What advise would you have liked to known at the start?

Yeah, if we ever find the guy who started the whole MAYhem thing I think we should have him committed.

 

I was worried about the difficulty of stopping and maintaining a straight razor so I delayed my straight razor shaving two years. I wish then that stropping is easier than I thought and maintenance is so bad either. Honing.... that is not easy.

The importance of skin stretching, that made a big difference in my shaves.

 

"No pressure" & "Ride the cap".
My first several shaves with a double edged blade, my face looked like a banzai charge.

 

Don't go for cheap, go for good.

 

Recognize the difference between collecting and shaving. It is a neat hobby to begin a collection in if that’s what you want to do, but it is also completely unnecessary for a good shave. Your pocketbook will thank you later.

 

I have a boat load of odds and ends that I won't use but are tough to trade because of weight, shipping charges and Amazon.

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk

 

I'm just basically echoing what has already been said...but, don't obsess over what razor or blades to buy. And, don't go by "reviews" as most are written by other newbies. A razor just holds a blade, and all blades are sharp enough to shave. Any combo can shave great, any combo can shred your face. It's all technique.

Oh, yeah....I forgot one. Don't buy a sampler pack of blades to start. Stick with one brand/"model" for at least a month. Sampler packs do nothing for you until you learn proper technique.

 

Great video!

This is just probably do to a little OCD on my part ...

When done with your shave; remove the blade and rinse it off. Dried on hair and soap scum does not improve your next shave. Also once your blade is removed from the razor, clean your razor. You invested money into your razor protect your investment.

I have a small jar of alcohol to rinse my razor off in; not for sterilization, but for soap scum removal. It keeps it nice and shiny.

 

Good info, I think. I started wet shaving a couple of weeks ago understanding this could eliminate the razor burn I am experiencing on my neck. I'm trying to be patient but still getting irritation. My razor doesn't seem to cut WTG o. My neck. Any advice?

 

The neck can be tricky to figure out. Most of us don't have the same hair growth pattern on our necks as our faces. For instance, my WTG pass on my face is N-S. Top to bottom. On my neck it's more of an angle across the neck because of how it grows out of my neck. You should try and "map" your beard growth by figuring out which way the hair is growing. That will help you get a better and less irritating pass and shave overall.

 

Didn't realize there so much to consider. Thks