I wouldn't call it necessarily a bad thing but.....it can lead to increased irritation however, depending on your beard thickness and skin sensitivity. If you'd done it with carts you may be fine going that route. You just have to try it and see the result. As with much of wetshaving what works for me might not work for you and vice versa.

First shave of the challenge,
Merkur 39c
Personna reds
WSP T formula barber shop
Alum
CC bay rum
WSP black badger

Hot shower
Then I whipped up some lather in my bowl. I think I should have added a tad bit more water but for the most part I think it was a nice lather.
Cold water face wet down applied my lather and went to town.
I figured being the first shave of the challenge i'd change it up and skipped the WTG pass and went straight to the XTG.
To my surprise, no cuts, tugs or irritation. This razor just sliced through it like butter.
Reapplied my lather and ATG I went...I think I sped up a little on one side of my neck. No cuts or weepers, but felt a little scrape here and there.
Got a good rinse with cold water and went to the alum.
The cheeks felt like a cold stone gliding across my face, my neck was a little different....a slight bit of tingling on one side but when I went to the side I felt was a little rushed, a slight burning....not too bad though.
Splashed on some of that CC bay rum and waited for that burn,
The warmth came, then a little warmer...then some more, but then started to cool down. I didn't get the intense burn I was thinking I was going to get on that one side.
Not a BBS but almost a DFS.
Next shave I'm going back to the 3 pass. But it was a good test to see if my face could handle it.

November 1

Feather Artist Club SS
Feather Professional (1)
Semogue 830
MdC scented
Two passes
Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Alt Innsbruck

Goals
Further develop my two-pass shave technique by practicing the basics
Break in and get more experience with the Semogue 830
Get more experience with MdC

This evening’s shave included two WTG passes and provided a DFS on my cheeks and an SAS on my neck.

I did 100 swirls with the brush on the MdC (probably twice what I needed) and had slick lather for two passes. It seems like I should have had more lather. I’m still figuring out the Semogue brush.

I quickly found the blade angle on my cheek, and I could no longer feel the blade moving across my skin. I keep the wide part of the blade holder about a “blade holder width” off my skin. The first pass went OK, although I encountered some trouble right under my nose. In that area, I can’t maintain the blade angle, and it feels like I’m scraping the whiskers. I just have to go extra slow and not try to remove everything in one pass.

The second pass was going well until – BAM – the blade left a half-inch cut along my lower lip. It was due to operator error. I was nervous on the first shave with the Feather, and I simply lost focus. I’m coagulating now. I ended up with a couple of tiny weepers under my nose and one on my upper cheek, but overall not too bad aside from the small cut.

On a positive note, I navigated the blade over my chin with relative ease. I expected more trouble in that area. It helped having the water turned off while I shaved. The alum barked, but I was glad that I had it for my lip. Tomorrow is another day, and I’m glad that November is a 30-day month.

Have a great Monday!

And with that, welcome to the Feather SS! In past encounters I've always had a DE loaded and ready to bail when I felt that nervousness rising. Largely because when I got that feeling I was about to bleed. But, I've learned now that when it appears I just stop and think the stoke through, shrug off the nervousness and move with a purpose without rushing. Seems to clear and focus my mind to avoid making a pointless error. On the other hand all it takes is a minor slip of technique and you have a cut on your neck that chooses to open again a few hours later requiring a bandaid. Oh wait, that's me today. Still sounds like a great first result with this razor. You're off and running well!

First shave with the Voskhod not sure I like this combo. The Lab Blue and 7 O Clock yellows were much smother shaves with the Progress. I was expecting the Alum to be like fire but was only warm. We'll see what the next shave brings.

Great advice, Neal, on how to maintain focus. I will try this on tomorrow's shave. Thanks!

1st shave in the can. 2 passes WTG till my current neck irritation clears...hope it'll take no more then a few days...I might add a XTG pass next week. ...I like this ...strength in numbers.

That's what we're here for. To give advice, share success, laugh at the dumb mistakes we all make and of course to enable each other to buy more and more fun stuff!! Glad to have you along!

Ive given up on XTG. The irritation I get is just not worth it for me.

Noted. I'll keep that in mind. one thing I've been doing is shaving before bedtime that way the irritation is way down by the morning. Anybody else shaving before bedtime?

Welcome to No Variation November!

Currently, I'm shaving in the evening with my Feather Artist Club SS razor. Gives me a little more time to focus.

Yea what he said! But I do want to point out that many of Neal's shaves involve exigent and even aggravating circumstances. The Failing Turkey blade and a certain Russian made razor come to mind.

I do WTG on my cheeks in my first pass, but do XTG on the first pass on my chin and neck. WTG did absolutely nothing for me on my neck. I then do ATG everywhere on my second pass. I finish up with touch-up.

I will note I do not have really sensitive or easily irritated skin, so if you do, you may not want to skip the WTG pass. I also found that doing 3 passes WTG XTG and ATG did not provide any better than just the modified 2 pass above. It really is all YMMV but experiment and see what works.

One of the principles of Technique Trumps Tools is that it works with effective and usable tools. If the tools are defective, all bets are off. The Barking Bagle and the Rapira are two examples of defective tools that can still be made to work if necessary. Well, the Rapira can, the Tripping Turtle is too far over the edge.

Day 1

No Variation Novemmber



Day one went in the books with a smooth 2 pass DFS!

Have a sterling Monday!

​

Are we anywhere near Shakedown Street?

Prep: Hot shower, Nivea for Men Original Moisturizing Face Wash, TSD Jasmine Sambac preshave balm
Brush: Simpsons 56 Best Badger
Lather: Ginger's Garden Coffee Jasmine soap (with mango butter)
Razor: RazoRock Bamboozled RAKE OC
Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum
Passes: WTG, XTG, XTG
Post: Cold water rinse, Thayer's witch hazel & aloe vera pad, Myrsol Metilsol AS splash
Cologne: Xeryus by Givenchy

November 1 & 2

Prep: warm wash
Brush: Vie-Long 13061M
Soap: The Soap Exhange tallow
Razor: Weber PH
Blade: Astra SP
Post: Ogallala Bay Rum Limes & Peppercorns (This may vary if I use up the bottle)

Yesterday I pulled a double with a face and head shave with the November gear. Today I used the same thing for a face shave. Should have changed the blade before, but I didn't so ended up with a small nick on my chin. Fresh blade tomorrow.

Kudos to all you NoVar NoVem participants!
You will no doubt reap the benefits of what repeated use of certain items can bring—familiarity with these items, learning the strengths and weaknesses of these items, and the ability to hone your skills with a particular razor.