By the way [MENTION=114095]The Dude Abides[/MENTION], do you have alcohol in your post shave products? If you, you may want to consider alcohol free for now. I just tried alcohol free with Havel after my shave and before applying my after shave, huge difference for me on my neck. With alcohol witch Havel my neck flavored up a lot at times if I had a bad shave. With alcohol free it's much much better and applying alcohol based after shave doesn't seem to make it worse.
Newbie with a ruined neck!
- Thread starter The Dude Abides
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BTW good technique and a good post shave balm helps a lot.
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- #23
Up until now I've only ever used rubbing alcohol. My wife got me a body shop shave balm that I've been using to humor her. MaY be she was right all along!
My diagnosis is way too much pressure and probably too steep an angle.
The razor angle should be as shallow as possible with the cap riding on your face. Use very light, short strokes, do NOT make great sweeps with the razor. Remember that the angle you need will change with the contours of your face. I'm lucky in that I'm fat enough I don't have a hollow under my jawline (probably the only benefit of needing to lose 30 lbs, eh?), you face may differ.
Nibble rather than gulp, make very short overlapping strokes.
Make sure your lather is wet, it should be creamy, not stiff and dry. If you have trouble rinsing it off the razor in a light stream of water, it's too dry. Needs to be slick, as the slickness of the soap is what protects your skin from the edge.
You need only enough pressure to hold the edge against your skin so the blade cuts the hair at or just below skin level. Cartridges have recessed blades and require quite a bit of pressure, a DE doesn't.
Hold the razor very close to the head -- I've lately taken to touching the base of the head with my index finger. Forces a flatter angle, which is what you want.
I lit my face up pretty good on my first couple shaves until I figured out what "light pressure" really meant, don't feel bad. Just lighten up the pressure. You will know when it's too light, as the razor will start pulling instead of cutting.
Happy shaving!
Peter
The razor angle should be as shallow as possible with the cap riding on your face. Use very light, short strokes, do NOT make great sweeps with the razor. Remember that the angle you need will change with the contours of your face. I'm lucky in that I'm fat enough I don't have a hollow under my jawline (probably the only benefit of needing to lose 30 lbs, eh?), you face may differ.
Nibble rather than gulp, make very short overlapping strokes.
Make sure your lather is wet, it should be creamy, not stiff and dry. If you have trouble rinsing it off the razor in a light stream of water, it's too dry. Needs to be slick, as the slickness of the soap is what protects your skin from the edge.
You need only enough pressure to hold the edge against your skin so the blade cuts the hair at or just below skin level. Cartridges have recessed blades and require quite a bit of pressure, a DE doesn't.
Hold the razor very close to the head -- I've lately taken to touching the base of the head with my index finger. Forces a flatter angle, which is what you want.
I lit my face up pretty good on my first couple shaves until I figured out what "light pressure" really meant, don't feel bad. Just lighten up the pressure. You will know when it's too light, as the razor will start pulling instead of cutting.
Happy shaving!
Peter
rubbing alcohol??!!! Ouch!!
This is the second time I've seen someone mention that on this forum. Is this common? Where did you get the idea to do this?? Wow, what a terrible idea (no offense).
This is the second time I've seen someone mention that on this forum. Is this common? Where did you get the idea to do this?? Wow, what a terrible idea (no offense).
+1- Thread starter
- #27
No offense taken! I was watching a shaving video on YouTube recently and the man said "never, ever use rubbing alcohol on your skin!" And it took me by surprise because rubbing alcohol is all I've ever used and a lot of aftershaves have rubbing alcohol as an ingredient.
My best friend from when I was a teenager. His dad used rubbing alcohol, passed the habit on to him, and he passed it on to me.
My best friend from when I was a teenager. His dad used rubbing alcohol, passed the habit on to him, and he passed it on to me.
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Welcome. No pressure means no pressure. The Weishi is a fine razor and I get great shaves with it using an Astra SP blade. Keep at it, you'll get better with practice. It's shaving, not nuclear physics, you'll be fine. Remember, no pressure.
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- #31
I guess now it's just a matter of waiting for my neck to heal so that I can dive in again.
Wise thinking
Welcome to B&B.
I find that using the correct grip can make a big difference with maintaining the no pressure rule. I use two fingers and my thumb to hold the razor with another finger resting on the tip of the handle. This results in holding the razor very lightly with no pressure on the razor. You want to hold the razor as lightly as you can so that it stays on your face and without it falling from your hand. The wiki deals with holding a razor and may help you.
Finally, look here for blade angle.
I find that using the correct grip can make a big difference with maintaining the no pressure rule. I use two fingers and my thumb to hold the razor with another finger resting on the tip of the handle. This results in holding the razor very lightly with no pressure on the razor. You want to hold the razor as lightly as you can so that it stays on your face and without it falling from your hand. The wiki deals with holding a razor and may help you.
Finally, look here for blade angle.
Welcome, sir! You have received lots of great tips already. As far as beard mapping is concerned I found it to be a much trickier proposition that one would imagine at first look. This is largely due to the fact that the hair on the neck seems to grow in all different directions at once. It takes patience and practice to get it figured out, but it is well worth the effort. Here is a thread that I found extremely helpful with neck shaving challenges.
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- #35
Thanks for the heads up!
I actually had my second DE shave today. It went better than the previous one. First, I really learned how to make a good lather. The kind of lather one could be proud of.
Second, I only did a pass and a half or so with the DE before doing the last pass with my cartridge shaver. I was already bleeding quite a bit and it wasn't looking good yet so I quit while I was ahead. It wasn't a great shave, but it went better and I should heal up more quickly this time around. Then I'll jump right back in.
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- #36
Thanks for the link! I'll check it out.
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- #37
I got the sense that there were whiskers the blade waant getting because I wasn't putting down enough pressure. It's an astra blade, only on my second use.
Hi and welcome!
I have a Weishi razor and struggle to get a goot shave with it. It is such a super mild razor that to get anything close to smooth I have to use pressure and lots of repeat strokes which then often ends in irritation. You may find that a more aggressive razor and less pressure suits you better.
I have a Weishi razor and struggle to get a goot shave with it. It is such a super mild razor that to get anything close to smooth I have to use pressure and lots of repeat strokes which then often ends in irritation. You may find that a more aggressive razor and less pressure suits you better.
Putting pressure on the blade will not work.
Be sure to map your beard. My beard, particularly on my neck, grows in many different directions and in some places swirls. Accordingly, WTG and ATG are meaningless to me. It would be practically impossible for me to do a WTG shave on my neck since I would be changing the razor direction every two inches. So, what I do is to pick the way a majority of my beard grows and that becomes my WTG or first pass. The opposite becomes my ATG or final pass and the two other directions become my XTG or second or third passes. To get all my whiskers I have to do a four-pass shave. Because part of the first pass is XTG and ATG it is essential that I use a very light touch and watch the angle.
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- #40
That's interesting. I may have to go the same way-- I'd go WTG for a couple of inches and suddenly I'd be ATG.
