Welcome to the B&B mbrace. Not sure I can give you any sage advice that hasn't already been given. I do want to give you words of encouragement to hang in there and be methodical about the process, which it appears that you are.
I've been DE shaving since July and I am in the opposite corner. From the very first shave I was hooked and everything went well. I can tell you that everyone reacts to the different products (blades, aftershaves, etc.) differently. The classic "Your Mileage May Vary" is in operation here. I convinced a friend to give DE shaving a try and he was having issues with razor burn. No ingrown hairs, but a lot of razor burn. What worked for him was doing to Derby blades. For you, this may not be such a good thing. I can say personally that I have had fantastic shaves with Gillette 7:00 yellow blades. Get a decent sampler pack and discover what your face likes. The blade is a far more important consideration than the actual razor, IMHO.
I don't think you can overdo the pre-shave prep. I personally like the oil from AoS. I will soon be trying Proraso pre-shave cream. For you, I think lots of hydration hot towels etc. and some sort of product that will help the razor "glide" as much as possible. I read on another post where some folks add just a tad of glycerin to their shaving cream to give it the "slickness" of a shaving soap. Worth the time to at least investigate and ask questions. YMMV though.
Great advice already given as far as the passes. WTG and MAYBE an XTG, but go slow. You're learning how to shave and there is a learning curve.
You may want to get on the forum with the straight razor folks and see what they do to prep, numbers of passes, how they started out etc. While I don't use a straight razor (yet) those folks have always struck me as the ones who really have to have the whole process "down."
Above all, be patient and come back here with your observations and ask for advice.
Good luck with it.
I've been DE shaving since July and I am in the opposite corner. From the very first shave I was hooked and everything went well. I can tell you that everyone reacts to the different products (blades, aftershaves, etc.) differently. The classic "Your Mileage May Vary" is in operation here. I convinced a friend to give DE shaving a try and he was having issues with razor burn. No ingrown hairs, but a lot of razor burn. What worked for him was doing to Derby blades. For you, this may not be such a good thing. I can say personally that I have had fantastic shaves with Gillette 7:00 yellow blades. Get a decent sampler pack and discover what your face likes. The blade is a far more important consideration than the actual razor, IMHO.
I don't think you can overdo the pre-shave prep. I personally like the oil from AoS. I will soon be trying Proraso pre-shave cream. For you, I think lots of hydration hot towels etc. and some sort of product that will help the razor "glide" as much as possible. I read on another post where some folks add just a tad of glycerin to their shaving cream to give it the "slickness" of a shaving soap. Worth the time to at least investigate and ask questions. YMMV though.
Great advice already given as far as the passes. WTG and MAYBE an XTG, but go slow. You're learning how to shave and there is a learning curve.
You may want to get on the forum with the straight razor folks and see what they do to prep, numbers of passes, how they started out etc. While I don't use a straight razor (yet) those folks have always struck me as the ones who really have to have the whole process "down."
Above all, be patient and come back here with your observations and ask for advice.
Good luck with it.
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