Hi everybody...newbie+first problems= advice needed.

Hi everybody,

i'm Paolo from Italy and I've been lurking this forum for a month...a forum that I discovered almost by accident.

It's 3 months now that I began shaving not only my face, but also my head
and while I was surfing the web in order to learn something about head-shaving related items (looking for something cheaper than my Mach3)/tecniques, I stumbled on a post of a guy who said he's been using a DE razor for his daily head shaving.

DE Razor???

After 30 seconds thanks google, I was watching mantic59 videos and reading B&B forum...

After 2hr I was looking at my granpa's old Omega 48 brush...

After 48 hrs, I bought a Merkur 11c, 10 dovo/shavette blades, Vulfix Mixed Grosvernor and a bowl of Tabac...

After a 10 days, i'm finally here asking for help.

I'm 34 and been wet shaving since my first shave but never dived into DE shaving. I always used Gilette products (Blue, BlueII, Sensor, Mach3...) and Proraso/Gilette shaving cream. I'm a son of the 90s...

I have to admit that I always had good results, no razor burns/nicks (hell....it's impossibile to nick yourself with a Mach3...). WTG/ATG..that was my routine in order to have no shade on my face (this is what I aim at when shaving...).

But...

• ...shaving my face AND my head with a mach3 means that after 2 shaves I have to replace the blade and I think it's going to be way too exensive on the long run. Using a DE for my face, keeping the M3 just for my head it's the way to go...
  
• ...I goot hooked by the idea of going slow, to take my time and relax while shaving.
  
• ...I also appreciated the idea of "going green".

For my first shaves (1 week/ 5 shaves) I went DE only WTG, finishing ATG with the Mach3. My main concern was to avoid any nick. The results were just as before (good) with only a little bit more irritation on the neck area.

The problem arrived 4 days ago, when I attempted a complete shave with the DE. I lathered in a bowl, then went lather/WTG, lather/XTG, lather/XTG.
Result: shave was close (finally), but for the first time in my life I got a lot of razor burns on the jaw line and chin.

Yesterday (waited 48 hrs to let my skin recover a little) I tried again, but only ATG. My face was still butcherd by the previous shave, but it seems that the situation didn't got worse... The problem is that with 1 pass only, it doesn't even seem that I shaved

Maybe it's only the fact that I'm new to this way of shaving, but I've got a couple of doubts and maybe someone can help me...

- I can't stand lathering on my face since the brush scratches my face in an unpleasant way and to avoid any unpleasant sensation I have to use it on my face only in a "painter" way. Is it normal?

- The merkur 11c is an open comb (hard beard...I ruin shirts and scarfs on a regular basis...), maybe it is too aggressive for a newbie? Is there such a difference between an open and a closed comb (using the same blade)?

- My beard, I realized,is growing almost parallel to my cheeks and when I shaved with the M3 I didn't pay any attention to this, going simply up/down (what I thought was WTG) and down/up (what I thought was ATG). Now that I'm more careful at the angles, I get worst results....maybe I should try my old tecnique?

It's just that I really like the "zen sensation" that a DE shaving routine is giving me and I don't want to give up...but in the end, is the result that matters and a butchered face is a butchered face, even if I butchered it with style.

Well, thanks for reading all this wall of text.

Any advice will be appreciated!

First off...I would not go ATG yet...give your face some time to adjust. You may be using too much pressure. This is a very common mistake and very often causes razor burn. Also, your lather may not be quite right. On first guess this is my observation. I will let the guys help you further. Hang in there. It will get better.

Welcome to B&B!

In my (limited) experience, I've found that my neck irritation was caused by three factors:

1. Lather was not "wet" enough.
2. Blade angle is too aggressive.
3. Pressure against the neck on the upwards (chest to chin) stroke.

After some practice I've got the technique down, but it does take time.

I've heard some good things about "headblade" - might interest you.

BlkKnight said:

Welcome to B&B!

In my (limited) experience, I've found that my neck irritation was caused by three factors:

1. Lather was not "wet" enough.
2. Blade angle is too aggressive.
3. Pressure against the neck on the upwards (chest to chin) stroke.

After some practice I've got the technique down, but it does take time.

I've heard some good things about "headblade" - might interest you.

Click to expand...

+1. Be sure you are not putting any pressure on the blade. Let the weight of the razor do the work. To assure this I use two fingers and my thumb to hold the razor very lightly. I hold it as lightly as I can without it falling from my hand.

Welcome to Badger & Blade!

Welcome to B&B!

Hold the ATG for now, do WTG-WTG or WTG-XTG (if you want to do 2 passes, I would recommend 3 in the end).

You might need a razor blade sample pack to find the best blade for you.

The irritation is likely due to pressure, it should be none.

Welcome from the land of OZ

Welcome Paolo.

BlkKnight said:

I've heard some good things about "headblade" - might interest you.

Click to expand...

It's a wonderful product already in my "arsenal".

Luc said:

Hold the ATG for now, do WTG-WTG or WTG-XTG (if you want to do 2 passes, I would recommend 3 in the end).
You might need a razor blade sample pack to find the best blade for you.
The irritation is likely due to pressure, it should be none.

Click to expand...

Thanks everybody for the hints!

I'll try again tomorrow (razor burs almost completely healed) with just 2 passes being careful to be light handed.

As for the razor blade sample pack...already bought it...it's on it's way to Italy from UK. Since now I've tried the Dovos, Wilkinson (white package) and Gilette Blue (I'm using these atm).

ackvil said:

To assure this I use two fingers and my thumb to hold the razor very lightly. I hold it as lightly as I can without it falling from my hand.

Click to expand...

I'll try in this way...I think that the problem is really the pressure I put on the razor.

Welcome to B&B !!

Try to put as less pressure as possible.
And please, buy yourself a decent blade, these Gilette blue are really miserable.

I shaved almost exclusively with Derby's for about a year. A good blade, may not be the smoothest one, but they always worked great for me.

ghoz said:

I shaved almost exclusively with Derby's for about a year. A good blade, may not be the smoothest one, but they always worked great for me.

Click to expand...

Waiting for a blade sample pack to arrive any day now (Derby, Astra, 7 o’clock, ...).

BlkKnight said:

Welcome to B&B!

In my (limited) experience, I've found that my neck irritation was caused by three factors:

1. Lather was not "wet" enough.

Click to expand...

Depends on the razor, if its getting stuck to the skin and starts skipping, then its too dry. Having too wet is even worse than dry lather, a lather with no protection.

Niubi said:

Waiting for a blade sample pack to arrive any day now (Derby, Astra, 7 o’clock, ...).

Click to expand...

Hi Guys!

After another week during which I kept shaving with my DE, I'm getting little better results.

No more burns, no nicks... I'm still struggling in order to get a comfortable closer shave, but this will take time.

BTW, my blade sample pack arrived 2 days ago:

• Astra Superior Platinum
• Crystal Platinum
• Derby Extra
• Feather New Hi-Stainless
• Gillette 7 o’clock Sharp Edge
• Red Personna
• Iridium Super

Started with the Gillette (yellow) and I found them to be sharper than my old blades (Blue gillette, Dovo Shavette). At least the blades seem to cut with little effort, resulting in a gentler shave.
The problem is that it seems to be this sharp and this good only for one shave...On the second shave with the same blade, I had to replace the blade in mid-shave in order to shave my chin. Is it normal? Is it due to my beard? or is it simply my bad technique?

As for the other blades....Which one to try after the yellow Gillette?

You mentioned that after shaving once with a blade you needed a NEW blade to shave your chin.

I have the problem that my chin and the area under my mouth are just real hard to shave. I slow down and carefully move the blade over my chin and under my mouth . . . but it's still not as close as the rest of my face and I nick myself.

I think this is normal for some of us. What I've started to do is make very small, repeated strokes on my chin. And when I shave under my mouth, I use my tongue to stretch the skin, and I use my fingers, too. I didn't want to. I wanted to just "run" the blade over my face. But in those areas, I just HAD to stretch my skin and be more careful.

If you're like me, you can HEAR the blade cutting the whiskers. All I'm suggesting is that you slow down on the chin and other areas and really stretch the skin with your tongue inside, or stretching your skin, or even using your other hand to stretch and smooth an area of your face.

As for the blades, it's my understanding that the FEATHER is the sharpest, then the DERBY, then the Iridium. So use them in the reverse order, so you get your angle and hand-pressure good with the dull blades before getting to the FEATHER. I bought a sample pack, too, and I'm saving the Derby and Feather blades for last.

The other thing some folks might want to know, is what razor are you using? I bought a MER Murkur Progressive razor for my dad which he gave back to me. This is a pretty heavy razor but also adjustable. I'll go into details if you need them, but for now, maybe just say which DE razor you are using.

After 5 weeks or so, I've found:
1) I LIKE shaving!
2) Yes, I get nicks, but fewer each time;
3) I'm getting faster;
4) I don't try to shave as close on the 2nd or 3d use of a blade as I do on the 1st.
5) It all makes sense. I now use a washcloth with hot water and put it on my face instead of just splashing my face. I rub the gel over a spot, shave it, then rub the gel over the next spot. I use a lot more care on the 2nd or 3d pass than the 1st. That is, while my face is nice and wet, I use fast strokes and try to cover as much area as I can. For the 2nd or 3rd pass, I go a LOT slower and really try to stretch my skin so the blade gets close. By the way, EVERYONE suggests you add ANOTHER lather or gel for that 2nd and 3rd pass of your razor over your skin. I don't add lather or gel for the extra passes and I almost ALWAYS nick myself or get razor burn.

6) The point is, you get what you gave. It's a little extra effort to relather your chin for that second pass, instead of just running your razor over it. But if you take your time, you WILL get a smoother shave of your chin. And yes, I think most men need to reshave their chin just as you do.

ackvil said:

+1. Be sure you are not putting any pressure on the blade. Let the weight of the razor do the work. To assure this I use two fingers and my thumb to hold the razor very lightly. I hold it as lightly as I can without it falling from my hand.

Click to expand...

+1 and welcome to B&B!

Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences furball.

And thanks again to those of you who insisted on the "too much pressure" issue.

This night (10 mins ago...) this newbie got his first big reward...I got the closest shave of my whole life, without nicks or whatsoever!

The combination of an Astra SP (I find it sharper that Gillette 7 o'clock, Gillette Blue, Shavette...), a 4 passes shave and a light hand made the trick for me!

Really...the blade made the difference...it seems that for my beard the sharper the smoother...

I think I've never seen my upper cheek this smooth and without shade!

I took me 30 minutes but I'm really satisfied.

There are some small areas on my face that demands some adjustments since they are not totally smooth ATG, but I think the problem is that in those spots I'll have to learn how to stretch my skin. It seems that even going atg is not enough...

I will shave with the Astras for a week, then I'll move on searching for something sharper while training for the feathers.

Setup:

Merkur 11c/ASTRA SP
Vulfix Mixed Grosvernor
SMN "Crema da barba"

Excellent work!