Overload

[Dansk]

Hi, I'm new here, along with everyone else in this forum. I was initially very excited when I found this site, but as I started perusing some threads, I realized I know almost nothing about how to shave properly. Suddenly it became intimidating; the amount of knowledge gathered here is astounding. It's also a little bit frustrating, because in the decade that I've been shaving I STILL can't get a decent shave. No, scratch that, I can't even get a shave that doesn't hurt like hell and leave my neck all nice and red. You'd think 10 years of shaving nearly every day (that's about 3600 shaves) I'd have worked out some kind of relatively painless and effective system. Nope. I'd given up on wet shaving and switched to an electric (that I've never been totally happy with either) because wet shaving was simply too painful. Anyways, I'm going to lay it all out here and see what you guys recommend.

At the moment my wet shaving system consists of a Mach 3, a tube of Florena shaving cream, and some Gillette aftershave lotion. I used to go against the grain, which gave me a nice, close shave, but left my face so burnt and torn that I literally couldn't touch it. I've since tried shaving with the grain, which is significantly less painful, but leaves my face so rough that it feels and looks like I haven't shaved at all. These were the reasons I switched to an electric.

So what do you guys recommend? I read posts where people talk about shaves that leave their face feeling better than it did before, totally painless, smooth as glass. I'm very curious about trying a.... a.... one of those shiny metal razors from the 50's that I don't know the name of. A safety razor? I always thought a safety razor is what I'm using now. (You guys really need a FAQ that defines all these terms. Or if there is one already, point me in the direction of it and I'll go do my reading!)

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Jim]

Hello and welcome!

FAQ (http://www.badgerandblade.com/index.php?page=faq)

Take a look and post up any questions you may have-You can get a glass smooth shave thats a pleasure not a pain.:biggrin:

[Queen of Blades]

Welcome!

If anything will help you, this site will!

[TimmyBoston]

Welcome Dansk!

Also check out this link, they're videos a member here, Mark "Mantic" made. I found them really helpful in addressing many of my early questions. And watching a movie is easier than reading. :biggrin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjhIy9rgWQU

He's got 9 videos now all together, they are all only a few minutes long each. Some are even shorter. This link will take you to the first one and you can go on from there.

Good luck!

[Dansk]

Wow, thanks for the quick replies!! I'll check all that stuff out and post again a little later!

[ada8356]

I think after digesting some of the posts and videos things will 'un-clutter' a bit for you and you will be on your way to better shaves.

Feel free to post any questions.:smile:

[Leisureguy]

Welcome. Continue to read and ask questions, and you'll learn how to improve your shaves. It is usually a combination of prep and shaving technique that makes the difference. Check out the various threads, ask questions, etc.

Welcome!

[bearbeard]

Good to have you here, I know that reading this sight has helped my shaves tremendously.

[htownmmm]

Dansk,

Welcome to B&B- we are here to help. I remember when I first 'stumbled' upon this site, total amazement that there were answers to my questions. In fact, there were answers to questions I didn't know to ask.

We will get you to the point that your shaves become a pleasure rather than a pain. keep posting to take us along on your journey- it's just the beginning.


BTW, you will be assimilated-resistance is futile.


Marty

[jduffy]

Greetings friend!

BTW I think you should check out the reviews tab up above. I used that as my starting point here and was able to grab some great products at decent prices. The quality was very good and has made a huge difference in my shaving.

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions. People here love to give out advice.

[rusirius]

Most people will tell you that you'll get a much more comfortable and closer shave with a double edge safety razor (those shiny metal things your talking about.. :biggrin: ) then you'll ever get out of a mach 3. An m3 always yielded the same results for me, with the grain would leave a fair bit of stubble, and against the grain would result in a lot of irritation. Electrics always worked fair for me, (or at least my Braun Syncro did), but while they did great on my face they always resulted in a LOT of irritation on my neck, not to mention many hairs wouldn't even be picked up by it after many many passes.

Make no mistake about it, if you jump on the DE train, there WILL be a learning curve involved. My first DE shave was the most painful of my life! :eek: It was a result of my technique of course (too much pressure and my angle being WAY off). I scraped about 80% of my face off. No nicks or cuts, but I had a BAD burn that lasted about 12 hours...

Of course since I had been shaving with my m3 up till that point against the grain (And just dealing with the resulting burn) I figured aganist the grain with my first DE shave would be no problem either. Bad idea...

Go gentle at first. Follow the advice of those on B&B. Start out slow, hit one or two passes WITH the grain first... Let your face acclimate to a DE shave, and let your tecnique develop. Seems like your getting nowhere at first, but it will fall into place soon enough... Once it does, then you can start going for those BBS shaves! :drool:

These days I ALWAYS have a BBS and RARELY ever have any irritation.. if I do, it's because I "experimented" with trying something different... :biggrin:

[Scorpio]

Welcome and ask as many questions you can think of...for this is how you will learn from the advise of the gentlemen in this forum.

Rafael

[PalmettoB]

Dansk: Welcome aboard! Yeah, you will get a little information overload here, but just take your time and read what interests you. Mantic's videos are very helpful, as is Kyle's post-- http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4018
And definitely ask any questions you might have. Folks here have a LOT of experience and are willing to help.:001_smile
(Edit: Not to slight Michael or any of the others...all good advice, but I know Kyle's post and Mantic's videos were a good primer for me!)

[Rik]

Welcome to B&B Dansk!

You already have three huge things going for you:

1. You realize a comfortable close shave can be had.

2. You realize your current configuration isn't cutting it. :redface:

3. You've joined a community of shavers from all walks of life with every imaginable past experience who contain a wealth of shaving knowledge and are some of the nicest people you'll meet to boot.

I'd recommend you take it slow and enjoy the experience of going from a mediocre shave to a shave you'll look forward to each morning!

If you can't find the answer, ask and you'll be pleasantly surprised with the advice you'll receive en-mass.

Glad to have you aboard! :smile:

[Stauff]

Welcome aboard! Are you Danish by any chance?

[Dansk]

Welcome aboard? Are you Danish by any chance?
Haha, I'm not Danish, but I lived in Denmark for a year and fell in love with the country, people and language, hence my name.

Another post will be following this one shortly...

[Dansk]

Most people will tell you that you'll get a much more comfortable and closer shave with a double edge safety razor (those shiny metal things your talking about.. :biggrin: ) then you'll ever get out of a mach 3. An m3 always yielded the same results for me, with the grain would leave a fair bit of stubble, and against the grain would result in a lot of irritation. Electrics always worked fair for me, (or at least my Braun Syncro did), but while they did great on my face they always resulted in a LOT of irritation on my neck, not to mention many hairs wouldn't even be picked up by it after many many passes.

You just described my shaving experience perfectly. For years I put up with irritation just because I didn't know it could be any different, and I got into an every-other-day pattern because shaving every day was worse than torture. I couldn't even touch my face for the rest of the day because it hurt so much...

The last two days have been an education for me, though. I've put several new ideas that I picked up here into use. I went out and bought a brush (just a $9 Wilkinson Sword... it was the only one the pharmacy sold and I'm not patient enough to wait for the internet, I can always get a better one later,) and I started doing multiple passes, relathering in between. That's definitely new for me, I always shaved in one long, painful pass. It works, I'm happy to say. I've also stopped going directly against the grain and started going sideways on the later passes. (The idea never occurred to me before, honestly.) The resulting shaves haven't been totally painless, but just the fact that I can shave every day and still touch my face afterwards is a godsend. It's not totally smooth, just a hair better than my electric, (some pun intended,) but I'm impressed with the results.

I think I'm going to work on this for a little while, while I locate a shiny metal thing (:biggrin: ) to try. Any recommendations on which one to buy? I'm heading to the internet for this, so anything is fair game. I've seen the Merkur HD mentioned around here a lot, and I certainly like the price tag. What do you think?

[Dansk]

Oh yeah... what does BBS stand for? I get the idea from the context, but if someone could clarify, please...

[Leisureguy]

The Merkur HD is a good starter razor: not too aggressive, not adjustable (so one variable removed). Be sure to get LetterK's sampler packet of blades, though: there's enormous variation in people's responses to different blades, so the razor's only part of the equation. I blog about the different choices, so you can check that. And to repeat:

LIGHT pressure, proper blade angle, good prep,... Short strokes help you focus on the pressure and blade angle---forget the long, sweeping strokes you may have used with a pivot-head cartridge razor.

If you're paying attention, what you learn by experience will add up quickly, and you'll find you're getting excellent shaves.

[Leisureguy]

BBS = baby-butt smooth.

[Dansk]

BBS = baby-butt smooth.
:biggrin:

Thanks.

[Dansk]

Alright... I just bought a Merkur HD from MenEssentials.com, who happen to be located only a 10 minute bike ride from where I live. I'll watch those videos again, do some more reading, and then... (deep breath) try it out tomorrow morning. I'll let you all know how it goes!

[Dansk]

Well, here's the report on my first DE shave. It wasn't quite as hard as I thought, although it took constant effort to remind myself not to put any pressure on it. My neck doesn't look too good, but oddly enough there's no irritation down there at all. I suppose the telling thing about all of this, is that even on my first try with a DE I still managed about as good a shave as I've ever had with my Mach 3. Consider me converted.

I wish I could do it over again, though. On the last pass, I could feel that something clicked, and I started getting exponentially better. Unfortunately, the damage was done by that point and I couldn't afford another pass without ripping my face off. However, I do have a nice, smooth spot on my chin, which was the last place to be shaved, and it's proof that tomorrow's shave will be far better. I'm looking forward to it! (I've never, EVER said that before in my life...)

[Leisureguy]

The wonderful thing about shaving is that you get to do it over again every morning! :smile:

And I know exactly what you mean: one struggles, feels awkward, and then suddenly things fall into place and it is easy... I suppose learning to ice skate is like that, or skiing, or other skills. Something has to click...

[ada8356]

It won't be long until you find yourself cheating and trying to get in two shaves in day.

I do it sometimes on the weekends...:blush:

[RazzerRhodes]

Great advice and tips from everyone. I am new myself and before I got into DE shaving recently, I had a Wilkinson brush from the supermarket like you. You must get a Badger! I'd never had a Badger before and when I got one, I could not believe the difference in making a lather! Michael's advice about the blades is spot on as I am very recently discovering. What an adventure we are all on!

[Dansk]

Well, DE shave number two brought about totally different results from yesterday. The top half of my face is ridiculously smooth, but the lower you get, the worse it is. Below the jawline, it looks (and feels) like a war zone. Sigh. I'm going to give it two days to recover, and I'll try again Sunday morning.

[Jim]

Shave 2 and you have some great results already!

You had some trouble in the usual spots take a read of this (http://www.badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4018) and see if you can pick up whats the problem in your technique.
Did you get a look at Marks video's?

Way to go! keep posting!

[Leisureguy]

I just revised the blog to discuss pressure a bit more. It seems to me that beginning DE shavers often unconsciously use more pressure on the neck, for some reason, so that the neck suffers as compared to the rest of the face. Take special care to use light pressure in that area, and maintain a good blade angle.

Interestingly, I've never heard of a novice making the error of using too little pressure.

[RazzerRhodes]

You just described my shaving experience perfectly. For years I put up with irritation just because I didn't know it could be any different, and I got into an every-other-day pattern because shaving every day was worse than torture. I couldn't even touch my face for the rest of the day because it hurt so much...

The last two days have been an education for me, though. I've put several new ideas that I picked up here into use. I went out and bought a brush (just a $9 Wilkinson Sword... it was the only one the pharmacy sold and I'm not patient enough to wait for the internet, I can always get a better one later,) and I started doing multiple passes, relathering in between. That's definitely new for me, I always shaved in one long, painful pass. It works, I'm happy to say. I've also stopped going directly against the grain and started going sideways on the later passes. (The idea never occurred to me before, honestly.) The resulting shaves haven't been totally painless, but just the fact that I can shave every day and still touch my face afterwards is a godsend. It's not totally smooth, just a hair better than my electric, (some pun intended,) but I'm impressed with the results.

I think I'm going to work on this for a little while, while I locate a shiny metal thing (:biggrin: ) to try. Any recommendations on which one to buy? I'm heading to the internet for this, so anything is fair game. I've seen the Merkur HD mentioned around here a lot, and I certainly like the price tag. What do you think?
As regards choice of razor and pressure issues:- When I got my Merkur Futur through the post and opened the presentation tin etc it was like something from another planet. Although I tried DE shaving when 15 -16 years old, it was with the totally wrong gear ! I did not like the mess etc. However, this time around, I thought that I am going to have to treat this Merkur razor with respect. Although it does not seem that heavy now, when I 1st used it about six months ago, because I was bit scared to use too much pressure, nothing too bad happened. However, since joining B&B a lot of advice says how to let the weight of the razor do the work and maybe, just maybe I was doing this unconciously etc. I have come to the conclusion in recent months that only a quality DE razor of the types advocated by the good people on this site will suffice ! I am a little biased towards Merkur though cos it is the first "proper" razor I have owned at the age of em er ...40 ..something! As regards my youthful fears of "mess", I had lather all over the place last nite and frankly, could'nt care less about mess as I'd got an ace lather! Good luck and keep up the good lather !

[Dansk]

Thanks again for all the comments and suggestions guys! I think my problem this morning was that I was shaving on top of three days of horrific irritation. My face never recovered from the beating I've given it, first with the Mach 3 two days in a row, and then my first shave with the DE. So I'm going to do a reset, let everything grow for two days, and then start over again. I'm expecting much better results that way.

[RazzerRhodes]

Thanks again for all the comments and suggestions guys! I think my problem this morning was that I was shaving on top of three days of horrific irritation. My face never recovered from the beating I've given it, first with the Mach 3 two days in a row, and then my first shave with the DE. So I'm going to do a reset, let everything grow for two days, and then start over again. I'm expecting much better results that way.
For many years, I have tended to mainly shave late evening and even now since DE shaving, I continue to do so. The reason stems from when starting to shave getting rashes, irritation, aggro to acne etc etc and I thought if I shaved at night it would give my skin a chance to recover by morning. Like a lot of chaps, I also did'nt have a shave on a weekend, if not really going anywhere special. I am going to look for some threads maybe about shaving in the evening as opposed to morning and am sure evening shaving must be curious to other B&Br's who are so enthused about their morning shaves. I don't really feel that experienced to give too much advice but certainly, if I was starting out again, I would scrap the M3 and suchlike and stick to a quality DE come rain or shine. Quite wisely, let your skin recover but dont give up on the DE. Since joining B&B and reading some of the advice I am feeling inspired to maybe even change my liflelong evening regime and have a shave in the mornings !

[Dansk]

Alright, DE shave number 3. I've learned that the right angle is very, very important. You can use as little pressure as you want, but if the angle is too steep it's still going to dig in. (I don't think any of the sets of instructions on the internet emphasize this enough.) Once again the discovery came rather late into the shaving process, in the third pass. However, once I figured it out, I managed to go against the grain on the upper part of my face with no irritation at all. (The only reason it's a little burnt is from the earlier passes.) So the jawline and up is BBS, but my neck is still a big red mess. Small steps.... :mellow:

[ratcheer]

For many years, I have tended to mainly shave late evening and even now since DE shaving, I continue to do so.

I also shave late in the evening, because I already get up so early (4:40 AM) in the morning. I like taking my time with wet shaving and I don't want to feel rushed in the morning or, heaven forbid, get up even earlier.

I shave six nights a week (Sat-Thur) and give my face a rest on Friday. I change blades every Saturday.

Tim

[Leisureguy]

Dansk, good point on blade angle. I'll update my blog.

Updated.

[Dansk]

Number 4 is complete. It's an improvement yet again, but I've decided that I'm doing something terribly evil to my neck. It doesn't seem to matter how shallow of an angle I have the blade at or how lightly I go, I always end up looking like I had a date with a very sloppy vampire. On the other hand, I've mastered the upper lip; I've had an absolutely perfect shave there right since the very first time with the DE. I'm beginning to wonder if it might be worth trying another kind of shaving cream. I'm using Florena right now, which few people on this board seem to have heard of. The only thing I have to compare it with is the gooinacan, which it easily demolishes. Another factor may be that I'm shaving with ridiculously hard water; I doubt that's good for your face and probably doesn't make things any easier when it comes to shaving. Can anyone here recommend something to counteract the hardness of the water, or maybe someone in a similar situation has some advice.

Thanks!

[Leisureguy]

Yes, indeed: vary the shaving cream, vary the razor, etc. Try different things until you discover what works FOR YOU. Taylor's Avocado has received high praise from some beginning shavers, and of course Target has Proraso in the "spa" section.

[dojohnso]

I would recommend Musgo Real shaving cream. Comes in a tube. http://www.leesrazors.com/MusgoReal.html

[Magruder]

If youŕe looking for shaving cream you can buy locally, the Palmolive (red tube) is excellent stuff. I used it a couple of days ago and got a great shave.

You said you´re close to MenEssentials, which puts you in Ottawa if I did my homework correctly. In the U.S. you can get Palmolive at CVS. I don´t know where to suggest you look in Canada, but I´m guessing that you can find it.