Did you ever had any shaves similar to this shave prior to your true No Pressure Revelation?Angle and pressure, angle and pressure. If you have been a member here long enough you have read those words of advice a thousand times. I learned the wisdom of angle and and pressure the hard way several months ago when I was very new to this style of shaving. Since then I have continually improved my technique and reduced my irritation level to zero or pretty close to it. I have even gotten 25 shaves on an Astra SP and joined the Excalibur Club! But I learned something this morning that made me realize that I still have much to learn.
I am required to shave for work and I shave six days a week. I typically skip Sunday's as I did yesterday. I don't have a Sasquatch beard but when I skip a day it is very noticeable. It was a beautiful sunny day in Mid-Michigan yesterday and the family spent the afternoon picnicking in the yard. Since this was the first truly beautiful day I have spent outside in months, the thought of dusting off the bottle of sunscreen never even entered my mind. Needless to say, later that evening my face looked like a lobster right out of the pot. My face burned and hurt and I thought "OH NO, I have to shave in the morning for work!" I can't skip another day and I have a meeting later this afternoon.
I did my normal prep of lukewarm shower, sensitive skin face wash, leave my face wet all the way to the sink. I lathered up and as I'm putting blade to face all I could think was that this is not going to end well. I knew that angle and pressure would be more important today than ever. I decided to use even less pressure if that were even possible, just the weight of the razor and even try to use a little negative pressure. I was looking to not add to my irritation and if that meant a shave that was not as close as normal then so be it.
First pass WTG, rinse, relather, second pass ATG, rinse (I decided not to do three passes to keep the irritation as low as possible). During the rinses and relather I didn't even pay attention to how close or not close my shave was, I really didn't care. I just wanted to be presentable for my meeting. I skipped the alcohol based a/s and went straight for the sensitive skin balm. As I'm rubbing it in I noticed something. I HAVE NO STUBBLE! I just gave myself as good a shave as I have ever had. The only thing that was different is that I really, really, and I mean really made the effort to ensure no pressure. Not only was it as close a shave as I have ever had, I did not add one bit to my already irritated face.
Thank you to my B&B brothers. Your wisdom has saved yet another face.
Wisdom of Angle and Pressure
- Thread starter DVPremo
- Start date
Did you ever had any shaves similar to this shave prior to your true No Pressure Revelation?
Hopefully you won't need another lobster face tan to achieve another great shave. ...so memorize your technique
I've grown to hate the word "pressure," the inaccuracy of which is one reason your technique cannot be taught, why muscles are relied upon for memory, and why the truth cannot be perceived.
Another is that the face has little to no stretch sensation.
Another is that the face has little to no stretch sensation.
What do you mean, technique can not be taught? Due to pressure?
Thanks for sharing a great story! Danger gives us focus, and shaving a good sun burn sure sounds dangerous...
I guess I'll have to go out and spend some serious time in the sun...
I guess I'll have to go out and spend some serious time in the sun...
NoThanks for sharing a great story! Danger gives us focus, and shaving a good sun burn sure sounds dangerous...
I guess I'll have to go out and spend some serious time in the sun...
Slow, steady and pressure-less. My shave and comfort improved, and so did my blade life! 
One thing I learned from the Sharpologist a long time ago, get what you can get of your shave without hurting yourself. Words of wisdom for sure. Some days you got game, some days you don't.
Congrats on your awesome shave!
Congrats on your awesome shave!
Pressure: don't use the razor as a knife but use a light touch. If you follow what you wrote you will get good shaves. Unfortunately, many folks started off using carts and ended up with habits that don't work with DEs.
Glad to learned to do it the right way.
Glad to learned to do it the right way.
Knives shave great. Why should anyone expect results better than cartridges, if they attempt to use a DE razor in the same way, essentially?
This was a valuable experience, no doubt about that. I would rather credit altered sensory feedback. I bet the OP wasn't stretching or pulling faces much, with that burn. Sort of a fear paralysis, keeping the skin ahead of the blade relaxed.
This was a valuable experience, no doubt about that. I would rather credit altered sensory feedback. I bet the OP wasn't stretching or pulling faces much, with that burn. Sort of a fear paralysis, keeping the skin ahead of the blade relaxed.
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- Thread starter
- #31
Thanks for asking. Yes, but not very often. Don't get me wrong, I have been able to get a very consistent DFS with little to no irritation for several months now but this was very unexpected.
So guess what I did this morning? Yep, I did what I did yesterday and got another awesome shave. I am a happy shaver!
If we form a circle and chant, "angle and pressure," wait several months for a revelation and BBS... is that education? Mysticism, at best. I mean, that would be cool... there are people in India who have passed song-like recitations from father to son, down through the ages. Sounds which are thought to precede /language/. Stroke a few egos, though, said personalities demand conformity... that's when it jumps the shark.
I do shave with "no pressure" at steep angles. At low angles, the top cap presses skin behind the edge, but that contributes to cutting power through skin tension. Moderate angles are the Middle East of shaving, and I wish I didn't have to go there, but a gallon of oil does 50 man-hours of work.
It may just keep getting better. Don't change anything til you master the Stroke and technique.
So what gives to conformity?
So I have to admit. After reading this thread yesterday, and admittedly having some irritation on my chin and neck, all I could think of this morning while shaving was "angle and pressure, angle and pressure." Well, the mantra worked and today's shave was nick free and (virtually) irritation free! The razor burn from the previous days has gone down on my chin and is almost totally gone on my neck. Thanks to all!
The modern Gillette corporation is THE driving force, jettisoning useful parts of a razor for profit. I could have been shaving like I do today 20 years ago, if only a real razor had been available at the critical moment. Someone, actually a couple people, tried to show me, but it didn't make any sense using Sensor cartridges. Using the wrong, fixed angle with a lot of tension power just drove the blades down to the bottom of my hair follicles and into my skin. It is near miraculous that I've connected back to that moment, but I still wouldn't found a religion on it. Then our tools and techniques become shibboleths, and we the tribes of the desert.
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- #37
That's awesome Oso!
With a little guidance and practice on your behalf, great shaves are the results.
It seems that they don't keep the same model for too long. They invest billions on research and seem to come up with good disposable razors. The problem seem to be the high cost. If Gillette kept cost down, BB would have 30 thousandless members , since a high percentage admit to coming here for learning traditional wet shaving [ due to high disposable razors cost] and for gentleman social forum interaction.
Gillette is not a person, Supreme court rulings notwithstanding. "Pressure" is merely a word, the application of which is a point of interest to me, and the subject of the original post. If I offend those who identify with either, I am sorry. The psychological transformation of belief into identity, I feel, is unfortunate and not productive. Actually it would degrade my concept of "gentleman."
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