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.
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.