Hi everyone, I'm newly registered here, but have been searching posts on B&B for at least 3-4 months now. I started wet shaving in November (almost 6 months now) after my brother got me a Merkur 23C (or 180) long handle and some CO Bigelow shave cream. I was hooked instantly. Since then I've bought a shave brush, tried a few different shave creams, and all of the blades in my sampler pack that I got from Amazon.
Even though I've been wet shaving for a while, I still get irritation, and am convinced its technique. In 6 months, I can count the number of irritation free shaves on one hand. So I know its possible with my equipment, just not consistent. I've asked my wife for an EJ 89 for my birthday in 3 weeks, and I'm hoping it has better balance than the 23C. I feel like the 23C is not head heavy enough and I lose the blade angle easily. The EJ also comes with Derby blades which I've been wanting to try.
I recently started holding the razor high up on the handle (the balance point is about 3/4" below the head) which allowed me to apply very little pressure and have noticed a huge reduction in irritation, but there's still some irritation and I still lose the blade angle if I don't apply some pressure. If I hold the razor tight to maintain the blade angle, then I start applying too much pressure and get irritation. I really like the Astra SP blades and I thought I liked Crystals (IPs), but when I made the switch to very little pressure, they tugged a bunch. So now I'm only using Astra and Personna Labs, anything else and I get lots of tugging on the first pass (Shark SC, Red IPs, Crystal, Astra SS (horrible), Sharp, etc).
So here's my routine:
1. Shower and wash face first (soaking my brush in a mug)
2. Bowl lather Kiss My Face (mint flavor) with badger brush
3. Merkur 23C with Astra SP or Personna Labs
4. 3 passes, WTG, XTG ear to chin, XTG/ATG chin to ear (growth is all north to south)
5. Cold water rinse, towel dry, and Neutrogena Razor Defense shave lotion (Just started using witch hazel this week before the Neutrogena, lets see how that works).
I've read countless posts on good blade angle and no (very little) pressure, but I'm still not getting that complete irritation free shave that everyone talks about and I feel like if I don't apply pressure the blade won't go anywhere ( or just scrape the skin). Am I missing something or is it my razor?
I'm definitely getting the EJ because one of the things that drives me crazy about my Merkur is half the time the blade does not align properly, and one side feels like there's no blade in it. I found the consensus to be a Merkur issue or quality.
Thanks in advance
Joe
Even though I've been wet shaving for a while, I still get irritation, and am convinced its technique. In 6 months, I can count the number of irritation free shaves on one hand. So I know its possible with my equipment, just not consistent. I've asked my wife for an EJ 89 for my birthday in 3 weeks, and I'm hoping it has better balance than the 23C. I feel like the 23C is not head heavy enough and I lose the blade angle easily. The EJ also comes with Derby blades which I've been wanting to try.
I recently started holding the razor high up on the handle (the balance point is about 3/4" below the head) which allowed me to apply very little pressure and have noticed a huge reduction in irritation, but there's still some irritation and I still lose the blade angle if I don't apply some pressure. If I hold the razor tight to maintain the blade angle, then I start applying too much pressure and get irritation. I really like the Astra SP blades and I thought I liked Crystals (IPs), but when I made the switch to very little pressure, they tugged a bunch. So now I'm only using Astra and Personna Labs, anything else and I get lots of tugging on the first pass (Shark SC, Red IPs, Crystal, Astra SS (horrible), Sharp, etc).
So here's my routine:
1. Shower and wash face first (soaking my brush in a mug)
2. Bowl lather Kiss My Face (mint flavor) with badger brush
3. Merkur 23C with Astra SP or Personna Labs
4. 3 passes, WTG, XTG ear to chin, XTG/ATG chin to ear (growth is all north to south)
5. Cold water rinse, towel dry, and Neutrogena Razor Defense shave lotion (Just started using witch hazel this week before the Neutrogena, lets see how that works).
I've read countless posts on good blade angle and no (very little) pressure, but I'm still not getting that complete irritation free shave that everyone talks about and I feel like if I don't apply pressure the blade won't go anywhere ( or just scrape the skin). Am I missing something or is it my razor?
I'm definitely getting the EJ because one of the things that drives me crazy about my Merkur is half the time the blade does not align properly, and one side feels like there's no blade in it. I found the consensus to be a Merkur issue or quality.
Thanks in advance
Joe