MY first shave....suggestions?

I know there are a lot of these, but anyways. I got my 34c and a tweezerman last night. I was planning on waiting till I got my blade sampler along with kiss my face cream and tabac to start, but I couldn't wait. I used the blade that came with the razor, which I can only assume was a Merkur blade. I applied some crappy Barbasol shaving cream of my dad's with the brush after leaving a hot towel over my face for a few minutes and began. I don't think I did too badly, it wasn't too close, but I wasn't expecting to, I tried to go mostly wtg. I did get some razor burn and bumps however. The burn was in pretty much the same spot that I had from shaving with a mach a week or so ago, I guess I didn't let it heal enough.

Now to the main bit, I have an extremely sensitive neck, I can't seem to avoid razor burn no matter what device I use, even electric. One thing that complicates matters is my grain pattern. Around the adams apple, the grain goes in opposite directions. From the bottom of the neck to the adams apple it grows upwards, while from the chin to adams apple grows down. This makes it nary impossible to follow any sort of pattern. Lastly I wanted to ask: would having a good cream and more importantly, perhaps a sharper razor help me better avoid razor burn? I have been banking on this being a solution, so I hope I'm not disappointed. Are Merkur blades particularly dull? I felt like there was some tugging involved, though that's hard not to have when your grain completely changes direction on a dime. Lastly, how long should I let it heal? Until it is all gone away? That may take a while. Thanks fellas.

I'm certainly a noob, but I also used to get redness / bumps on certain part of my neck where grain direction goes whacky. I started with a merkur 34c with the merkurs that came with it - and continued to have same problem in same spot. I would just say listen to what the guys say. Their advice has pretty much helped me eliminate my 'red neck' - although I am still from Texas, so complete irradication of this condition is technically impossible.
(and yes, merkur blades have a bit of a bad rap around here)

I. Merkur blades are lousy. Wait for your sampler and let us know what it contains and we can help you pick out a good blade.

II. Let your face recover a few days.

III. Check the amount of water that you're using... it sounds to me like you're putting the lather on a dry face which will cause the razor to snag and result in burning. You want to keep enough water on your face so that it's moist, but not so dripping wet. (This concept actually gets easier to explain with a non-aerosol cream... too much water in the whole mix, face and brush, will result in a runny cream and too little water will result in snagging)

IV. There really is no "pattern" to shaving, per say... You have to go with/against/across the grain as it is...

EDIT: I would also say get yourself a decent aftershave balm, maybe with menthol or a similar cooling ingredient in it - that will help cut down the burn.

Best,

-ice

I did have a wet face. Oh, and I have St. Charles Shave aftershave milk, which seems like good stuff.

csice said:

One thing that complicates matters is my grain pattern. Around the adams apple, the grain goes in opposite directions. From the bottom of the neck to the adams apple it grows upwards, while from the chin to adams apple grows down. This makes it nary impossible to follow any sort of pattern. .

Click to expand...

I have the exact same pattern on my neck. When I first started, I let the hair on my neck grow out just enough that I could get a good look at the exact point where the grain switched directions. After that, it just took practice to go with the grain on all the right hairs. It took a few weeks, but now I don't get any razor burn/irritation on that part of my neck. It's difficult to be patient, but IMHO if you have the patience to properly map out the growth of your facial hair, and then just shave with the grain, you'll have a lot less irritation, and will enjoy the whole experience more. And after a couple weeks, the with the grain shaves will get much smoother. As always, YMMV, and I'm certainly not the end-all of knowledge.

@ csice: I see... It may be the blade or your lather. I'd 2X check both when you get your sampler.

- ice

First welcome to B&B. Second, I am 6 weeks in, and have the same problem with the neck area as you do. First and foremost, check out Mantic's great videos if you have not done so, which have great shave tips.

I have been working through my own issues, and have gotten a lot of help here. I can tell you that WTG is the way to go, and as suggested here, you must learn your face. Second, soften your beard both in the shower and with the hot towel as you have. Go slow on your strokes, even pressure and correct blade angle. Dump the Merkur blades. I used one and it was terrible, and if you check out the posts, you'll find it does not have much of a rep. around here. Finally, lather your face for 2 minutes or so before you start shaving with some of the good stuff that you bought. It will take some time, but if you keep at it, and work on basic technique, your problems should go away with a few short weeks of time. Good luck.

Thanks for the input guys, I hope a sharper blade makes a difference. I have been banking on the sharper blades used in de shaving to give me a less razor-burn riddled shave over regular wetshaving...we shall see.

Welcome to B&B!

icedoverfire said:

I. Merkur blades are lousy. Wait for your sampler and let us know what it contains and we can help you pick out a good blade.

II. Let your face recover a few days.

III. Check the amount of water that you're using... it sounds to me like you're putting the lather on a dry face which will cause the razor to snag and result in burning. You want to keep enough water on your face so that it's moist, but not so dripping wet. (This concept actually gets easier to explain with a non-aerosol cream... too much water in the whole mix, face and brush, will result in a runny cream and too little water will result in snagging)

IV. There really is no "pattern" to shaving, per say... You have to go with/against/across the grain as it is...

EDIT: I would also say get yourself a decent aftershave balm, maybe with menthol or a similar cooling ingredient in it - that will help cut down the burn.

Best,

-ice

Click to expand...

That's pretty good advice, Ice.

Thought I'd check back in after a few shaves. Firstly, I do wet my face for a while pre-shave and I don't use pressure. I now use Tabac, and have used both Astra and Derby blades, I follow my shave up with alum block, then aftershave. I am still getting some razor burn along with nicks and scrapes. I do shave against the grain, but it is only a problem on my neck area, I get a lot of tugging going on. There are also instances where I can just feel a spot get nicked or irritated after I have gone over a certain hair or something. It seems like no matter what I do, I am going to have this problem, my neck seems too sensitive and the hairs too thick to avoid major irritation. I haven't been shaving long at all, does my neck just need to toughen up? Lastly, is there any good product to heal my neck area as it worsens the following few days after the shave? It just kind of burns after the shave, but it gets worse the next few days, and takes like a week to heal. Thanks again.