Disaster - First DE shave

Ok - I watched videos, I read post after post. I waited 72 hours after I got my DE razor with Merkur blades to give it a shot. I practiced on my arm and my leg - as evidenced by the bare spots.

I showered, washed my face (Urth), used preshave oil (Truefitt and Hill), got a great lather with a Silvertip badger brush and shaving cream (Nancy Boy).

It didn't feel right from the beginning. No pressure applied by me - nothing - let the weight of the razor guide down my face. I wasn't in a rush. I watched my angle. There was tugging and pulling and I guess scraping by how my face looks right now. I had about 10 bleeders and my neck is bright red and sensitive to the touch from the irritation.

I had to finish with my Gilette Fusion - it was ugly. My face isn't even smooth and it's beat up. I guess I will try again in a week but ugh - does my face hurt.

I'm sad to not join the ranks of the other successful first timers.

What direction did you shave in? Was it WTG?

Around here the general consensus on Merkur blades is that they're better than what you'll get in your average store, but they're still not all that sharp. (Personally, I can do ok with them on days I'm not trying to get a particularly close shave - they're sort of "playing it safe" blades.)

anyway, you might try getting a blade sampler from LetterK and try out one of the four non-Merkur blades.

what razor did you use? If it's adjustable, what setting were you on? Was it the blade that came with the razor or was it from a separate pack?

Oh, and Aqua Velva is great when your face is irritated - it'll sting at first, though.

It really sounds like you could have been hitting spots that your beard reverses direction on you. Those Merkur blades aren't spoken of around my house anymore. Get the blade sampler and give a Derby a go but be a little bit careful of the Feather blade.

I was ready to quit after my first shave using a Vision and a Merkur blade and today I'm doing crop circles around my chin, hang in there.

Merkur blades aren't bad but I found Derbys agree with me more.
feathers are a bloodbath with my face.
What type and brand of DE razor are you using?
One more tip is to let your beard grow for two or more days and see how the hair grows. Mine grows N-S on my cheeks, but W-E on my neck and E-W and S-N on the other side.
I have been DE shaving for about 3 months and I still get redness and bleeders on occasion.

I always recommend the Sampler pack from LetterK to get a true idea which blade works best in your particular razor/face.

Well
Most of the guys here said it all
But I will add some more
I think you need to slow down a little
Don't try to do it all right from the start, just enjoy the lather on your face, and remove it slowly
Don't rush things, and keep on practicing
You can bet that you will do it fine after some time

MT
Did you have the razor tightened & snugged down against the blade?

if your scraping your face that bad and its bright red and hurts to the touch, either your lather was not slick enough, or you had the wrong blade angle.

i hate Merkur blades to, but they shouldnt pull or tug that much.

i made a dumb mistake on my first shave to.

your supposed to put the razor against your face so it is parallel to the floor, well, i read the instructions as hold the handle vertical to the floor.

so i was holding the razor with the handle vertical to the floor, and moving it up just enough so the razor touched my face, tottally the opposite of what your supposed to do.

Oh yea one more thing. Shave in small short strokes. Don't "shave in long glides" for instance, It takes me 5 or so
"strokes" to just shave my right cheek" small 2 inch strokes is what works for me.

mthowell said:

I showered, washed my face (Urth), used preshave oil (Truefitt and Hill), got a great lather with a Silvertip badger brush and shaving cream (Nancy Boy).

Click to expand...

How many of these things were you using prior to using the DE? I am very sensitive to certain scent oils. I can not use Caswell Massey almond pre-shave oil. I also get a reaction to Honey Bee Spa almond shave soap when it is fresh out of the package, (this one works great after I let it air out for a week or two).

Maybe take one step back and perfect your prep and make sure you are not allergic to any of the other stuff before trying the DE again. Check out Kyle's Prep Tips. This will really help you put music to the dance, or dance to the music, which ever the case may be.

P.S. I still occasionally thrash myself when I over do a good shave trying to buff with too many strokes or too much pressure.

I say cut out the preshave oil, and go with just water and the cream at first. Get the blade sample pack and go with the basics first. WTG, XTG, and ATG, then finish.

Make sure after each pass you feel the direction of your beard, and feel for stubble. The oils can be really deceiving when you're first starting out.

Really mthowell..I did a number on my self the first time out. I had already had a nasty history with every razor you can imagine, and the evidence to show it. Just hang in there and give yourself and face a chance to learn. The curve is steeper then you may have thought but don't let that deter you. I learned to enjoy each aspect of my shave, I even wake up extra early ( gasp!) just so i have extra time to pay more attention to how i mix my lather, and how I pattern my shave. The end result a shave that you can't get with a 7 dollar catridge. Stay positive.

Merkur blades are a bloodbath for me. Try a Derby, they're known for being comfortable and yet still pretty sharp.

Also, make sure you're not accidentally going against the grain. ATG on the first pass, no matter what the blade, is a recipe for disaster.

Anywhere you feel you've scraped your face, you allowed the blade edge to move against your skin and removed a small layer of it. The lather serves as a cushion to 'help' you keep the blade off your skin, if your using the correct angle. Feel how the blade is coming into contact with the hairs and don't try to get it all off in one pass.

If you want to end up with a smooth comfortable shave, you have got to map out your face so you know which way the grain is running. Those bleeders and bumps were probably caused by your attempting to shave against the grain on your first pass.

Use the edge of a playing card, credit card or (that idea of using cotton balls is brilliant!)! Map out your face so you know which way is going to be with the grain, across the grain and against the grain and then don't try shaving against the grain until you can complete the wtg and xtg passes sucessfully. If you don't do this, your not going to enjoy the DE experience very much. You can't shave against the grain until you've reduced the hairs down to a bare stubble, but you've already found that out for yourself.

mthowell said:

Ok - I watched videos, I read post after post. I waited 72 hours after I got my DE razor with Merkur blades to give it a shot. I practiced on my arm and my leg - as evidenced by the bare spots.

I showered, washed my face (Urth), used preshave oil (Truefitt and Hill), got a great lather with a Silvertip badger brush and shaving cream (Nancy Boy).

It didn't feel right from the beginning. No pressure applied by me - nothing - let the weight of the razor guide down my face. I wasn't in a rush. I watched my angle. There was tugging and pulling and I guess scraping by how my face looks right now. I had about 10 bleeders and my neck is bright red and sensitive to the touch from the irritation.

I had to finish with my Gilette Fusion - it was ugly. My face isn't even smooth and it's beat up. I guess I will try again in a week but ugh - does my face hurt.

I'm sad to not join the ranks of the other successful first timers.

Click to expand...

Remember my friend, for every "I just had a BBS on my first DE shave" post, there are 10 guys not posting because their experience was a lot like yours.

Were all the products a "first time"?

there are some good tidbits of advice below. Stick to it.
also, if you could, post your physical routine of the shave, for example,
1st pass n-s
2nd pass xtg
3rd pass xtg (opposite)

etc, etc,
are you relathering in between?

get thee a tube of hydrocortizone 1% and take the day off....

Here is the list of culprits most likely to least likely
1. MERKUR BLADE that came with razor. These are notorious, in general merkurs are notorious for giving burn. LetterK sampler pack is a MUST. Try an IP or Derby first not the Feather

2. Technique - This will get better as time goes. You must learn to not put pressure but this will happen sometimes only experience make this better. Stick with 2 passes only No BBS but No Burn either.

3. LATHER - Nancy boy requires a bit more cream to get a decent lather. + with the preshave oil I do not know it will be. Skip all the oil etc. Get a tube of PRORASO from target. One of the best creams around for the money

I'd ditch the Merkur blades, the face wash and the pre-shave oil. See if that helps.

Hang in there buddy. Practice makes prefect and get letterK's razor blade sample pack!

Good Luck!