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First shave...done and dusted!

Right, so I just finished my first shave with my first straight, and what an experience! With the exception of my chin, the whole process was a lot easier than I initially thought, and once I got the hang of how to hold the blade and what face to pull where, it went pretty fast.

Over my chin was a bit of a challenge, and I nicked myself there good and proper, but that's the nature of the beast I suppose... Was bound to happen sooner or later :)

I only did two passes WTG and figured I needed to sit down considering how much blood I shed... Wasn't safe to stand and handle such dangerous equipment anymore... Hehe!

All in all happy with my first attempt, and even though I didn't get as smooth a shave as I had hoped on some parts *cough* chin *cough* I am happy with the rest.

Used some Bio oil on my face before painting it with some Col Conk Almond, and then got to work with my Dovo 6/8. Afterwards I applied some ordinary face moisturizer to sooth. Having a particularly sensitive skin I didn't want to introduce too many new things at a time, but I will look at some different after-shave lotions and oils further down the line.

Can't wait for try No. 2!
 
Congrats! Getting that first one under your belt is the first step. It takes a while to develop the skills and techniques necessary but it will come. Just keep at it. A nick here and a cut there, well , it's going to happen. In time you'll wonder why you waited so long.
 
Also, even though I managed to get a surprisingly "easy" lather, I think I will need to hone my skill on that as well. On some points it felt a bit "sticky" if that makes any sense. Should I use more water...less?
 
Congratulations and welcome to the brotherhood. It does get easier in time also. Keep at it and please let us know how how things progress.
 
Also, even though I managed to get a surprisingly "easy" lather, I think I will need to hone my skill on that as well. On some points it felt a bit "sticky" if that makes any sense. Should I use more water...less?

Yes, it makes sense.

Generally speaking many seem to prefer a wetter lather. Especially when you're first starting as the shave tends to take a bit longer and the lather dries out a bit. What you might also try is lather just specific areas of your face. Shave that area and then move on to the next to help prevent the drying out which will make a 'stickier ' lather . For me,, the Conk. Almond seems to do this rather quickly for some reason.
 
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Conk. Almond dries out fairly quickly for me too.
Someone's gonna want to shoot me but I found when I was at the start of my learning curve, cheapie soaps like Arko and such were really good.
I did have a good 6 months of DE shaving under my belt beforehand to help.
 
Right so I only did my second shave tonight after waiting a couple of days for my bears to grow so I can get a better lay of the land, as it were. Went a lot better and smoother tonight. Only did one WTG pass, working to get the blade angle right. What've noticed though is that I tend to work more towards the front of the blade instead of the middle/whole blade. Am I doing it wrong?

all in all, very happy, and totally hooked :)
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
Your face is not flat, so you will be default use only portions of the blade at a time, except for maybe the largest cheek areas. As you get better you will find certain areas of the face work better with either the toe, middle, or heel of the blade. So no, you are doing perfectly fine.
 
Congrats. Patience is the key. I'd pick up some samples of Mystic Water shave soaps they whip up a great lather.
 
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