First Shaves

Hello all,

Just started wet-shaving yesterday and it is amazing.

Tools:
Merkur Adjustable from AOS
AOS Full Kit [not the starter one, has a good brush]
Water
Blood

Results:
The first shave was much better than I expected, closest shave I have ever had, coming from cheap electros. From some reason I randomly started bleeding in random areas. I had as little pressure as possible on the razor on the lowest setting, I just need to work on blade angle.

My second shave is,of course, better than the first. I got an even closer shave while working on my technique. Still having issues with random bleeding though.

Anyone have any tips? I saw Kyles prep and read the sticky, but I am liking the AOS method at the moment.

Welcome to B&B mate!
Regarding tips, just look through this AMAZING site and you'll find all you need to improve your shaving experience.
And if you have questions, just ask!

Wecome to B&B!!! From your description, I wouldn't worry too much - sounds like a learning thing.

Lather is important - for your first shaves get a lot more soap on your brush than you need and experiment with the water ratio until you get the slickest lather you can make. Also, to get you started right, let me be first to recommend an item to add to your shave den. ) It's a shaving cream called Kiss My Face. It's cheap, can be found locally and I find it nearly impossible to nick myself with it.

You will get there with lots of practice. It took me 4 months to stop analyzing my shave techniques and just enjoy the process.

It's like riding a bike, you can read all you want but it takes practice and a few falls to finally enjoy the ride.

Goodluck and welcome!!

Thank you for the encouragment and tips guys. I think I am going to use a bowl next time just because it is easier than doing it on my face.

I just wanted to add my $.02 worth for any newbies, lurkers, or skeptics. I just had my first DE safety razor shave today, and I'm very impressed. Before this I used Gillette Fusion cartridges and the usual selection of grocery store shave gel. Despite their outrageous price, I felt that Fusion cartridges gave me excellent results and set a very high standard. I was skeptical of DE safety razors and assumed a single blade could not match the performance of a Gillette Fusion.

I know there is a significant learning curve for using a DE safety razor, but I can honestly say that the results of my very first DE safety razor shave are every bit as good as shaving with a Fusion cartridge. I used a Mergress adjustable razor from Lee's Razors and Musgo Real shaving cream which I worked into a lather without a brush. I feel a little bit of razor burn which is probably caused by using too much pressure and a few passes against the grain, but the result is a perfectly smooth shave. Not even the tiniest patch of micro stubble anywhere. I only had one small nick near my adam's apple, but I sometimes get that from a cartridge razor anyway. I was worried about getting a lot of cuts, but using a DE razor was much easier than I expected.

I bought the adjustable razor so I could experiment with different blade heights. I'm looking forward to experimenting with different blades, soaps, creams and general technique. I would highly recommend switching to a DE safety razor for anyone who is considering it.

Welcome to B&B!

What's the AOS method?

Always let the razor do the work, never apply pressure! You are already on the right path!

Art of Shaving 4 step method. What do you guys reccomend for a bowl? Would a coffee mug do?

Welcome to B&B !!

Welcome.

ghost02 said:

Art of Shaving 4 step method. What do you guys reccomend for a bowl? Would a coffee mug do?

Click to expand...

A large latte mug would do, small cereal bowl. I like 3" wide by 1" high.

A coffee mug would do the trick to but I would just charge the brush and then face lather.

ghost02 said:

Art of Shaving 4 step method. What do you guys reccomend for a bowl? Would a coffee mug do?

Click to expand...

Coffee mug is fine I used one until I started lathering on the Puck itself. But use a wide cup.U can get a vdh bowl brush and Puck for around 10 at Walmart.

Perfect, I have a wide brim coffee mug.

good thick rich moist lather, wet face of course, blade angle to skin. Take your time. Sounds like u know the no pressure rule. Only thing I can recommend is a good pre shave oil be massaged into skin. I use Pacific shave oil, but there are other good oils out there, you are really cheating urself w/o using an oil. IMO

GL2U!

Question: What does good lather look like?

I tried making it in a bowl this morning and when I added water it turned into bubbles which I whipped out, but it just didn't seem right to me, to dry I think.

A good lather should look similar to a yoghurt...

When it turns to bubbles you need to add more soap/cream to the brush

remember always use heaps of water.

before I re lather I splash water on my face. sometimes I forget and immediately regret it.

Yogurt, ok.

I didn't know about the water splash before re-lather! That may be why on m third pass I start bleeding!

You know what they say about book covers? Go 1% by looks and 99% by feel. When the water to soap/cream is right, you will not feel the brush (a soft badger, anyway) against your cheek when you're putting the lather on! And, if you have a really good lather plus really really soft water, you will not feel the razor against your cheek!!

Ahh! I always feel the brush a lot and I really feel the razor!

We should have a random helpful hints topic.