Newbie DE Shaver Journal

[Songwind]

I thought I might catalog my first handful of shaves here, in hopes of getting feedback and pointers if things start to go off the rails.

Background
I'm 38, have been shaving since I was about 14. I've used exclusively cartridge razors, and tried a variety of shaving creams and other shave lubricants. I've always been fascinated by the soap-and-mug iconography of classic shaving, but thought it was literally making a lather out of bath soap, so never felt like trying it. I learned better after a Q&A on Reddit with the regulars from /r/Wicked_Edge.

Once I decided to investigate, I got a brush and a puck of VDH deluxe shaving soap. I've been working on learning the lathering techniques and using it with my Gillette Fusion for about a week and a half. I've also been doing my best to work other facets of wet shaving into my routine, such as minimal pressure, beard reduction, and attentive pre-shave prep.

Once it was clear that my family wasn't going to buy me equipment for my new unhealthy interest for my birthday (which was Saturday) I ordered an EJ DE89bl, a tub of TOBS Lemon-Lime, and a puck of Col. Conk's almond. (I can already tell that soap AD is going to be my pitfall.)

They arrived today!

Shave #1

Equipment
Razor - EJ DE89bl
Blade - Derby Extra
Brush - SheaMoisture badger brush
Lather - TOBS Lemon-Lime
Preshave - Hot shower, Biore face wash
Aftercare - Nivea Aftershave balm for sensitive skin

When it was time to do my evening clean-up, I took a hot shower, and washed my face carefully with a basic facial cleanser. I let my bowl and brush rest in some hot water while I showered so they'd be nice and warm.

I made my lather using the TOBS. Wow, I already love this stuff. That was quite easy compared to the VDH, the smell is really clean and bright, and the lather was cushion-y and comfortable. I applied a hot washcloth for some extra moisture and heat. Then I brushed it onto my face. Basic stuff, I'm getting comfortable with this part, if not expert.

Next came the first shave pass, WTG. At first I was quite nervous, but having the single edge on my face was not as intense an experience as I had expected. At first I couldn't really feel it, and had to watch the angle and the location of the safety bar/head in the mirror. Once I calmed down a bit, though, I was able to feel when the razor made contact with my skin, which helped me keep my angle good. I could hear the hair being cut as well, which was a helpful sign. It was quite comfortable. The sides of my neck grow parallel to my jaw, and that part was the hardest.

Second pass was another WTG. Pretty uneventful except for my right cheekbone. I came over the crest of it in one move and ended up with what looked and felt like an aggressive weeper. Later in the evening I checked it out and it looks like it's actually a tiny nick. These two passes left my face feeling smoother than I could get going WTG only on my cartridge, so I was pretty pleased.

The first two passes went so smoothly, with no signs of irritation, that I decided to try a pass XTG, ready to abandon the operation if there were any untoward signs (nicks, pain, irritation). That went pretty well, too, except that I started going ATG on my neck at first. (Force of habit) I didn't hurt myself, but it was definitely not comfortable, and the razor felt like it wanted to skip through the hairs instead of smoothly cutting them. I stopped quite quickly and switched to up/down XTG and it went fine.

I cleaned up with warm water, then a pass with a cool wash cloth, then some Nivea sensitive.

Everything went really well! Between the videos from mantic59 and betelgeux, advice here on this forum, and doing a bit of practice ahead, it was almost anticlimactic. My face feels quite nice and very smooth WTG, just a bit rough ATG. I think I've found my new shaving regimen for sure.

 

[Philuk]

Welcome, you nailed it for your first trial! watch out for the J curve, ie you may have bad shaves but then it'll get better and better. Do think of getting a blade sampler, it is something everybody here advises to do and it is well worth the investment

 

[Songwind]

A blade sampler is definitely my next buy. I didn't worry about it for now because I knew I had this first batch to try, regardless.

 

[duokun]

as a fellow newbie, i will recommend sticking with the blades you are using now for at least a month. in fact, i would recomend sticking with the same soap for at least a month as well. i have found that while working on technique such as maintaining blade angle and no pressure it is much easier to judge your progress when you narrow down the variables. Once you get a hang of the technique then you can properly evaluate the differences that the soaps/creams and blades and anything else are having on the shave.

other than that, Glad to hear you had a good first shave, and Welcome aboard! i love reading other peoples shaving journals so keep us updated!

 

[Artistik]

Welcome 2 B&B!

As duokun said, keep everything the same for at least the first month since the Derbys seem to be working ok. After that, get your blade sampler and work through them. Use at least two blades from each brand (3 shaves each) before moving on to the next brand. Finding the blade that is right for your face and for your EJ is an exciting part of developing this Art form. Congratluations on your first shave and for your selection of the EJ89 as your first razor. The EJ is an awesome tool. Mine likes Shark SCs alot.

 

[Songwind]

duokun, Artistik:

Keeping things as similar as possible sounds like good advice. I'll definitely only be making a single adjustment at a time.

The EJ came with 5 Derby blades, so I figure that's probably good for at least 3 weeks, maybe a month. My beard's not particularly wiry, thankfully. Once I start running low, I'll figure out what sampler to order, probably from Amazon.

 

[Songwind]

Shave #2

I'm still at the stage where I'm reviewing information (including videos) fairly regularly. I noticed a couple of things about lathers. First, I saw a few references to leaving the lather on your face for a bit before starting the shave. I also realized that everyone whose videos I was watching was taking longer than I was for their lather making. Seemed pretty clear that if I could get a decent-looking lather with my experience and mediocre brush in a short time, they could, too. So there must be some reason, right?

Today's secret word is: patience.

I didn't shower before shaving last night. Dry winter air + mild eczema = unpleasant side effects if I shower daily. Good thing I don't really get dirty that often. The hot towel on my face seemed to work pretty well, though. I did wash my face, particularly my beard area. I took my time making the lather, and whipped it for about 1-1.5 minutes longer than usual. It was a good decision. I passed some kind of watershed moment when it really seemed to explode into better lather. I also took my time with lathering my face, being sure to really get the bear massaged and lifted. The lather was more cushiony than before and felt great.

The first two passes went pretty great, with no nicks or weepers. I did feel a bit of mild irritation in that annoying area around the point of my jaw. It definitely left a lot of hair, though. I feel like my XTG passes aren't particularly effective. I'm probably messing up the blade angle because you end up looking end-on at the razor.

Given today's secret word, the next part of the shave seems particularly stupid. Emboldened by how well the WTG and XTG passes were going in terms of comfort and safety, and annoyed by not having smooth cheeks, I completely lost my mind and went ATG. It actually started off well. My cheeks feel amazing, with no noticeable irritation. My neck and jawline didn't go as well. Ended up with a few weepers, and it's definitely irritated. Not really any worse than it would be after going ATG with my cartridge razor, though, except for one spot on the base of my neck.

So, that experiment was a failure. I will be practicing my no-pressure technique and XTG blade angle and leaving the ATG pass for a few weeks in the future. I do think I may have to start shaving in the morning to avoid driving myself nuts, though.

 

[duokun]

I tried an ATG pass myself for the first time the other night. Only on my neck as my girlfriend convinced me to keep a bit of scruff fr a few days, but my neck is a problem area for me. It came out ok with only minor irritation, but I found it was even more important than ever to be extra careful about angle and pressure. Not sure if I will try it again next shave or just stick with XTG.

Congrats on the lather business though! I can get a good lather gularly, but I don't seem to get the huge, spilling out of the bowl lathers that I see some guys post about. But adding more time lathering has definitely helped me as well.

Amazon has some decent deals on blade samplers, But if you haven't already I would suggest checking out some of the vendors that are active in the community. West Coast Shaving, Bullgoose, Itallian Barber, and the like get a lot of praise, and overall have a better selection. I can't justify any new purchases now, but I have been having fun putting together a bit of a wish list for later.

 

[Songwind]

I tend to default to Amazon because we have Prime, which gets me free shipping on a lot of things. I spent some time yesterday looking at a few other vendors, though, and they really have some great selections. I found a couple of samplers I like at a good cost at WCS, so I think I'll go with that. I'm going to swing by my local Walgreens or maybe the organic foods co-op and get a decent pre-shave soap.

I haven't gotten the ridiculously huge lather, yet, either. But a lot of the vids I've seen on YouTube where that happens start out with WAY more product than I use or is suggested around here. Or they are making an uberlather.

 

[Songwind]

Tonight went pretty well. I didn't repeat my ATG adventure.

Blade angle is improving but I went a bit fast and put too much pressure in a few places.

Got some witch hazel for aftercare. Smell is meh, but it was soothing.

 

[duokun]

I have Prime as well, the free shipping is nice. A lot of the vendors offer free shipping on larger orders, so ill be waiting a bit till i can afford to make a good sized order. for just one or two things i really like Amazon if i can find the product i want w/ Prime shipping.

I have been using Dr Bronner's Magic soap a lot lately, both as a body wash in the shower and washing my face at night and in the morning. it doesn't dry out my face too bad like some soaps can. might wanna check it out. i know Target has travel size bottles of it.

Im not a big fan of the smell of witch hazel either. i usually put it on, then wait a little bit (usually however long it takes me to clean my brush and shaving bowl, then rinse my face and apply my aftershave (lotion or splash)

last time i forgot to rinse after the witch hazel my girlfriend told me i smelled like an old lady's house. heh heh.

the pressure thing has been one of the hardest adjustments for me to make. too many bad habits from shaving with cartridge razors for so long that you just need to un-learn.

Oh yeah, if you need to pick up blades locally, i would recommend Walmart. they sell Wilkinson Swords for under $2 a pack. better price, and from what i can figure from my reading here, better quality for most people than the blades form CVS or Walgreens (which if i remember correctly are re-branded Persona blades).

 

[Songwind]

Thanks, Adam!

I'll probably add some Swords to my repertoire eventually, but I have a sampler pack on the way.

I honestly wish I could make the smell of the TOBS lemon-lime linger a bit more. I may have to think about getting some of the Victorian Lime after shave.

 

[duokun]

im really gonna have to try one of the TOBS soaps eventually.

 

[Songwind]

Hard Water Experiment
Had my nightly shave, which is no big surprise. I also did a little hard water experiment. We have a water softener, so I hadn't given it too much thought. Unfortunately, my wife wasn't giving it too much thought, either. We have a six month old baby - lots of thoughts are being lost. We haven't put salt in the thing in at least six months.

So, I boogied off to the Brita website and confirmed that my water filter pitcher does soften hard water, which it does - just not through a sodium substitution method. I got myself 16oz of it, heated it to 125F in the microwave, and proceeded to shave. I used my Col. Conk puck since shaving creams aren't as affected by hard water.

Well, it was definitely easier to make a decent lather with the Brita water. It wasn't night-and-day easier, but it was enough of a difference to make me want to get that softener refilled asap.

Weirdly, my lather collapsed in the bowl while I was having my first shaving pass, so for passes 2 & 3 I whipped up some of my standard TOBS lemon-lime.

The Shave
The shave itself was nice. I feel I am still improving. Yesterday I realized that my cheek whiskers are actually on a slant, from the top of my ear to my chin, rather than directly N/S. Using that angle for my WTG passes resulted in a much more comfortable shave. The XTG pass, making an X on my cheek, was also pretty successful. This is still my first blade, a Derby Extra. No sign of tugging on the hairs so far.

The neck is going okay, but still the most sensitive area. I'm more comfortable finding my blade angle by feel and sound, so I can straighten my neck out more. The interface between the sides of my neck (front-to-back grain) and cheeks (NE-SW) continues to be a bit troublesome. Easier to put the blade on if I open my mouth and shave the jaw line as part of the face, but the direction is wrong. The center of my neck grows N->S, and shaving it XTG without getting parts of the side area ATG is not working so well, either. I'm not sure that's worth it anyway. Also, going from front to back is.. interesting. Around the muscles in the side of the neck, the angle gets really difficult to maintain and scraping is the result.

No nicks today! A couple of weepers in traditional problem areas for me my whole shaving life. Witch Hazel continues to feel nice and smell funny.

 

[Songwind]

Tonight's shave went well. It was post-shower shave, but both kinds seem to be effective for me as long as I'm careful to hydrate my beard on non-shower days. I have noticed that my conditioner specifically touts its hair-softening abilities, so I've been using that on my stubble. No noticeable improvement on the shave, but it is working on the goatee.

The Shave
I stuck with my standards - same Derby blade, TOBS lemon-lime. I think I may be slightly under-hydrating my lather. I'll do some practice ones tomorrow. The shave itself went great. I'm learning to listen to the blade, and found a grip that lets me keep really good control while making it almost impossible to apply pressure. Two fingers at the balance point on the handle, and the rest of my hand curled gently around it to keep it from wandering. Almost like a drummer friend of mine showed me how to hold sticks. It seemed to self-correct the angle a little bit that way, too.

After my xtg pass, I was feeling pretty good. I had one little nick in the hollow of my cheek. That's one of my traditional trouble spots - have to work out what's going on there. I decided to go ATG today, starting with my cheeks. It worked out well! I had done a good job knocking down the stubble in the first two passes, so it was pretty comfortable. I think if the blade were a smidgen sharper it would be better, because ATG had a bit of tug to it. 5 shaves may be my limit - not bad for 10-25 cents.

My neck feels great today. I made some refinements to my understanding of my stubble, and got a more comfortable WTG/XTG combo of passes. Being able to tell what's going on with my neck stretched out instead of looking in the mirror helps, too. Today's my first day with zero razor burn below the adam's apple.

New blade tomorrow, and a trip to my local hippy store to see if they have alum and maybe a facial bar w/ glycerin and castor oil.

 

[duokun]

nice job on the growth mapping and the ATG pass.

i just found out last night that our local hippy store closed down. something about the owner not paying her taxes on the business for years.

i am quite pleased with adding alum to my shave routine.

 

[Songwind]

Ours is a coop, so at least a bunch of people would have to forget to pay taxes for that to happen.

 

[Songwind]

Shave #5 post-game report: No irritation remaining today, except a little bit on the back of my jawline if I rub ATG. My face feels pretty great.

Also, I have noticed that I sleep better since I started showering and shaving at night. Weird. For a long time a shower would just wake me up.

 

[DOLLARBILL]

Nice!
Enjoy Your Shave !

 

[Songwind]

Tonight's shave was therapeutic. My son gave me a virus of the stuffy head/sore throat kind, and today was bad enough I didn't feel up to dealing with it and dealing with work at the same time. So my shower was extra hot to try to steam my head open, and shaving felt like a nice, mellow punctuation to it.

Since I had a bit of tugging last time, I put in a new blade today. Definitely a good idea. For the first shave of the first blade, I didn't know enough to appreciate it.

The Kit
Brush: SheaMoisture Badger
Blade: Derby Extra (new)
Razor: EJ DE89
Lather: Kiss My Face Cool Mint Moisture Shave
Pre-shave: Dr. Bronner's "baby mild" unscented soap

As you can see, I added a pre-shave soap. I like it, and I think it helped. I also broke with suggestions and tried a new shaving cream. It was nice, but I didn't find it to be hugely different from the TOBS. Maybe a bit less lubricating, but if so not much. Half the cost for more than twice the product, though.

The Shave
No nicks! I did a standard 3 pass, and they really went great. After my ATG pass I went back and got a couple of spots that didn't get cleared to my satisfaction. That may have been a bit much. My neck has a bit of mild razor burn. Again, not as bad as I put up with for a truly smooth shave with my Fusion. I got one little weeper that was so tiny I was completely finished shaving and cleaning up my brush before I saw any blood. If I'd left it alone after the ATG pass I probably wouldn't have gotten that.

Oh, I also picked up an alum block when I got my soap and KMF at the hippy store. It stung a bit, but not bad. I'm not sure what I think. I will use it for a week and see.