correct angle. I felt the blade tugging halfway down my neck so I stopped. This is where my beard changes directions and grows E-W instead of N-S.
Now heres where I got really scared because I am right hand dominant. According to all the straight shaving gurus I had to use my left hand to shave the left side of my face. To my surprise it was much easier than shaving with my right hand. With right handed shaving I found that I was using the fingers and wrist to try to guide the blade down and across my face.
Shaving left handed, I had locked my fingers and wrist in the correct angle and was using my elbow to pull the razor. I dont know if this is considered proper technique but it sure felt better to shave this way.
I only shaved both cheeks and my neck down to my Adams apple. I couldnt get the grip or angle to keep the blade from tugging on my chin so I skipped this area entirely.
All in all, a good experience. Cant wait to do it again.
Just saying.
(Thanks to Seraphim for the analogy)
