Another step from boy to man!

[Arnoud]

Hi everybody,

as the son of a bearded father (damn those seventies!) my shaving path has been long and full of potholes. I started with a Braun my godmother gave me for christmas, but by the time I was 17 my beard was simply outgroing electric shaving. Since then my search for a better shave led me from cheap goo to more expensive goo to a boar brush and cheap shaving soap, all with a gilette mach 3. Last year I bought a badger brush at a market stall in Germany and started using D.R.Harris soap.
While my shaves got more enjoyable (espescially in the olfactory department), the ingrown hairs and irritation in my neck made me continue my search for a better shave and this is where I ended up.
First thing I learned was how to make a consistently good lather, rather than just scrub a wet brush across my soap and pray for a good day.
In keeping with the one-step-at-a-time philosophy I kept using my mach 3 while training my lathering technique and getting rid of bad habits like scraping over the same spot over and over without relathering.
Right now I do two passes (WTG then XTG) with as little pressure as possible. All is well, except for the lower third of my neck, where I don't get things smooth (mind you, I never did) and still get some irritation.
So now I have a Merkur HD on it's way (childish sense of anticipation: check!); let's see where it -and some practice- gets me.
Just one more thing I'm worried about:
I have some sharp cut sideburns, how should I proceed around those to keep them sharp without messing up the skin around it?
Thanks a lot for this great site and I'll keep you all posted on my progress.

[Wheater]

Good luck on your progress. I also came to de shaving when I was looking for a solution to my constant problems with ingrowns. DE shaving has worked wonders in that area. At the same time, I have come to enjoy and appreciate all facets of the de experience.

[Sledgehammer39]

Welcome Aboard!!! Keep us posted on how the Merkur HD performs for you.

[ackvil]

Welcome to B&B. The neck is a difficult place to shave.

What do you do after you shave to provide relief? I have found that what I do post shave is important, too. Here is what I do. First, I wash off my face with a wash cloth dipped in warm water to get rid of all of the remaining lather. Next, I soak a wash cloth in cold water and put in on my face for about 30 seconds. Next I apply a splash of WH. I use Thayer’s Rose Petal or Lavender WH. They are alcohol free and do not sting when they go on but provide soothing relief to my skin. I then use a skin moisturizer to provide relief. There are a number of good moisturizers out there such as Nivea, Neutrogena, T&H, GFT, and others. If my face is really raw I use a moisturizer I borrow from my wife.

[Arnoud]

for a long time, I did nothing for post shave. The slight tugging of my skin (due to being dehydrated) actually felt nice, a kind of proof to a good shave. The joys of youth
Now I basically just use a Nivea moisturizing cream (for men, naturally).
Thanks for the good ideas, I'll let you know how it all evolves.

[Malaspina]

Hello and welcome. You'll find lots of really helpful people here to help you learning how to shave.

[Luc]

Nice update! Yes you can keed the sideburns without any issues, you just need to get used to shave with a DE. That can take a bit and it's possible that you will end up without sideburns for a bit.

[franstjohn]

Welcome aboard!

[rm71]

Welcome mate.

[pauls51]

Welcome Mate...

The Nivea ASB is one of the better balms out there for their price!

[Boba Fett]

Welcome aboard! I agree that Nivea makes a very good balm for what they charge, and a little goes a long way so it will keep you happy for a while.

Since you are finally taking the step from boy to man, I hope this great quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger helps you complete this transition. It is one of my favorites:

"Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to drink beer."

[mretzloff]

Welcome to Badger & Blade!

[Arnoud]

My Merkur HD arrived yesterday, along with some proraso preshave!
So this morning I had my first ever DE shave. I'm working the late shift today and the baby was sleeping, so I had all the time in the world.
I started with some proraso cream that I washed off during a nice long, hot shower.
After lathering up I put the cold steel to my cheek, with a slightly shaky hand I must admit. But it was actually very nice, my worries about finding the right angle proved to be unnecessary. The HD (or 34C as they call it here) gave a great response, I immediatly felt whether I was digging to deep into the skin or if I was beeing too kind to my whiskers. Ofcourse, as this was a first shave, I did struggle a bit around the chin, not in the least because the grain is somewhat chaotic there. But I took it easy and just gave that area an extra pass.
My sideburns didn't give me too much trouble, it's actually easier to 'sharpen' them, because there's only one blade instead of three.
The base of my neck still suffers from a rather nasty rash I got from trying an XTG pass with an M3. I'm just going to go easy there for a few days and let the skin recover.
The shave wasn't super close, but probably closer than most shaves from the M3 era, and best of all: there was no blood!
Thanks a lot so far, I'll let you know how it evolves. Now it's time to convert some colleagues, brothers, nephews etc. etc...

[tbress]

Congrats! I agree, keeping sideburns sharp is a lot easier with a DE razor. Keep it up, your shaves will improve with practice.