Irritation while Shaving

I have been shaving since September of this year after 4.5 yrs of not shaving at all! My set up is Fusion Proglide + Omega 63171 + AOS pre-shave oil + loccitane cade soap. As far as after shave goes Witch Hazel and Locciane Youth Cade Concentrate.

I used to shave with single long strokes going from the edge of the side burn down to the jawline. My passes are North to South all over (face+neck) then E to W on my face and South to North on my Neck. My final pass is East to west on my Neck and then South to North on my face. That would be WTG, XTG, ATG passes for me!

I tried that with a Trac II and my face swelled up and went on fire, it does not seem to like long strokes.

To fix this, i thought of practicing short strokes with my Fusion Proglide to see where it would take me to build up skills before jumping on Trac II again after my face was irritated for 2 days (about 2 weeks ago)

Now I find my Fusion (which never gave me any issues before with long strokes) it started to irritate my face with this short strokes (pass razor over skin over little area, kinda micro-lift razor from face, and pass little bit lower from where I left before).

Another issue I have with the lower right side of my neck is that it gets always that yanking sensation when shaving ATG on my final pass!

I've heard lots of things about DE's! But I want to build good techniques before I invest any extra money on any razor. I really don't know how to improve this. But I do know that if you use a Trac II with long strokes like again, from the south end of my side burn till the jawline it will rip my skin away.

I would take up on any advice. It would not hurt to say that I shave right out of the shower, I do clean my face with a loccitane face soap in the shower, then apply AOS pre-shave oil, then face lather with Omega 63171 using my Loccitane Cade soap. I do try to rinse my face in between passes.

I think that's all the information I could gather from the past few weeks, only shaving every other day! I get the 5oclock shadow but the following day. So I just wait till the next morning (48 hs afterward) to shave again!

Please feel free to add any tips or pieces of advice! I would truly appreciate it!

Welcome to Badger & Blade!

Your problems are starting with that Fusion. Get yourself a DE or straight!

North, south, east, and west do not mean anything. You need to map out the growth of your facial hair. What means N-S for you, may mean something totally different to the next guy. For example, N-S may be WTG for you, but ATG for another guy. WTG, XTG, and ATG are the passes you would do then. If your skin is very sensitive, skip the ATG pass.

The money you would invest in a DE is irrelevant because it would just be the money you are saving from not having to purchase those God-awful cartridges anymore. Get yourself a Gillette SuperSpeed or Tech ($5-$15 from the BST) and a blade sampler from Bullgooseshaving.net or Westcoastshaving.com.
Also, take a look at this page.

Good luck! Post back if you need more help.

Welcome to B&B!

Good advice from Matthew!

Please! If you want me to try DE I need to know how is it going to work better! The money factor is not an issue for me! I would encourage members to comment on this thread upon describing technique, methods to improve and things I should look for while shaving as I am not an expert on the subject! As far as I know, flying economy or flying first class will take you to the same place! The pilot does not fly different for each traveling class!

Gardel84 said:

Please! If you want me to try DE I need to know how is it going to work better! The money factor is not an issue for me! I would encourage members to comment on this thread upon describing technique, methods to improve and things I should look for while shaving as I am not an expert on the subject! As far as I know, flying economy or flying first class will take you to the same place! The pilot does not fly different for each traveling class!

Click to expand...

ok advantages over 3+bladed carts

price (i know you dont care)
feel: the razors are a quality product and made of metal for the most part so the carry weight with them letting it do the work instead of you needing to put pressure like a cart.

the posibility of less ingrowns and iritation. it dosent work for everyone but if proper tech's are used with a de you can acheive a iritation free and ingrown hair free shave consistantly because of how with 3+ blade carts cut below the skin it may cause ingrowns to form.

fine tuning: DE's alow you to mix and match blades for their property's of Sharpness Smoothness and forgiveness. that and changing the razor itself will yeild a more or less agresive shave. not every razor is the same.

oh ya and dont forget to take your time and enjoy yourself. you can speed up once you get the hang of things. you dont have to shave like charels robberts. LOL

Gardel84 said:

Please! If you want me to try DE I need to know how is it going to work better! The money factor is not an issue for me! I would encourage members to comment on this thread upon describing technique, methods to improve and things I should look for while shaving as I am not an expert on the subject! As far as I know, flying economy or flying first class will take you to the same place! The pilot does not fly different for each traveling class!

Click to expand...

No but it is such a better ride in first class!

Welcome to B&B! If you are looking for technique advice on a cartridge razor about the only thing you can change is the pressure. The hair growth on most necks are all over the place. Make sure you have a good map of what direction yours grows you just might find out that it goes in a different direction then you though (or in circles). Try using lighter pressure. What kind of lather are you making, is it slick and provide enough cushion? I also would skip the ATG pass. Just my thoughts.

Welcome to B&B.

To me the advantage of DE shaving is that I can get a much closer, cleaner shave than I could ever get with a cart. The technique required by DE shaving in contrast to cart shaving is different. Cart shaving does not require you to pay much attention to blade angle or pressure. That is why you don't get as good a shave. The one area that cannot be emphasized enough is NO PRESSURE on the blade. Let the weight of the razor do the work for you.

For a good starting off point look at the information at this post. The information there will direct you to where you can get answers to all of your shaving needs.

Gardel84 said:

I've heard lots of things about DE's! But I want to build good techniques before I invest any extra money on any razor. As far as I know, flying economy or flying first class will take you to the same place! The pilot does not fly different for each traveling class!

Click to expand...

At present you're paying first class prices for an economy class shave.

Get a DE. Apart from mapping your beard growth, any 'technique' you learn from a cart will be next to useless moving to a DE.

It's very difficult to get a decent shave with the pressure you need to make a cart work; they are so light, you have to press them on your face to work, and pressure is exactly what you don't need with a DE.

Gardel84 said:

Please! If you want me to try DE I need to know how is it going to work better! The money factor is not an issue for me! I would encourage members to comment on this thread upon describing technique, methods to improve and things I should look for while shaving as I am not an expert on the subject! As far as I know, flying economy or flying first class will take you to the same place! The pilot does not fly different for each traveling class!

Click to expand...

The biggest reason you should switch is that most likely all of your problems are stemming from your use of a cartridge. I mean, take a look at these threads posted in the Shave Clinic & Newbie Check-In. Many, many guys will post something along the lines of "Wow, getter much better shaves now that I switched to a DE".

Considering that you run five blades over your skin, you are just setting yourself up for a lot of irritation, especially when only one blade is needed.

Worst case scenerio, you purchase a DE, find out you hate it, and have wasted $15. But then again, money is not an issue, so that should not matter, right?

Welcome to B&B and be assured, you have been given excellent advice by others on the board already. A de razor, some sample blade packs, brush and cream with plenty of practice and you'll enjoy the finest shaves of your life.

Gardel84:
It sounds like you're off to a great start but may need to practice more on technique, but anyway...Welcome to the B & B
And yes...this Forum has the knowledge, ideas, and alround 'know-how' to assist in your Wet-Shaving experience. In a nut-shell...your 'gonna' love it here

Also, once you get time....please tell all of us a little about yourself in the Hall of Fame sub-forum

Christopher