- Thread starter
- #21
First shave completed tonight. Here are some thoughts!
Time: 1 Hour, 7 Minutes
Passes: WTG, XTG, ATG!
Actual Cuts: None!
Weepers: None!
Irritation: Yep!
Missed Spots: Yep!
Continue DE Shaving: YES
That was...nerve wracking, and absolutely enjoyable! My lathering was...thinner than I expected. I think that actually helped, reflecting on how the shave went. I loaded what I thought was way too much product, and face lathered. Felt a little thick, dipped my brush in the sink, and continued for three minutes. That was where the lather went from pasty to...liquidy. It wasn't running down my face and neck, but it didn't look like what I was expecting from the videos I've watched. That being said, I love the soap that I picked. My face felt very slick.
As expected, the first two attempts of pass one were not steep enough, and I shaved nothing. I just ran the guard along my face, with little pressure. Lathered that area back up and finally placed the razor properly on my face. Took a deep breath, and tipped my elbow up and away just a bit.
The first actual shaving I did surprised me. I've watched a lot of YT videos (Mantis, Nick Shaves), and I thought the sound of them shaving was somehow amplified. Microphone up close somewhere, dubbed, whatever. But wow, that sound and feedback of feeling the hair being cut was pretty awesome.
First full pass was stressful. It was WTG, of course. I completely missed the area under the corner of my jaw on the right. I need to figure out a better way to get just under my cheekbones. My face is slim, so the hair there actually rests in a divot. I chanted No Pressure, No Pressure throughout this entire pass.
Rinsed off, relathered. The lather seemed to thicken back up just a touch in the eternity that was pass one. Not pasty, so I didn't add any additional water. XTG for my last pass, I thought. Figuring out the best way to hold the razor and the correct angles made it look like this was the first time using my hands. This pass was the most comfortable of my shave tonight. With some of the fear removed for cutting myself from the first pass, I could actually enjoy this one a bit more. Completed this pass with no issues, thinking that I was done.
Rinsed off, removed the remaining lather from my brush into my left hand. Whoa, that's way more than I thought was in the brush. I gently put this across my face and neck to check for things that I missed. But, when I did, I wasn't super happy with how the shave felt when moving my hand ATG. I had plenty of lather, so I went for it.
Third pass, ATG, something I didn't think I would do. This pass did make my cheeks a little angry at the end, but I believe that it was worth it.
Felt around for things that I missed, went over a few small spots, and that was that! Rinsed off in cold water. I have a goatee (just the bottom) that still had a bunch of soap tucked away in it. The soap smells amazing. Pat dry. Witch hazel patted onto my face and neck. I let this dry for a moment. Aftershave splash. Surprise, you forgot that this has alcohol in it! A little stinging, and then my face felt...relaxed.
I surveyed the damage in the mirror up close. A little redness on my right cheek, which isn't usual for me with cartridge shaving. This was the cheek that took a few extra times to figure out how to get into the recessed hair under my cheekbone. Makes sense. Some slight irritation on the right side of my neck. This is miles better than the normal raw feeling of my neck after a cartridge shave. Woohoo!
I missed a tiny patch of hair just below my mouth on the right, and left a single longer hair above my mouth in the right. On the left, I missed a tiny patch just above my goatee. I'll file that info away for my next shave as areas to double check on my cleanup pass.
This is not a BBS shave, and that's totally fine with me! It took about as long as I expected, started off as I expected, and went WAY better than expected overall. My face isn't super angry, and I'm very happy with my first shave.
Thank you to everyone that has replied and shared their insight! You've helped me to attempt this shave a day earlier than planned, and you've helped to make it a great first experience!
Time: 1 Hour, 7 Minutes
Passes: WTG, XTG, ATG!
Actual Cuts: None!
Weepers: None!
Irritation: Yep!
Missed Spots: Yep!
Continue DE Shaving: YES
That was...nerve wracking, and absolutely enjoyable! My lathering was...thinner than I expected. I think that actually helped, reflecting on how the shave went. I loaded what I thought was way too much product, and face lathered. Felt a little thick, dipped my brush in the sink, and continued for three minutes. That was where the lather went from pasty to...liquidy. It wasn't running down my face and neck, but it didn't look like what I was expecting from the videos I've watched. That being said, I love the soap that I picked. My face felt very slick.
As expected, the first two attempts of pass one were not steep enough, and I shaved nothing. I just ran the guard along my face, with little pressure. Lathered that area back up and finally placed the razor properly on my face. Took a deep breath, and tipped my elbow up and away just a bit.
The first actual shaving I did surprised me. I've watched a lot of YT videos (Mantis, Nick Shaves), and I thought the sound of them shaving was somehow amplified. Microphone up close somewhere, dubbed, whatever. But wow, that sound and feedback of feeling the hair being cut was pretty awesome.
First full pass was stressful. It was WTG, of course. I completely missed the area under the corner of my jaw on the right. I need to figure out a better way to get just under my cheekbones. My face is slim, so the hair there actually rests in a divot. I chanted No Pressure, No Pressure throughout this entire pass.
Rinsed off, relathered. The lather seemed to thicken back up just a touch in the eternity that was pass one. Not pasty, so I didn't add any additional water. XTG for my last pass, I thought. Figuring out the best way to hold the razor and the correct angles made it look like this was the first time using my hands. This pass was the most comfortable of my shave tonight. With some of the fear removed for cutting myself from the first pass, I could actually enjoy this one a bit more. Completed this pass with no issues, thinking that I was done.
Rinsed off, removed the remaining lather from my brush into my left hand. Whoa, that's way more than I thought was in the brush. I gently put this across my face and neck to check for things that I missed. But, when I did, I wasn't super happy with how the shave felt when moving my hand ATG. I had plenty of lather, so I went for it.
Third pass, ATG, something I didn't think I would do. This pass did make my cheeks a little angry at the end, but I believe that it was worth it.
Felt around for things that I missed, went over a few small spots, and that was that! Rinsed off in cold water. I have a goatee (just the bottom) that still had a bunch of soap tucked away in it. The soap smells amazing. Pat dry. Witch hazel patted onto my face and neck. I let this dry for a moment. Aftershave splash. Surprise, you forgot that this has alcohol in it! A little stinging, and then my face felt...relaxed.
I surveyed the damage in the mirror up close. A little redness on my right cheek, which isn't usual for me with cartridge shaving. This was the cheek that took a few extra times to figure out how to get into the recessed hair under my cheekbone. Makes sense. Some slight irritation on the right side of my neck. This is miles better than the normal raw feeling of my neck after a cartridge shave. Woohoo!
I missed a tiny patch of hair just below my mouth on the right, and left a single longer hair above my mouth in the right. On the left, I missed a tiny patch just above my goatee. I'll file that info away for my next shave as areas to double check on my cleanup pass.
This is not a BBS shave, and that's totally fine with me! It took about as long as I expected, started off as I expected, and went WAY better than expected overall. My face isn't super angry, and I'm very happy with my first shave.
Thank you to everyone that has replied and shared their insight! You've helped me to attempt this shave a day earlier than planned, and you've helped to make it a great first experience!