Most irritation in a long time

[mwhals]

I tried something different today and shaved without first showering or without using Noxzema. I have razor burn on my neck that I think resulted from going against the grain on the third pass. I also had to change my blade before shaving, so I took the Feather out and decided to use my last Merkur to get rid of it. It felt as if it has a lot of drag compared to the Feather, so it could also be the blade.

I will use the same blade tomorrow, but use Noxzema on my face first to see if I can get the same irritation free shave as I did before with Noxzema and Feathers. This will tell me if it is the blade since the Feather worked fine in this scenario.

I find Feather to work much better than Merkur blades. I can't wait until my sample pack gets here from SouthWest Shaving. I will use the Feathers from the sample pack first to finalize the technique I will use with all the blades.

Mark

Any other advice?

[ShaveAddict]

I find Feather to work much better than Merkur blades.

I think many of us will agree on that.

[Uncle Erik]

What Noxzema did you use? A preshave lotion or something like that? And what kind of soap are you lathering with?

[moonshine44]

I think many of us will agree on that.

+1. It's a good possibility that it is indeed the Merkur blade that has led to your problems. Ditch the Merkur blade, toss it, get rid of it, they aren't that much of an economic investment, and go back to what has been working for you...

[mwhals]

What Noxzema did you use? A preshave lotion or something like that? And what kind of soap are you lathering with?

It is the Noxzema skin cream my wife has that I have been testing. Since it seems to work, I have ordered the Proraso pre/post shave stuff. I use TOBS Avocado cream and occasionally Proraso.

I agree with the Merkur blade being the problem. I just used it since it was my last one and what a difference it was from the Feathers I have been using.

Mark H