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First Shave Today

After spending a little time on this forum and finally receiving some of my equipment in the mail, I successfully completed my first shave tonight. Thanks to all those who contributed and offered advice!

Brush: Tweezerman Badger Shaving Brush
Razor: Merkur 30C
Blade: Derby Extra
Soap: VDH Scented Luxury Shave Soap

Thankfully, I was able to complete 3 passes with no major issues. It went significantly smoother than I thought it was going to go. I started by soaking the brush in warm water while I was in the shower. Once done soaking, I worked up a lather with the VDH soap and dove right in. Cheeks and moustache area went extremely well with no irritation at all. I had some trouble on my lower neck area due to the curvature. It got irritated after 2 passes, so I cut it short on that part. No major bleeding, but definitely some redness. After the shave, I rinsed with some cold water and I didn't have any after shave balm, so I just used my usual Cetaphil facial moisturizer so it didn't dry out.

The Merkur 30C with the Derby Extra seemed to go fine. I don't have anything to compare it to, so I suppose I'll stick with that combo for a bit just to get a baseline. I do have to say that I was shocked at how flexible the blades were. I envisioned the thickness of a utility blade.

Overall, very pleased with my first experience. And plus, the VDH soap smells great :)

Comments, criticisms, and suggestions welcome!

Matt
 
Way to go, Matt. I'm still waiting for my hardware, so in the meantime, I live vicariously through other newbies! :)
 
Congrats matt!! Practice makes perfect the irritation will lessen greatly in a week or two as your face becomes used to de shaving. I thought the same thing about the blades lol. The razors looked a lot bigger too watching shaving videos. I do love too shave now. My only advice is watch out for RAD i already have 4 razors lmao!!!!!!
 
Hi Matt. Congrats on your first shave. I have the same problem with my lower neck. I'm pretty much getting it now, just not BBS there and that's ok with me.
Smart on getting a baseline first. Welcome to B&B.
 
Congrats fellow noob. Just had my second shave last night with similar results. I actually liked my M3, but I'm going to give this DE a fair chance and stick with it for a while. Good luck!
 
Glad to hear you're having a good time! The shaving procedure is a wonderful, meditational way to begin each day. Hey, and if you're a Christian sort, you can even afford a little bit of concentration to say a prayer or two as you use a warm wash cloth for soaking the old beard as pre-shave prep!
 
Welcome to B&B.

The Blades for DEs are thin ... if you want a stiffer Blade then you have to go SE (Single Edge and get a Gem or an Injector). Other than that Map Your Face.

Here is some other info.

Everything boils down to personal preferences.


“Best Brush”

A Brush is a Brush and they perform differently and they are different. Boar, Badger, Horsehair, Horsehair/Boar/Badger Combos, or Syns. Get a Boar (cheap or expensive) or a Good Badger Brush.


“Soap/Cream/Stick”

Soap or Cream or Stick ... Stick or Cream or Soap ... cheap or expensive ... expensive or cheap ... glycerin based, cold processed, tripled milled, or tallow. Get a couple of each and see what works best for you.


“Safety Razor”

Safety Razors ... determine what you want and how much you are willing to spend - Open Comb, Closed Comb, TTOs, 2-Piece, 3-Piece or an adjustable. The Merkur HD or Edwin Jagger 89 are both good beginning Safety Razors. Or get an Old Gillette (SuperSpeed or 3-Piece).


“Razor Blades”

Blades ... Get a Sampler Pack and then ... Good Luck. The differences between whether a Blade is Good or Bad for any individual is because the Hand of God is at work. Maybe it is the shave preparation, or maybe it is the type of hairs being shaven, or maybe it is the patterns on the face being shaven, or the type of Razor being used (different angles or blade gaps are created by the different razor head being used), or the shaving technique being used (wrong angle, too much pressure being used and pushing down on the razor to "cut closer", or even not using multiple-passes to reduce hair growth first and always), or maybe there is one or two Bad Blades in the pack being used, or maybe for whatever reason it is a Bad Blade to you.


”Best Blade”

At first use only One Razor Blade ... use this blade only for a few weeks ... changing when dull.


The First Razor Blade you use is your “Best Blade.”

Get several of your First Best Blade.

Get down the Basics of Shaving – Preparation, Lathering, Shaving with the Razor – light touch, proper angle and little pressure, Multi-Passes – WTG, XTG, and Reverse-XTG.

Get more information and look at the Mantic59 Youtube videos, the GeoFatBoy videos and read the Wiki.


“Finding Your Best Blade”

After you have everything down ... then use a different blade for a week and see if it becomes your new "Best Blade".

If not go back to the other blade for a week then, use a different blade for a week.

Your Best Blade is your base line blade for your tests. When you find your “Next Best Blade” then, that is your “New Best Blade”. Continue working through your sampler pack looking for a “New Best Blade”.

Please note that Different Safety Razors may have a different “Best Blade” and if you have poor technique then it will also affect your choice of a “New Best Blade”.


“Map Your Face”

Make Sure you have Mapped Your Face because that is the only way to know which way your hair grows.


“Technique”

Also make sure that your preshave preparation is down.

Then shave WTG, XTG and Reverse-XTG.

Rinse, Lather, WTG
Rinse, Lather, XTG
Rinse, Lather, Reverse-XTG
Rinse, Lather, Buffing.

No Rinse, No Lather, No Shave.

For the first few weeks ... Do not do ATG ... Wait until you have your technique down because you could and usually will be holding the safety razor upside down when shaving your neck and this may cause you some problems when trying to maintain the correct blade angle while applying a light pressure.


Be careful of Feather blades as they are super sharp and unforgiving make sure you are confident of your technique before using them.

Have Fun Shaving and May All Your Shaves Be BBS.
 
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