My daily shave routine is fairly trim. I hear people talk about shaves lasting 45 minutes or an hour, and I can't get my head around it. My routine takes 20 minutes, from the time I hit the bathroom door to the time I sit down on the bed to cool off. And that period includes a shower!
Here's what I do. I fill the sink with hot water and drop in my boar. I take a fast shower, about 5 minutes, and make sure that I scrub my face with nice hot water for a good minute or so.
I get out, and first thing I do is lather up. I let the lather sit on my face while I dry off, put on alum block and deodorant, and put on some pants (NO NAKED STRAIGHT SHAVING!!!!).
After I've given the lather some time to soak in, I start the shave. I start with a mostly XTG pass...I find that the WTG pass isn't that necessary with a straight, except on my chin and upper lip, so that's the way I rock it. I sue short, quick strokes--almost like blade budffing, but I take the blade off the skin on the back stroke. I rinse, relather, and my next pass is mostly ATG, except for my neck, which I've never figured out how to hit ATG with a straight. Something to work on there...And again, short quick strokes, not long slow ones.
After the ATG pass, I DON'T rinse--I take a little water and wet the little places that still feel rough. The residual lather makes those places extra slick, without the cushion of a full lather, and I blade buff the remaining patches.
I finish up with a warm water rinse, then a cool water rinse, then usually a light balm to moisturize and help seal up any bleeders. This routine usually results in a 90-95% BBS shave, with no razor burn but the occasional nick or cut. Satisfying, but not perfect. I'm looking to up that BBS percentage, though...Any thoughts on a good way to do that?
3 comments:
I think I'm around 20-25min, 30min at most.
I want to up my skills as well, but I'm at a loss: My face/neck is angular, so few flat surfaces. (stretching skin makes curves, not planes) I knick myself with the spike, so my next straight will not have this feature.
I hope to have a pro give me a shave someday, do some Q&A. This post has been helpful as well though.
Including shower and shaving both face and head I'm at about 30 minutes. I use DE razors instead of straights and can understand those long times when first learning, but after the couple months I think the time should be coming down.
Hey Guys, thanks for reading!
Kodou, one thing you can do about that spike is blunt it just a bit--run the tip over some soft wood like a matchstick or something. It'll take the edge off and reduce the cutting.
As for angularity, one thing you can try is "precision" shaving--use one very small part of the edge to hit a very thin line. For example, I have problems with a line about 4mm across going along the very curve of my jaw. I have found that using just the very heel of my blade, I can catch that line perfectly, without too much stretching.
ChemE, that sounds pretty darned fast for doing the whole head...
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