SMF

My second wet shave.

I actually waited an extra day because I did have that much beard growth. But, I did have more experience and was brimming with confidence. I soaked the razor in warm water and not the brush. I actually ran into a issue when showering that the water never got cold. Normally, I would have taken that as a bad sign, I powered through and wetted the tip of the brush and dipped it into the shave butter directly and applied. It lathered ok, but I know other products would do much better. I decided to not do my head (I'll alternate days or decide to do that after more shaves). While I placed the razor where my sideburn end and tilted the razor, I still don't feel I've improved getting the best the angle from my first shave. I made to WTG passes, which resulted in patches of stubble still being on both cheeks and my lower jaw and chin (my problem areas) but they were better due to my first shave reducing the majority of the beard. I snapped to my senses and did a third pass ATG. I washed out my brush, razor and blade; I added coconut oil to the blade before storing it away. I rinsed my head with cold water under the shower spicket and patted my face dry with a face towel. I ended using a tea tree balm and Dove men's moisturizer

I noticed I had two weepers in the exact same spots just above the tops of the corner of my lips. But, that was all the damage done. My technique is still crap though. I will admit I have taken having a light touch to heart, which has been a godsend, but my strokes and hesitant, too long at times and I go back over the same areas too much from what I've seen in the videos (areas w/o shave foam). My other take away was the feeling I had looking forward to and after the shave. It was a mixture of confidence, as I earlier mentioned, and elation. Not, because I had another shave under my belt, but how great it felt, how I looked forward to the actual shave itself. I was pumped, like answering the bell for a prizefight. It was almost zen like during the shave itself. But, I left renewed, refreshed and feeling good. So, there's something to what several members said about shaving daily for the feeling. I'm starting to get it-it's very therapeutic. While not BBS, I was please with this second attempt.

I appreciate all of the positive feedback, well wishes, encouragement and advice. I feel a little stupid, every time I think, "why hadn't I done this sooner or where has this been all my life?"

Well done on surviving first and second shave.

As an aside, and this a personal thought on the matter: BBS is soooooooooooooo overrated and not worth any of the hassle of getting one

clive

I have to agree with Clive, don't chase a BBS. If you get one, well, great, if not it's no big deal. You don't chase a BBS to find it as much as it finds you. The combination of all the hardware, software, and technique come into play to achieve one. I would be very surprised if you achieved one right off; in fact it would be a miracle almost worthy of sainthood. At this point you should just concentrate on proper technique and little else. The rest will follow once you get that down. You'll have enough on your plate with only learning proper technique now anyway. When a BBS happens just remember what you did to get it and repeat that over and over on subsequent shaves.

Great! Always nice not to reinact Scorsese's horror short film, The Big Shave.

What blade did you use? (If you mentioned that before, sorry I missed it.) Gotta ask, even though blades are like barbecue sauce and violin rosin, everybody's got their favorite!

Two observations, first, nobody even notices when I don't shave. Second, it always grows back tomorrow, even BBS. It's all good, and all of our discussion is in the interest of enjoying the process and the variety of products. The closeness and smoothness is just a variable that we use to confirm that we did something.

Congratulations on the second shave! With practice, you will become more comfortable with it, you will get the feel of it, and your confidence will increase. You will gradually develop a sense of when the blade angle is right and you are achieving a good cut. Right now, it is new to you and even a bit frightening. Make your goal a comfortable shave. A close shave will come naturally with time and practice.

- Murray

Since you relatively new at this I have to ask ,do you have a styptic pencil in your shave arsenal ?

fallingwickets wrote:Well done on surviving first and second shave.

As an aside, and this a personal thought on the matter: BBS is soooooooooooooo overrated and not worth any of the hassle of getting one

clive

What Clive says ------- worry about BBS and loose the interest and enjoyment of the shave, I always find.