What works for me...

[fritz]

Hi Kyle
I wanted to drop you a line to thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed and informative guide to DE shaving. After two weeks I was on the verge of giving up due to my shave being uncomfortable, however I read your thread and saw the videos on yourtube and over the weekend had the shave of my live!!!
Many thanks, Rousey

I'll add my thanks to you also, Kyle. For both of these How-to Stickys. I've been getting "acceptable" shaves most of my life, even though I went through some brief periods of Edge Gel, Trac-2's and even Mach 3's. Over the last few weeks I've tried the no-shower, Proraso preshave, lather + massage + hot towel techniques and have been amazed at the extra closeness with comfort. Especially after combining with the "stubble reduction" technique of 3 or 4 passes.

The only other thing I've tried for the last two days is an "undercoat" of Jason's 84% Aloe Vera lotion (which has glycerin) before applying the lather. Wow! Glides..... slicker than greased owl feathers! Probably, just about any kind of lotion with plenty of glycerin would work.

Yes, the whole magillah takes a little more time, but just keep in mind "Shave in haste, regret at leisure."

 

[Kramer]

greased owl feathers?

I'm not sure how to respond to that, but I'm begining to understand the 'wow!'.

 

[fritz]

greased owl feathers?
I'm not sure how to respond to that, but I'm begining to understand the 'wow!'.

You aren't from around here, are ya? Well, the, ahem, guano that owls produce is an oily semi-liquid kinda stuff, very slippery when fresh. Now, if you were to take some of that stuff, and then grease it, you'd have something that was really slick. Something that was even more slick would then be "Slicker than greased owl $#!+"
But those of us who have been gentrified will use the more polite expression "Slicker than greased owl feathers." (Actually, the small feathers on the bottom of the owl's stomach area really are pretty smooth and slippery, as well.)

 

[2bits]

A minimalist at heart, I find there is increased joy by - simplifying - the shaving process. This does not mean to compromise, but rather to optimize.

In my experience:

Shave with a safety razor as you would with a straight razor (aka Paying attention).
Brain AWOL (Away With Out Leave) = cuts & nicks.
Shaving is not like sleeping / watching TV / talking on a cell phone ...

Do NOT shave with this - The Motorola "RAZR"

If you are unwilling or unable to attend to the task and adjust as you go, you need a barber or an electric razor.

There is no dial setting that is equal to a map of your face so you adjust the angle of the blade by ear (aka listen the sound of the whiskers being cut). Luckily (for most of us) our ears are not too far from where the action is!

The final result depends on the pre-shave (see Lyle's posts - for why this is so).

There is a reason that more of your brain is used to process the feeling in your hand than any other sensory process. For example: it is easier to feel stubble than to see stubble. [I'm in my 60's and need to take off my glasses to see stuff close up ... anyway ... ]

If our bodies were proportional to our brains sensory areas we would look like this -

Clearly touching your face with your hands is the way to know what's going on.

A Minimal / Optimum Process in 3 steps: Pre-Shave, Shave, Finish

1) Pre-shave - to get at least 3 minutes of hot, wet, soapy beard prep ...

a) While showering - first shampoo and rinse your hair
b) With your finger tips - coat WELL all of your beard with a little water and a small amount of shaving cream (or soap)
c) Finish showering and drying yourself - BUT LEAVE THE BEARD SOAPY!
d) Prepare a shaving lather as you like on face, hand or in a bowl
e) Apply lather over the cream you used to prep beard

2) Shave - applying little or no pressure, with a sharp blade on the stick of your choice ...

a) 1st stroke, down adjusting the blade angle as you go - by ear
b) FEEL with your finger tips to establish growth direction (grain) of the whiskers in that area.
c) next stroke - go against the grain
d) FEEL to see if your done
e) Done? Move on to next area
Not Done? Repeat 1x against grain & Move on to next area
f) Continue, an area at a time, until your shave is complete

3) Finish - Touchups required?
After rinsing with hot water, apply a little lather and feel your skin.
Carefully note the location and the direction of any remaining whisker growth.

Shave 1x against the grain only where you feel stubble.

Rinse with cool water. Pat dry with a towel.

Apply a moisturizer and/or balm or "Blind man test" confirming your face = baby butt


Optonal extra - Limbic brain inclusion

If the act of shaving must rival a week on the beach in Hawaii, add to your lather
a drop of coconut extract
or
sunscreen you used on your last vacation.

 

[stripec30]

Thanks Kyle. These techniques really improved my shave quality.

 

[Kyle]

Thanks Kyle. These techniques really improved my shave quality.

 

[atr1981]

Indeed, I'll be trying some of these techniques in the future. A great posting from an obviously knowledgable guy.

 

[Mr. Todd]

Interesting... I think I'll try this combination of passes tomorrow morn'

When you say "The change of which I speak is a pure E-W or ear-to-nose pass that has been inserted as the third pass."

DOes this mean that you no logner do the jaw-to-nose pass and this ear-to-nose pass instead? Or that you do this E-W pass just before hte S-N pass?

 

[Kyle]

Interesting... I think I'll try this combination of passes tomorrow morn'

When you say "The change of which I speak is a pure E-W or ear-to-nose pass that has been inserted as the third pass."

DOes this mean that you no logner do the jaw-to-nose pass and this ear-to-nose pass instead? Or that you do this E-W pass just before hte S-N pass?

N-S
Ear-to-Chin
Ear-to-Nose
Jaw-to-Nose
S-N

 

[Talleyrand]

As a new wet shaver I can't say enough good things about what seems to be called the Kyle Holding Technique. My very first DE wet shave (with a Merkur Classic) turned out to be a fantastic experience largely because I wasn't gripping my razor like a rake. A delicate yet quite precise touch seems to be a very good thing for me and one I can recommend to anyone starting out. You can always increase your grip so why not start out with a light touch?

Cordially,
M. Talleyrand

 

[Kyle]

Thanks, M. I'm glad its working for you.

 

[kreigle]

The grip is one part that I still have trouble with. I generally grip the razor like shown in the pictures, but if I don't pay close attention to what I am doing, I find myself 'choking up' more on the handle, with my index finger ending up near the top of the handle.

This may be because I am still a newbie, but I frequently have to check myself and re-adjust my grip. Hopefully, the grip will become more natural as I practice it.

 

[Kyle]

The grip is one part that I still have trouble with. I generally grip the razor like shown in the pictures, but if I don't pay close attention to what I am doing, I find myself 'choking up' more on the handle, with my index finger ending up near the top of the handle.

This may be because I am still a newbie, but I frequently have to check myself and re-adjust my grip. Hopefully, the grip will become more natural as I practice it.

This is something that I usually revisit anytime the quality of my shaves begins to dwindle. When I alter from these two grip styles, I invariably apply too much pressure and have mild blade angle issues.

 

[wscott52]

Good post.

You describe basically what I do: N-S, S-N, E-W from ear to nose, W-E from ear to nose, then final touchup on any missed spots still with stubble.

I also shave before I shower. My main reason if the bathroom mirror is fogged when I get out the shower. I also seem to get just as good a shave before the shower.

I use three fingers on the end of the razor.

 

[eric.huntley]

NUMBER AND DIRECTION OF PASSES
Like many of you, while performing my due diligence in wet shaving research, I ran across the ever-popular cut sheets.

What are "cut sheets" and where do I find them?

 

[Bobtrumpet]

What are "cut sheets" and where do I find them?

Here you go.

http://www.enchanteonline.com/pages/faqs/cuttingforms.pdf

 

[cpdetailing]

Here's a question: Kyle, you like to shave before taking a shower. After shaving, do you apply your moisturizer/balm, THEN shower, or do you shave, shower, THEN moisturizer/balm?

 

[cpdetailing]

Ding, ding! Anyone can help me with my question above? Thanks...I know this thread is kinda old

 

[Kyle]

cpdetailing,

I use aftershave products after showering.

 

[cpdetailing]

muchas grazias Kyle!