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Re: Hello all, so tired of electric, need to change!

Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 12:07 pm
by mustang_john
Gentlemen,

I think I have reached a turning point. I am shaving every day now, and hardly cutting myself at all, bar a few pimple spots.

The horrendous burn that I used to get from both electric and wet shaving is now gone and my face is a lot calmer. I now look forwards to having a shave and take immense pride in get a clean, close cut free shave .

Also I am hardly ever having to resort to finishing off missed and rough bits with my Braun.

So basically, a massive thank you once again to all of you who have helped me out the last month or so, thank you for your time and your patience.

I have even tried to get my stepson interested in learning to wet shave as he has a very untidy and uneven beard that makes him look a "tit!" But that's another story :roll:

Hope I will be able to pass my tale onto any other newbie who, like me believed that they would never be able to wet shave.

Cheers fellas,

John.

Re: Hello all, so tired of electric, need to change!

Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 2:23 pm
by CMur12
Congratulations, John, on a resounding success! =D>

(Now let's hope your stepson is inspired to follow your good example. :) )

- Murray

Re: Hello all, so tired of electric, need to change!

Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 3:20 pm
by ShadowsDad
It's good to read of your success! But don't be surprised if you have a less than stellar day, or even a less than stellar few weeks.... (I hope you never do)

Of course there's a story behind that comment and it doesn't involve you MJ, but myself. It's all hubris on my part.

I love the Muhle '11 R41. It's just a phenomenal shave, but lately not so much. I knew it was me but I just couldn't nail down the problem. My aggressive SE razors were still working for me, but the '11 R41 wasn't. OK, neither was the '13 R41 and that's a bit less wildly aggressive than the '11. I decided to just let them be for a time. I returned to a Gillette single ring with one shim. That's still a better than average aggressive razor, but it would allow me to possibly fall back to examine what I was doing. I stayed with it for at least 2 weeks continuously, then I thought I had the problem figured out. Remember hubris. I was just complacent with the R41s. I had been treating them as though I had some sort of immunity to the ultra sharp blade and the aggressive nature of the razors. Today I used the '13 R41 again and when I sped up the shave I got weepers again. Nothing terrible, but it taught me to pay more attention and slow down. It was/is a 100% technique related problem. "Hi my name is Brian and I think I have skin made of steel."; clearly I'm not smarter or tougher than the razor and blade. I need to drive that into my mind... slow down, pay attention.

What I'm trying to write is to keep in mind basic technique and expect backsliding. Having written that I don't want you to backslide. Just be aware that it's a possibility, and that you can overcome it.

How many times have I written to newbies that they need to pay attention to basic technique !? Hey, it happens.

I was considering getting rid of my "lesser" DE razors and just keeping the R41s in the stable. Good thing I kept them. They stay right where they are.

Re: Hello all, so tired of electric, need to change!

Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 8:33 am
by Squire
Good news John, glad to hear it.

Re: Hello all, so tired of electric, need to change!

Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 12:19 pm
by mustang_john
Holy crap Shadow!!!!

I have no idea what you just said :shock:

That's went right over my head!

John.

Re: Hello all, so tired of electric, need to change!

Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 2:49 pm
by ShadowsDad
Put it on the mental shelf for when you need it. Hopefully you never will.

Basically what I said was, "If you encounter problems, drop back and punt. ".

Re: Hello all, so tired of electric, need to change!

Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 4:13 pm
by Squire
Best way to avoid problems is to take your time and concentrate, like a golf swing.

Re: Hello all, so tired of electric, need to change!

Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 4:34 am
by jww
I think what we are trying to say is ...... "Beware hubris our padawan learner." :wink:

Re: Hello all, so tired of electric, need to change!

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 3:21 pm
by FireDragon76
I would start with a disposable single-blade razor like a Bic Sensitive and some Cremo or other brushless creams. This will teach you good techniques but without too steep a difficulty.

Preparation is important. You should shave after a shower or really washing down your face very good . You don't have to use hot water, in fact some like me find hot water makes the shave worse. You can (and probably should) in your case use pre-shave oil if you don't use a brushless shave cream, as most lathering soaps or creams on their own won't provide the lubrication to deal with a heavy beard.

It takes time for your face to adjust to any new shaving technique or method. Don't expect overnight close shaves. Start out with one or two passes and then call it quits, avoid overshaving.