That's gonna leave a mark.

Whoops. I'm still not very proficient with my left hand. I had the angle all wrong, touched the blade to my face, and felt the bite. Two days later, I'm still getting "What happened to your face" comments. I didn't even use any pressure. Today's shave went better though. Two passes with a straight and I had to do just a little clean up work with my Slim. However, I did take a mole down a little lower with the straight - nothing a styptic couldn't fix. I also got a small bite (on my left side - go figure) adjacent to my cut from the other day. You can see all three bites here. Damn... Why does my left hand have to be so stupid???

Been there, done that. My favorite response is, "well I guess no means no"...

goatee said:

Been there, done that. My favorite response is, "well I guess no means no"...

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the edges do have a special way of speaking to you, when they aren't busy singing

rub a bit of shea butter on it and it'll clear up before you know it (and no scar will likely be noticable)!

I think we all have done that before.

Key is to have the razor moving before making contact with the skin.

Been there, done that. A moment of carelessness, a week of regret. Mine was on my neck, left side, with my left hand. Worse yet, I'm lefthanded. When I saw the blood trickling down, it was about four inches of red. Couldn't even call it a nick; more like a chop. As I looked at it, I just shook my head and laughed. Doesn't pay to get careless with a DE.

Sure enough. My wife has some shea butter in with her things. Thanks for the suggestion! I will say that despite the butchery on my left side, I'm getting some great shaves from this Whipped Dog straight. I've even stopped butchering my poor man's strop and ordered a black latigo Big Daddy. I'm now looking to upgrade to a nicer straight too. This one in particular has me drooling. I'm debating whether to hold another den reduction sale to cover it or to wait until Christmas. Decisions, decisions...

I let SWMBO try to level my side burns with my straight once. She did a good job though I ended up with a nick that looked a lot like yours on my right side. Nowhere near my side burns.

that looks like it will be there for a while. I'm new to straight shaving and I got myself on the chin the other day. It bled for about 10 minutes, luckily by the next day it didn't look like much. I'm sure its just a matter of time before I have one that people notice.

I have to say, of the few scars I have on my face, none of the cuts I've received from a straight left permanent scars. One where I dragged the tip through my cheek lasted a few weeks, but now I can't even find where it was. It's a clean cut, as long as you take care of it it should fade relatively quickly.

I've got a mole on my left side that I keep debating about having removed....every time I catch it and see it get smaller without even feeling the cut, I debate about just giving it a quick swipe and being done with it....then I chicken out

Jon, tis but a flesh wound.

j_fro said:

Jon, tis but a flesh wound.

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That's what he said.

Wear it with pride like a prussian dualist

london said:

Wear it with pride like a prussian dualist

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Perhaps I could pull this off now.

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

I've gotten lots of cuts like that over the course of learning how to shave with a straight razor; they usually heal up within a week or so. Remember, to make them heal fast and reduce the odds of scarring it's important to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible. I keep a styptic at the ready whenever I shave with the straight for just this reason.

I wouldn't worry too much about cuts like that though; that's pretty mild. The worst cut I've gotten thus far was on the left side of my chin; it was my first attempt at an xtg pass. I managed to cut all the way down to the fatty tissue and three weeks later I still have a purple mark left; It wouldn't surprise me if it ends up scarring. Interestingly, although it was a deep cut and left my sink red it didn't hurt very much; such has been my experience with all my straight razor injuries. In fact, I believe the cuts I got from my old mach 3 were a lot worse and more painfull than anything I've gotten with a straight. I think it's because straight razor cuts are very clean whereas cartridges tend to cause ripping and tearing when they cut.

Any way, don't worry about it too much. And if the worst happens, remember that chicks dig scars

Anonymous said:

I managed to cut all the way down to the fatty tissue

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Ouch! I hope it heals well for you. As for mine, I'm just hoping that it disappears in time for the family portrait due to be taken on the 29th. Otherwise, I'll have some Photoshop work to do.

JonM said:

Ouch! I hope it heals well for you. As for mine, I'm just hoping that it disappears in time for the family portrait due to be taken on the 29th. Otherwise, I'll have some Photoshop work to do.

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eh, cowboy up and use some make up.

Cowboys wear makeup? Wow. That explains Brokeback Mountain.

Wow, those pics bring back memories. When I first got into straights I did that often for awhile. On the good side though, is that they'll heal without a mark, or at least they should.

Just answer by saying that they should see the other guy.

there is nothing wrong with just shaving with your dominant hand....

i shave exclusively with my left hand...

At least it wasn't your upper lip. Now that HURTS.