ralph86
05-25-2011, 09:27 AM
Hello all,
So, I recently acquired a brand new Merkur Hefty Classic, badger brush, blade sampler back, shaving soap, as well as other assorted odds and ends, and I finally worked up the guts to give it a whirl. I think I was either expecting the best shave of my life or a complete, unmitigated disaster. But here I am, three days after my shave, and my razor burn looks about the same as usual - that is to say, not horrendous...but pretty bad.
I recently took to growing a beard again, which is not particularly helpful in that my neck is my biggest problem area when it comes to razor burn, but it is good I suppose in that it allows me to practice shaving on a smaller area while I get used to using the new razor.
In any case, I'm going to describe what I did during my shave, and then I have a few burning questions (pardon the pun) which hopefully I can get cleared up soon (was that another pun?)
The Shave
-First of all, love the razor. Love the feel of it. Love the look of it. Love the badger brush. Love the smell of the soap. Love creating the lather. Love the feel of the lathered brush on my face. There really is something so appealing and comforting about these products and this process, and I'm really hoping that one day I'll figure things out...
-Anyway I had a brief hot shower. Boiled some water and poured it into the bathroom sink; then poured in some cold and some hot water to dilute the water in the sink so that it wasn't scalding hot. Put the brush into the sink and let it soak. Created some lather in a decent sized cereal bowl. Swirled the lather onto my neck with the brush. Got a washcloth, soaked it in hot water, and put it over top of the lather on my neck. Repeated this a few times for a minute or so. Splashed some more hot water on my face.
-Re-lathered my neck. I think my lather was decent - at least it looked okay to me. Not too frothy and not too bubbly. For all I know it could have been complete shit, but I have a feeling that my problems lie elsewhere (which I will get to soon).
-Grabbed the razor. I used a Derby blade. Started out at the edges of my neck, where the hair isn't too thick. This seemed to go well - the hair seemed to slide off my neck relatively easily. I tried to use as little pressure as possible, but I'm sure I still used a bit too much. Then I moved on to the middle of my neck and shaved the remainder of the hair on my neck. Here I'm positive I used too much pressure. I know that I still have bad habits from my time using a cartridge razor, and I kind of forgot about the whole reduction-not-elimination thing. I think I have a tendency to shave a bit too fast, too. Anyway, after one N-S pass, my neck was finished. I hadn't shaved in a week, so the hair had been at a decent length prior to the shave. There was only one tiny cut on my neck and a few stray hairs, which I used tweezers to remove.
-After this I splashed cold water on myself, rubbed an alum block on my neck. Rinsed that off and applied some of the new bump patrol aftershave (which I also bought recently and which certainly didn't seem to help...I had tons of bumps this week). Patted my face dry and I was done.
Anyway...
The Questions
1) Like I said, I decided to do only one N-S pass on my neck. I will admit that the whole concept of grain direction does leave me a little bit bewildered. I understand in general how to determine which direction the hair grows on my neck, but my problem is that it seems like by and large, my neck is a complete mess of hairs going all over the place. So I figured that rather than exhaust myself mentally on my first shave trying to shave in a dozen different directions, I'd just keep it simple while I'm getting used to the razor. Also, I have watched several different videos on youtube of men wet shaving (including one by mantic) and in each of these videos, the gent in question just seems to shave N-S on his neck for the first pass. This confuses me because there is so much stress on this website about the necessity of shaving WTG on the first pass. But I thought I'd give it a shot, just for starters. In any case, I'm still a bit confused in regards to grain direction - my hair does seem to grow in a general direction at a few different points on my neck. When it comes to shaving WTG, am I to take that to mean shaving in the direction that MOST hairs in a given part of my face grow? Because on numerous parts of my face there are a few hairs here and there just completely doing their own thing, marching to the beat of their own annoying little drums. If I truly went out of my way to shave WTG in every possible place, I honestly feel like I'd be shaving in five different directions on my neck alone. Add an XTG and an ATG pass and this means that I'd be shaving in 15 different directions(!), doesn't it? Maybe I'm over complicating the issue, but some clarification here would be much appreciated.
2) Okay, razor burn. It's driving me nuts and frustrating me more and more with each passing week. That I get. Here's what I don't get. On numerous websites I have read something like, "if you shave and you get razor burn, wait a day or two before you shave again." Well that's all well and good, but when I get razor burn, it lasts for at least a week, usually closer to two. Usually it takes about two days to appear, at which point it gets gradually worse for three or four days. About a week/a week and a half after I shave, I still have significant redness/irritation/razor bumps/scabbing - not horrifically severe or anything, but significant. So how does this work in regards to when/how often I should shave? I don't want to shave over top of existing razor burn, because I imagine that this will potentially aggravate what's already there...but is one-and-a-half/two weeks worth of hair growth an appropriate amount to shave with a DE razor? How much hair is too much hair? What is the ideal thing for me to do in this situation?
3) I will admit that I have a tendency to pick at razor bumps - they are rather unsightly, after all. But I feel like even when I just ignore the razor burn and don't touch my neck, it takes a really long time to go away. Is it even normal that I have razor burn for so long after every shave? Am I missing something here? And in regards to razor bumps, what is the appropriate method of dealing with them, if I'm not supposed to pick at them?
4) Finally, I used a Derby, and I know that the general consensus here seems to be that beginners should try not to constantly change parts of their shaving regimen during the learning stage, but should I perhaps switch to a sharper blade right off the bat? I have Sharks and Astras as well. I know that it may be a bit hasty, but I was wondering if it makes sense because a) I have a very thick, coarse, and curly beard, and b) based on the aforementioned points I made about my razor burn, it seems like maybe it would be ideal for me to wait a week or so between shaves, meaning that the hair will be at a pretty decent length.
Anyway this post is becoming increasingly long-winded and convoluted, and I think that my frustration is beginning to seep through, so I'm gonna peace out. Everyone here has been incredibly helpful and friendly so far, so I just want to say thanks for all of your help, past, present, and future. In any case, some insight into any or all of my quandaries would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
All the best,
-Ralph
So, I recently acquired a brand new Merkur Hefty Classic, badger brush, blade sampler back, shaving soap, as well as other assorted odds and ends, and I finally worked up the guts to give it a whirl. I think I was either expecting the best shave of my life or a complete, unmitigated disaster. But here I am, three days after my shave, and my razor burn looks about the same as usual - that is to say, not horrendous...but pretty bad.
I recently took to growing a beard again, which is not particularly helpful in that my neck is my biggest problem area when it comes to razor burn, but it is good I suppose in that it allows me to practice shaving on a smaller area while I get used to using the new razor.
In any case, I'm going to describe what I did during my shave, and then I have a few burning questions (pardon the pun) which hopefully I can get cleared up soon (was that another pun?)
The Shave
-First of all, love the razor. Love the feel of it. Love the look of it. Love the badger brush. Love the smell of the soap. Love creating the lather. Love the feel of the lathered brush on my face. There really is something so appealing and comforting about these products and this process, and I'm really hoping that one day I'll figure things out...
-Anyway I had a brief hot shower. Boiled some water and poured it into the bathroom sink; then poured in some cold and some hot water to dilute the water in the sink so that it wasn't scalding hot. Put the brush into the sink and let it soak. Created some lather in a decent sized cereal bowl. Swirled the lather onto my neck with the brush. Got a washcloth, soaked it in hot water, and put it over top of the lather on my neck. Repeated this a few times for a minute or so. Splashed some more hot water on my face.
-Re-lathered my neck. I think my lather was decent - at least it looked okay to me. Not too frothy and not too bubbly. For all I know it could have been complete shit, but I have a feeling that my problems lie elsewhere (which I will get to soon).
-Grabbed the razor. I used a Derby blade. Started out at the edges of my neck, where the hair isn't too thick. This seemed to go well - the hair seemed to slide off my neck relatively easily. I tried to use as little pressure as possible, but I'm sure I still used a bit too much. Then I moved on to the middle of my neck and shaved the remainder of the hair on my neck. Here I'm positive I used too much pressure. I know that I still have bad habits from my time using a cartridge razor, and I kind of forgot about the whole reduction-not-elimination thing. I think I have a tendency to shave a bit too fast, too. Anyway, after one N-S pass, my neck was finished. I hadn't shaved in a week, so the hair had been at a decent length prior to the shave. There was only one tiny cut on my neck and a few stray hairs, which I used tweezers to remove.
-After this I splashed cold water on myself, rubbed an alum block on my neck. Rinsed that off and applied some of the new bump patrol aftershave (which I also bought recently and which certainly didn't seem to help...I had tons of bumps this week). Patted my face dry and I was done.
Anyway...
The Questions
1) Like I said, I decided to do only one N-S pass on my neck. I will admit that the whole concept of grain direction does leave me a little bit bewildered. I understand in general how to determine which direction the hair grows on my neck, but my problem is that it seems like by and large, my neck is a complete mess of hairs going all over the place. So I figured that rather than exhaust myself mentally on my first shave trying to shave in a dozen different directions, I'd just keep it simple while I'm getting used to the razor. Also, I have watched several different videos on youtube of men wet shaving (including one by mantic) and in each of these videos, the gent in question just seems to shave N-S on his neck for the first pass. This confuses me because there is so much stress on this website about the necessity of shaving WTG on the first pass. But I thought I'd give it a shot, just for starters. In any case, I'm still a bit confused in regards to grain direction - my hair does seem to grow in a general direction at a few different points on my neck. When it comes to shaving WTG, am I to take that to mean shaving in the direction that MOST hairs in a given part of my face grow? Because on numerous parts of my face there are a few hairs here and there just completely doing their own thing, marching to the beat of their own annoying little drums. If I truly went out of my way to shave WTG in every possible place, I honestly feel like I'd be shaving in five different directions on my neck alone. Add an XTG and an ATG pass and this means that I'd be shaving in 15 different directions(!), doesn't it? Maybe I'm over complicating the issue, but some clarification here would be much appreciated.
2) Okay, razor burn. It's driving me nuts and frustrating me more and more with each passing week. That I get. Here's what I don't get. On numerous websites I have read something like, "if you shave and you get razor burn, wait a day or two before you shave again." Well that's all well and good, but when I get razor burn, it lasts for at least a week, usually closer to two. Usually it takes about two days to appear, at which point it gets gradually worse for three or four days. About a week/a week and a half after I shave, I still have significant redness/irritation/razor bumps/scabbing - not horrifically severe or anything, but significant. So how does this work in regards to when/how often I should shave? I don't want to shave over top of existing razor burn, because I imagine that this will potentially aggravate what's already there...but is one-and-a-half/two weeks worth of hair growth an appropriate amount to shave with a DE razor? How much hair is too much hair? What is the ideal thing for me to do in this situation?
3) I will admit that I have a tendency to pick at razor bumps - they are rather unsightly, after all. But I feel like even when I just ignore the razor burn and don't touch my neck, it takes a really long time to go away. Is it even normal that I have razor burn for so long after every shave? Am I missing something here? And in regards to razor bumps, what is the appropriate method of dealing with them, if I'm not supposed to pick at them?
4) Finally, I used a Derby, and I know that the general consensus here seems to be that beginners should try not to constantly change parts of their shaving regimen during the learning stage, but should I perhaps switch to a sharper blade right off the bat? I have Sharks and Astras as well. I know that it may be a bit hasty, but I was wondering if it makes sense because a) I have a very thick, coarse, and curly beard, and b) based on the aforementioned points I made about my razor burn, it seems like maybe it would be ideal for me to wait a week or so between shaves, meaning that the hair will be at a pretty decent length.
Anyway this post is becoming increasingly long-winded and convoluted, and I think that my frustration is beginning to seep through, so I'm gonna peace out. Everyone here has been incredibly helpful and friendly so far, so I just want to say thanks for all of your help, past, present, and future. In any case, some insight into any or all of my quandaries would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
All the best,
-Ralph