How I got Razor Bumps

[Hugh]

Ok, three years ago I switched to DE shaving and upped my game with artesian soaps and creams. Purchased one nice DE razor and now have a collection. Currently use a birth year Gillette Slim made in 1951 and trying a number of blades. Perfecting my shaving skills and am getting great shaves.

Out of personal interest and experimentation I purchased a Gillette Mach 3 and a can of pressurized foam in a can stuff. First two shaves using the multiblade Mach 3 were pretty good. Began to think DE shaving was not the improvement I thought it was. This morning made my 3rd shave using the Mach 3 and guess what? A few hours later I had severe razor burn/bumps and redness. Looks awful.

Was it the multiblade Mach 3 or the cheap foam in a can or a combination of the two? Whatever, I now know why I went the DE shaving route! I am glad I had this experience to remind me of why DE shaving is superior. My DE shaves are always good with no burns, no bumps and very comfortable.

I learned early on to let the weight of the DE razor do the work. No pressure, just the weight of the Gillette Slim and a nice sharp, smooth blade. I generally use NACET or Feather blades but have never had a bad experience with any DE blade. Just light pressure and a newer blade. I get very close and smooth shaves.

DE shaving works well for me. I am glad I experimented with the Mach 3 and foam in a pressurized can. I will return to DE shaves. I guess each of us learns best by experience.

If you have anything to share or add to this, please provide your view.

 

[pellidon]

One of the reasons I switched to DE shaving was that my beard did not treat cartridge razor blades well. After three or four shaves I started to press hard and got lots of multiblade scars to show off. Carts were just too expensive to wear out that quickly. DE blades are a lot more cost effective for three and done use. I did pick up a Dorco cartridge setup last year when recovering from a broken arm to use until my dexterity returned. It was not as bad as the big name brands but I also did not use it that many times.

And electric razors give me road rash.

 

[Wgg2017]

What you experienced with the Mach 3 is what led me to DE shaving 20 years ago. If I had 3-4 days of growth I could use a Mach 3 with no problem. Wait another 3-4 days, shave again, and no problems.

However, if I tried to shave with a Mach 3 after just two days it was very uncomfortable and I would get ingrowns. Try to shave again two days later and it was a painful, bloody mess on my neck.

I don’t have that problem with DE razors and can shave every 36 hours with no problems. With carts, I need a lot more time in between shaves or things get bad quickly on either side of my Adam’s apple where I have swirls and thick whiskers.

 

[WhiskerLess]

Ok, three years ago I switched to DE shaving and upped my game with artesian soaps and creams. Purchased one nice DE razor and now have a collection. Currently use a birth year Gillette Slim made in 1951 and trying a number of blades. Perfecting my shaving skills and am getting great shaves.

Out of personal interest and experimentation I purchased a Gillette Mach 3 and a can of pressurized foam in a can stuff. First two shaves using the multiblade Mach 3 were pretty good. Began to think DE shaving was not the improvement I thought it was. This morning made my 3rd shave using the Mach 3 and guess what? A few hours later I had severe razor burn/bumps and redness. Looks awful.

Was it the multiblade Mach 3 or the cheap foam in a can or a combination of the two? Whatever, I now know why I went the DE shaving route! I am glad I had this experience to remind me of why DE shaving is superior. My DE shaves are always good with no burns, no bumps and very comfortable.

I learned early on to let the weight of the DE razor do the work. No pressure, just the weight of the Gillette Slim and a nice sharp, smooth blade. I generally use NACET or Feather blades but have never had a bad experience with any DE blade. Just light pressure and a newer blade. I get very close and smooth shaves.

DE shaving works well for me. I am glad I experimented with the Mach 3 and foam in a pressurized can. I will return to DE shaves. I guess each of us learns best by experience.

If you have anything to share or add to this, please provide your view.

You have to unlearn DE shaving again and put massive pressure on cart.

Just kidding but there’s no turning back for us after DE shaving. We’re too deep into the rabbit hole.

 

[musicman1951]

I only have an educated guess. The Mach 3 has three blades (hey, do you think that's where the name came from?) and every time you pull it across your face you're getting 3 times the potential irritation as a single edge blade.

 

[blade08]

Cartridge razors and foam are mostly frowned upon here but to me that's unfair. The problem is that many here never learned to use them properly.

Foam is nothing but a form of shaving soap packaged in a pressurized can. It should be used mixed with water. Not just slapped on the face straight from the can. And the aerosols only inflate the foam once it comes out of the can. By the time you put it on your face, those gasses have already evaporated so they can't 'dry out the face' as many people claim.

Cartridge razors are a genius invention with the much more rigid blades already positioned at the right angle and the head pivoting so it can follow the contours of your face. No DE can match this. Again, a cartridge razor should be used properly. That is just like a DE, with little to no pressure and just a light touch.

The only reason why I don't use a cartridge razors a lot, is because of the price on the better ones (Mach 3) and the environmental issues with all the waste.

Foam from a can is convenient and good. I use it quite a lot in fact and see no discernable difference between it and any good soap or cream.

Sadly, there's a lot of internet bs surrounding shave foam and cartridge razors but millions and millions of men outside of our little community, get great daily shaves with foam and cartridges so something must right with these products, right??.

 

[Rico Suave]

If you really want to experiment with this stuff I would suggest varying only one thing at a time. Try using canned foam with a DE, or maybe a cart using brush and lather.

I find canned foam works pretty well when properly hydrated, as @blade08 mentioned. Carts also work well, though they are expensive. The multiple blades do remove hair very effectively, but I find them rough on the skin. If I want a super close shave for some reason, one way to get it is to do the first pass(es) with a DE, then a final cleanup pass with a multiblade cart.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Cartridge razors and foam are mostly frowned upon here but to me that's unfair. The problem is that many here never learned to use them properly.

Foam is nothing but a form of shaving soap packaged in a pressurized can. It should be used mixed with water. Not just slapped on the face straight from the can. And the aerosols only inflate the foam once it comes out of the can. By the time you put it on your face, those gasses have already evaporated so they can't 'dry out the face' as many people claim.

Cartridge razors are a genius invention with the much more rigid blades already positioned at the right angle and the head pivoting so it can follow the contours of your face. No DE can match this. Again, a cartridge razor should be used properly. That is just like a DE, with little to no pressure and just a light touch.

The only reason why I don't use a cartridge razors a lot, is because of the price on the better ones (Mach 3) and the environmental issues with all the waste.

Foam from a can is convenient and good. I use it quite a lot in fact and see no discernable difference between it and any good soap or cream.

Sadly, there's a lot of internet bs surrounding shave foam and cartridge razors but millions and millions of men outside of our little community, get great daily shaves with foam and cartridges so something must right with these products, right??.

I had years of successful shaving with various Gillette cartridge razors, starting with the Trac II when I got back from a couple years in Indonesia. I grew a beard while there. I ended up stopping with a Fusion Power and got better than decent shaves with it. I had no desire to find a better way to shave. I used either Edge gel or Gillette Fusion gel, both for sensitive skin. I wouldn't have even tried a DE or AC razor had our youngest son not given me a RR Lupo Aluminum....

I shaved with it once and hated it... I really did, but it prompted me to begin researching DE razors. I was all set on buying an ESC Outlaw. I was about to place the order but I had a few questions and started a dialogue with Brian Mulreany, the then owner of ESC in Scotland. He suggested their Claymore Evolution, released just a few months prior. That's where I started and I've been having a blast ever since. (Feb. 18th, 2022 was my first Claymore Evolution shave)

I did shave with the Fusion Power just a month or so ago, to see if what I've learned over this past 2+ years would translate into a better Fusion Power shave. I'm not sure it did, but I had an OK shave with the Fusion Power... but nowhere as close as what I get with either AC or DE razors. The shave did last for around 8 hours or so... but not the 12 I get with my Top Razors. Still, a respectable shave.

 

[panzerkiller13]

Ok, three years ago I switched to DE shaving and upped my game with artesian soaps and creams. Purchased one nice DE razor and now have a collection. Currently use a birth year Gillette Slim made in 1951 and trying a number of blades. Perfecting my shaving skills and am getting great shaves.

Out of personal interest and experimentation I purchased a Gillette Mach 3 and a can of pressurized foam in a can stuff. First two shaves using the multiblade Mach 3 were pretty good. Began to think DE shaving was not the improvement I thought it was. This morning made my 3rd shave using the Mach 3 and guess what? A few hours later I had severe razor burn/bumps and redness. Looks awful.

Was it the multiblade Mach 3 or the cheap foam in a can or a combination of the two? Whatever, I now know why I went the DE shaving route! I am glad I had this experience to remind me of why DE shaving is superior. My DE shaves are always good with no burns, no bumps and very comfortable.

I learned early on to let the weight of the DE razor do the work. No pressure, just the weight of the Gillette Slim and a nice sharp, smooth blade. I generally use NACET or Feather blades but have never had a bad experience with any DE blade. Just light pressure and a newer blade. I get very close and smooth shaves.

DE shaving works well for me. I am glad I experimented with the Mach 3 and foam in a pressurized can. I will return to DE shaves. I guess each of us learns best by experience.

If you have anything to share or add to this, please provide your view.

It sounds like you need to try using a canned cream with a DE, and a Mach 3 with a lather from a soap of your choice! That way you can positively tell if it's one, both, OR the combination of the two! You've got me wondering now if I have any canned stuff laying around that I can try with my DE

 

[Hugh]

The razor bumps and burn was from the Mach 3 multiblade razor. I am back to the DE shaving.

 

[blade08]

Any bumps or burn, come from not using the razor in the correct manner. Too much pressure, large strokes etc. etc. The type of razor doesn't matter.

Don't believe the internet bs of multiple blades doing the harm. They don't do any harm because it's mostly the first blade that does the cutting. The other 2, 3 or 4 blades are there just so they can increase the price. It's a gimmick but those extra blades don't do any harm.

There is no discernable difference in the shave from a DE or Mach 3 or any other cartridge.

Any bumps or burn don't come from aerosol products either. They work just fine when used properly.

It's not the gear, it's technique.

YMMV.

 

[slimshavy]

Don't believe the internet bs of multiple blades doing the harm. They don't do any harm because it's mostly the first blade that does the cutting. The other 2, 3 or 4 blades are there just so they can increase the price. It's a gimmick but those extra blades don't do any harm.

I'm curious about this. It was my impression when I shaved with two-blade cartridges that the first one did all the work but the second passed over and caught anything the first missed. But that still meant your face experienced twice the wear, twice the time with a sharp blade on your skin.

Now, do you mean to say that, with the five-blade carts, the blades after the first are strictly for show and do not contact the skin at all? Or that quintupling the blade-on-skin time doesn't do any more harm?

Furthermore, and fully facetiously, would it be four times as harmful to be slashed by Freddy as by Jason? I suppose the Schick Quattro is the true reference point for this one.

 

[blade08]

Now, do you mean to say that, with the five-blade carts, the blades after the first are strictly for show and do not contact the skin at all?

Basically, yes. I know because one stroke with a DE and one stroke with Mach 3 with the same lather, prep and everything, yields the exact same closeness of shave.

In other words, with the Mach 3, the exact same amount of stubble gets cut as with a DE under the same circumstances doing a single stroke.

I don't need any Gillette ads or 'marketing science' to tell me that it's not true. I can see it on my face and feel it with my hands.

The 2nd, 3rd, 4th of even 5th blade on a cartridge razor will cut but only if you put a lot of pressure on the razor, but that's bad technique. That's where the rash, burn and bumps come from.

Luckily, Gillette and the other companies have an answer for these problems! They're called overpriced aftershave products....

Multiblade cartridge razors are the invention of marketing departments and they're a gimmick. Still, they work just fine with good technique. They do not work better or worse than a DE. The only valid reasons not to use them are:

1. Price.
2. Environmental issues with all the waste.
3. They're boring, a DE is more fun to use.

In itself, a cartridge razor works just fine. Just like a DE works just fine. Rash, burns and bumps shouldn't be attributed to these razors, but to poor technique.

Lastly but very important. My father will turn 79 in just a few months. He has been using the Gillette Sensor and later the Mach 3 for decades, combined with any cheap foam or gel he can buy in the store. He's an everyday shaver who's getting great daily shaves from his cartridge razor and aerosol products. He's always well groomed and I have never heard him complain.

 

[tejolot3]

The 2nd, 3rd, 4th of even 5th blade on a cartridge razor will cut but only if you put a lot of pressure on the razor, but that's bad technique. That's where the rash, burn and bumps come from.

I haven't shaved with anything but DE in more than a decade, but this rings true to me. (I used to use Mach3.) Whenever I get razor burn or irritation bumps or whatever, it's always because I pressed too hard and/or did way too many strokes chasing BBS. Usually both. If it's true for DE, then my gut tells me it's true for carts too.

 

[slimshavy]

The only valid reasons not to use them are:

Everyone has their reasons and they’re all valid. I’m certainly motivated by price and environmental impact, but I just get better shaves from a DE, even when using sound technique with a cart. Carts tend to rough me up the first shave and then give decent shaves 2 and 3 before failing on shave 4. Even some lower-end DE blades perform better than this for me, and almost never give ingrowns the way carts do.

 

[blade08]

Everyone has their reasons and they’re all valid.

True. I was not trying to be preachy but I think we understand each other.