Young man needing guidance.

[Nomad116]

Hey everyone, obviously I'm new and I'm looking for possibly a new Shaving cream. I'm Haitian (or Black Caribbean for those unaware) and from my time Shaving I've had bad razor burn. I left my dad's way of using Gillette multi-blades, and decided to go unto DE to help reduce razor burns and bumps. Sadly since my dad doesn't use DE and my grandpa passed and my older brother uses electric, I've been on my own. The products I have are as follows.

Weishi long handle black chrome
-Morrocan argan oil (use pre shave)
-Nivea for Men sensitive shaving gel
-A small metal bowl and brush (I forgot what they were as they were a gift, but the brush's hairs will fall off when whipping the gel a bit).
-Nivea men's after shave hydrate
-Thayer's witch hazel-Cucumber

After some practice for about over a month, I am still getting Razor bumps, and after looking at some topics convos (not all mind you), I thought about getting these in the near future.

-Taylor of old Bond street sandalwood shaving cream.
-African Black Soap Shea butter shaving cream.
-Miusco Badger Hair Shaving Brush and Shaving Stand Set.

I am still looking into affordable products such as preshave oils, and potential razorblades, but I bought a sample set with well known blades such as; Platinum, Astra, Feather, Shark blade chrome, Gillette 7 o'clock. I am liking Gillette, however I am still getting razor bumps and minor burns so I'm taking the time to make sure I perfect my form to weed out in making sure it's the product and not myself, but I still have ways to do. I went from changing my grip from close to the top to just the tip of the handle and letting the razor glide. Trying to get a good lather, however I think I may require a different product such as one of the creams I am planning to buy.
I make sure to shave after a shower or soak my face for about 3-5 minutes in warm water, and when putting on the shaving gel, I make sure it is there for about 1-3 minutes. I use to make 3-4 passes, and have went down to 2-3, and once again because of my time lurking here (before I registered), I came to just shaving with 1 pass and just minor touch ups (I soap up the missed spots after I am completely done). I have come to accept that rather than aiming for BBS (You guys have a forum for all the abbreviations by the way?) to just go for the reduced hair.
I went form with grain, across, and against, to just with and across when doing touch ups. Just yesterday I saw a post of someone saying to use a cotton ball to find where my grain directs, and it's been very helpful with finding the grain as I see that my ride side is actually different from my left in terms of direction. I've also come to see that my left side get more bumps and burns than my right (I'm left handed) so I've deduced it to probably the possible force I'm applying (if any, but I don't want to leave it out due to stubbornness), or that I'm not going according to the grain.
In the coming months I hope to probably purchase another razor as the Weishi from the reviews is deemed (good for beginners). Seems Merkur 34c is what the kids on the blog are talking about (I'm 22...). I have made many mistakes, and hope to learn from mine as well as your so that I may not do the same. I hope that you can provide any possible feedback for me, as I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[ackvil]

Welcome to B&B. Take a look at this thread for some guidance.

 

[GearNoir]

Welcome on!

Keep at it! There is a wealth of information and good folks here to help. Sorry I can’t speak to your specific situation, but I’m sure someone will chime in!

 

[Jer78]

Hey @Nomad116 it sounds like you making progress. Beard mapping (the cotton ball thing) can be helpful, and especially if your grain is different on each side. Well done. Regarding the ingrowns, find an exfoliant that works for you. And pay attention to any changes you make that result in less irritation.

All the best, JM

 

[Nomad116]

Welcome on!

Keep at it! There is a wealth of information and good folks here to help. Sorry I can’t speak to your specific situation, but I’m sure someone will chime in!

Welcome on!

Keep at it! There is a wealth of information and good folks here to help. Sorry I can’t speak to your specific situation, but I’m sure someone will chime in!

Thanks a bunch! If you can give your two cents on if witch hazel can be a used as after shave? Because I put it on after Shaving, and then put on the Nivea after shave.

 

[Nomad116]

Hey @Nomad116 it sounds like you making progress. Beard mapping (the cotton ball thing) can be helpful, and especially if your grain is different on each side. Well done. Regarding the ingrowns, find an exfoliant that works for you. And pay attention to any changes you make that result in less irritation.

All the best, JM

I need help with exfoliating. I just learned on a post suggested by the contributor that using a loofah on my face isn't a food idea. I just soap my face with water and let the soap sit for a minute and wash it off and keep bathing until I get out to prep for a shave.

 

[GearNoir]

Thanks a bunch! If you can give your two cents on if witch hazel can be a used as after shave? Because I put it on after Shaving, and then put on the Nivea after shave.

Yes, witchhazel helps many folks here, they usually add it into something else because of the smell. I don’t use it personally unless it happens to be included already in my AS.

 

[ZigZiglar]

S'ak pase?! I think you're on the right track. It just takes time. I will say that after some time, you'll experience much better post shave results. Hang in there and be patient. These gents have a lot of combined knowledge.

 

[davent]

Thanks a bunch! If you can give your two cents on if witch hazel can be a used as after shave? Because I put it on after Shaving, and then put on the Nivea after shave.

That's similar to what i've been doing for a few years, i'll also use alum prior to the Thayers but that may or may not be needed. I put the balm on after the Thayers has had a couple of minutes to evaporate and then i'm done.
dave

 

[ZigZiglar]

Thayers is my main aftershave.

 

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to the forum !!

 

[Nomad116]

Thayers is my main aftershave.

Awe really? I'll make sure to continue using it, as it's seem to reduce the bumps.

 

[Jer78]

Exfoliation is definitely a YMMV thing that some consider contraverial. But bottom line is in you have chronic razor burn or bumps, and if those contain ingrowns then you should do something to release those hairs.

There a a number of ways to go about this:

Acid based
Face wash - (Neutrogena, ect)
Ingrown hair treatments (Clubman club mend, the cool fix)

Mechanical
Think face wash with scrubby prices in it that act a bit like sandpaper to remove a bit of skin.
Mantic59 suggested using an old toothbrush to releive ingrowns.
Others have used a boar hair hairbrush or shoe polishing brush.

It is really up to you to find what works. Just pay attention to what helps release the ingrowns and remove the bumps, while not irritating your skin. You have to find the sweet spot.

I found most of the above to be either not effective, or too harsh. What works best for me is needle nose tweezers. I seem to be able to rub the side of the tweezers over the ingrown, and release it. Just a really cheap pair from the drugstore. The other thing for me was I had dry skin on my neck that made the razor jump, Cerave moisturizer from Wal Mart is cheap and fantastic at repairing and protecting my skin.

Of course, continued technique and finding the products that work for you will help to avoid all the ingrowns in the first place, so over time you will work this all out anyway. Keep us posted, JM.

 

[Nomad116]

S'ak pase?! I think you're on the right track. It just takes time. I will say that after some time, you'll experience much better post shave results. Hang in there and be patient. These gents have a lot of combined knowledge.

Map boule! Im gonna enjoy this place. Thanks for being so welcoming.

 

[Nomad116]

Exfoliation is definitely a YMMV thing that some consider contraverial. But bottom line is in you have chronic razor burn or bumps, and if those contain ingrowns then you should do something to release those hairs.

There a a number of ways to go about this:

Acid based
Face wash - (Neutrogena, ect)
Ingrown hair treatments (Clubman club mend, the cool fix)

Mechanical
Think face wash with scrubby prices in it that act a bit like sandpaper to remove a bit of skin.
Mantic59 suggested using an old toothbrush to releive ingrowns.
Others have used a boar hair hairbrush or shoe polishing brush.

It is really up to you to find what works. Just pay attention to what helps release the ingrowns and remove the bumps, while not irritating your skin. You have to find the sweet spot.

I found most of the above to be either not effective, or too harsh. What works best for me is needle nose tweezers. I seem to be able to rub the side of the tweezers over the ingrown, and release it. Just a really cheap pair from the drugstore. The other thing for me was I had dry skin on my neck that made the razor jump, Cerave moisturizer from Wal Mart is cheap and fantastic at repairing and protecting my skin.

Of course, continued technique and finding the products that work for you will help to avoid all the ingrowns in the first place, so over time you will work this all out anyway. Keep us posted, JM.

I was thinking about getting tweezers for the ingrown actually. But I though I had to literally get under the hair and individually pull them out. You're referring to using the tweezer's flat side to rub against your skin which will release some?

 

[Dick peck]

Not sure if you shave every day.i had to back off and shave every other day. Basically give my skin time to settle. Also night time shave so I wouldn't hurry. I think you are on the right track for no BBS just yet. I do a hot towel then cold splash. Then witch hazel followed by aftershave splash . Finish with a aftershave balm. That's at night. Then in the morning after a hot towel I do splash then balm.its all about experimenting at the beginning. Good luck

 

[Jer78]

I was thinking about getting tweezers for the ingrown actually. But I though I had to literally get under the hair and individually pull them out. You're referring to using the tweezer's flat side to rub against your skin which will release some?

Yes that's right. You know when you pull your skin and the hairs stand up? I do that, then lightly rub the skin ATG with the side of the tweezers and in most cases it pops the hair out. Once in a while I use the actual pointed end to lightly "scrape" the hair slightly to get it out.

 

[sandstone]

Welcome to the forum! I would say that you have an excellent grasp of the fundamentals of DE shaving and that you can expect steady improvement with practice and experience.

ps - HERE is a list of abbreviations and acronyms used on B&B.

 

[Invicta]

Welcome to B&B. Finding the blade that suits you can also help in alleviating razor bumps.

 

[Nomad116]

Not sure if you shave every day.i had to back off and shave every other day. Basically give my skin time to settle. Also night time shave so I wouldn't hurry. I think you are on the right track for no BBS just yet. I do a hot towel then cold splash. Then witch hazel followed by aftershave splash . Finish with a aftershave balm. That's at night. Then in the morning after a hot towel I do splash then balm.its all about experimenting at the beginning. Good luck

I did at first, because I enjoyed Shaving that much, but the bumps were coming in so I had to do every three days, and then it came to the standard every other day. I'll do everyday when I see that my face can take it, cause when I shave it's become something that I honestly enjoy.

I'm confused with your statement on aftershave splash and balm along with the witch hazel. Is there a difference between them and if so, then what?