Need advice after first 2 straight razor shaves

(Moved post from general introduction area))

Have shaved with a DE safety razor for a month no problem. I have a dense and tough beard but scrupulous preshave prep and sharp Feather blades have resulted in very close shaves with only modest irritation even with ATG passes.


Purchased a vintage straight razor that had been professionally honed by a very credible hobbyist vendor. Examined blade and it definitely appeared honed sharp and stropped.


Yesterday, after thoroughly performing all of the preshave rituals shampoo, conditioner on beard, rinse, preshave oil; I methodically shaved much of my face WTG and not much of my neck with it using AoS shave cream liberally applied, took a very long time. No cuts and no weepers, prolly less damage than i do with a DE razor, but then again I skipped all the difficult spots like neck around the Adam's apple, underneath the chin, etc. Finished the shave with a DE razor. Afterwards had some irritation that subsided gradually as the day went on with application of a balm etc.


Today stropped the razor and shaved virtually all my face and a bit of my neck WTG and XTG,same preshave ritual but used Aveeno shaving gel instead. Shaved a little faster, got a number of small weepers and a couple of minor cuts, nothing that bled dramatically or anything. The Aveeno felt good on my face but maybe less lubricating to the razor. Cleaned up remainder of face with DE razor and performed all after shave rinse, balm, therapies.


All day my face has felt mildly irritated, even after application of Aloe. Not actual pain, but in the mirror my cheeks look faintly blotchy and if I smile my face feels "stiff".


Is this normal?


As my straight razor technique improves can I expect the irritation to decrease?


I did not feel excessive pulling as if the blade were dull, but I did have to make a bunch of passes to remove all of the stubble. With the DE razor I make a lot fewer passes to accomplish the same amount of shaving.


In addition to a preshave oil, are there any shaving creams that are extremely lubricating, protective and slick?


Thx in advance for any advice and/or encouragement,


Tim

Congratulations on your move to straights. Things will improve. I am curious what your razor was finished on.

It could be your angle and pressure. You are smart going slow. Keep your DE handy for cleanup. You won't need it for long. How is your stropping technique. Keep it super light on the strop and don't let the strop get too slack. A little slack is ok if you are very light. If you don't have the light grip down yet then keep the strop tighter.

Try hitting your face with a high alcohol aftershave and the irritation will subside quickly. I get an endorphin rush from the slight burn tingle. I think I'm addicted to it. I am going to Bevmo today as they have a 151 proof Rum on sale for $14 liter. Going to mix up a bay rum and lime with a little cinnamon and allspice.

Avenolpey - thx for the response.

My stropping technique is methodical, but for someone with reasonable eye/hand coordination I'm chagrined over all the little slices I've already put into the strop.

I watched the YouTube video "Ten minute three pass shave" and was hugely impressed.

Can't imagine wielding a straight razor that quickly without amputating something, and when the guy's kid came to the bathroom door I braced myself for a tragedy, but I guess its a feel thing that speeds up with proficiency

Am surprised to hear you recommend alcohol for after shave b/c most of the primers try to steer you away from that, but I'm open to anything that subsides the burn quicker.

Tim

I think that your skin will adapt a bit over time. Make sure to be using an ultra light touch on the razor,i get burn like you describe when i push to hard.



Keep it up, it will get better every morning! What else can you say that about?!

As for the burn. I really like myrsol agua balsamica. seems to help worth burn

Be mindful that you're not going over the same area without more soap.. I find that more important w a straight esp when just starting

Sounds like you are doing great. I find tallow soaps to be slick. Arko works well too. I also make my lather more wet than when with DE. Keep the angle down and no pressure are the normal advice.
I'm also just throwing this in the mix. What did the hone master finish the blade on? When I first started I had some blades that were finished on Jnats. These were so sharp that in my noob hand and face were harsh. This left my face a little raw. This mellowed as I continued to shave and strop (I even added extra stropping). May not apply to you but it happened to me.

You're ok. Not to worry. Straight shaving seems to improve in spurts instead of methodically. At least that's my experience. Yours may be different.

And I hacked up my first strop frighteningly regularly.

Welcome to the wonderful world of straights!! ...and the adjoining world of strops and hones!

It WILL get better. To me it's not so much that your skin will get used to the straight, as YOU will get used to using the straight. The better looking skin is the measure of how welll your doing.

Don't sweat the strop. We all have done it, and even after two years, I still have brain farts while shaving and stropping.

My two tips for you starting out:
- stay with WTG until you're comfortable (if work requires clean shaven, use a DE for cleanup)
- speed kills! ..... both shaving and stropping when starting out. If you're finding your lather is drying on the other side of your face, either relather or just lather the part you are currently shaving.