My Very 1st DE Shave - WOW and OWWW

[Maestro9]

Well, I took the plunge and ventured into my first DE shave. Here's the equipment I used:

Merkur HD with the blade that comes with it
Rooney Type 2 Small Silvertip Brush
TOBS Jermyn Street Shaving Cream

First off, let me say it was the smoothest shave I've ever had. Using the Mach 3 and the Fusion in the past, I've been able to feel rough stubble on my face even immediately after my shave. I'm well known for having a 5 o clock shadow at about 10 in the am lol (yes, after shaving in the morning) For the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I felt nothing but baby bottom smooth when I ran my hand across my face. That takes the "your face feels like sandpaper" complaint away from the ladies lol.

I didn't nick or cut myself at all (thanks to Leisure Guy's book I think) I do have something weird going on though. When I am done shaving, my face *feels* like it's on fire as if a razor burn, except the skin itself is not red except in a few patches on the bottom of my neck where I wasn't smooth enough. I doubt it's the shave cream because I bought one for sensitive skin. My angle probably isn't perfect (feels clumsy sometimes with how the razor blocks off so much of the blade and sometimes I miss the angle so the blade isn't up against my skin or whiskers) I also read the blade that comes with the Merkur HD's is close but aggressive. So I'm waiting for my sample pack to arrive and I'm going to switch blades asap.

The irritation is soothed by putting a few drops of glycerine on my face, but it persists into the next day only milder. The only other disappointment is that my whiskers are so dark that even with this clean of a shave, I still have a bit of a shadow if you get close enough to me to see it lol. But as for the feel, smooth as a baby! I'm really looking forward to practicing and experimenting and learning more. Also have a moss scuttle on the way :-)

[Koss]

It just takes practice practice practice! I also use to have my really dark hair still cast a "shadow" on my face until only recently when I've really taken my shaving to the next level. You will get there. Even if it feels like you are not BBS when all your pores are open, once you close them up with cold water it can feel BBS. Once I got BBS with open pores before splashing cold water on myself is when I lost that shadow.

But really, thats not what you should be shooting for just yet! Just get down the technique so that you can build upon that later on.

When I first started, the first three days or so my skin felt really tight. The first day it might have even burned, I can't remember exactly. But afterwards either through improving my skills, my skin and beard becoming accustomed to it all, or both changed that.

[DGS]

Welcome to B&B!

Since you say you used the Merkur blade that came with the razor, I'm curious how many passes you did. Just one with the grain? Or did you also try an across the grain pass and also an against the grain pass? The Merkur blades are horrible in my opinion. And if this was your first DE shave, it might be better just to try WTG (i.e., with the grain) shaves for the first week, to let your beard get used to the new equipment and blades. I can't think of anything worse for your skin than that Merkur blade and an ATG (against the grain) pass on a first-time DE shave, when you may not have your technique down.

I'd suggest ordering the blade sampler from West Coast Shaving, and trying a couple of other shaving creams or sopas, like Nancy Boy shave cream (very soothing and protective) or Tabac soap. Also, check out Mantic59's video (do a search here or on youtube)l they are invaluable for technique for everything from lathering to equipment to everything in between.

Keep at it, you'll get it in short order.

[82R100]

Welcome to the experience.

I suspect that you're overcooking the razor angle and pressure (as I persistently did for the first month or so :redface:).

I find DE's particularly tricky because it's difficult for me to feel or hear when the angle is right and I subconciously tend to apply pressure if I believe there's a lot of cutting to be done.

For me, my go-to razor is a single-edge Gem. If you browse around the safety razor discussions you'll see some talk about the 1912 patent series particularly. Its overwhelming virtue is that it gives wonderful audio feedback to the cutting process and, in my case, gives me a very low irritation shave. I've yet to do as well with a DE, but continue to rotate back and forth to try to master all blade formats :smile:.

If, after a few weeks of DE experimentation, you continue to have the discomfort, I'd recommend that you give a Gem a try. You should be able to score a perfectly good 1912 Gem razor off of the B/S/T forum for less than $15 (in fact there are a few (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=98145&highlight=Gem) there right now). You can pick up perfectly good Personna stainless Gem blades at a pharmacy and you're good to go.

Good luck with the DE techniques for now.

- Chris

[DGS]

Oops! Didn't notice that you said you had ordered the blade sampler pack. That's excellent, as you'll get the chance to try out many different blades and see what you like best. As others mentioned, I know when the angle is correct sort of by the feel or sound of the razor moving across my face. It's hard to explain, but you can feel/hear the blade cutting the whiskers, while not applying any pressure whatsoever as you move the blade.

There are sources for shaving cream sampler packs as well. You may want to try those. The Shave Den is one: http://www.theshaveden.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=133

[michiganlover]

There are sources for shaving cream sampler packs as well. You may want to try those. The Shave Den is one: http://www.theshaveden.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=133

You can also order shaving cream samples from:

http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/taylor-of-old-bond-street--samplers.html

and

http://www.shavingessentials.net/shaving_creams.html

Shaving Essentials offers absolutely huge samples of .5 oz each of the all of the TOBS scents for a mere $20.00. It's a cheap way to try out all of the wonderful TOBS scents, and find your favorite.

The ones Shoebox sells are .20 of an ounce, and theshaveden's are .25 of an ounce.

[Maestro9]

Hey thanks guys I appreciate all the good responses!

I definitely think part of the issue is my blade angle. I can hear the blade cutting the whiskers no problem, and I am pretty confident that I have a soft hand with little to no pressure. But I think my angle is a bit too steep. The smoothest passes I got were from an angle that was closer to perpendicular than I would have guessed I should be, but it was hard to keep that feel consistent as I moved to different areas of my face and neck. So I know that's going to be a lot of trial and error and practice.

As for lather, TOBS Jermyn St is my first product so I have no basis for comparison. Does anyone else have a good or hard time lathering with it? I can't seem to get it into a nice thick froth. I've been too dry with it but it just gets runny if I add a few drops of water. I can work up a passable lather now, but nothing like the thick stuff I see in shaving videos. Probably chalk that up to newbie lathering technique?

I've been making 4 passes as explained in Leisure Guy's book. I might have to stop going XTG on my neck, but surprisingly I can do it real smooth on my face. I'm going to go to the drug store today and buy whatever cheap generic DE blade they have to see if it's that Merkur razor that's roughing me up (sample pack still in the mail and I don't wanna stop using my DE while I wait for it)

What kind of aftershave do you guys find is the most soothing especially after a rough or newbie shave? I'm using a recipe I found on here for 1 part glycerine 9 parts witch hazel followed up by a neutrogena moisturizer. It's quite nice. I'm thinking about working some liquid aloe vera into my next batch of toner to see if it helps with the burn.

Cheers!

[Maestro9]

I live in a place with VERY hard water...is it really worth it to buy a jug of distilled water and use that instead? Would that affect my lather?

[82R100]

I'd say it's certainly worth a try.

- Chris

[Dewaine]

Welcome to B&B!

Since you say you used the Merkur blade that came with the razor, I'm curious how many passes you did. Just one with the grain? Or did you also try an across the grain pass and also an against the grain pass? The Merkur blades are horrible in my opinion. And if this was your first DE shave, it might be better just to try WTG (i.e., with the grain) shaves for the first week, to let your beard get used to the new equipment and blades. I can't think of anything worse for your skin than that Merkur blade and an ATG (against the grain) pass on a first-time DE shave, when you may not have your technique down.

I actually had my first DE shave yesterday with a Merkur blade and a 38C. Mostly WTG, but some spots carefully ATG, with TOBS sandalwood. No problems.

[Koss]

I actually had my first DE shave yesterday with a Merkur blade and a 38C. Mostly WTG, but some spots carefully ATG, with TOBS sandalwood. No problems.

Congratulations! :w00t: