Hello all and thanks for the great forum! First shave this morning that I wanted to share with you.
Got my gear which seems pretty good from recommendations on this forum and this is what I used for my first shave this morning: Merkur 34C (with the blade that came with it), cheapie Parker Pure Badger brush, KMF shave cream, plastic cereal bowl I had lying around, Neutrogena Men Razor Defense Face Scrub (not recommended here but its what I could find).
Took a nice shower as usual and used the face scrub. I liked the face scrub as it had a little bit of grittiness to it for some exfoliation effect and it was a little tingly (and you can use it every day). I spent about a minute scrubbing my face with it. Got out of the shower and first thing - doh! Forgot to put the brush in the bowl to soak! So started the hot water and let it run in the bowl with the brush for a minute, filled up the sink, let the brush soak for another minute, then started the lathering process. I had "practiced" a couple of lather bowls last night so I knew what to expect and got a decent lather and applied it to my face.
First thoughts were that the brush felt a little prickly. Ok keep going and apply the lather all over, massaging it in. Spent about a minute doing that. Noticed that I did not get a nice thick lather on the face, rather thin. Oh well, keep going, it is what it is. On to the shave.
A little apprehensive but I'm determined. So I start. Nice short stokes a few inches long on the sideburns and down. My first pass was just straight down. No too bad, no irritation that I could feel. Then when I get to the mustache and chin area it gets a little tougher. Going slower, hanging in there. A little irritation. Finish first pass. No sign of blood. Didn't slit my throat, OK. Rinse off and check it.
OK not the best shave, lots of stubble in the critical areas like mustache and chin, going to go for a second pass. Decide to toss the lather and start over. Drain the sink too.
The second lather bowl is much better and it goes on thick. I even "paint" the suds down a bit to get it even instead of lemon-marangue pie-ish. Start the second pass.
Second pass straight down like the first pass, taking my time but things go a little quicker anyway. I can feel/hear the blade getting the stuff I missed the first pass. Mustache and chin a little easier, still a bit tough. I get done and rinse off. Take a look in the mirror. Not bad, acceptable for work. I think my wife would want it a bit close if I was going to be kissing her but I'm not kissing anyone at work today so I'm good to go. Apply some Arbonne after shave balm my sister gave me for Christmas that's been sitting in the back of the drawer and finally comes in handy. OK. I'd give it a B- overall quality. I'd give it an A for fun. I'm always excited about something new to try. This is fun. Really like the equipment.
So my thoughts are that I can improve the quality greatly once I get the proper angle down / technique. I know the forum stresses the technique and I can see why (and feel why). Practice.
I'm going to use the same products for at least 30 days so that when I change something I have a point of reference (of course I'll change out the blade).
Other stuff I picked up along the way over the past week when I decided to go this route: Feather blades (also an assortment pack coming from West Coast Shaving), Pacific Shaving Company Pre-Shave, and CO Bigelow Shave Cream. I'll be trying the new stuff once I have 30 shaves under my belt (chin).
All in all a great experience that I know will get better and I know makes me look and feel good. I'm happy.
Thanks to all for the great advice, the forum, and that guy on Yooo-Toob with the shaving videos (mantic59).
Cheers!
Michael
Got my gear which seems pretty good from recommendations on this forum and this is what I used for my first shave this morning: Merkur 34C (with the blade that came with it), cheapie Parker Pure Badger brush, KMF shave cream, plastic cereal bowl I had lying around, Neutrogena Men Razor Defense Face Scrub (not recommended here but its what I could find).
Took a nice shower as usual and used the face scrub. I liked the face scrub as it had a little bit of grittiness to it for some exfoliation effect and it was a little tingly (and you can use it every day). I spent about a minute scrubbing my face with it. Got out of the shower and first thing - doh! Forgot to put the brush in the bowl to soak! So started the hot water and let it run in the bowl with the brush for a minute, filled up the sink, let the brush soak for another minute, then started the lathering process. I had "practiced" a couple of lather bowls last night so I knew what to expect and got a decent lather and applied it to my face.
First thoughts were that the brush felt a little prickly. Ok keep going and apply the lather all over, massaging it in. Spent about a minute doing that. Noticed that I did not get a nice thick lather on the face, rather thin. Oh well, keep going, it is what it is. On to the shave.
A little apprehensive but I'm determined. So I start. Nice short stokes a few inches long on the sideburns and down. My first pass was just straight down. No too bad, no irritation that I could feel. Then when I get to the mustache and chin area it gets a little tougher. Going slower, hanging in there. A little irritation. Finish first pass. No sign of blood. Didn't slit my throat, OK. Rinse off and check it.
OK not the best shave, lots of stubble in the critical areas like mustache and chin, going to go for a second pass. Decide to toss the lather and start over. Drain the sink too.
The second lather bowl is much better and it goes on thick. I even "paint" the suds down a bit to get it even instead of lemon-marangue pie-ish. Start the second pass.
Second pass straight down like the first pass, taking my time but things go a little quicker anyway. I can feel/hear the blade getting the stuff I missed the first pass. Mustache and chin a little easier, still a bit tough. I get done and rinse off. Take a look in the mirror. Not bad, acceptable for work. I think my wife would want it a bit close if I was going to be kissing her but I'm not kissing anyone at work today so I'm good to go. Apply some Arbonne after shave balm my sister gave me for Christmas that's been sitting in the back of the drawer and finally comes in handy. OK. I'd give it a B- overall quality. I'd give it an A for fun. I'm always excited about something new to try. This is fun. Really like the equipment.
So my thoughts are that I can improve the quality greatly once I get the proper angle down / technique. I know the forum stresses the technique and I can see why (and feel why). Practice.
I'm going to use the same products for at least 30 days so that when I change something I have a point of reference (of course I'll change out the blade).
Other stuff I picked up along the way over the past week when I decided to go this route: Feather blades (also an assortment pack coming from West Coast Shaving), Pacific Shaving Company Pre-Shave, and CO Bigelow Shave Cream. I'll be trying the new stuff once I have 30 shaves under my belt (chin).
All in all a great experience that I know will get better and I know makes me look and feel good. I'm happy.
Thanks to all for the great advice, the forum, and that guy on Yooo-Toob with the shaving videos (mantic59).
Cheers!
Michael
