My Journey towards a BBS dream: W/Photos. (Warning, not for the faint-hearted)

[Attila]

Excellent news! Congrats on the success.

I've often found that a shave done right can actually lessen irritation for me. Especially with my straights.

 

[Snorlax]

So yesterday, I had decided to have a shave even though I still had some minor bumps left.
I was going out to a function and wanted a shave that would be as clean as possible, without inducing further irritation.

While it may seem like the action greatly contradicts the ambition, I was truly surprised that it actually worked much better I my favor than I thought.

My main focus was a nice rich lather, to protect the skin, which took a few attempts but I finally got there. (My forearms were on FIRE)

I used the Gillette 7 O o'clock's this time which seemed better than both the personna medical blues and the Astra SP's.

The overall end result looked great considering I'm still a rookie, but I did have to do a good 4 passes or so on the more difficult to reach areas, where the hairs lie flush with the skin. So much so that it wasn't until I bit the bullet and attempted a couple XTG passes; which got the job done. I'm finding that when I go WTG in those areas the blade doesn't catch the hairs at all.

Anyway, it's a day or so later now and even though I was worried that shaving over irritated skin would end up aggravating the problem, my skin has actually cleared up even more and I have very little itch.

Again.....I can't wait for the next shave. Update video coming soon.

I have been wondering lately that if shaving more often for some people - such as every day for people who shave every other day...etc - could prove beneficial for the skin to acclimate to having a blade on it more often. Your situation MAY imply that such a theory is true.

 

[Pottertons]

I'm loving this ****!!! hahahaha.

Now i'm constantly on the hunt for accessories. My current mission is to find an effective bowl for lathering. The Smooth surface just takes way too long for me.

As for the shaves....Well, i've only done a couple since the last update, but they are getting MUCH better. I'm starting to complete an entire shave, with less strokes, cleaner/closer shave and surprisingly enough...absolutely no irritation whatsoever. Not even an itch.

Of course, they're nothing close to BBS, but with the line being so fine between the different levels of smoothness, i'm quite content with where I currently stand.
My struggle is still with that patch of hair that sits just outside the vertical strip of my goatee. For my last shave i tried a light ATG pass which helped a lot towards evening out the overall, close up appearance.
The Jawline (which was the other VERY coarse area) is coming along nicely as well. Once the shave is done, stubble is only noticed when swiping the hand ATG.

 

[Bumpy Johnson]

Nice bro. Congrats!

What equipment are you using nowadays? Do you think it has made a difference?

 

[Attila]

The best way of getting a closer shave in a certain troublesome area is experimenting with different directions for the stroke. What you think may be going ATG may not be ATG after all... This applied for my right jaw and until I determined the ACTUAL direction of beard growth I never got a true BBS in that area.

Having said that though. Never chase BBS for any area. It will come eventually. If you try hard to get BBS in any certain areas, the irritation could come back and that's not worth it, in my books. I would take a CCS (close comfortable shave) any day over a BBS if it means I have to deal with irritation.

 

[nick_s]

I have to admire the dedication and perseverance you're displaying buddy. I did notice in your video (short of a few sporadic times), you're not (seemingly) keeping your skin taught, which could be contributing to the razor skipping (the vibration). Puffing a little air into your cheek whilst you shave that area could help, stretching out other areas could also help buddy

 

[Attila]

Great tip above. Puffing out your cheeks and keeping the skin pulled taut is paramount.

 

[Pottertons]

Nice bro. Congrats!

What equipment are you using nowadays? Do you think it has made a difference?

- Edwin Jagger DE89 Knurled handle
- Currently going through a blade sampler pack. Most recent ones were Gillette 7 O'Clocks Super Stainless. (best so far by far)
- Proraso Red Cream/Preshave
- Semogue 1800 boar Brush
- And a nice Dollar store bowl.

Do i think it's made a difference?
In all honesty, i'd have to say yes to a degree. The big, main factor in the improved results, is technique and of course the overwhelming support I've been getting directly from this forum as well as the countless amounts of threads that I read on here.
I do believe that the lathering products and blades are better. The can stuff I was using before didn't protect the skin as well at all. With the Proraso, I often have to wonder if the blade is even getting anywhere near the skin as it feels so nice and smooth. Which works in part with the blade. I think i'm going to stick with the sharper ones because they seem to be the only ones that can actually clear-cut the hairs with little to no tugging.

I have to admire the dedication and perseverance you're displaying buddy. I did notice in your video (short of a few sporadic times), you're not (seemingly) keeping your skin taught, which could be contributing to the razor skipping (the vibration). Puffing a little air into your cheek whilst you shave that area could help, stretching out other areas could also help buddy

I'll have to give this a try next time. Up until now i've purposely avoided keeping the skin taut, mainly because of the whole 'cuts under the surface rather than at the surface. But now when i think about it, that reference is for when doing an ATG pass.

I also accomplished another task today. lathering. lol
After watching a few videos on YouTube, I noticed that I was shaking off much to much water after the soaking period. Which resulted in a dry lather, followed by me setting my arm on fire to get something going. Plus a few more droplets of water, on a few more occasions in order to finally get to where i needed to be. We're talking a good 15 minutes here.
For today's practice run, only the excess water was shaken off; and while it did immediately start to produce some suds, they were bubbly. But according to the footage, this was normal and you just keep swirling and swishing for a little longer.
Within about 2 to 2 and a 1/2 minutes, I probably had enough lather to reach handle of the brush while it was sitting loft-down in the bowl.

Another thing I'm noticing is that my hair is taking longer to grow now. Is this simply because my shaves are getting much closer?

Oh and yes, Attila, trust me, i'm taking it easy this time around. Last thing i want is for all of this to end up back to square 1 from 6 years ago.

Thanks for looking out for me people.

 

[nick_s]

I've had days shaving buddy where I get to say 5pm and the shave has been that close that there are literally still patches of BBS here and there, so I wouldn't be surprised if it is the closeness you're noticing

 

[Pottertons]

Nothing specifically to do with actually shaving here. Just something to document the bad as well as the good.

So, a good few days have passed and my question (Why are the hairs growing back so slowly) was officially answered.

They were getting trapped under the skin, and the ingrowns came for a friendly visit. I put it all down to the ATG pass that i did and I thought i'd do a quick random video just for logging purposes so that I can refer to it in the future; or for those who feel that there's no hope in the world that DE shaving is achievable for those prone to ingrowns and such.

Again, not really an information vid, but feel free to comment.

 

[nick_s]

So how's it going [MENTION=19021]Pottertons[/MENTION]? Any more progress or news to share on your journey?

 

[Pottertons]

IT was going quite well, but I have stopped for a good few months now, due to shoulder surgery and rehabilitation. Which is why I have not been on to update this thread.

I'm itching to get back into it though.

Up until the surgery, my main issue was getting a good lather. I watched many a video, read many a blog, article, B&B thread, and yet I still struggle to get a real good coat of lather.
There's a constant need to add more cream because the lather created from my almond size portion, just won't create enough for more than one pass. yet I've seen others do it effortlessly (vs my forearm cramping method) in less time.

As for blade angle and the light handling of the actual razor, I'd have to say that I'm doing ok. It's actually quite shocking how well this works.

I'll be sure to update as soon as I'm back in business. For the present time, the 'Newbies' section is where I've been lurking around.

 

[Pottertons]

the struggle continues. lol

After stopping altogether so that I could focus on rehabbing my shoulder (post surgery) things were up and running again on a less frequent basis about a couple months ago. About a month ago the frequency was picked up to about every 2nd/3rd day and now it's every other day. Things were going great and the bumps were reduced significantly to maybe a small cluster of 5 tiny ones that lurked in and around that difficult area where the neck and under the chin meet. The Rapira Platinum Lux blades were great, almost flawless and would most definitely be if my technique was more nurtured. Unfortunately my experience with the Astra Superior Platinums brought that to an end.
I'd like to put it down to the fact that a transition was made to a different blade. The Astra's didn't seem to cut as effortlessly or as smoothly and because I was reaching for the same result as I had with the Rapira's, some slight pressure was applied along with the need for an additional pass to my usual 2, with one more for touch ups. I thought nothing of it and just figured things would be ok but nope, a couple days later, the little buggers are back in nearly full force around the neck.

I think I'll stop going through my sample pack and order some more Rapiras because they seem to be far more superior (for me) than any of the others so far. (Personna reds/blues, Gillette 7 O'clock SS & Platinum, and a couple others that I can't remember at the moment) I'm still yet to sample the Feathers, Voskhod's and both they Rapira Stainless & super stainless.

The positive thing to take out of all of this is that I know DE shaving works well.

 

[Attila]

Feathers are one of my favorites. Voshkods were always great for me as well. Let us know how they work out for you.

 

[McVeyMac]

I have used the Astras that resulted in making your face a Mogul ski course, and I do like them very much. I also have multiple packs of Feathers that I like very much. I have followed your thread from the beginning as I have always heard that one major benefit of DE shaving is that it can essentially eliminate ingrown hairs for people who are prone to this problem, and that it reduces irritation (Compared to cartridges). Your journey has proven these statements to be correct, but only under a certain set of circumstances. I always knew that there were variances between blades that people liked and didn't like, but if you were to ask me at the beginning of your journey which blade you should start out with, I would have sent you a 5 pack of Astras to try first. Goes to show what I know!

This has been quite a journey for you, and an excellent portrayal of the challenges and setbacks along the way. Thank you for sharing this journey here. I am certain that your experiences will benefit others coming to DE shaving.

 

[Pottertons]

1 more quick point while it's on my mind. From what I vaguely remember, the lather for the Astra shave was not as thick and creamy as it was when I used the Rapira Lux's. There was some bubbling in there and a bit of dripping. Too wet?

 

[McVeyMac]

1 more quick point while it's on my mind. From what I vaguely remember, the lather for the Astra shave was not as thick and creamy as it was when I used the Rapira Lux's. There was some bubbling in there and a bit of dripping. Too wet?

I shave with a straight razor now about 95% of the time, so I tend to make my lather on the wet side as it is more conducive to a straight shave. I typically make it the same way when I do use the DE. I seriously doubt that this is the cause for the difference that you have realized with Astra blades. Usually more water in the lather means extra slickness for longer. For whatever the reason, I think that the ASTRA blades create extra irritation to your skin compared to the Rapira Lux given the same technique. This irritation causes some swelling which results in the ingrown hairs. I am just fortunate not to have this same problem. My skin is not overly sensitive, and I am not prone to ingrown hairs. I will say that most of my DE shaves are more irritating than my straight razor shaves, even if I add an extra XTG pass with the straight. Once you have nailed the DE shave (blade/technique) so that it gives you repeatedly acceptable results, you might want to consider going down the straight razor rabbit hole. It has a very steep learning curve, so be prepared to invest 100 or so shaves before you consistently exceed what you are able to achieve with a DE. There are also other considerations such as razor maintenance, etc. But it might be a solution for overly sensitive skin such as yours.

 

[Pottertons]

Still at it and things are going pretty good. I've come to find that a pre-shave oil helps with the protection of my skin and I've finally figured out the PROPER mapping of my beard under my chin and neck; which was all over the place it seemed.
I still feel that the EJDE89 may be a bit too mild for the outcome I'm hoping for. So after convincing my self that a slightly more aggressive razor would be ideal, I ordered a Rockwell 6s that just arrived a few days ago. Once I give it a shot I'll get some updated photos posted up or maybe an update video.

There's still, some way to go, but after making a few tweaks here and there, I'm definitely noticing some improvement.

The Journey continues....