Results of official de-virginization

[dustind]

Under the nose can be shaved with the across-the-grain pass. Better not to put your brush in boiling-hot water: hard on the bristles.

I find that I'm tending toward a 3-pass shave: with, across, and then against the grain. Works well, doesn't take much time.

Leisureguy,

Ha, I was just reading your blog. I tried the boiling water once, mostly becouse I wanted to heat my bowl enough to get some warm lather. Don't have time in the morning to do that everyday so I'm just using hot tap water.

Not sure I want to go for 3 passes quite yet. Not sure if my skin could take it right now. Even with reapplication of hot water and lather my face feels a bit to dry after the 2nd pass to continue. I'll keep playin with it though.

 

[Leisureguy]

Hope the blog is helpful. Interested in any feedback you care to offer---PM me or send email to address on the blog.

Yeah, fewer passes are better at the beginning: probably just two: with the grain then across the grain, and skip against the grain.

 

[dustind]

So are you using an Alum block before aftershave? If so do you use it before your cold rinse or after? Wondering if that would help with some mild irritation at the base of my neck. Sounds like some folks on here are swearing by it.

 

[Tinzien]

I use it from the start of the cold rinse cycle of my face. Wet the alum up in cold water, rub it on my face, splash more cold water on and then do another application of the alum block. The first run takes care of any sting I might have while the second does a bit of tighten and tone work before I put on my aftershave.

My block has a smooth and a textured side, and I use the later only because it feels good.

PS: Other folks here swear by an application of talc on the neck as well but I have not tried that yet.

 

[Tinzien]

Tinzien,
Yeah it's a hard spot. Did better this morning but pulling down my lip and going for a full horizontal short strock. Still some stuble under there though.

Yep, generally I will also do an against the grain just at the top where the stubble is, even if not doing an against the grain shave on the rest of my face, because the "head" of the razor does not get in the way as much.

 

[dustind]

I use it from the start of the cold rinse cycle of my face. Wet the alum up in cold water, rub it on my face, splash more cold water on and then do another application of the alum block. The first run takes care of any sting I might have while the second does a bit of tighten and tone work before I put on my aftershave.

My block has a smooth and a textured side, and I use the later only because it feels good.

PS: Other folks here swear by an application of talc on the neck as well but I have not tried that yet.

Don't think I'll use Talc. That would remind me to much of haircuts by mother growing up. She used to coat us in Talc on the neck after she finished.

 

[Leisureguy]

At the end of the shave, I rinse with hot water, then with cold water, then rub the alum block over my wet face. I let my face drip while I rinse out and put away brush, lathering bowl, and razor, then I dry it (without rinsing) and apply aftershave.

 

[kennethw]

I'm still a newbie, but I've somehow managed to learn to tackle my nose and cleft chin pretty well.

For my nose, with a Merkur HD, I put the edge of the razor into a nostril a little, and hit it at a 45 degree slant from vertical (down and towards the same-side jaw area). Then I get it from the other 45 (opposite side of the razor into the same nostril and going down and towards the opposite lip corner). Repeat with other side. Voila!

I do tighten the skin by stiffening my lip, and sometimes push my nostril closed, up and to the side if the scruff is being stubborn.

 

[boboakalfb]

Just be careful...before i had switched to a DE I accidentally nicked the bottom of the nostril opening with a cartridge...I thought I was going to need a blood infusion...I bled like a stuck pig for a long time...my wife thought she came upon a crime scene with all of the bloody tissues I had lying around the sink.

 

[dustind]

I'll give that a try.

 

[dustind]

Just be careful...before i had switched to a DE I accidentally nicked the bottom of the nostril opening with a cartridge...I thought I was going to need a blood infusion...I bled like a stuck pig for a long time...my wife thought she came upon a crime scene with all of the bloody tissues I had lying around the sink.

Damn. That sounds more like a gash not a nick.

 

[kennethw]

Bob, good call. Yes, sorry, please do be careful. The first time I tried this I got a nice cut myself. A nostril can easily be cut just by touching it with a sharp blade. I made the mistake of going for the area too quickly and barely poked my nose with the razor. After a few more tries with more caution, I got the hang of it.

Thank god for styptic.

 

[boboakalfb]

Yeah...unfortunately at that time I didn't know about styptic...I just walked around the house looking like an idiot with squares of tp on my face until my cuts stopped bleeding...

 

[dustind]

Note to self: Shaving nostril bad.