What was your learning curve?

Discussion in 'Shave School' started by TheManWithNoName, Jan 8, 2016.

  1. TheManWithNoName

    TheManWithNoName Well-Known Member

    I've now shaved with my safety razor three times. I've already seen an improvement in my technique, but shaving with it is still far from being second nature to me—not that I expected it to be after only three shaves with it.

    I'm doing pretty well on my sides and mustache areas; I get nice BSS results there. But underneath on my chin and neck are areas I'm still struggling with them. That's where I get nicks and not as close of a shave there.

    I know the learning curve is different for everyone, but I'm curious to know how long it took you guys to get comfortable using your safety razor. Was it a couple of weeks, a couple of months, or was it longer? Also, aside from the obvious of just doing it more, what can I do to improve my shaving experience, especially in the trouble spots I mentioned?
     
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  2. Marverel

    Marverel Well-Known Member

    When I started DE shaving in May the basic transition took about a week. After that I was able to shave without any injuries, but the shaves were far from BBS ;) I had used cartridge razors for decades and an electric razor for the past three years.

    But it wasn't until my first 30-day-focus in November that I realized how much better a shave can be with the proper technique. I had bought quite a few razors, blades and brushes in the meantime and basically changed my setup every day. Focussing solely on one razor, blade, soap and brush over the course of one month really made a difference and improved my shaves a lot.

    My recommendation: focus on a certain set of tools that work for you and just try different things. Cold water shaves, shaving before or after the shower, 2-pass, 3-pass - just find out what you like and what gives you a nice result.

    Most important though: listen to your shave and get your razor angle and pressure right. Once you've nailed that, you're golden.
     
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  3. youngunn

    youngunn Where's my TSD aftershave balm???

    Comfortable? After a couple shaves it felt natural. Achieving proper technique? It's an ongoing project that I learn more about every shave. I'd like to think though that after a few months I had pretty good technique down.

    My neck, to the right and left of my Adam's apple, is very sensitive and of course I have thick course beard hairs. I am STILL struggling to learn proper technique in that spot. I watch shave videos of people just going right over that area with no problems... Yeah I have to be really careful or else I'll have weepers and nicks. I have had success with the Gillette slide. So now I'm perfecting that.

    Even after a couple of years, it's an ongoing process.
     
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  4. youngunn

    youngunn Where's my TSD aftershave balm???

    ^^^ what he said. Do a 30 day focus, one setup of gear and really focus on technique. Of course you have to have found a blade that works in that particular razor.
     
  5. TheManWithNoName

    TheManWithNoName Well-Known Member

    Thanks for your reply and advice, Marverel. I think now is as good of a time as any for me to do a 30-day focus. I only have one razor and one brand of blades. But I do have two soaps, a cream, and two brushes.

    Right now my process is I soak my brush and bloom my soap (both with warm water) while I take a shower. After the shower, I work up the later in one of my bowls, splash some warm water on my face and then some of the water from blooming my soap, lather up, and then do three passes—one with the grain, two across the grain (one in one direction and the other in the opposite), and then I clean up any remaining spots I missed. Sorry for the ridiculous question, but would a cold water shave be one with cold water only?

    Listening to my shave is really the only way I know if I'm actually removing hair. After just one shave, I learned my lesson about not using too much pressure. After that, things improved a lot for me. But I'm still struggling to get the correct angle consistently.
     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2016
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  6. TheManWithNoName

    TheManWithNoName Well-Known Member

    Thanks for your reply, youngunn. You make an excellent point here. Learning anything and getting better at it is an ongoing process. I guess what I'm really looking for in my shaving experience are the same things all of are looking for: getting to a point where it's second nature to me, I'm not injuring myself—at least not on a regular basis— and I consistently get a nice smooth shave with no razor burn. I've already noticed that I get very little razor burn (if any) from shaving with my safety razor. I suspect that's because I've already figured out I don't need to use the kind of pressure I did when I was using those cartridge razors.
     
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  7. youngunn

    youngunn Where's my TSD aftershave balm???

    Yes cold water shave is splashing face with cold water and rinsing razor with cold water, in my book.

    If you've only tried one kind of blades, I would get a good sampler from tryablade.com, so you can find the right blade for you.
     
  8. Marverel

    Marverel Well-Known Member

    Not ridiculous at all. And yes, it's all about cold water. You wash your face with it, you lather with it, you rinse with it. Some people love it and get great results this way, for some (me included) it doesn't do anything. Everything about shaving ist just so subjective.

    As one of the great TSD-philosophers once said: It's your shave, enjoy it your way :happy088:
     
  9. youngunn

    youngunn Where's my TSD aftershave balm???

    If you're having trouble with angles, this is what I did.

    Start with razor on face with razor nearly on the cap, no blade touching face. Then slowly roll the razor over until you just start feeling the blade. Keep that angle and lock your wrist and very little to no pressure. You'll get it. Take your time around jawline and neck.
     
  10. TheManWithNoName

    TheManWithNoName Well-Known Member

    I have more blades of different blades on the way, but for now, all I have are my Wilkies. They're the only brand available locally. Well, they're the only brand I feel comfortable purchasing. Some of the local stores have a generic brand available, but I'm leery about them. But what makes me shy away from them even more, ironically enough, is that despite them being a generic brand, they're way more expensive than the various name brand blades that I've seen getting positive reviews here and elsewhere online. In fact, just today I saw a 10-pack of generic blades selling for $8.99. Is it me, or is 89.9 ¢ per blade a bit high?
     
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  11. TheManWithNoName

    TheManWithNoName Well-Known Member

    Thanks for explaining that. I suspect that just like so many other things with wet shaving, this is very much a YMMV situation. Nevertheless, I'm still going to try it to see how well it works for me. Thanks for the suggestion.
     
  12. John Beeman

    John Beeman Little chicken in hot water

    After six weeks I thought I had it mastered.
    After six months I realized I was only a beginner at six weeks.
    Of course I'd shaved with a cartridge for over two decades so that may have made the transition a bit slower.
    Just be patient and let time do it's work.
     
  13. TheManWithNoName

    TheManWithNoName Well-Known Member

    Thanks for that tip, youngunn. I'll definitely give it a go. Being new to this, I definitely take my time with this. On average, I spend about 30 minutes doing my shave, but only 15 minutes of it is actually shaving. The other 15 minutes is working up the lather and then the cleanup when I'm finished.
     
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  14. youngunn

    youngunn Where's my TSD aftershave balm???

    It'll start getting faster. It's all about muscle memory and experience. It'll take a bit to get it down but then you'll have a rally fantastic shave and it'll be upwards and onwards from there.
     
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  15. TheManWithNoName

    TheManWithNoName Well-Known Member

    Thanks for your reply, John. I suspect it will be several months (at minimum) before I feel like I've mastered things. Like you, I had been shaving for over two decades before I started shaving with a safety razor.
     
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  16. TheManWithNoName

    TheManWithNoName Well-Known Member

    That's my hope. I don't mind that it takes me so long. I just wish I was better at it since I take my time. I would expect the kind of results I'm getting now if I were rushing through things. But taking my time the way I do and still getting nicks and mild razor burn, particularly on my chin and neck, is my main point of frustration. But even with the nicks and mild razor burn, using a good soap or cream and a safety razor instead of the stuff in a can and a cartridge razor is so much better. I can't believe it took me this long to discover and convert to the wet shave. I'm hooked for life!
     
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  17. Rusty blade

    Rusty blade The Good Humor Man

    :signs011: ...and practice, practice, practice.
     
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  18. youngunn

    youngunn Where's my TSD aftershave balm???

    It might be the blades too. You really need to try different ones.
     
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  19. preidy

    preidy Just call me Dino

    All new wet shavers, including myself, suffer from the basic wet shaver affliction. Impatience. Later after you have mastered the shaving skill this affliction will reconstitute itself. This usually occurs after buying a new trinket on the bay, or ordering a new soap.
     
  20. Troy M

    Troy M Prep: Mephitis mephitis musk

    I'm a little over 2 years into the traditional shaving lifestyle. I expect it took me several weeks to get comfortable with the weapons of whisker destruction. I recall a couple of "aha" moments. The first was moving to face lathering and finally realizing what a slick, shiny and smooth lather felt like. That helped heaps. Secondly was an understanding that I might never have a BBS shave on my neck. Third was when I finally quit rotating daily between razors and blades and spent 60 days exclusively using my Gillette New SC and understood that a 2 pass shave was nearly always good enough.
     

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