Newbie says hi, butchers face- video at 11

[mgl]

Hey all,

Just stopping by to say hello and get a little bit of advice. First, I'm using shave cream and aftershave from The Body Shop, and a synthetic brush from there as well. These were given to me as a gift by my wife and at first I thought she was nuts- couldn't she see I had a perfectly good can of no-name foam already? I graciously thanked her and put the items in the back of my drawer and forgot about them. They only came out again when I ran out of canned goo and needed something to use. Much to my surprise, I LOVED my newfound wetshaving gear. Using my trusty old Mach 3, I noticed a big difference in the quality of my shaves and felt pretty cool to be using a brush like some sort of English dandy.

Not being one to do anything half assed, I began reading up on wetshaving and picked up a cheap Weishi DE and some Derby blades to see what it was like. I began using the DE about a week ago and love it so far- the shaves aren't BBS, but with two N-S passes I'm pretty close to what I was getting from the Mach 3.

This morning I got brave and decided to go for a N-S pass followed by an XTG pass. Big mistake. I'm not sure if it's because my technique is still crappy, or because I was being too aggressive, or because I was cocky and told my wife that I haven't even nicked myself yet, but when I rinsed off after pass 2 my face looked like I had been thrown from a motorcycle, especially on my neck and chin. I have no idea how I messed up so much, but I guess I need to go back to a couple of N-S passes to rebuild my confidence and let my poor face heal a little.

So to summarize- hi, I'm new, and my face stings.

[alabamalawyer]

Welcome to B&B! It takes some time to master technique with a DE. Make sure you are not using pressure. This sounds easy enough but with the Mach3 you are used to pressing down and may be inadvertantly doing so with your DE. Give it some time and work on your technique and great shave will come.

[LetheAren]

Welcome! Just shake off the sting, let it all rest and have another go :) Before long you'll a pro! Just don't mind the learning curve...

[lamontqsanford]

Welcome to B&B. Make sure you watch Mantic's videos on technique and lathering. With time it will get much better.

[kestrel]

Welcome to B&B. Make sure you watch Mantic's videos on technique and lathering. With time it will get much better.

I can't begin to tell you how useful Mantic's videos are. You'll find them on Youtube under "Mantic". Watch them all - you'll be glad you did.

Welcome to B&B

Graham

[frank85]

Welcome Aboard

[Trius]

+1 on "no pressure" ... or at least very, very little.

What I've discovered for my neck is "DTG" -- Diagonal to the Grain. I tried ATG once on my neck, and it wasn't too pleasant. XTG wasn't aggressive enough on a 2nd or 3rd pass, so now I shave XTG on pass one, DTG on pass two, and buffing DTG on pass 3. I've never seen "DTG" mentioned here, so I'm not sure if I invented it, but if I did, it's copyright, trademarked, contact my lawyer before using this technique.

[homebrew42]

AH! You too eh?

I did fine my first day, and then got a little cocky on day two, and went against the grain. Now I'm paying for it with some razor burn.

[Mainecanefan]

Have no fear. Most of us have been in your shoes. I was a bloody mess for the first several shaves before I tweaked my technique. Don't feel pressure for bbs right off the bat. For some guys, it's more a holy grail type thing and they are just as well off with a damn fine shave instead. And with that said...welcome aboard.

[Eagle]

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Welcome to the B&B. Check your preshave as well. Get those whiskers nice and waterlogged and soft before starting the shave.

[OldSaw]

Hi Chris,

Welcome to B&B.

For starters, I would recommend doing more of the shaves you are good at until your face recovers. In the mean time read this.

[Island Brian]

So to summarize- hi, I'm new, and my face stings.

Welcome. There are tons of great threads to find here at B&B. Try this one from yesterday to get more ideas.

[Mr.Gentleman]

Chris, welcome to B&B!!!!

[kevtex]

Welcome to B&B.

[Anton von Tripp]

Dear Chris,
Welcome to the club - and the learning curve.
Sorry to hear about the last bad shave - just do as everyone tells you and start again. First master WTG, and only when this is done move on to XTG etc.

If you do indeed feel like an English Dandy while shaving then you must remind yourself that to hurry is too unutterably vulgar, and that a gentleman never does anything with the least appearance of haste.

Rather like shaving.

Cordially, AvT.

[Spivey]

I can't begin to tell you how useful Mantic's videos are. You'll find them on Youtube under "Mantic". Watch them all - you'll be glad you did.

Welcome to B&B

Graham

+1 no kidding. i first watched them about a year ago and still go back to watch them just for reinforcement. also, the interactive menu is very helpful.

[Bobtrumpet]

Chris,

Welcome to B&B!

[profsaffel]

No advice, but I will give a big "HI" to you from the B&B!

[Duggo]

Chris,

Welcome to B&B!!

I remember my first shave. The razor burn was so bad, you didn't have to touch my skin and it hurt. It was bad.

If your situation is anything close to what mine was, I would suggest you let the skin heal up, and returns to normal.

Get to know your stubble

In the meantime, you can use this time constructively, by letting your facial/neck hair grow, and noticing the direction(s) that it grows in. If you can, take pictures, for later reference. I did.

A word about pressure

Pretend your beard area is a giant bubble. Try not to "pop the bubble" by using excessive pressure.

Finding the Angle

Here's a visual approach: Mozart made this drawing...

Here's the post that put me on the fast track.

And finally, here's one of Mantic's Videos showing him "rolling down the razor."

Gripping the Razor

Here's a grip I just started using last month. The grip, or how you hold the razor, goes over looked, but...this grip offers so much more control. I love it.

Hope this helps.....

[SMOKE]

Welocme!! Not much I can add to the great advice....Two words you can't hear enough: Pressure and Technique!! Try holding the razor like a pair of tweezers...easy to keep the pressure off!!

Best,

Smoke