Daily Learning curve of having Great shaves!

Discussion in 'Shave School' started by Ron R, Mar 10, 2018.

  1. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    We all learn from our own experiences and also others who share their experiences that others might like to know or results of a different product or blunders and those habits that soured or made a great shave.
     
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  2. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    I like to pre-shave with a wet face and apply a hot or warm wash cloth to beard area for 30-40 seconds and do it a second time. Then I will wet the face with water and apply some clear Aloe gel and then apply my lather and get some great shaves. The aloe is a great moisturizer that makes those whiskers defense less against a razor.
     
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  3. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man from the mistakes of others? Standing on the shoulders of those that came before us is what put the Human Race where it is today. Forgetting the lessons of history allows for repetition of the errors.

    I tried Shave Secret preshave oil for a month or more. Didn't do much for my beard reduction, and I dislike the slightly clove bay rum scent so I discontinued use. Going with the Less is More philosophy, sometimes I remember to splash a little water on before applying my tap water cool lather. Works for me. Your opinion may vary.

    One day I may try one of the many other preshave offerings. There's something sold by PAA called The Cube that looks interesting. Proraso makes several preshave products and I like their line of soaps and post shave elixirs.
     
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  4. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    Were I was going wrong was applying the Aloe first and then applying the warm face cloths (that is so relaxing=treat) then I started to apply the wet face with warm face cloth X 2 and then applying on a wet face the Aloe gel than the lather, especially in the winter months when humidity is 25-35% in the house in northern Alberta Canada according to my humidity Gage.
    (your face will be a little red from the warm face cloths it seemed to me because you blood & skin is trying to cool the face IMO.)
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2018
  5. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    Best things I have learned;
    1) When you’re starting out, try a bunch of different blade brands. There is no objective best, so the only way to know what works for you is to experiment.
    2) I love adjustable DE razors, both vintage and new. This too, results from trying a bunch of things until I found what I liked.
     
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  6. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    Its a good idea to keep your Razor handle dry as possible to reduce slipping out of hand, some handles are maybe a little prone to this so what I have done is use some Alum and problem solved most of the time.
     
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  7. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    image.jpeg This is a good idea to figure what direction your whiskers are growing with beard mapping. I tried other methods like scrapping a credit card to hear what was the loudest noise indicating growth direction (not that effective). I found the way is to look after 2-3 days growth in the mirror and map it out so shaving was more enjoyable with Cartridges or my preferred method DE shaving.

    :whacky024: Beard map template(print one off)
    FullSizeRender.jpg
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2021
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  8. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    When I use Alum I rinse the face with cold water, wet the alum rock & rub over the beard only and let it set for 30-40 seconds and rinse off afterwards with cold water.:love029:
    The alum indicates if you had a good shave (stinging if over shaved) and also acts as a in-stringent for cleaning possible abrasions,also firming the skin.(my skin does not complain and feels pliable afterwards.)
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2018
  9. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    It's always good to have astringent styptic pencil handy for those nicks and weepers (toilet paper next alternative like my Dad used in good old days :rofl:), that is bound to happen to us all over time.:shocked003:
     
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  10. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

    I'm a bit new to all this but one tip for Futur users when hands are wet or slippery from soap and you want to adjust it. I keep the small towel I do for a hot face towel on the side of the basin. If I need (I usually do) to adjust the dial mid shave I hold the head with the towel which stops a slip and potentially cutting a finger if it slips. Guessing others have thought of this but just in case......
     
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  11. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    [​IMG] That is a good idea and I have used that method with my Merkur future clone(Ming shi 2000) and I watched a video of a British gent who used two fingers on the top cap and two on the bottom like a claw grip when adjusting and that works also. Your way is safest and it works IMO.
     
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  12. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    I was deep in thought on why I use Aftershave because when I was younger I seldom would apply any but as I started to DE shave the gents mostly apply it.
    -If it was just for smell, they'd call it cologne.
    -Aftershave is used as an astringent and disinfectant.
    -Might as well get a good smell out of it while we're at it.
    -Moisturizing and soothing of the face is more in the realm of after shave balms.
     
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  13. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

    I'm a wimp and stick to balm and a moisturiser. :happy108:
     
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  14. Keithmax

    Keithmax Breeds Pet Rocks

    :signs011:
     
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  15. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    How do you tell if a blade is getting dull? If it is tugging or has gone past its normal life of # of shaves & does a bad clean up it is time to TOSS in the blade bin!
    I made a recent rule just recently, after 8 months of DE shaving with good quality blades I averaged 5 to 7> shaves so the Toss will occur after 6 shaves Max of my 2.5 passes per shave.
    If you use Alum or Aftershave it should also indicate more irritation and possibly more razor burn with cuts and weepers increase also.
    Why push a blade, enjoy it because blades are one of the cheapest items ($.02 to $.04 per shave) of DE shaving.
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2018
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  16. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    Preshave is a grey area for some and I believe it can help the person shaving get a even better shave and the skin feeling great. It has taken me a while to find the right products and procedure to attain the desired results. This little procedure will give you excellent results and tweek it to your liking or don't use it at all!
    Aloe Vera Gel is one of the best natural moisturizes for hair and skin know to man, moistened whiskers means easier slicing for razor blade edge & there by reducing irritation and other undesirables .

    This will improve your shave to a more closer one in a Low humidity winter place especially or any environment if you are not having daily showers.
    1- wet the face with water and let it stay on wet.
    2- brush the teeth (2 minutes)
    2.5- Shave Brush wash my face with CeraVe hand bar soap to prep the face seems also to hydrate the face. I find it works well for my face skin in the eye area.(prevents dry eye?)
    3-wet face-put a hot or warm wet face cloth on the beard for 30-40 seconds and do it again for 30-40 seconds.(That is relaxing:happy108:) Update- this has become my optional method from Shave brush wash the face with CeraVe hand bar soap now that works great.
    4- wet the face with water again.
    5- put some clear Aloe vera Gel ($ quarter Size)on the balm of your hands and rube it on the beard area.(this hydrates the beard to maximum)>(I bought this Aloe Vera Gel at Walmart)
    6- leave the aloe on the beard while mixing up the lather to let the hair follicles soak it up for optimum results.
    7- Put the Shave lather(Tabac-Arko....) right over the Aloe and shave with a rinsed warm wet razor!
    (I was applying the Aloe Gel on 1st step:rolleyes005:and its not as effective-apply on the 5th step for better results IMO):rolleyes:
    NOTE: if you just had a shower just apply the aloe vera gel over beard area and then mix lather and brush right over the beard and you should have one of your best shaves with good post shave results.
    This sequence of steps have given me excellent results in a cold dry climate like Northern Canada, it will work in any climate.
    Worth trying if you are not getting the good results with same shaving equipment in the summer months when humidity is higher-adds a few minutes to the shave if time is available. Check your humidity gauge if you have one:shocked003:
    Aloe has been a known for centuries as a healing agent for burns, minor cuts and moisturizer of skin and hair, heck even the cartridge manufactures have a Aloe moisturizer wear strips on their latest generation of blades. Its my new pre-shave holy grail, you can add a little oil to this to do trials and I have used Nivea natural Argan & joba oils body lotion. The skin just loves it with just a straight application of Aloe vera gel and I'm getting excellent close shaves with good skin tone.
    This clear Aloe Vera gel was hard to find, the Pharmacist asked me what I was searching for , he found it in the essential natural oils area not in the maze of body lotions at our local Walmart. Ask if you can not find it there, just a great product. I have been using different brands of Aloe Vera gel for my hair(dry hair problems) also over the last 20 years and it moisturizes my hair my greatly.
    [​IMG]
    Lots of folks are not sold on Pre-shave products because they shower every day and hydrate the beard whiskers some what and when they apply the pre-shave they do not notice much change IMO. For people who do not shower daily it will help soften the beard whiskers for the razor edge to slice them if a pre-shave product are used-law of physics "softer is easier to slice".
    Update
    Picture of pre-shave gear(September 23rd 2021)
    Z-Pre shave products (2).jpg

    This gear I have been using for years and just added(Postshave) CeraVe moisturizer balm(good stuff + scentless) SOTD,  Sep 19th 2021 (2).jpg (click picture to enlarge)
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2021
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  17. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    I'm a firm believer in storage of razors properly or as best as you see possible. The worse thing I have noticed over the years is damaging a expensive cartridge blade that cost about $3-4 dollars(very prone to damage if dropped randomly into a bag without guard).
    With DE razors if wood , plastics and leather can be used it cuts down on the dents and nicks, it will improve shaves over time if stored properly from large dents to cap and blade base that prevents blade from being clamped properly. When Traveling with a DE razor its a good idea to have a plastic case or leather pouch. I bought a Gillette slim last summer and the amount of small scratches and tiny dents is amazing but it was still shave-able to me with no big issues luckly. Some Manufactures have really cut back on proper storage cases to increase profit and shipping costs IMO. I have noticed not many good articles or forum threads on razor storage or good practices of razor care. Remember you will spend about 80 to 120 hrs totalled on 15 to 20 minutes/per shave- per year(355> days) for daily shaving and might as well have a nice and accurate tool to do the job it was hired for.

    image.jpeg
    20180723_203431_crop_499x430.jpg
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2018
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  18. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    Razor angle is important for good technique & results! Sometimes when a shave is not what it should be try improving the angle of handle to get the blade more engaged on surface of skin. Looking at the Razorock Wunderbar slant you need a Steep approach because the razor blade has a large bend or higher curved cap compared to razor with hardly as much cap curvature.
    I generally ride more the cap on most of my razors to control the blade action,you sometimes will hear more audio feedback when the blade is working more aggressively. General rule for me higher curved cap steeper angle of approach! image.jpg
    Gem procedure (2).jpg
     
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2018
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  19. brit

    brit in a box

    i love and use proraso pre shave. all colors. i use hot towels in winter and cold shaves in summer. take your time and enjoy.shaving has been awesome since i joined tsd. i ride the cap with some razors and buff with others. always learning .my face and i thank you all....
     
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  20. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    I'm going to try the proraso pre-shave one of these days, I do cold water rinses and a firm believer in cold water rinsing all year round.
     
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