...to The Shave Den family! Be sure to stop by The Shave Den "Master Sticky" thread to familiarize yourself with the rules and different areas of The Shave Den!
Welcome to TSD Josh! Enjoy your new shave gear! As far as blades go. You will find the right one for you over a few tries. Me, I only had luck with Shark Super Chrome and Astra SP's. Now, I only use Astra SP's without question exclusively. Good luck on your shaving journey.
Did my first shave today. Not too shabby. I took my time and had to make a lot of touch ups. I had a decent beard going and the whiskers were starting to clog up my razor. Should be better from now on with only a day or 2 of growth. Only got one little nick on my neck, didn't even realize until I saw some blood while rinsing off. My alum bar cleaned it right up and sealed it off. Felt great, but i played tennis with an hour afterwards and got a big patch of irritation on my neck. Must have gone ATG by accident. Overall it went better than I expected and I'm excited because its only going to get better as my technique develops. 1 down 29 to go!
Hey Josh, welcome to TSD !!! There's so much to learn here, so sit back in a comfy chair and checkout all of this wonderful info. that all of these great people have to offer. I've learned so much since joining and my family thinks I'm crazy for being so serious about my shaving tools and supplies. Enjoy !!!! Peace
Welcome Josh, don't think yourself as strange if you find yourself visiting TSD at least 4-5 times a day. Its addicting as well as all the other vices we have like buying razors, blades, brushes, soaps and the list goes on!
I've shaved 3 times in the past 4 days. I have had one nick per shave I think. I have a little bit of razor burn on my neck, not really surprised though because that's a problem area for me. I'm going to grab some witch hazel to use after my shave, have read that really helps. Swapping to a fresh razor for my next shave too. I definitely have to build my lathering techniques. Don't think my $15 brush helps with that much. Haha. Ive been using green proraso cream in a bowl. After every shave I use my alum and then my razorock eucalyptus and tea tree aftershave wax. Have already received many compliments on my face. A little positive reinforcement never hurts.
Don't be surprised if you end up giving up the alum after using witch hazel. I did. Regarding cheap brushes: I just had a fantastic shave this morning with a $17 dollar brush a member gifted me. Shaving cream is cheap and you will be surprised at how long a tube will last. Spend some time making practice lathers.
I will definitely give this a try. I need to see what happens when I add water, how much water is too much to add, etc. Time to experiment!
http://theshaveden.com/forums/threa...-shavesticks-in-a-bowl-and-on-the-face.15278/ This is the thread that has taught me and many others the basics of lathering. I see you found it from my earlier post. It is a great thread and all newbies should bookmark it.
Good call again sir. Sheesh I'm building up quite a debt to you. haha. I'll definitely revisit that thread and work on my technique.
Pay it back by learning and sharing what you've learned. I owe a great debt to those who have gone before me as well. I like to think that I have mostly paid back my debts to this forum .
So I made a little video of my lathering practice. I didn't turn the camera on until I had added 3-4 drops of water about 5 times. Seemed to help. This is the best later I have made. When I rinsed out the brush there was a ton of cream caked into it. I'm using this brush: http://shavenation.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_49&products_id=638 And using some random tea mug thing I found in my cabinet to mix it in. Was having difficulty uploading the video to here directily from my computer, it was playing hide and seek with me. Here's the video: Felt a little camera shy once I turned it on. Cut out the awkward parts of me studdering and such. haha Things I noticed from watching: 1) I look like I'm spazzing out when mixing the lather. 2) I guess I need to just keep adding water. How do you know when too much water has been added?
Thanks man! Wasn't expecting a complement. I was thinking I wasn't to good at it. I was using my Proraso cream. That's the only kind I have (not including the dreadnought shaving cream sample I received with when I purchased my gear). Looking to grab some kind of soap to mix it up once my 30 day rule is up. Was thinking about trying the lanolin TSD. Although I'm hoping to pick up some goodies from my mom and my gf for Christmas. Been dropping hints like crazy. Hahaha
The tiny bubbles in the lather turn into big bubbles and the lather pretty much does not build up. it stays thin and watery and will look similar to the lather you get from a bar of soap in the shower. After a while, you won't even think about how much water to add, it will be instinctive. Just remember to add water only a few drops at a time if you need to add water. Practice adding water, and add too much, so you do know what it looks and feels like. Do it three or four times, heck, it's just a little bit of cream. Better to waste a bit of cream than practice on your face. When I'm lathering, usually the water left after giving the brush two shakes and the small amount left in the bowl when I pour the hot water out is enough to give me a three pass lather. Of course this does depend on the bowl, the soap/cream, and the brush I happen to be using.
Ladies and gentleman, I am very pleased to announce that last night was my first clean, irritation-free shave. It was like a dream come true. Finally was able to accurately go WTG on all my crazy neck hairs and went back for a second pass XTG on my face and WTG again on my neck. Here's to a more excellent shaves! *cheers*
