When learning people to DE shave

[Valerius]

I have a colleague who has decided to go for DE shaving, and I have accepted to give advice/hints. Now over to my question. My idea is to, at first, learn him to make a good lather, let him shave for about a month using soap/brush and his cartridge razor. Thereafter when he is able to make a decent lather he can start use his DE.
Please give me feedback how you would tackle this task!

 

[Wingnut]

That's certainly reasonable, Peter, since for my money using a brush and quality cream or soap makes the biggest difference in shave quality. I shaved for more than 30 years using a brush, cream, and a cartridge system before I made the switch to DE--and not having to learn how to make a lather surely made that transition easier for me. Adding a new razor into the mix initially might just intimidate him into going back to what he already knows.

However, lots of guys do just that--jump in with both feet--and do just fine. I think I would get some input from him about what most turns him on about wet-shaving, and make sure to include that in his initial attempts. There's no balm like enthusiasm to soothe that razor burn and those nicks!

 

[Mike H]

Excellent idea. I think that for many, razor burn was the result of poor lather as much as it was bad technique. By allowing an individual to learn one variable at a time, it great increases the likelihood of a positive outcome.

 

[Useless shaver]

I have a colleague who has decided to go for DE shaving, and I have accepted to give advice/hints. Now over to my question. My idea is to, at first, learn him to make a good lather, let him shave for about a month using soap/brush and his cartridge razor. Thereafter when he is able to make a decent lather he can start use his DE.
Please give me feedback how you would tackle this task!

Exactly the way I used with my first (and only one.. so far) converted. Never frighten them.... too soon....

 

[Head Rigger]

I think that's great that you're taking a mentoring role. Not enough people do that anymore and it's one the qualities I really like about the membership here. I found the videos by Mantic to be invaluable when I started out and you may want to suggest he watches some of those too. Also, be prepared that in his enthusiasm he may want to jump to a DE quicker than you have planned.

 

[Khelben]

That's how I made the transition. I went into the razor switch with good prep habits, and I think that has made a good amount of difference.

 

[RobW]

Nah, ditch the carts and just dive in with the DE!

Just keep it at 2 passes (WTG+XTG) while he learns to map his facial hair growth (~5-10 shaves), a non-Feather blade (red/blue Personna? Derby?) and let the guy go to town.

 

[Valerius]

Thank you all for your input. I told the newbie to look at Mantic's videos. He found them valuable and tomorrow morning, CET, he will start his new career in wet shaving. I'll be back with more details. Hopefully I can convince him to enrol to this forum.

 

[Valerius]

Got feedback this morning. The newbie turned out to be more than happy using soap and brush (and his regular cartridge razor). His conclusion was "I should have tried this much earlier". I guess we will see a very happy camper when he has went through the initial difficulties with his DE...

 

[LarryDarrell]

I'm a believer in breaking a skill down into tasks, master each task and then put it altogether; so I applaud your mentoring approach.

 

[Valerius]

Time for an update. Today, my colleague told me that he started with his DE during the weekend. Good result for a beginner, probably he could concentrate on the DE since he had been practicing with maing a good lather for some time. Do I have to say that he doesn't intend to go back to his earlier stuff used...

 

[Wingnut]

Nice work, Peter!!

 

[Valerius]

Thank you John! It's been an interesting journey, what struck me most was that my colleague had such a hurry when using his canned soap. I'm not sure if I'm correct, but does the canned lather dry out faster than a lather built from soap/cream? Anyone who has an idea?

 

[superkreep]

Mentoring for the win ! One of the things that helped me most was to learn proper technique. A year into DE shaving, I was still using too much pressure and the introduction of an alum block helped a lot. You may want to consider that as well. Best of luck !

 

[Wingnut]

Thank you John! It's been an interesting journey, what struck me most was that my colleague had such a hurry when using his canned soap. I'm not sure if I'm correct, but does the canned lather dry out faster than a lather built from soap/cream? Anyone who has an idea?

That's right--there's very little qater in most canned foams. That's one reason why they perform so poorly. After all, hydration is key to shaving comfort--besides lubrication, the main reason to use lather is to keep water on your whiskers when you shave.

Read the ingredients list on any canned foam, and you'll see just how little water there is in there. YUK!!