As I was poking about the dusty corners of the interweb, I stumbled over an article over at The Art of Manliness that I had missed previously – “7 mistakes new wet shavers make”.

It’s noting earth shattering in the article, just mistakes we all have done at some point… but if you’re new to the art of traditional wetshaving it’s worth keeping them in mind. In short, the seven mistakes pointed out are:

1. Poor prep – which is quite literary the first mistake many do. No, just splashing some water on your face isn’t good enough… soap is needed to strip the oils and grease off.
2. Lousy lather – which I was guilty of when I started. Canned goo and aerosol cream is even worse in my opinion, but what your face needs is a nice, creamy lather whipped up with a decent brush.
3. Ignoring grain – hair grows in any which way on my face, and if you want to avoid shave bumps and rashes you need to with your hair.. or against it, for the ATG cut.
4. Too much pressure – a bad habit most picks up while using a cart. If you’re using any pressure at all when you’re using a DE or an SE razor, you’re probably using too much. Let the weight of the razor and the sharpness of the blade do the trick.
5. Incorrect blade angle – something that can be tricky to figure out even for experienced wetshavers when switching razors. A “proper” razor do not have a swiveling head – all the movement that changes the angle is in your wrist.
6. Shaving over unlubricatred skin – you got that luxurious lather on your brush for a reason. Use it, even for the second pass, and your face will thank you.
7. Repeating strokes – well… I’m not sure I agree with this as a mistake. I’ll always do at least two passes, and I do buff under my chin. In my opinion, repeating strokes is only a mistake if you use too much pressure or fail to prep or lather properly.

Everyone makes mistakes when we’re starting out – but if you learn from them the reward is well worth it.

I find myself wanting a shavette – which is like a straight, but without the potential pitfalls of stropping.

I mean, what is the worst that could happen? All I have to do is to put the ambulance and blood bank on speed dial before I shave…