January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

I'm sorry you've had some bad shaves. The good news is that they'll get better.

I'd suggest using one razor, one brush, and either one soap or cream until you refine your technique. I'd also stick to one brand of blades for now. Change the blade every couple of days to avoid compensating for a dying blade edge. Focus on the basics, and keep coming back to the same routine each day. Until it truly becomes routine.

Take your time on face prep, build a good lather, perform 1 WTG pass using short and slightly overlapping strokes, letting the weight of the razor do the work, and watching the blade angle... and then STOP.

Be sure to rinse well and use a good skin conditioning aftershave to help your skin recover. For example, I use witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and then a splash of aftershave. Experiment to find what works for you. Go easy on products containing alcohol.

It's helpful to shave with the water turned off so you can hear the whiskers being cut once you find the correct blade angle. Some folks here call it riding the cap. If you feel any dragging, you don't have the right angle. If you can't feel the blade moving across your skin, you're probably right where you need to be. Your skin will gradually heal, you'll look great for work, you can shave every day, and you can hang out here until your technique improves. At some point, you can incorporate a second pass and maybe work in a few XTG strokes. The key is to go slowly and enjoy the process of learning. If you're not happy with today's shave, there's always another chance to get it right tomorrow. Stay the course, ask questions of the folks here anytime, and you'll get there sooner than you think.

P.S. And above all, do what make sense to you. YMMV.

 

Sorry I have been gone for a few days I traveled on my road trip and to the West Coast Shaving store. Picked up some stuff (under the Haul section). I didn't shave for 3 days but got a great one in tonight. As for my progress on the goals for January, it is going really well. I have acquired a slant like I wanted to (Merkur 37c). I have also been breaking in my Semogue Owner's Club Boar brush very well. Not completely yet, but it is getting there. I have a new Semogue Owner's Club Badger to break in and use, as well. As for my last goal of using a badger brush more, I have not stuck to this as I've been trying to break in the oc boar. So now that it is almost fully broken in I can start to use more badger for daily shaves.

 

Also keep shaving daily, as crazy as that sounds. I shave every day and get great results. I can get away with a 2 pass shave daily instead of a 3 or 4 pass shave every other day. You may want to experiment with more/ less passes. As for your neck, shave with VERY light pressure until the skin heals up. I found with my skin that the first week of shaving daily sucked with lots of irritation on my neck because the skin is thin. But I kept with it and eventually my skin toughened up and can now be shaved every day.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I shave 5 or 6 times a week. The non-shaving day is typically one of the weekend days. I think giving your face time to recover a little bit is not out of the question.

Everyone's physical make-up is different and our skin complexity varies widely. There are some folks out there who do not shave every day because they get BBS results and don't need to shave again 24 hours later. I think some of the gentlemen that use straight razors say that after 24 hours they are often at CCS from a BBS shave the day before.

My focus this month has been on general technique and I've been using one razor the whole time. I have quickly identified a need to shave lightly and judiciously and I am now leaning towards a one pass shave with touch-up to help avoid irritation and other maladies. Again, my face is not the same as the next person's. We have to find what works for us and be true to that commitment. I'm not getting every single hair each shave, and certainly not achieving the glorious BBS, but avoiding irritation is more important than striving for the smoothest face (for me at least).

Now, for a specific suggestion, I would be extremely picky about the amount of pressure you use on your neck. Light, light pressure is necessary. Make sure you know the growth pattern of the hair and shave with the grain. The grain of most of my neck hair is sideways from my left to right....a little odd perhaps but that's how it grows. So I shave in that direction for one pass followed by a touch-up. I resist every morning the urge to do more and to go after every little bit of beard that's there. But I'm getting about suppressing that urge and knowing that I'll be better off with a "less is more" approach.

 

Don't do any Atg for a while. Looking socially acceptable and being bbs are not the same thing. Shoot for a good looking shave!

 

January 12, 2016

A January 30-day focus with my Schick Type C1 - The Simplified Schick Automatic Razor.

Razor: Schick Type C1
Blade: NOS Schick Plus Platinum circa 1980 (USA) (1)



Three shaves with the Dutch Schick. With a bit more work, I think it'll be as easy as the Chinese Schick. Wanted to spend more time with it but have three more blades to try before end of month.

Leaving for my first business trip of the year so a quick shave, very close, smooth and easy with the Plus Platinum and I'm on the road.

Cheers!
RT

 

Happy Trails Vince! I hope the road is good to you.

 

Thanks sir!
Btw- one of the most enjoyable college football games yesterday. Bet it had you on the edge of your seat all night! Roll Tide!

 

If you get a strop that has two elements, that are not connected, you can actually use the back of the leather. The chromium oxide isn't messy at all.

 

Thank you! I am loving this one.

 

also @clint64

I felt that Clemson was going win the game until the onside kick recovery/resultant TD.

The playoff seeding worked out this year, I truly believe the championship game was the best matchup in years. Clemson was every bit as big and fast and well coached as Bama, but they don't yet have the bench depth yet. But give Clemson coach Dabo Swinney (Bama '92) time, he will win a title or two.

My big takeaway this year was the talent disparity between the Big 1o and the SEC. Ohio State is an exception, primarily because their coach is from Florida, and he is recruiting players specifically to beat teams like Bama. I may draw the ire of Big 10 and MSU fans here, but that Michigan State team would likely have finished fourth in the SEC West behind Bama, Mississippi and LSU. As the semifinal between Bama and MSU wore on, the disparity of size, speed and bench depth was waaaaay too much for the Big 10 champs to handle. A similar thing played out in Clemson's semifinal, as the Tigers simply outclassed Oklahoma. Sometimes I feel like Bama is viewed as the "bad guys" or the bullies or what have you, but if more coaches recruited like Urban Meyer has at Ohio State, the Big 10 and Big 12 conferences can be relevant again, but as it stands now, there are only three or four schools outside of the SEC that are equipped to deal with the likes of the SEC or ACC champs.

 

My observations:

Bama's special teams may have won the game
Bama's offensive RT #67 had a really tough time with Clemson's DE #98
Clemson's QB is the real deal
Saban's "Process" wins again. If you've never heard him talk about "The Process", it's great and can be applied to many aspects of your life. I use it with my sons.

 

Agree on all points. That Clemson defensive line is legit, and Watson has some Cam Newton qualities. Watson appears to be a very good standup/pocket passer with the heart of a tailback. He was fun to watch, I hope he makes it to the NFL.

 

Neal and Vince are on the road again. I think I'll stay indoors today.

 

True on both points. The onside kick was really something. It is one thing to pay attention to the detail and notice that the other team makes that mistake in kick coverage. Then you have to practice it before the game. The real thing that makes him different is he knew the time to call the play and then had the guts to call it. I can only imagine the blow back had Bama not recovered.

As a UGA fan, we will see first hand how much of "the process" Kirby Smart brings with him.

 

Good morning everybody.

Had a visitor today when I started setting up stuff for the picture of the day. Looks like she was thinking about getting rid of her facial hair ...



Tried a new soap (well, new to me) that I received yesterday from a trade:

- PannaCrema Namaste
- Semogue OC badger
- Merkur Futur
- Sputnik (#4)
- Tüff sensitiv/Pinaud Special Reserve (sample)

This italian artisan soap is a top performer, absolutely fantastic. Ridiculously easy to lather, the lather itself is super-slick and creamy, provided an incredible cushion for the razor. The scent ... well ... I guess you have to learn to love it. Top note is lemongrass, but mixed with a slightly musty scent of oakmoss. Pretty strange combination, so it's good that it is lightly scented compared to some US artisans like Stirling or Chiseled Face. And the scent evaporates quickly. Skin feels very good after the shave.

I started with the Futur set to 2.5 for the WTG pass. Very gentle, very pleasant. After that I confirmed yesterday's findings: Shaved the left side of my face ATG on 2,5, the right side on 5. The higher setting definitely felt more pleasant. Then I tried some touchups on setting 1: very smooth as well, but the razor actually didn't cut much So I went back to 5 for some finishing touches unter my chin and at the jawline. I might have overshaved a little at my chin, but achieved a perfect BBS shave today.

Finished with a splash of Tüff Rasierwasser, waited a few minutes and applied a second layer of Pinaud Special Reserve (despite my wife's threat of violence should I ever use it ) But sometimes you just have to man up and do what you have to do, right? The result was similar to yesterday's experience with the Clubman. On my skin she seems to like it. Her comment: "Nice, but you have better stuff." Okay, I can agree with that.

 

Great picture!

 

01/13/2016
Razor – AlumiGoose with Triad Ti
Blade – Feather Super Pro (6)
Brush – Shavemac Silvertip D01
Lather – Soap Commander Passion Shave Stick
Post - Witch Hazel followed by Fine L’Orange



A very good 3 pass near BBS work morning shave. I did get a couple of weepers due to operator error. Loaded with a Feather Super blade the AlumiGoose like the the Mongoose exacts a toll when you make a mistake. Using the SC Passion in shave stick form was very easy. As usual with Soap Commander the lather was good and slick. Finished with a splash of Fine L'Orange. I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

 

Straights Focus January 13:

Homemade PS Oil
Stirling Synthetic Brush
Stirling Frozen Tundra
Ralf Aust 5/8
Stirling Unscented PSB -- Mentholated
Proraso AS

Today's shave was probably my favorite straight shave so far. It maybe wasn't the closest shave I have had, but I did two passes with no clean up, and the second pass wasn't even a full pass, and I got a DFS. Everything just really seemed to come together for me this morning. My first pass was great, and I hit a CCS at that point. I had some time, so I lathered up again and went for my second pass, which got everything even closer. It was all very comfortable, and the alum was very quiet.

The other thing I noticed was how long the shave took. I took my time, and was focused on angles, pressure, and skin stretching, and I lost track of time a bit. When I was done, I thought that it seemed fairly quick, so I checked phone, and it had been just under 20 minutes. For me, that is a record as I usually take 30 minutes or so with a straight.

 

I also believe that coaching decision was the game changer. If that call hadn't worked out he would have egg on his face today. It was as it turned out a great call.