And it all started so well - HELP

[bazmaz]

Hi folks - only the other day was posting at how pleased I was with a BBS and no nicks or rash, but it went downhill this evening.

I moved to a DE shave about 4 or 5 days ago, and have shaved daily since. I came to this with a ragged neck from years of carts and electrics, so on day one, only two passes with and across the grain.

Days 2, 3 and 4 I did three pass shaves, all with identical prep as follows

1. Hot shower - scrub face, badger brush soaking in hot water.
2. Lather nice and thick with Taylors shave cream.
3. 3 Pass shave with a Personna blade on first two days, and a Wilkinson Sword to test on the third as follows - first pass all down, second sideways out from nose, third up from neck (I followed this from a helpful YT vid)

In each shave I had no rash, no stubble and was, frankly staggered - it worked for me.

Tonight - shave two with the Wilkinson Sword blade, and my lower neck is ravaged, nicked and burning. Shaving exactly same way, virtually no pressure on my Merkur 38c razor - what on earth is different?

Could it be 1 - the WS blade not being for me beyond one shave (it is certainly closer for me than the Personna and was great on day 1). If this is consensus, I care little as I have a sampler set to work through and this was blade choice two

2 - That I shouldnt do a three pass shave every day - perhaps alternate with a two pass shave?

Hope you can offer suggestions

[djh]

After less than a week at DE shaving, your technique is still developing. I'm not going to call your early results beginner's luck but it sounds as if you were blessed. In your shaving robe, I would back off a little and make do with a 2-pass shave each day whilst allowing my technique to improve. Two passes (WTG and XTG) should get you more than close enough for the time being and will drastically reduce the chances of irritation.
I would suggest that you perhaps did yourself a little damage on the first day with your new WS blade and then seriously aggravated the situation on your next shave. Maybe the blade is not for you- or perhaps it will be fine next time around.
Take it easy and don't press for results- just trying to shave without irritation and nicks brings a reward.

[Akarui]

Hi folks - only the other day was posting at how pleased I was with a BBS and no nicks or rash, but it went downhill this evening.

I moved to a DE shave about 4 or 5 days ago, and have shaved daily since. I came to this with a ragged neck from years of carts and electrics, so on day one, only two passes with and across the grain.

Days 2, 3 and 4 I did three pass shaves, all with identical prep as follows

1. Hot shower - scrub face, badger brush soaking in hot water.
2. Lather nice and thick with Taylors shave cream.
3. 3 Pass shave with a Personna blade on first two days, and a Wilkinson Sword to test on the third as follows - first pass all down, second sideways out from nose, third up from neck (I followed this from a helpful YT vid)

In each shave I had no rash, no stubble and was, frankly staggered - it worked for me.

Tonight - shave two with the Wilkinson Sword blade, and my lower neck is ravaged, nicked and burning. Shaving exactly same way, virtually no pressure on my Merkur 38c razor - what on earth is different?

Could it be 1 - the WS blade not being for me beyond one shave (it is certainly closer for me than the Personna and was great on day 1). If this is consensus, I care little as I have a sampler set to work through and this was blade choice two

2 - That I shouldnt do a three pass shave every day - perhaps alternate with a two pass shave?

Hope you can offer suggestions

The same thing happened to me. I'm going to tell you that IMHO it is most likely over confidence. Those earlier shaves you had a healthy respect for the blade and did shave slower but as you have become more comfortable you have sped up your shave, we all do/did it. The end result is the shave your sporting right now.

The good news: now you are more likely to take your time, your healthy respect for the blade is back. I'm betting your next few shaves will be good. However if your next shave is as poor as this last you may want to switch to a 2:1 or 1:1 shave ratio 2 on 1 off or 1 on 1 off as your face may need time between shaves to recover.

[stevodevo]

The same thing happened to me. I'm going to tell you that IMHO it is most likely over confidence. Those earlier shaves you had a healthy respect for the blade and did shave slower but as you have become more comfortable you have sped up your shave, we all do/did it. The end result is the shave your sporting right now.

The good news: now you are more likely to take your time, your healthy respect for the blade is back. I'm betting your next few shaves will be good. However if your next shave is as poor as this last you may want to switch to a 2:1 or 1:1 shave ration 2 on 1 off or 1 on 1 off as your face may need time between shaves to recover.

+1 on this... I did it too.

[Kludt]

Just take it easy and heal up, then pay attention to your technique in the problem area. The blade may not be the one for you, but I would at least put another one in of the same brand and keep everything else the same. If you end up with the same results then you know its not the one for you. When testing blades out you should try a few of them to make sure you didn't just get a bad blade.

[Arnoud]

Your story sounds all too familiar. Most of us start off careful, find out things go well and get cocky. Even if we think we don't.
Whatever you do, don't toss the Wilkinsons yet. Try another blade for a while and come back to the WS in a couple of weeks or even months. There's half a pack of Merkurs and another half of Feathers waiting for me to improve my shaves.

[bazmaz]

Thanks all - I am sure the common response is probably right - you guys have the experience, not me. I felt I was being careful, as one of the side benefits from this method of shaving is I am really enjoying the peace and "my time" it brings. - Maybe you are right though - over exuberance!

RE the taking a day off - not really possible with my growth and needing to be clean shaven for work, after one day I look too stubbly.

My shave pattern is basically a three pass, and is no bother anywhere except extreme lower neck.

May give the WS a two pass chance again tomorrow, but as I say, I have a sampler pack, so may try a middle ground blade (Astra perhaps?) and go with a couple of days of two passes? The Personna, gave me no irritation at all, but left me quite bristly after three passes.

On a brighter note - the burn has died down and my face right now feels BBS.

Thanks for advice - will take care tomorrow - may actually stick with three passes on cheeks and moustache / chin - as never been irritated there, but take it easy on the neck for a while.

[Eric V]

Well, now you know! Proceed with caution! Lots of great advice above!

[T_M]

If you can get away with it, I would take a couple of days off from shaving. This will server two purposes - you will heal up and you will have an easier-to-see beard growth to map.

Mapping your beard is really important - I would bet that your first pass on the neck is actually XTG, second is WTG. At one point I had almost the same shave sequence as you and an irritated neck. Once you actually look at the directions your beard grows you can really start doing WTG, XTG then ATG passes.

These days I start with the base of my neck (the lower 1/3) and shave up (wtg!, I was surprised). Then I do the cheeks, jaw and upper neck down (wtg with a little xtg). Second pass is ear-to-nose on cheeks (xtg) and upwards on lower & upper neck/jaw (mostly xtg, some wtg). Third pass is atg - up on cheeks, ear to nose on jaw/upper neck and down on mid/lower neck. All that remains is usually a little cleanup on the jaw and around the goatee.

Sounds complex, but it's really not - but it does illustrate how my beard grows in all different directions. It has improved the comfort of my shave and the appearance of my neck quite a bit though. You might want to see what your beard really does and consider going with something similar. It's worth it!

Good Luck!

------T_M

[bazmaz]

All good advice

Didnt shave last night as planned to give slight rest, but stubble annoying me this morning so just shaved again with the WS blade.

Took much more care, and adapted my passes to take note of the stubble growth, still finishing with an ATG pass at the end.

Much much better. No sore neck, one very minor weeper, nothing else and back to BBS!

Thanks everyone.

[hatmpita]

Really good advice! Can't comment further than that! I shave 1 on and 1 off to let my face, mainly my neck, recover. If I shave every day I find by the end of the week I 'm suffering from irritation. Good luck and hang in there! :thumbup1:
The same thing happened to me. I'm going to tell you that IMHO it is most likely over confidence. Those earlier shaves you had a healthy respect for the blade and did shave slower but as you have become more comfortable you have sped up your shave, we all do/did it. The end result is the shave your sporting right now.

The good news: now you are more likely to take your time, your healthy respect for the blade is back. I'm betting your next few shaves will be good. However if your next shave is as poor as this last you may want to switch to a 2:1 or 1:1 shave ratio 2 on 1 off or 1 on 1 off as your face may need time between shaves to recover.

[gzk]

Another vote for overconfidence. Didn't think I was pressing, but by comparison to the results I got when I renewed my habit of repeating "no pressure, no pressue" in my head, turns out I was.

[bazmaz]

Agreed - light touch, taking VERY good care is a mantra for every noob. Loved my shave this morning. Super smooth and no rash. Just calmed it all down a little!

[Akarui]

All good advice

Didnt shave last night as planned to give slight rest, but stubble annoying me this morning so just shaved again with the WS blade.

Took much more care, and adapted my passes to take note of the stubble growth, still finishing with an ATG pass at the end.

Much much better. No sore neck, one very minor weeper, nothing else and back to BBS!

Thanks everyone.

Glad to hear it man. Also don't worry the confidence will come back... and your razor will put you back in your place... mine does.

[mlp2147]

Glad to hear ya had better results. Stick with it.... it'll come around for sure.

[395migeon]

I've been there too. The irriation and razor burn that I thought was due to bad blades was really due to bad technique and thinking I was too good too soon. I am a visual learner. I physically looked at my razor (Muhle R 101) and studied how the blade exited the head. I looked at the angle of the razor that I needed to keep the blade parallel with my face. Wow!! what a difference that made for me. I make sure I maintain that angle and now I get a BBS shave without any nicks, cuts or scrapes. My validation is my post-shave alum bar application. No more stinging. I am going back through all those "bad" blades and seeing that they weren't that bad in the first place.

[nortac]

+1 for the Alum Block and I would add Witch Hazel and some sort of soothing ASB, such as Nivea for sensitive skin. Use them even if you don't feel irritated, it will pay off. Welcome to B&B!

[GFreg]

The same thing happened to me. I'm going to tell you that IMHO it is most likely over confidence. Those earlier shaves you had a healthy respect for the blade and did shave slower but as you have become more comfortable you have sped up your shave, we all do/did it. The end result is the shave your sporting right now.

The good news: now you are more likely to take your time, your healthy respect for the blade is back. I'm betting your next few shaves will be good. However if your next shave is as poor as this last you may want to switch to a 2:1 or 1:1 shave ratio 2 on 1 off or 1 on 1 off as your face may need time between shaves to recover.

I think we have all been here at one point.