Day 1 with DE and wetshaving

**RobAtSGH** · 08-01-2012, 11:22 AM

Congrats! You're starting to get the feel of it now, I bet - beginning to be able to notice the difference between when things are going well and when they're not.

My man, I *totally* get where you are. After reading enough stuff on here I wanted to:
* Try ALL the bladez!
* Use ALL the creamz!
* Smell ALL the soapz!
* Buy ALL the razorz!

And, basically until I slowed down and spent a few months with just my Gillette TTO, a stack of Crystal blades, and a tube of Proraso I succeeded in giving myself a regular case of razor burn. And, I came to believe my fellow B&Bers when it was pointed out that 99% of the problems a new DE shaver has are related to inexperience and technique, not the razor, blades, cream, or soap.

Good luck! Keep on practicing!

**Attila** · 08-01-2012, 11:38 AM

Hi Rob_NH thanks for keeping us posted as to how you are progressing! Keep up the good work, you are definitely making progress. Please read this if you haven't already for help in lathering. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...-soap-Tutorial Water amounts can really vary for different soaps/creams. Add water slowly as you can always add more but it's harder to counter too much water being added at first.

**rob_NH** · 08-01-2012, 02:19 PM

I have read that link. And re-read it many times. I am getting good lathers, and sometimes great lathers. Just not able to get a great lather every time yet.

Now that it is over 8 hours since my morning shave, I am super confident there was no irritation this morning. AT ALL! My neck feels great. Maybe I'll hold off on the hydrolast A/S products until I go through the QCS that I already have. I do enjoy it.

I hope I can do this well tomorrow!

Thanks for the continued suport!

**Attila** · 08-01-2012, 02:54 PM

Great stuff and don't worry. Things get easier once we do them often enough. Goes for anything really, including shaving and making lather! :)

**rob_NH** · 08-02-2012, 12:51 PM

Shave #18 (#2 of 15 without changing a variable)

1. Shower
2. Wash face with MR GLO
3. Whip up lather from mikes soap, in bowl with Thater 4125/1
4. 2 passes, N/S, for most of face and neck, 1 pass N/S 1 pass E/W towards center for mustache area, using R41 with feather and weber bulldog handle
5. Warm rinse
6. Alum block
7. Warm Rinse
8. Cold Rinse
9. Lucky Tiger tonic
10. QCS Vostok

I shaved late in the day today (3pm) as I worked from home.

Shave was very comfortable, not so close for 2 passes, I think the blade is getting dull. Loaded up for tomorrow with a fresh blade. Alum block stung a little, but I think I did well. I think I'm really getting close to the 0 pressure and correct angle. The heavy handle seems to be helping for sure. We'll see how the face feels in 5-8 hours.

Got a great lather today. It started a little thin. Loaded a little more and it thickened right up. I tried loading with a wetter brush, a technique I saw someone else use with Mike's in another thread, but that doesn't seem to be the trick for my water. It seemed a little wet and thin, loading more product on a slightly drier brush fixed the problem and made a ton of thick protective lather.

I'll have to go back and count, but I think today was day 4 with the same feather, so I guess I can hope to get 3 days out of them.

I also used only 1 squirt of the QCS ASB, as using slightly damp hands allowed me to cover the whole face. We'll see how that works in the long run. I did order the hydrolast after shave products, and plan to try them in a couple of weeks.

**rob_NH** · 08-02-2012, 07:12 PM

Well, 7 hours after the shave and I am still irritation free. I guess we'll see what tomorrow brings with a fresh blade!

**rob_NH** · 08-03-2012, 06:50 AM

Shave #19 (#3 of 15 without changing a variable)

1. Shower
2. Wash face with MR GLO
3. Whip up lather from mikes soap, in bowl with Thater 4125/1
4. 2 passes, N/S, for most of face and neck, 1 pass N/S 1 pass E/W towards center for mustache area, using R41 with feather and weber bulldog handle
5. Warm rinse
6. Alum block
7. Warm Rinse
8. Cold Rinse
9. Lucky Tiger tonic
10. QCS Vostok

Only 18 hours since my last shave, so my stubble was lighter than a full day's growth. Put in a fresh blade for today, and went at it.

Shave was very comfortable, very close for 2 passes. Alum block feedback was good, so I think I did well. I think I'm really getting the hang of the 0 pressure and correct angle. The heavy handle seems to continue to be a welcome addition. We'll see how the face feels in 5-8 hours.

Got a good lather today. It started a little dry. dipped the tips before the second pass and then it seemed much better. I tried loading with a drier brush and a more thoroughly soaked soap, a technique I saw someone else use with Mike's in another thread, this may do the trick, as long as I add enough water during the lathering. It sure did seem to load the brush well.

I continued to use only 1 squirt of the QCS ASB, as using slightly damp hands allows me to cover the whole face. We'll see how that works in the long run.

My new hair clipper came in yesterday, adn I buzeed the head before the morning shower with the 1/16" comb. I feel very well groomed this morning!

**rob_NH** · 08-03-2012, 06:34 PM

Well, it turns out that today was in fact truly irritation free. It is the best my face has felt late in the day since I took up DE shaving. I am definitely getting the hang of it. I have some stubble coming in and I want to go shave, but I will wait until tomorrow...

**rob_NH** · 08-05-2012, 09:19 AM

Shave #20 (#4 of 15 without changing a variable)
This was yesterday's shave.

1. Shower
2. Wash face with MR GLO
3. Whip up lather from mikes soap, in bowl with Thater 4125/1
4. 2 passes, N/S, for most of face and neck, 1 pass N/S 1 pass E/W towards center for mustache area, using R41 with feather and weber bulldog handle
5. Warm rinse
6. Alum block
7. Warm Rinse
8. Cold Rinse
9. Lucky Tiger tonic
10. QCS Vostok

24 hours since my last shave, a full day's growth. Day 2 on the feather blade for today.

Shave was very comfortable, very close for 2 passes. Alum block feedback was good. I think I think I've finally got this NS shaving down with the current setup. No irritation at all during the day. Had no problem whipping up a great lather. Think I got the Mike's thing working right as well. Did a Little bit of Ear to nose on the face, but stuck to N/S on the neck. Another few shaves like this, and I'm going to start experimenting with shave direction to start getting closer shaves. This is really starting to clock. I am getting a DFS in 2 passes with no irritation in little time! I am w wet shaver, and newly inaugurated member of the BOTOC.

I continued to use only 1 squirt of the QCS ASB, and my face continues to feel great. I will continue with this for another couple of weeks, and then change over to the Hydrolast, which arrived yesterday.

I also ordered a bunch of Super Iridiums to try after my feather samples run tou, but I will stick with the Feathers for a little while longer. I think I will stick with the 15 shaves with the current setup to establish a good feel for my baseline with my equipment and technique, then start the methodical experimentation of the other stuff. I can't wait to shower and shave this morning.

**rob_NH** · 08-05-2012, 06:12 PM

Shave #21 (#5 of 15 without changing a variable)

1. Shower
2. Wash face with MR GLO
3. Whip up lather from mikes soap, in bowl with Thater 4125/1
4. 2 passes, N/S, for most of face and neck, 1 pass N/S 1 pass E/W towards center for mustache area, using R41 with feather and weber bulldog handle
5. Warm rinse
6. Alum block
7. Warm Rinse
8. Cold Rinse
9. Lucky Tiger tonic
10. QCS Vostok

24 hours since my last shave, a full day's growth. Day 3 on the feather blade for today.

Good lather. Blade was tugging a little but close irritation free shave. Changing the blade for tomorrow. I got this stuff together for sure. Easy close irritation free!

**Attila** · 08-06-2012, 09:16 AM

Great stuff! Glad to hear things are getting better! Tell us how the irridiums work out for you. I'm curious to see how they feel compared to the feathers, once you try them.

**rob_NH** · 08-06-2012, 08:16 PM

Shave #22 (#6 of 15 without changing a variable)

1. Shower
2. Wash face with MR GLO
3. Whip up lather from mikes soap, in bowl with Thater 4125/1
4. 2 passes, N/S, for most of face and neck, 1 pass N/S 1 pass E/W towards center for mustache area, using R41 with feather and weber bulldog handle
5. Warm rinse
6. Alum block
7. Warm Rinse
8. Cold Rinse
9. Lucky Tiger tonic
10. QCS Vostok

24 hours since my last shave, a full day's growth. Day 1 on new feather blade for today.

Good lather. Easy close irritation free. I definitely have the 2 pass shave down (N/S). I think I might try to do my 2nd pass in a new direction tomorrow to start working towards a closer shave. There was no hint of stinging with the alum block. Skin feels great. I think I have no problems with this setup using these shaving techniques.

Tomorrow, I will do a N/S pass for pass 1, and ear to nose for pass 2 for the face. I will do N/S for pass 1 and S/N for pass 2 for the neck, and see if I can start shaving this new direction without irritation.

**Alphonse** · 08-06-2012, 08:55 PM

Try not washing your face before shaving to keep the natural oils in play(they're the free ones that keep your skin protected against blade damage).. Just use a super hot towel or run hot water over your face in the sink for atleast a few minutes until the beard is soft.. I do both. Then shave like you're Michaelangelo. Skin stretch, jhook, slide it.. where needed.

I stopped washing my face before shaving at someone elses recommendation and never looked back. You know, when you wash your face you lose the oils and your skin becomes tacky in that it loses the glide. The blade tends to skip on the skin. This is the idea behind preshave oils. Just my 2 cents. Sorry, didn't read all of your posts, but didn't need to. Skip step 7 btw.

**rob_NH** · 08-07-2012, 07:10 AM

Well, I wash my face with MR GLO before I shave. My understanding was that this helped hydrate the beard. I am not having problems with razor skipping or irritation, so I am hesitant to remove this step at this point.

Since I shave in the shower (with the shower off) when I get to steps 5-8, I just turn the shower back on, so steps 5-8 take very little time, I may leave it out, but see no need to try to take 20 seconds off my shaving time. I do the warm rinse of step 7as I wait for the water to start getting cold for the cold rinse of step 8.

**rob_NH** · 08-07-2012, 07:16 AM

Shave #23 (#1 without changing a variable)

1. Shower
2. Wash face with MR GLO
3. Whip up lather from QCS croap, in scuttle with Thater 4125/1
4. 1 pass N/S for face and neck, 1 pass nose to ear for face, 1 pass S/N for Neck. Using R41 with Feather and Weber bulldog handle
5. Warm rinse
6. Alum block
7. Warm Rinse
8. Cold Rinse
9. Lucky Tiger tonic
10. QCS Vostok

24 hours since my last shave, a full day's growth. Day 2 on new feather blade for today.

Good lather. Easy close irritation free, except touch of razor burn near Adam's apple. The alum block confirmed the razor burn near the Adam's apple. he shave is much closer than my previous 2 pass shaves. I have spots where it is BBS. I am confident I can get to this mythical level of shaveness with a 3 pass shave as my technique improves. I bet an ATG pass at this point would do wonders to get me there, but until I can do wht I'm doing irritation free for 2 passes, I will hold off.

**rob_NH** · 08-08-2012, 07:46 AM

Shave #24 (#2 without changing a variable)

1. Shower
2. Wash face with MR GLO
3. Whip up lather from QCS croap, in scuttle with Thater 4125/1
4. 1 pass N/S for face and neck, 1 pass nose to ear for face, 1 pass S/N for Neck. Using R41 with Feather and Weber bulldog handle
5. Warm rinse
6. Alum block
7. Warm Rinse
8. Cold Rinse
9. Lucky Tiger tonic
10. QCS Vostok

24 hours since my last shave, a full day's growth. Day 1 on new feather blade for today. I'm keeping the feathers to 2 shaves.

Good lather. Easy close irritation free, except touch of razor burn under the jaw line on the left. The alum block confirmed the razor burn. The shave is much closer than my previous 2 pass shaves. I have spots where it is BBS. I am confident I can get to this mythical level of shaveness with a 3 pass shave as my technique improves. I bet an ATG pass at this point would do wonders to get me there, but until I can do what I'm doing irritation free for 2 passes, I will hold off.

The burn is moving around. I am sure I just need to learn to adjust my technique for the new shaving directions. The quest begins again. When I have mastered the S/N below the jaw line, it will be time to try adding a third direction. My face is currently being shaved WTG/XTG, and my neck is XTG/XTG in the other direction. I hope I can get this working as quickly as I did the N/S technique once I settled on my equipment setup.

**rob_NH** · 08-08-2012, 01:43 PM

I seem to hae an ingrown hair on my cheek, and a couple of bumps on my chin, and a spot where it looks like I shaved off my shin on my sideburn area, but it never bled during the shave. I think I'll take tomorrow as a healing day, and start up again on friday.

**Attila** · 08-08-2012, 03:05 PM

Originally Posted by rob_NH

I seem to hae an ingrown hair on my cheek, and a couple of bumps on my chin, and a spot where it looks like I shaved off my shin on my sideburn area, but it never bled during the shave. I think I'll take tomorrow as a healing day, and start up again on friday.

Hmmm, well these things can happen on the journey of learning. I would say be mindful of the pressure you use. Once we improve and get better shaves early on it's very easy to relapse into old bad habits or slipping with the technique. I'm not immune from that myself.

But aside from that, correct me if I'm wrong but Lucky Tiger I believe is an alcohol free toner. For myself, what really helped with bumps (I seem prone to them even with XTG shave passes) was getting an aftershave with alcohol in it. The aftershaves without alcohol just didn't do much for me. In particular, I found Pinaud Clubman to really help my skin after shaving and cleared up all my bumps. The proraso splash is also really good but the Pinaud Clubman really clears up my skin. Not sure what they put into it...I've also heard really good things about Speick and Captains Choice Bay Rum (have a bottle coming to me right now :) ). Good luck and keep us posted Rob!

**rob_NH** · 08-08-2012, 04:29 PM

I think I'm nailing the N/S pass with good angle and zero pressure. I am just trying to learn to do it ear to noe, and finding a few spots challenging to keep the 0 pressure working.

I'm not sure they are shaving bumps per se. I have about 4 tiny bumps on my face total. Not really sure. And not sure about the ingrown hair either. I have a tiny red pimple that I can't attribute to anything else, and at 43 years old, haven't had an acne breakout in 15 years.

I'm gonna keep going with what I have now, and try to nail the pressure and angle with the sideways passes, and see what I can do, if things don't fall in line soon, I'll look into a new A/S.

**rob_NH** · 08-10-2012, 11:50 AM

Shave #25

1. Shower
2. Wash face with MR GLO
3. Whip up lather from Mike's Soap, in scuttle with Rooney 3/1
4. 1 pass N/S for face and neck, 1 pass nose to ear for face, 1 pass S/N for Neck. Using R41 with Feather and Weber bulldog handle
5. Warm rinse
6. Alum block
7. Warm Rinse
8. Cold Rinse
9. Lucky Tiger tonic
10. QCS Vostok

day 2 on feather. 2 days since last shave. Did 2 passes, first one N/S, second one N/S except ear to nose in mustache and chin area. Chin is closer than ever before. Completely irritation free. Not even a hint of sting from the alum block anywhere. As it had been 2 days since my last shave, I didn't go overboard trying to get super close. I need to figure out how to get my neck better. My learning for the next little while is going to be trying to learn to shave in new directions without irritation. Shaving my neck seems to be the area that will probably present the biggest challenge.