Technical Difficulties

So I had my first DE shave experience, and it didn't go to well..... It didn't go to poorly either. I should have researched more before I jumped in.

The main problems were
1. Didn't get a great lather
2. Went ATG on my neck and got a rash

I know I have to work at the lather, but wanted to get your opinions on how to conquer the neck area for someone with sensitive skin. When I was trying to go with the grain I felt like I was pulling my hair out. Your opinions will be much appreciated.

Any suggestions for "hard-water"? Ohio water is world renowned for turning people into reptiles

Oh: I also ordered some Proraso Ultra-sensitive soap and Proraso pre/post shave cream. Hopefully that will help a bit

Definitely work on the later. I've been working on mine for some time now and still don't get it right for each shave. The proraso ultra-sensitive won't hurt, but might end up proving to be unnecessary.

one other thing, did you go XTG before going ATG? For me, after you've gotten technique down, the XTG pass is the real difference between a cartridge shave and DE. With carts, I could get basically the same result as with DE, except I could skip the XTG pass. I'm now at the point that if I need to save some time, I will skip the final ATG pass. It seems that some will only do a two pass WTG-ATG shave... perhaps I'll get to there someday, but I'm certainly not there yet, and odds are you won't be either since you're just starting out.

Welcome aboard.

Honestly, I would avoid the ATG pass until your technique improves. Top quality shaves are possible with a DE, but they won't happen overnight. It takes a few months to develop consistent repeatable technique.

When you are new to the DE, you are going to use too much pressure, and your angle will be off. Both of these will lead to razor burn on the ATG pass.

The pulling on the WTG pass, is due to either the inadequate lather, or perhaps what you perceive to be WTG is not truly with the grain.

Practice making lather, even when you are not intending on shaving.

Make sure to map your grain when you have some stubble on your face, by rubbing in all directions on your face. If you feel resistance, then you are rubbing against the grain.

Quite a few of us have strange hair growth patterns, especially on the neck, where hair can grow in a boatload of different patterns.

Hard water is the lather villian, not only will it kill a good shave, it screws up your coffee maker, dishwasher, water lines, and anything it touches. If you can't get a filter on the water line or a whole house water softner; look for a good foam in a can (none of the normal store brands0 bottom line is that the minerals in hard water will not allow a good lather to develop; I didn't suggest using distilled water because that is a real pain in the *** and you will likely quit wet shaving if you had to heat distilled water each day. I know nothing about rashes but good luck
ken

michiganlover said:

Welcome aboard.

Honestly, I would avoid the ATG pass until your technique improves. Top quality shaves are possible with a DE, but they won't happen overnight. It takes a few months to develop consistent repeatable technique.

When you are new to the DE, you are going to use too much pressure, and your angle will be off. Both of these will lead to razor burn on the ATG pass.

The pulling on the WTG pass, is due to either the inadequate lather, or perhaps what you perceive to be WTG is not truly with the grain.

Practice making lather, even when you are not intending on shaving.

Make sure to map your grain when you have some stubble on your face, by rubbing in all directions on your face. If you feel resistance, then you are rubbing against the grain.

Quite a few of us have strange hair growth patterns, especially on the neck, where hair can grow in a boatload of different patterns.

Click to expand...

Good advice. I was going to say the same thing about possibly being mistaken about which way your beard grows in some areas.

Welcome to B&B!

I always did ATG when I shaved with cartridge, but the first few times with a DE, the bottom of my neck was a bit raw. If the neck area needs extra touch-up at the end, do it with your old razor until your lather and technique get better. It shouldn't take long. As for the hard water see the "Hard Water Suggestions" thread a little further down under Shave Clinic & Newbie Check-in. Basically it comes down to soften the water or use more soap. For those of us with hard water, lathering may be the hardest part to get down. Don't get discouraged. Once you learn what works and what doesn't you won't regret sticking with it.

Welcome and i agree it takes sometime to get this right. I had been shaving with a cartridge for a looooooooooong time and thought how different can this be....The joke was on me. Plus i have been using a brush and quality creams just as long. However the angle and the sheer difference has taken longer than i would ever have thought. To be honest it took me about 4 months to get where i was with a cartridge. So dont give up.....

Welcome to B&B!

Good advices up here.

Work on the lather first, wait until the lather is right to go ATG.

Try to make a few bowls of lather in the afternoon, at night, in the morning before your shave so you won't have the pressure on making it right on the spot.

Jim's tutorial is great and helped me a lot:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21136

michiganlover said:

avoid the ATG pass until your technique improves.

Click to expand...

+1

Get your angle and prep down. Then work on your lather, and after everything is good, try ATG.

I just had a successful attempt at Lathering my brush.... At least much more successful than the previous attempts. I think I was adding too much water.

ATG/WTG/XTG. Great advice on finding out which way my whiskers actually run. My neck whiskers go all over the place. I think this will help out greatly... Thanks.

WTG pulling: When I go WTG over my chin, it does pull for some reason. Can't wait to figure this all out. I'm already addicted to this. I had to show my wife the lather I made 10 minutes ago........ She was not impressed.

Blade Angle: Anyone hold the blade steady and rotate your head? I tried this over my cheeks and it seemed to work very well when doing my second pass XTG (only do this on my cheeks for the moment)

Welcome to B&B...all of the advice above is spot on, Lather is everything

Welcome to B&B.

Welcome!