I thought it'd be fun to keep a diary. Maybe other newbies can read this and not feel so bad about their own first experiences.
2006
A barber in Cartagena, Colombia shaves me with a straight-edge razor. My face is baby-butt soft. A girl touches my face and is instantly turned on.
2006-2008
Back in the USA, I shave with a Mach 3 in the shower (no shaving cream). Crappy shave, but it's quick.
Day 001: October 10, 2008
I decide I want a baby-butt-soft face. I buy a Merkur Heavy-Duty double-edge safety razor, some Merkur blades, a pure badger hair brush, and Proraso Pre & Post Shaving Cream. My first shave is a disaster. I can't build up a lather with the Proraso at all. My face feels no better than a Mach 3 shave, burns more than usual, and I cut myself three times.
Day 002
I am lazy and don't shave.
Day 003
Somebody points out that the Proraso is not shaving cream. I buy C.O. Bigelow Premium Shaving Cream, which is made by Proraso. I start soaking my brush, put on the Proraso pre-shave and shower with it. I towel off and whip up the lather, which is not thick. I do one pass with the grain, reapply lather, one pass across the grain, reapply lather, and one pass against the grain. Then I rinse with cold water and apply Proraso aftershave. My shave is decent on the cheeks, side burns, and neck, but still scratchy everywhere else when sliding against the grain. I cut myself twice.
Day 004
I do the same thing as yesterday and - surprise! - get the same results. Still scratchy and I cut myself thrice.
I shave again, in the evening. This time I lather in my hand, so I can feel its texture. I make it wetter than usual. But it seems no amount of pre-shave and lather can make my mustache and chin hairs soft and ready for cutting.
Day 005
I make the lather on my face. I like it. I hope the extra time spent lathering it into my face helps soften the hairs. Four passes today: two down, one across, one against. The blades still tugs at the hairs in my mustache, on my chin, and along my jawbone. Those areas do not shave well. The rest are decent, but still not quite baby-butt soft.
Day 006
I jump between shaving my face and the area between my belly button and ****, three passes each. This gives the lather more time to moisturize each location. I build the lather on my skin and use more water than usual. My shave is a bit better than Mach 3 but not much. The biggest contribution wet-shaving has made so far is that I am excited to get up in the morning. How good will my shave be today? What can I do a bit different? It's an adventure.
Day 007
In my pursuit of baby-butt smooth face, I do four passes: one with, one across, two against grain. Then I hold the brush in one hand, razor in the other, and make an additional 20-or-so passes against grain on my mustache, reapplying lather after every single pass. In all this, I take extra care not to put any pressure on the razor, and I don't cut myself even once. It takes a long time and afterward my mustache is much smoother than before, but still not as smooth as the barber in Cartagena made it. I consider waxing my face.
2006
A barber in Cartagena, Colombia shaves me with a straight-edge razor. My face is baby-butt soft. A girl touches my face and is instantly turned on.
2006-2008
Back in the USA, I shave with a Mach 3 in the shower (no shaving cream). Crappy shave, but it's quick.
Day 001: October 10, 2008
I decide I want a baby-butt-soft face. I buy a Merkur Heavy-Duty double-edge safety razor, some Merkur blades, a pure badger hair brush, and Proraso Pre & Post Shaving Cream. My first shave is a disaster. I can't build up a lather with the Proraso at all. My face feels no better than a Mach 3 shave, burns more than usual, and I cut myself three times.
Day 002
I am lazy and don't shave.
Day 003
Somebody points out that the Proraso is not shaving cream. I buy C.O. Bigelow Premium Shaving Cream, which is made by Proraso. I start soaking my brush, put on the Proraso pre-shave and shower with it. I towel off and whip up the lather, which is not thick. I do one pass with the grain, reapply lather, one pass across the grain, reapply lather, and one pass against the grain. Then I rinse with cold water and apply Proraso aftershave. My shave is decent on the cheeks, side burns, and neck, but still scratchy everywhere else when sliding against the grain. I cut myself twice.
Day 004
I do the same thing as yesterday and - surprise! - get the same results. Still scratchy and I cut myself thrice.
I shave again, in the evening. This time I lather in my hand, so I can feel its texture. I make it wetter than usual. But it seems no amount of pre-shave and lather can make my mustache and chin hairs soft and ready for cutting.
Day 005
I make the lather on my face. I like it. I hope the extra time spent lathering it into my face helps soften the hairs. Four passes today: two down, one across, one against. The blades still tugs at the hairs in my mustache, on my chin, and along my jawbone. Those areas do not shave well. The rest are decent, but still not quite baby-butt soft.
Day 006
I jump between shaving my face and the area between my belly button and ****, three passes each. This gives the lather more time to moisturize each location. I build the lather on my skin and use more water than usual. My shave is a bit better than Mach 3 but not much. The biggest contribution wet-shaving has made so far is that I am excited to get up in the morning. How good will my shave be today? What can I do a bit different? It's an adventure.
Day 007
In my pursuit of baby-butt smooth face, I do four passes: one with, one across, two against grain. Then I hold the brush in one hand, razor in the other, and make an additional 20-or-so passes against grain on my mustache, reapplying lather after every single pass. In all this, I take extra care not to put any pressure on the razor, and I don't cut myself even once. It takes a long time and afterward my mustache is much smoother than before, but still not as smooth as the barber in Cartagena made it. I consider waxing my face.