I am writing this for the newbie/beginner so he can have some feedback on what a good lather and shave should feel like.
For me the lather is the most important, get that right and things like blade angle and pressure will be things you won't have to focus on so much and will come naturally.
For me Jims Tutorial on building lather is the best so here is a link,http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21136&highlight=soap+tutorial. As I face lather I only need to dip the tips of the brush very lightly into the water maybe 3 times to make a lather.
So what should a good shave feel like?
A Good lather (I'm using proraso soap as a ref) should be dense, almost like vaseline/petroleum jelly and look more like a slick paste on your face (picture a slick white toothpaste with a little water) and it needs very little water.
The lather will be mainly in the top half of the brush. It will also be enough for 3 or 4 passes. It won't dry out. Even coming to the last pass it will still be dense. It will feel moist when rubbed between your fingers and slick. When spreading lather with the brush it will feel like your spreading slick custard /slick yogurt or a slick dense whipped cream.
When you are putting blade to face it should feel like a knife going through butter. It will be quiet also. With a new blade you will hardly hear the blade cutting. (With a used one there will be noise) You won't feel the blade or very little of it. It will feel like there is no blade in the razor.
After the shave your face should feel refreshed and soft. Your face will also have an even color and not "need" any moisturizer. Feel free to put it on.
You really should have no nicks or very few,, and no cuts.
You will be a faceabater and people will think you look like that statue the Thinker as you run your fingers from your cheek to your chin and when you get to your chin people will mistake you for Kirk Douglas with that famous chin dimple in Spartacus.
You will look younger. Your friends will tell ya.
The girls will be looking your way.
You will try and convince everyone you meet to try wetshaving.
You will love putting aftershave on.
When you rinse your face it will feel like your washing porcelain tiles with petroleum jelly/ vaseline.
There will be no or very little sting from proraso pre/post or any aftershave/cologne.
You will not even know you just shaved.
You will look forward to your next shave.
And now what a crap shave feels like,
The lather will be thin/light/foamy and airy. Most probably be very messy and run down the brush. There will be lots of bubbles too. Lots of lather can be misleading. Around the 3rd or possibly the 2nd pass the later in the brush will have thinned out and be very wet and will dry on your face. This is also why people feel the need to squeeze lather up from the knot/core.When spreading lather around the face with the brush it will fell like your spreading a light watery cream that has too much air and water. The lather might look voluminous but will feel like your spreading a thin white paint. It will stick and feel dry when you rub lather between your fingers.
The lather will look and feel like milkshake froth.
When shaving you will feel the blade and hear the hairs being cut and scrapped. This sound will be louder than when the lather is good. The blade tugs on the hairs. It will hurt.
After the shave your face will feel angry, it will feel hot and burning. You will get red bumps, (when you learn good lather those bumps will go in about 3 shaves or a week), it will feel tight and sting to the touch, even warm water will sting and your face will have discoloration. You will put the whole tub of moisturizer on your face and although it will help the damage is done. Moisturizer and post will help heal your face but if you keep using a bad lather you will only perpetuate the problems.
You will look older. Your enemies will tell ya.
The girls will be looking at your father or grand father.
You won't even think about talking to anyone about wetshaving.
There will be blood and your face will look like Freddy Kruger.
You will hate putting aftershave on.
When you put on pre/post or aftershave/cologne it will sting a lot. But don't worry too much because this is when a boy becomes a man. Suck it up. It's all part of the learning curve.
When you rinse your face it will feel like you are just washing with soap and will not feel slick.
You will know you just shaved.
You won't look foward to the next shave and have nightmares about cartridges and canned stuff and think we're all full of crap.....
On a side note, don't worry too much about the sound your razor makes. You can still have great shaves if you hear the blade cutting. It just shouldn't be too loud. This is usually when the lather is thin and dry and not dense. Soaps/creams and gels are all different.
Also note too much water can mean a dry lather. It might look wet but it will be just like shaving with water alone. There's a misconception here that wet shaving means a lot of water and a lot of "wet". Load that soap for a minute then wet your face and all you'll need are a few gentle dips of your brush to make lather on your face.
So newbies have patience we ain't full of crap and you will love shaving and find it cheaper and better for you skin in the long run.
Anyone feel free to ad or disagree as I don't claim to have all the answers and wrote this so beginners can have some idea on what a good and bad shave feels like.
Take it easy and have trust in Jims lather tutorial, Like Kyle it also took me a while to trust going to the soap with a squeezed and shaken brush.
Happy shavin,
For me the lather is the most important, get that right and things like blade angle and pressure will be things you won't have to focus on so much and will come naturally.
For me Jims Tutorial on building lather is the best so here is a link,http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21136&highlight=soap+tutorial. As I face lather I only need to dip the tips of the brush very lightly into the water maybe 3 times to make a lather.
So what should a good shave feel like?
A Good lather (I'm using proraso soap as a ref) should be dense, almost like vaseline/petroleum jelly and look more like a slick paste on your face (picture a slick white toothpaste with a little water) and it needs very little water.
The lather will be mainly in the top half of the brush. It will also be enough for 3 or 4 passes. It won't dry out. Even coming to the last pass it will still be dense. It will feel moist when rubbed between your fingers and slick. When spreading lather with the brush it will feel like your spreading slick custard /slick yogurt or a slick dense whipped cream.
When you are putting blade to face it should feel like a knife going through butter. It will be quiet also. With a new blade you will hardly hear the blade cutting. (With a used one there will be noise) You won't feel the blade or very little of it. It will feel like there is no blade in the razor.
After the shave your face should feel refreshed and soft. Your face will also have an even color and not "need" any moisturizer. Feel free to put it on.
You really should have no nicks or very few,, and no cuts.
You will be a faceabater and people will think you look like that statue the Thinker as you run your fingers from your cheek to your chin and when you get to your chin people will mistake you for Kirk Douglas with that famous chin dimple in Spartacus.
You will look younger. Your friends will tell ya.
The girls will be looking your way.
You will try and convince everyone you meet to try wetshaving.
You will love putting aftershave on.
When you rinse your face it will feel like your washing porcelain tiles with petroleum jelly/ vaseline.
There will be no or very little sting from proraso pre/post or any aftershave/cologne.
You will not even know you just shaved.
You will look forward to your next shave.
And now what a crap shave feels like,
The lather will be thin/light/foamy and airy. Most probably be very messy and run down the brush. There will be lots of bubbles too. Lots of lather can be misleading. Around the 3rd or possibly the 2nd pass the later in the brush will have thinned out and be very wet and will dry on your face. This is also why people feel the need to squeeze lather up from the knot/core.When spreading lather around the face with the brush it will fell like your spreading a light watery cream that has too much air and water. The lather might look voluminous but will feel like your spreading a thin white paint. It will stick and feel dry when you rub lather between your fingers.
The lather will look and feel like milkshake froth.
When shaving you will feel the blade and hear the hairs being cut and scrapped. This sound will be louder than when the lather is good. The blade tugs on the hairs. It will hurt.
After the shave your face will feel angry, it will feel hot and burning. You will get red bumps, (when you learn good lather those bumps will go in about 3 shaves or a week), it will feel tight and sting to the touch, even warm water will sting and your face will have discoloration. You will put the whole tub of moisturizer on your face and although it will help the damage is done. Moisturizer and post will help heal your face but if you keep using a bad lather you will only perpetuate the problems.
You will look older. Your enemies will tell ya.
The girls will be looking at your father or grand father.
You won't even think about talking to anyone about wetshaving.
There will be blood and your face will look like Freddy Kruger.
You will hate putting aftershave on.
When you put on pre/post or aftershave/cologne it will sting a lot. But don't worry too much because this is when a boy becomes a man. Suck it up. It's all part of the learning curve.
When you rinse your face it will feel like you are just washing with soap and will not feel slick.
You will know you just shaved.
You won't look foward to the next shave and have nightmares about cartridges and canned stuff and think we're all full of crap.....
On a side note, don't worry too much about the sound your razor makes. You can still have great shaves if you hear the blade cutting. It just shouldn't be too loud. This is usually when the lather is thin and dry and not dense. Soaps/creams and gels are all different.
Also note too much water can mean a dry lather. It might look wet but it will be just like shaving with water alone. There's a misconception here that wet shaving means a lot of water and a lot of "wet". Load that soap for a minute then wet your face and all you'll need are a few gentle dips of your brush to make lather on your face.
So newbies have patience we ain't full of crap and you will love shaving and find it cheaper and better for you skin in the long run.
Anyone feel free to ad or disagree as I don't claim to have all the answers and wrote this so beginners can have some idea on what a good and bad shave feels like.
Take it easy and have trust in Jims lather tutorial, Like Kyle it also took me a while to trust going to the soap with a squeezed and shaken brush.
Happy shavin,
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