Straight razor shave prep for newbie?

D

Davidshwa76

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2016
Location
Western Australia
I have just started straight razor shaving. Four attempts with moderate success. I've been tidying up with my DE. Not sure if my prep is right with soap drying out & lack of slickness by time I reach heavier growth around chin. Should I be using pre shave product or lather areas separately until I become more experienced? Should lather be thinner than when DE shaving? Any tips would be appreciated. I'm using a new TS Evide Sonnant which was a gift.
 
I am sure there are a lot of more experienced guys on here that May be able to help but I'll give you my two cents.

I always start out with a Proraso pre shave cream, once that is soaked in I put a hot towel on my face then I soap up. The chin is the biggest problem area I have so I usually take a few passes with fresh soap each time, and only focusing on minimising hair on each pass, I find rather than being aggressive and taking more goes at it I end up with less irritation.

If you are taking a long time to get to your chin and the soap is drying out just try reapplying soap or just a bit of water.
 
2 things. Only lather half your face at a time. You are just taking a bit longer at the beginning.
Second it's important to lather well as you need a lot of lubrication. What I do is soak a brush and add a dripple of water to the puck while stropping (3-4) minutes. Squeeze the brush and shake it a little. Then go to town loading. Then either face or bowl lather as usual. That way you have enough soap for a few passes.
 
Although I'm not a straight shaver: if your lather is drying out you either don't use enough product and/or use a poor quality soap (and yes I do consider some of the famous/common soaps as poor quality)

Just to compare: I face lather once at the beginning of the shave and do 4 passes. I don't build any additional lather during the shave - everything sits there in my brush for the whole duration of the shave.

I guess many DE shavers don't realise the poor quality of their lather, because they zip through the shave in a couple of minutes...
 
nathan1983 said:
I am sure there are a lot of more experienced guys on here that May be able to help but I'll give you my two cents.

I always start out with a Proraso pre shave cream, once that is soaked in I put a hot towel on my face then I soap up. The chin is the biggest problem area I have so I usually take a few passes with fresh soap each time, and only focusing on minimising hair on each pass, I find rather than being aggressive and taking more goes at it I end up with less irritation.

If you are taking a long time to get to your chin and the soap is drying out just try reapplying soap or just a bit of water.
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I have the Proraso pre shave so will add that to the routine. Thanks for the advice.
 
Rami said:
2 things. Only lather half your face at a time. You are just taking a bit longer at the beginning.
Second it's important to lather well as you need a lot of lubrication. What I do is soak a brush and add a dripple of water to the puck while stropping (3-4) minutes. Squeeze the brush and shake it a little. Then go to town loading. Then either face or bowl lather as usual. That way you have enough soap for a few passes.
Click to expand...
Thanks, will do this too. My problem was I'm taking to long to reach chin by which time lather dries up.
 
alfredus said:
Although I'm not a straight shaver: if your lather is drying out you either don't use enough product and/or use a poor quality soap (and yes I do consider some of the famous/common soaps as poor quality)

Just to compare: I face lather once at the beginning of the shave and do 4 passes. I don't build any additional lather during the shave - everything sits there in my brush for the whole duration of the shave.

I guess many DE shavers don't realise the poor quality of their lather, because they zip through the shave in a couple of minutes...
Click to expand...
Thanks. My actual lather is fine in bowl or brush for duration of shave. Just dries up on face as I'm taking too long. That could still mean I need to improve all aspects. Back to drawing board at weekend (DE shave during week).
 
I would pay more attention to your lather (it should be like stiff meringue), although you haven't said whether you face, palm or bowl lather.
I had the self same problem when I first started and found that it was a combination of sub-par lather and taking a long time to shave.
Don't be afraid of looking at some youtube videos (Mantic69 is good), spending more time making lather and re-lathering towards the end of each pass - it worked for me (and still does at times...hehehehe)
Placing your lather on a wet face is also vital - it's called wet shaving for a reason...hehehehehe
I hope this helps and let us know how it works out for you
 
Davidshwa76 said:
Thanks. My actual lather is fine in bowl or brush for duration of shave. Just dries up on face as I'm taking too long. That could still mean I need to improve all aspects. Back to drawing board at weekend (DE shave during week).
Click to expand...

Maybe you don't see how it collapses in your bowl, as there is much more in there?

In my experience good lather will be stable on your face for a long time - I always take my lather shot, then put away my soap dish and camera and fill up the sink with water while my face is lathered up - before I even start my first pass.

The right prep (for your skin/beard type) will definitely help with your shave - but it will most definitely not fix the issue of drying up lather
 
No difference in prep in my experience. Prorasso seems to help if you suffer from dry skin in my experience although not a lot. See also Myrsol Antesol. Lather your whole face.. your lather should be good for three passes which cold take over 30min for a beginner.
 
Havachat45 said:
I would pay more attention to your lather (it should be like stiff meringue), although you haven't said whether you face, palm or bowl lather.
I had the self same problem when I first started and found that it was a combination of sub-par lather and taking a long time to shave.
Don't be afraid of looking at some youtube videos (Mantic69 is good), spending more time making lather and re-lathering towards the end of each pass - it worked for me (and still does at times...hehehehe)
Placing your lather on a wet face is also vital - it's called wet shaving for a reason...hehehehehe
I hope this helps and let us know how it works out for you
Click to expand...
Thanks for the pointers. I will report back.
 
Sxot said:
No difference in prep in my experience. Prorasso seems to help if you suffer from dry skin in my experience although not a lot. See also Myrsol Antesol. Lather your whole face.. your lather should be good for three passes which cold take over 30min for a beginner.
Click to expand...
I'll try the Proraso first since it's in the den. Thanks.
 
Don Donato soap by Razorock is specifically designed for Straight shaving from what I am told. Excellent slick cushiony lather.

I believe there is a sale post with a tub in the BST section. Seller may be willing to separate ;)
 
"Lather like a stiff meringue".
I like it. I'm gonna strive for that. My lather is very watery.
 
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If soap use is not a major issue you could try this:

Hand wash you face with a normal soap you don't have any issues with as in allergies etc.
Rinse then apply hot washer twice for minimum 30 secs at a time.
Lather your face with your best Boar [badger may suffice in a pinch]
Massage the lather into your skin/beard tough areas with your finger tips then apply a hot washer for 30 secs and concentrate on the chin/top lip area.
Wipe off the lather and apply the fresh bowl or face lather to shave with.
Don't feel like you are letting the team done if you need to refresh your lather, shaving with a straight takes longer and nothing causes a blade to drag or skip, cut or nick like dry or drying lather.
Between passes don't just reapply lather, remove any remaining traces off your face with a wet warm washer then reapply the fresh lather.

I think @Mark has said at times don't chase BBS, it will eventually find you.

I have found a pre shave oil beneficial but for me, inherently dangerous when using a straight both for stretching and controlling the blade.
 
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