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Razor burn/irritation/infection?

Thanks for all the encouragement. I know I'm not the only guy trying to do this, and that there are some others who have also been there. Some have even succeeded! I appreciate the support because I like wetshaving (if only on the weekends - I save it for then because that way, I can consider it a "treat") and just want to get better at it. I just want to feel good and look good without hurting myself - something which I definitely believe is achievable.

I think I have to watch how much water I mix with the Proraso cream so that it doesn't become too runny. Before I got the Proraso, I used this stuff in a blue tube called Florena (made in Germany), which works pretty well and whips up all right, but it doesn't smell nice or have that cool eucalyptus freshness to it. I also found that my lather was too thick and clogged the razor's blade underneath so the edge wasn't properly exposed anymore - it tended to be kind of chalky and not shave well.

Something I didn't mention is that I find the odd rough spot here and there, even after a second pass against the grain. These are usually at the sides of my mouth, under my chin at the front, and along the bottom of my face at the jawline. I have tried to fix these up by doing a short-stroke "buffing" action on them (I learned this from one of the videos), but all I've found I've done is irritated my skin and made it red for two days afterward until it heals up again. I do wet the areas and put a tad of lather on them before doing this, but I think that it's probably still too much pressure on the razor and the very aggressive Feather blade that are causing this. I tend to feel (and I believe this is a natural, almost unconscious, response) that if the whiskers are not being cut properly on the first pass, then I really have to give 'er on the razor and lean into it to make it work better. I have to realize that this is wrong and retrain myself so that it becomes pleasure, not pain. I know it's a razor, not a gardening tool!

I think, also, that using that ultra-sharp Feather blade two days in a row is a bit tough on my skin. Maybe I'd be better off to rest it and give it some space in between. Yes, I agree, I've heard that the Feathers are very aggressive blades (as is the old Injector), but l truly believe it can give a good and safe shave if properly used, so I've got to keep working on it. My Quattro isn't as aggressive, so maybe I'll keep alternating it with the Injector, as I've been doing up to now.

You guys are also right on the angle. As much as I've tried to hold the thing properly, I notice that I hear a scraping sound while shaving with the Injector, which is maybe telling me that my angle is wrong and it's scraping, not cutting cleanly.

One more question before I close out: is it possible to get some sort of infection or disease from blade shaving? I would assume it would be possible if you weren't using a sanitized razor (i.e. bought it on eBay or at a flea market and just started using it as soon as you got it home, whereupon you cut yourself), or if you used old blades from an unsealed package whose origin was unknown. I don't know if AIDS can be passed on this way (as some of the local barbers told me as a scare tactic as to why they didn't shave customers anymore), but I might guess hepatitis or even some kind of strep infection like cellulitis is possible, through a cut with an unsterile blade. I've had the strep/cellulitis thing in my knees, and it was only from tiny little scratches in the skin from kneeling down a lot in my work. I heard just today about a guy at work getting an infection in his ear from a shaving cut over the weekend, and I'm wondering if it's possible, or if that's just bogus. Thanks.
 
I don't mean to be a wise guy. Please take this as creative criticism which is it's intent. You gotta lighten up. It's only shaving. The whole Idea of wetshaving is to make a drudgery into a pleasant ritual. If it is an unpleasant experience why bother.
If you thing you can make it work I have a few suggestions.
Try a less agressive razor like a Tech or a Weishi. Try to give up that electric even if you have to shave at night. The electric is not good for your skin.

There are several ways to sterilize used razors. If it is an issue buy a new one. Soap and water you use when you save makes any kind of infection from a shaving cut unlikely.

Getting AIDS or hepatitis from a razor is also quite unlikely. I am 55 and have shaved everyday with a razor of one form or another and have never had a problem.

Good Luck and remember there are a lot of people here who are willing to help.:biggrin:
 
Just take it easy and relax. You will get there, but you are getting impatient, and it is hurting you. Literally. Please read this post. I feel a little egotistical pointing to something else I wrote, but I wrote this for people in exactly your position. Special attention to step (3) please.

You are going to kill your face trying to blade buff with an injector. Especially with a Feather. Or even an genuine Schick. The exposure is just to great, and those blades are just too twitchy. Just take it easy, do your passes, and live with the stubble that you miss, for now. This despiration to get every last bit of stubble is ultimately self-defeating. You may get it, this way, but in doing so, you loose the whole point, which is a good, COMFORTABLE shave. Not only that, you will have to deal with a lot more stubble the next day, when you cannot shave because your face is so irritated. And keeping your skin irritated like that will make it ever so much harder to get a good shave every time. It is a lot easy to cleanly shave happy skin than skin that is still enraged from yesterday's abuse.

Take it easy, enjoy your shaves, and don't do more than you can do comfortably. The Featherjector may be in your future, and I suspect you are right that it can give a good shave every day. But honestly, I think you will have an easier time acchieving wetshaving satisfaction if you go with a DE for the time being.

As for the infection thing. Sure, anything is possible. Given all the soap and water, and changing your blade regularly, it is VERY unlikely that you are going to get an infection directly from the blade itself. But a nick IS an open wound. Odds are slim, but it is a vulerable point if you come into contact with something nasty. The same is true of a paper cut. Really, with plenty of soap, and water, the chances of an infector are very slim. People worry a lot about old razors. Nasty human pathogens do not last that long in a dry, outside the body environment. Any HIV or Hep C an old ebay razor was exposed to will be long dead. If you are really worried, either boil, or use barbacide or similiar to sterilize things.

Given that you keep your face clean, etc, the chance of infection from a nick there is less than say on your hands. If you want to be sure, spply a tiny spot of antibiotic ointment if you get a bad nick.

-Mo
 
F

Faulkner

I'm not terribly worried about getting any infectous diseases from my shaves. It's not that I don't get nicks (because I definitely have before), but as has been said before, there is just a really really really small chance of getting AIDs or hepatitis from a clean razor blade. I'm more worried about dying in a car crash at the moment- teenager + wheels= bad.
 
I should add that AIDS is a very fragile virus, it gets destoryed by being exposed in air. That's why it needs to be transfered in fluids. I'm not sure if soap would kill it, but I would think that it would.
 
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