How do you get to the carnegie hall of shaving?

Ok. I've been using my happy Merkur HD for three weeks now and life is great. Gone are the ingrown hairs and neck irritation that used to make me dread shaving each morning.

But ...

Some days I get a great shave and some I can tell that after 2 passes things are going downhill and I stop. The shave is always good, but only great on occasion. The problem is pressure and blade angle. Sometimes I get it right, and other times my mind wanders ...

Back when I was a fairly serious classical musician I knew how to get better at something. You practice. All the time. Over and over. As if nothing else exists in this world. This is obviously not an option with shaving (unless you really like pain).

Do I really have to wait to shave once a day for months before I can consider myself a shaving samurai? Can't I cheat and practice on small animals or something? There must be a way. (Am I really this impatient?)

Clearly I'm venting, but I know a great shave is attainable and I can hardly stand waiting for my morning once-a-day shave.

Thanks for the great forum and great advice. I hope you enjoyed reading my rant.

Welcome to B&B.

I to find myself wanting to shave more than my beard allows me. I may try some rogain on my face

Patience is a virtue when it comes to shaving. Take it one day at a time.

As in all things shaving, YMMV, but here's my advice:

Close the door. Lock it if necessary. Keep out ALL distractions. Wetshaving has been compared to a Japanese tea ceremony, and it works best when your mind is clear and focused, and you do things methodically.

As for practice, go slow. If you can, and of course if you want to, try a two-pass shave (WTG & XTG) once in the morning and once in the early evening. The goal is not to get a close shave, but to get good at stubble reduction by using correct angle and pressure. This gives you two chances per day to practice, but limits the amount of damage you can do at one time.

Once you have gotten consistent, try one three-pass shave a day.

That's how I did it, and I got very good results very quickly.

Do I really have to wait to shave once a day for months before I can consider myself a shaving samurai?

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Just shoot for a comfortable shave. In time, you'll note that you're getting BBS shaves as well. You'll know when you've arrived.

-- John Gehman

You could shave half of your face in the morning and half at night.

BroJohn said:

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Awesome icon. I knew someone would like "shaving samurai" .

Come on are we slipping no comments on the small animals

How do you get to the carnegie hall of shaving?

Practice, practice, practice!

Best - MM

Taz said:

Come on are we slipping no comments on the small animals

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Let's leave the wives out of this one. err maybe not