New to DE Shaving and First Attempt

**marvelusjd** · 10-12-2009, 03:08 PM

Hello all!! First off, I have to say thank you for all of you that have shared your tips, thoughts and PMs to us newbies. I'm completely new to DE shaving and just acquired my first setup (see below). I gave it my first shot yesterday and I definitely have some work to do. I watched all of Mantic's videos and those were extremely helpful. I need to channel his "no pressure" saying as that's where I went wrong. I also found that a better lather will be needed next time.

Razor: Feather Popular
Blade: Gillette 7 O'clock
Brush: Tweezerman badger hair
Shave Cream: Wars
Post shave: Every Man Jack (menthol)

I did a two pass shave this time to get used to it all going WTG and XTG. I'll give that a week or two and then try ATG. I'm wondering if I may want a bit heavier of a razor and can see how this little hobby will become quite addicting.

Thanks again,

Josh

**Luc** · 10-12-2009, 03:27 PM

Congrats on the shave Josh! I prefer heavier razors but I would recommend to keep the same for a few weeks to learn how it works. Using the same tool will make the learning curve easier and quicker!

**NostalgicinSC** · 10-12-2009, 03:40 PM

Welcome Josh. +1 to what Luc recommended. Being just a number of weeks into this myself, I would say get comfortable with your current setup as you learn technique. The fewer variables you have the easier it is to concentrate on go slow, no pressure...etc.

Good luck and have fun!

**mdunn** · 10-12-2009, 03:45 PM

remember - no pressure, check your angles.... and have fun!

**rm71** · 10-12-2009, 05:36 PM

Welcome!

**Topgumby** · 10-12-2009, 05:42 PM

No pressure...on the razor or on you! Take your time, don't expect perfection out the gate and most importantly remember to have fun as you go.

Great to have you here, let us know how it goes!

**luvmysuper** · 10-12-2009, 05:57 PM

Welcome to B&B.
It's great to have you here.
Ask a lot of questions, we love to answer them.

**DSB** · 10-12-2009, 06:13 PM

Welcome to B&B!

**Hughies_online** · 10-12-2009, 06:25 PM

Welcome to the forum. Congrats on the shave!

**dpmtherrien** · 10-12-2009, 06:41 PM

Welcome to B&B. This is a great place.

**dkenn76** · 10-12-2009, 06:46 PM

Welcome! I'm a newbie myself and am just starting to learn about DE shaving. Keep us posted on how everything goes!

**marvelusjd** · 10-12-2009, 08:43 PM

Thanks everyone!! I have to say my biggest take aways are no pressure, watch the angle, no pressure, get a better lather, and NO PRESSURE.

I'll stick to the gear that I've got for a while and I just ordered a blade sampler pack from westcoast shaving to see what works the best for me.

I definitely didn't expect this first one to be perfect (it sure wasn't), but man it was a pleasurable experience. I can say that I've never looked forward to shave, but I really can't wait for the next one.

**a2o** · 10-13-2009, 05:48 AM

Welcome to B&B.

**NickCutlip** · 10-13-2009, 12:48 PM

Welcome to B&B !!

**marvelusjd** · 10-13-2009, 01:24 PM

Thank you all for the warm welcome. Now a quick question:

How helpful do you find pre-shave oils? I'm looking at giving this a try.
Is there a point where there will be trouble with shaving when the beard gets a little long?

**marvelusjd** · 10-13-2009, 09:04 PM

So second shave tonight went much better than the last! I swapped out blades and went with an Astra (definitely liked this one). Got a much creamier and thicker lather this go around and found it to cushion the shave better.

I kept reminding myself to not use pressure and that went well. I still have some nicks on the right side of my neck but was good everywhere else. Again I went with a two pass shave to keep getting the technique down.