After getting off to a rather difficult start over the last month--mostly concerning cream and lather--my DE shaving technique is finally improving to the point that I'm in full control, and it's a wonderful pleasure.
Today I used soap for the first time. I'm not even sure of the brand, as I received a soap-laden mug via a PIF. I am pretty sure that I screwed up the lather, using way too much water, but what amazed me was that it didn't turn out to matter nearly as much as it has with creams; the soap was way more forgiving, and I got perhaps the best shave yet using a too-runny lather.
If I'm counting correctly, today was my fifteenth DE shave. Only around my twelfth time did I finally feel confident in some of the discoveries, graduating from hypotheses to truths.
I am still not very good with making lather, and my shaving speed is slow enough that I can't lather my entire face and do a whole pass. Instead, I can do both sides, including cheeks and chin, but by then anything on my neck has dried too much to trust it. When it's time for each side of the neck, I lather from below the ear inward over the Adam's apple, shave one side, then lather the other side and shave that. This is working out for me in terms of safety and comfort, but it may be a sign of how far my lathering technique needs to come, and how much my shaving speed needs to increase.
One peculiarity is that I notice that the lather on my second and third passes is better than the first. It paints on better, smearing into a glaze when I use the sides of the brush. My theory is that by then the brush has dried out more, and that during my first pass the brush is still laden with too much water to allow the lather to build up on and stick to my face like it does in the later passes. I intend to squeeze the brush out more before starting next time.
Another thing that's hard to explain is how my control of the razor has improved. Rather than it seeming like a heavy, awkward thing to knock around slicing my face, I now concentrate more on controlling the blade edge itself, with the whole razor body just an elaborate shell around that locus. In other words, I can move my hand around on the razor and adjust the angles and pressure induced, all in the service of putting the blade where I want it. It's almost like imagining holding the blade itself at its edges, and not being distracted by the guards and lever arms attached to it. I don't know that this idea can be taught forcibly, but it has been very useful to learn.
I'm also learning that my hair growth on my neck is not well suited for the commonly prescribed WTG-XTG-XTG regimen. The first two passes are useful, but, at least for everything below the jaw, the third pass is usually just irritating without actually getting the most stubborn growth along the center of my neck and in the cavities below the jawline. For that, I can do some very careful touch-up passes that mix XTG and even a little ATG. Of course, I could not have pulled that off when first starting, but now I can do it without bleeding, and can sense when the lather and angle aren't right to preclude irritation. Being able to feel the irritation coming before committing to the problematic pass allows one to stop, study the hair, plan a better angle, apply more lather, and go at it safely.
Many people ask how many shaves one can get from a DE blade. I've only been through four blades so far, but for me four shaves per blade is the maximum. (I shave every other day, so that's two days of growth per shave.) Unlike my experience with cartridge and disposable multi-blade razors, where a new razor would always bring bleeding and irritation, a new DE blade is an absolute pleasure, and by the fourth shave the difference in cutting effectiveness is apparent--and just shy of painfully apparent.
I was starting to doubt all the glowing recommendations of this whole hobby (it is a hobby, right?), but there's a hump there that must be overcome. Some report on surmounting it on their first try. That has not been my experience, but I have gotten over something recently, and now I finally have what I was seeking--being able to look forward to shaving, rather than dreading it. Every other day is another chance to get better.
Today I used soap for the first time. I'm not even sure of the brand, as I received a soap-laden mug via a PIF. I am pretty sure that I screwed up the lather, using way too much water, but what amazed me was that it didn't turn out to matter nearly as much as it has with creams; the soap was way more forgiving, and I got perhaps the best shave yet using a too-runny lather.
If I'm counting correctly, today was my fifteenth DE shave. Only around my twelfth time did I finally feel confident in some of the discoveries, graduating from hypotheses to truths.
I am still not very good with making lather, and my shaving speed is slow enough that I can't lather my entire face and do a whole pass. Instead, I can do both sides, including cheeks and chin, but by then anything on my neck has dried too much to trust it. When it's time for each side of the neck, I lather from below the ear inward over the Adam's apple, shave one side, then lather the other side and shave that. This is working out for me in terms of safety and comfort, but it may be a sign of how far my lathering technique needs to come, and how much my shaving speed needs to increase.
One peculiarity is that I notice that the lather on my second and third passes is better than the first. It paints on better, smearing into a glaze when I use the sides of the brush. My theory is that by then the brush has dried out more, and that during my first pass the brush is still laden with too much water to allow the lather to build up on and stick to my face like it does in the later passes. I intend to squeeze the brush out more before starting next time.
Another thing that's hard to explain is how my control of the razor has improved. Rather than it seeming like a heavy, awkward thing to knock around slicing my face, I now concentrate more on controlling the blade edge itself, with the whole razor body just an elaborate shell around that locus. In other words, I can move my hand around on the razor and adjust the angles and pressure induced, all in the service of putting the blade where I want it. It's almost like imagining holding the blade itself at its edges, and not being distracted by the guards and lever arms attached to it. I don't know that this idea can be taught forcibly, but it has been very useful to learn.
I'm also learning that my hair growth on my neck is not well suited for the commonly prescribed WTG-XTG-XTG regimen. The first two passes are useful, but, at least for everything below the jaw, the third pass is usually just irritating without actually getting the most stubborn growth along the center of my neck and in the cavities below the jawline. For that, I can do some very careful touch-up passes that mix XTG and even a little ATG. Of course, I could not have pulled that off when first starting, but now I can do it without bleeding, and can sense when the lather and angle aren't right to preclude irritation. Being able to feel the irritation coming before committing to the problematic pass allows one to stop, study the hair, plan a better angle, apply more lather, and go at it safely.
Many people ask how many shaves one can get from a DE blade. I've only been through four blades so far, but for me four shaves per blade is the maximum. (I shave every other day, so that's two days of growth per shave.) Unlike my experience with cartridge and disposable multi-blade razors, where a new razor would always bring bleeding and irritation, a new DE blade is an absolute pleasure, and by the fourth shave the difference in cutting effectiveness is apparent--and just shy of painfully apparent.
I was starting to doubt all the glowing recommendations of this whole hobby (it is a hobby, right?), but there's a hump there that must be overcome. Some report on surmounting it on their first try. That has not been my experience, but I have gotten over something recently, and now I finally have what I was seeking--being able to look forward to shaving, rather than dreading it. Every other day is another chance to get better.
That's why lots of times the first stuff is free and you have to pay after that!
