Just completed first DE shave, need some help

Well I just completed my first DE shave

Equipment:
Gillette Tech (ball end)
CVS blade
Edge brushless revitalizing cream (I'm waiting for my Tweezerman badger to arrive, and I'm upgrading the cream to Toms of Maine)

Pre Shave:
- Hot shower
- Washed face with Clearasil sensitive skin
- applied Earth Science hair conditioner to beard
- left face wet well drying off

The Shave:
- Warm sink of water (not to hot)
- Lathered the Edge brushless with my hands, and applied a thin coat per label directions.
- To find my angle I started with the handle parallel to the floor and moved the handle slowly downwards to my face a little till I felt the blade slice the whiskers

Post:
- Rinsed cream off with warm water
- Rinsed with cold water
- Dried some of the big water bubbles up, but left my face wet and applied Witch Hazel
- Applied an AS balm

I was only able to do one with the grain pass with light pressure and short strokes. My beard on my face and neck as far as I can tell grow the same direction.

My neck is still recovering from some nicks I got a few days ago from my Mach 3, trying to go against the grain after going with the grain.

The problems I'm having
- My beard is extremely tough to cut
- My neck is extremely sensitive, usually can only handle one WTG pass
- My face isn't BBS (I didn't really expect it to be with my first save)
- My neck looks like I haven't shaved in days, and I have several nicks.

The neck is difficult because it's hard to maintain light pressure and proper blade angle there. Also, I don't think you'll get as much protection from the Edge gel as you will from a good lather. (I've not used Tom's of Maine, so perhaps someone can speak to that.)

Try making short strokes, so you can focus on pressure and blade angle for the entire stroke.

Another problem is likely to be the blade. People react differently to the same brand of blade, so you have to experiment to find the blade that will work best for you. I highly recommend you order a blade sampler pack to test out the major brands. CVS may well not be the best blade for your beard and skin.

Keep shaving, pay close attention, and experiment. With a different brand of blade, some practice, and a good shaving soap or shaving cream, you will see a difference.

And welcome.

Thanks again for all your help Leisureguy I'll work on my technique and when I feel more confidant with it, I'll experiment with the different blades.

I just went and got the Tom's, which seems to get good reviews here. I'll probably try it out tomorrow even though I don't have the brush yet.

I stand by my initial review. Tom's is good stuff.

Ok, I'm fairly new here too but go with LeisureGuys excellent advice. He knows what he's talking about. Get the blade sample pack from LetterK. You've got to use quality blades. You might try warmer (hotter) water too. I get better shaves with water about as hot as I care to touch.

With regard to the neck. Take your time. You'll get the hang of it. Be absolutely sure you know which way the grain of your beard grows on your neck. Mine changes 180 degrees. WTG on you upper neck may be ATG on your lower neck. If you need your neck to look clean touch it up with your old Mach 3 until you get the hang of the DE. That's what I did. If you concentrate on learning blade angle and pressure on your cheeks, usually a less sensitive area, you can apply this knowledge to your neck on down the road. Don't rush into shaving your neck. That area does take time to learn but it'll come as you get the hang of the razor.

Gafer said:

With regard to the neck. Take your time. You'll get the hang of it. Be absolutely sure you know which way the grain of your beard grows on your neck. Mine changes 180 degrees. WTG on you upper neck may be ATG on your lower neck.

Click to expand...

Yea thats exactly the problem, I was mapping my face a little while ago and my upper neck grows one direction (same direction as my cheeks) and my lower neck grows a different direction. I originally thought my neck and cheeks where all the same direction.

Gafer said:

Ok, I'm fairly new here too but go with LeisureGuys excellent advice. He knows what he's talking about. Get the blade sample pack from LetterK. You've got to use quality blades.

Click to expand...

I know, I plan to get the sampler pack when money isn't so tight. A member on here is going to send me some blades to try, but I wanted to start with the Personna/CVS blades.

comfortablynumb said:

I know, I plan to get the sampler pack when money isn't so tight. A member on here is going to send me some blades to try, but I wanted to start with the Personna/CVS blades.

Click to expand...

If you can make the Personna/CVS blades work for you that would be great from a cost/convenience standpoint. These same blades are even cheaper at Walmart - around $1.50 for a 10 pack.

I will say that trying different blades while you're still learning your technique can be a problem - you can't tell if that great shave you just go was because of the different blade or you managed to nail your technique.

Good advice from all the above re. blades, pressure,angle etc. Something else worth considering is leaving your beard area untreated whilst showering. For months I have been washing my face as usual in the shower before shaving, but the last week after reading a post on the forum I tried not washing and now get the most comfortable shaves ever and my face feels better ie. less tight afterwards. Just a thought and YMMV.

Barbelus maximus said:

Good advice from all the above re. blades, pressure,angle etc. Something else worth considering is leaving your beard area untreated whilst showering. For months I have been washing my face as usual in the shower before shaving, but the last week after reading a post on the forum I tried not washing and now get the most comfortable shaves ever and my face feels better ie. less tight afterwards. Just a thought and YMMV.

Click to expand...

Yea I was thinking maybe my new soap could be the causing some of the discomfort, I just started using Clearasil sensitive skin face wash. I don't have problem skin per se, mainly my nose I get black heads for some reason, and my forehead gets oily.

Maybe Ill try using it only on days I'm not shaving

That could well work. My nose was always covered in blackheads and I had an oily forehead as well. Now I have nothing, completely cleared up. I will never ever use anything on my face again except olive oil soap when I've been at the gym (but I don't shave afterwards) I think a lot of guys think they have sensitive skin when if they stopped using all the crap that is supposed to be gentle on their skin they may find a big improvement, I know I did. Keep us posted.

+1 on the Olive Oil Soap.
This is Probably the most misunderstood soap on the market. It is not oily like you might expect. Instead it does and exceptional job of cleaning your face without drying or over moisturizing. I love the stuff. I too have discovered that not washing my face in the shower works better. Instead, I wash my face with olive oil soap just before I later up when using shaving cream. If I'm using a shaving soap then I don't wash at all.

My favorite olive oil soap is from Austin Natural Soap:
http://www.austinsoap.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=IS01&Category_Code=Soap-Nat
I've found it at Whole Foods in Austin but don't know if it's available in any of there other stores. It's excellent in that it's olive oil and little else.

comfortablynumb said:

Yea I was thinking maybe my new soap could be the causing some of the discomfort, I just started using Clearasil sensitive skin face wash. I don't have problem skin per se, mainly my nose I get black heads for some reason, and my forehead gets oily.

Click to expand...

Just use the soap on your forehead and nose when you shave.

Barbelus maximus said:

I think a lot of guys think they have sensitive skin when if they stopped using all the crap that is supposed to be gentle on their skin they may find a big improvement, I know I did. Keep us posted.

Click to expand...

+1

I have also noticed that less is more. You mentioned you use olive oil soap on your face. Which one do you use?