DE questions...

Short version: think my razor is too aggressive, but not positive.

TL;DR version:

So I'm about two weeks into DE shaving, and so far I am getting pretty good results. I am however having a couple of issues I would like to hammer out.

I am still getting pretty significant irritation on one side of my neck where my beard likes to grow in different directions. It's less than I was getting with a cartridge, but still enough to be uncomfortable. Everywhere else I am getting pretty close to BBS with no irritation whatsoever. After getting creative I can get reasonable WTG passes in the trouble area, but as soon as I try to go XTG or ATG I wind up with tugging and irritation.

I am using a Parker 71R with Feather blades and rotating between Proraso Green and TOBS Rose creams, followed by Nivea Sensitive ASB. I feel pretty good about my lathering at this point (more on that later). I have also been paying close attention to not applying pressure and keeping to short strokes. I am wondering if I might have an equipment issue, or if maybe my technique is still too rough.

I have tried rolling my razor on a flat surface and find there is a substantial angle range where the blade is the only part in contact with the surface. My understanding is that head, blade and safety bar should be in contact with the skin all at once, but that doesn't seem possible with this razor. Is this what people mean by an "aggressive" razor? Would trying a different blade maybe help? I am liking the Feathers because I have a coarse beard that tends to chew through razors fairly quickly. Could this just be a matter of blade angle?

Also, I find that with my VDH boar brush I wind up with enough lather for about two passes, and then I usually need to add more cream. Is this just the brush not being able to hold a lot of lather, or am I being too stingy with the product from the start?

Sorry for the Tolstoy, hope somebody can wade through it and point me in the right direction.

What razor is it that you use? It is hard to tell from a description if it is or is not aggressive. The good news is that someone will know your razor.
Frankly, I would say it is not the razors fault if you are happy with the outcome everywhere else on your face, although maybe a more mild one would help with your trouble. I have been DE shaving for 6 months and I still do not do more than 2 passes on my neck. It is a sensitive area for me, with grain direction I would not wish on my worst enemies. Those trouble spots need lots of attention. You are only 2 weeks into it, and from the sounds of it, you should be very happy with your results. Remember the basics, and stick to them. Grain direction. Lather. Pressure. Angle. Etc. You will find your technique going up and down, no matter how good your shave was this morning. It is easy to fall into bad habits again.
If I had to take a guess as to the number one trouble? Grain direction from the sounds of your swirly neck. Even after I thought I knew my grain direction, time and time again, I feel like I am changing something small and finding out that it makes all the difference. Just today I was rethinking some directions.
As far as your cream goes, just use more. You'll get better and better and making it.

Best of luck. Keep us informed if things get better, or worse.
Happy shaving.

It's probably a good idea to check that the razor isn't at fault - I had a shonky Parker which I got rid of. If you get a good one it's great, but if you get a bad one it can be not so great, and if you don't know what to look for you might not realise.

I would check that a) the blade protrudes by the same amount on each side of the razor head and b) the gap between the razor blade and the safety bar is constant along the length of the blade.

Do you have an RTFM version?

Kidding. I can't speak to your equipment, but considering you are only two weeks in, it is more likely to be what you are doing -- technique, prep, or lather. Technique-wise, you are still learning your face and grain map. Don't overdo things in order to achieve BBS. There's nothing wrong with going only WTG on your neck if it gives you a close, comfortable, irritation-free shave with no ingrowns. That's a worthy goal IMO.

Forget BBS, hone technique, the results will come. Don't over-think blade angle or read how to do it - feel for it.

Feathers could be too sharp, they irritate me too.

Load up with more product - the worse that can happen is you make too much lather. Practice making it, getting a good glide will make feeling the blade angle easier.

Drubbing said:

Forget BBS, hone technique, the results will come. Don't over-think blade angle or read how to do it - feel for it.

Feathers could be too sharp, they irritate me too.

Load up with more product - the worse that can happen is you make too much lather. Practice making it, getting a good glide will make feeling the blade angle easier.

Click to expand...

+1 ... hone technic ... feel for blade angle ... feathers can be too sharp (although they are my favorite blade) ... use more product ... have fun ...

Drubbing said:

Forget BBS, hone technique, the results will come. Don't over-think blade angle or read how to do it - feel for it.

Feathers could be too sharp, they irritate me too.

Load up with more product - the worse that can happen is you make too much lather. Practice making it, getting a good glide will make feeling the blade angle easier.

Click to expand...

+ 2. Before ditching the razor I would try some other blades. And here is a good post that will help you on blade angle you may want to review.

I can usually get a good shave with most well respected DE razors and blades.

Proper softening of the beard is critically important for me to avoid irritation. Any irritation I experience is usually related to insufficient diligence when softening my beard before shaving, or to letting it dry out before finishing shaving.

It is important to use a fresh or at least a low use sharp blade to minimize tugging. For me, a new sharp blade does not prevent irritation on an insufficiently softened or dried out beard.

The razor pulls more on hairs that are not well softened promoting irritation. I usually avoid irritation, but have noticed that the likelyhood of experiencing irritation and the intensity of any irritation experienced by me is significantly related to the softness of my beard upon application of the razor to my face.

I serially wash my beard (soap, rinse, soap, rinse) in the shower and shampoo immediately before shaving. Multiple applications of soap and warm water rinses works best for me to get my beard soft.

I usually avoid menthol containing soaps finding them slightly irritating. I believe that I least frequently experience blood or irritation when shaving with MWF. I do almost as well with Tabac.

I find that reducing as much of my beard as possible using WTG strokes before starting XTG and especially ATG strokes is important for avoiding irritation.

I keep spots undergoing touchup wet with spot application of lather or water and use very light pressure. The greater the pressure used and the greater the number of passes of the razor over a spot, the greater the prospect of irritation of that spot.

I stop touchup before achieving BBS on any spots where I start to feel any irritation. My goal is a SAS/CCS without blood or irritation but I find that I usually do much better and get a shave that feels close to BBS.

My face is not very sensative, YMMV.

HTH