Some people have noticed the cuts and scars from my face. I can say that embracing the principles of Zen and the mantra of “Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword” with straight razor shaving has been quite a journey. I walked the path of a razor edge because I was sick of my skin panicking from cartridge shaving with products like the Gillette Mach 3, Schick Quattro, or Gillette Fusion. Not only did these products freak out my skin, the aerosol gels and foams numbed my flesh to the poor shave that I got from them. Razor burn and ingrown hairs were things I did not really enjoy. Shaving became more of a chore than a male grooming ritual.
Places like Straight Razor Place had testimony from people with sensitive skin saying that using premium shaving creams, a straight razor and other shaving gear really made shaving tolerable. Some claimed that ingrown hairs became a thing of the past or that razor burn just plain disappeared. I had to give it a shot and see if it could give me a chance to learn proper grooming. I got a Dovo shavette as my entry level tool and it has worked well for its use. In the beginning, rushing would get me cut up and marred. The scars are a painful lesson that patience is a virtue.
From one month, my technique is rough but I am getting better results. I haven’t had razor burn, acne, or ingrown hairs from the experience. Using cheap shaving soap was a bad mistake and I will be going back to the Bath and Body Works rebranded Proraso shaving cream. I do personally feel that I need to look into buying a Feather Artist Club RG razor and truly learn how to shave with a full sized blade as the Dovo shavette has a smaller blade. When money is more plentiful, I will definitely invest in Feather’s complete set-up (pre-shave, shave gel, aftershave) and maybe some nicer shave creams for more formal events.
Taking up straight razor shaving has been like a meditation ritual for me. I feel at ease to put my trust in a blade that could fatally hurt me in order to look my best. Some days after a hard day of work and getting no peace from my family… Nothing seems more relaxing than to just whip up the lather and let the blade slide down to remove the hairs from my face. To become one with that steel edge, it just ends up being therapeutic in some way.