Hi everyone,
With the help of several people on this forum I choose my kit and had my first DE shave last night! I thought I'd report on the experience and what you guys thought of it. I also thought it might be a bit of fun for you to recall your first DE shave for comparison! here's what I selected as kit:
Merkur 41C - OC due to the fact that I generally go 1-2 weeks between shaves
Blades sample pack but choose to go with derby for first shave due to renowned 'bluntness' and forgivability (is that a word?)
proaso red - due to being easy to lather for a noob and I like sandalwood scent
vulfix 660 super badger brush
nivea aftershave balm - due to my skin sometimes being a bit dry on my face
styptic pencil
and the results.....
It was an interesting experience. I walked away thinking 'boy I've got a lot to learn'. My technique stunk to be honest. Having shaved for about 17 years with cartridges, I struggled to adapt my style and I'm pretty useless using a mirror anyway. Here's how I found each piece of kit:
Merkur - I'm very happy with this choice based on my first shave. despite 10 days of growth it didn't seem to have too much trouble getting through a fair amount in 1 pass
Blade - a VERY good choice for my first shave purely so I didn't slice myself up. I'm very unsure about the performance though, it felt quite 'scratchy' in several places. I wonder if I got the lather right? I didn't achieve what I would call a close shave but I'm pretty sure that was down to me rather than the tools. I was quite scared to start with but when I gave up trying to adapt a new style and just went with what I know I was very surprised how forgiving the blade was, particularly as I only got 1 nick (right at the very end....damn!). I may stick with this for a few more shaves and then move onto the astra in my pack.
proraso - seemed very easy to lather but I think my technique here needs working on. I know it's not rocket science but knowing when and how much water to add will take a bit of trial and error. I face lathered but I think it will be easier in a bowl, so I'll probably do that next time
brush - I used the 'breaking in guide' available online and the brush seemed really good. very soft and worked well with the proraso. no smell too.
balm - there's not too much to say about this. I've never used any kind of moisturiser before but it seemed to do the trick.
and now a few questions for you guys:
this morning my skin particularly under the neck is really really warm, is this the dreaded 'razor burn' or just my skin getting used to DE shaving? it felt ok last night immediately after the shave. If it is burn, will this likely be from the blade or my technique?
I'm a little confused about how to shave the neck i.e. with/against grain. I watched several youtube guides as part of my research with some saying downwards on the first pass i.e. start at chin and down the neck. others saying bottom of neck and upwards towards the chin. what do you guys think? I've always done neck upwards and when I tried the alternative last night really struggled to get the right angle for the blade to cut. I gave up in the end and went back to my usual method.
thanks for taking the time to read this. feel free to share memories of your first DE shave too!
With the help of several people on this forum I choose my kit and had my first DE shave last night! I thought I'd report on the experience and what you guys thought of it. I also thought it might be a bit of fun for you to recall your first DE shave for comparison! here's what I selected as kit:
Merkur 41C - OC due to the fact that I generally go 1-2 weeks between shaves
Blades sample pack but choose to go with derby for first shave due to renowned 'bluntness' and forgivability (is that a word?)
proaso red - due to being easy to lather for a noob and I like sandalwood scent
vulfix 660 super badger brush
nivea aftershave balm - due to my skin sometimes being a bit dry on my face
styptic pencil
and the results.....
It was an interesting experience. I walked away thinking 'boy I've got a lot to learn'. My technique stunk to be honest. Having shaved for about 17 years with cartridges, I struggled to adapt my style and I'm pretty useless using a mirror anyway. Here's how I found each piece of kit:
Merkur - I'm very happy with this choice based on my first shave. despite 10 days of growth it didn't seem to have too much trouble getting through a fair amount in 1 pass
Blade - a VERY good choice for my first shave purely so I didn't slice myself up. I'm very unsure about the performance though, it felt quite 'scratchy' in several places. I wonder if I got the lather right? I didn't achieve what I would call a close shave but I'm pretty sure that was down to me rather than the tools. I was quite scared to start with but when I gave up trying to adapt a new style and just went with what I know I was very surprised how forgiving the blade was, particularly as I only got 1 nick (right at the very end....damn!). I may stick with this for a few more shaves and then move onto the astra in my pack.
proraso - seemed very easy to lather but I think my technique here needs working on. I know it's not rocket science but knowing when and how much water to add will take a bit of trial and error. I face lathered but I think it will be easier in a bowl, so I'll probably do that next time
brush - I used the 'breaking in guide' available online and the brush seemed really good. very soft and worked well with the proraso. no smell too.
balm - there's not too much to say about this. I've never used any kind of moisturiser before but it seemed to do the trick.
and now a few questions for you guys:
this morning my skin particularly under the neck is really really warm, is this the dreaded 'razor burn' or just my skin getting used to DE shaving? it felt ok last night immediately after the shave. If it is burn, will this likely be from the blade or my technique?
I'm a little confused about how to shave the neck i.e. with/against grain. I watched several youtube guides as part of my research with some saying downwards on the first pass i.e. start at chin and down the neck. others saying bottom of neck and upwards towards the chin. what do you guys think? I've always done neck upwards and when I tried the alternative last night really struggled to get the right angle for the blade to cut. I gave up in the end and went back to my usual method.
thanks for taking the time to read this. feel free to share memories of your first DE shave too!