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Newbie in NYC having difficulty

I have a few questions since I am having difficulty with my wet shaving so far. I have tried both a DE and SE and still have nicks and razor burn.

I have followed the rules and do what I see on the videos and once it is all done I have nicks and razor burn which at least I don't notice until it is all over. Especially on my moustache area, which has always been difficult even with a Mach 3.

I have sensitive skin and not a very dense beard. Most of the hair density being on my upper lip, chin and neck area. I tried a Gillette Tech with a Derby blade and a Gem Pushbutton with a Treet blade and KMF and VDH. I am only doing two passes one WTG and one ATG.

I really would like to continue wet shaving as I enjoy the process. :shaving:
 
My first thought was you might be using a little too much pressure, but if you don't think that is it then it may just be a matter of getting your technique down just right. OR you might want to try a different blade (I'm not a huge fan of Derbys). Don't give up hope yet, it took me a little time to get it down as well. Some say you might also just need to give your face a few weeks to adjust to shaving with just one blade instead of the umpteen blades in a cartridge.

Also, pick up some Witch Hazel, CVS has it as well as Pasteur's, and it should help with the redness and razor burn.

Good luck, and again, don't give up yet! :thumbup:
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Skip the ATG pass for now. Only do WTG twice or WTG and XTG. Make sure you are not applying any pressure at all at any time. If you didn't face map the grain of your beard, try it.
 
Welcome!

Generally when you're getting started, it's the technique that's your biggest problem (it was mine). Different blades may help the situation, but 'use no pressure' is the most important rule. Most of my issues were related to too much pressure.

Blade angle at about 30 degrees and just have the blade barely touching. I found that starting with too little pressure is a good way to handle it. Use so little pressure you're barely cutting hair and increase incrementally each shave until you start getting burned, then back off the pressure. (and take some time off shaving and let your skin heal up)

Stick with it, you're on the right track.
 
Make sure you take a full two minutes to wet your beard, one minute with a hot towel, one minute brushing your lather into your beard. Make sure you relather between passes. As mentioned before, skip the ATG for now.

The push button Gem is a mild razor, it shouldn't cause problems.
 
You have some good advice, above.

The two stumbling blocks many new shavers face is learning the correct blade angle and not putting pressure on the blade. Most new shavers have used cartridges and, as a result, have developed poor shaving habits. However, 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. To assure this I use two fingers and my thumb to hold the razor with one finger resting on the tip of the handle. This results in holding the razor very lightly with no pressure on the razor. You want to hold the razor as lightly as you can without it falling from your hand. For blade angle take a look at here.

Before putting the razor to your face you should map the grain on your face so you know which way the grain of your beard grows. You can use http://www.pbjsite.com/shave/whiskarmap/ as a guide. The first pass should be with the grain, whichever direction that is, with subsequent passes across the grain. Initially, until your technique is good, against the grain passes should be avoided.

And as others have said go slow, practice, and in time it will work.
 
Welcome to the B. My added 2 cents is prep. The better it is, the better the shave is.

AND....

What Luc said. +1
 
All good advice above. :thumbup1:

Prep well - lather well.

No pressure on the razor - let the weight of the tool do the work for you.

Stick to "with the grain" shaves at this point.

Go slow.

Practice makes perfect!

:thumbup1:
 
I have been applying no pressure and am actually having trouble with the blade stopping and pulling the hair even with the Gem which is heavier than the Tech. And sometimes it seems that my skin gets cut but not the hair :huh:

Generally when I shaved before with a Mach 3 I shaved every other week and only went one upward pass ATG on my entire face, that was the only way to get it smooth and not irritate my skin.

For prep I was after a shower using jojoba oil and hot towel with shaving cream (a la mantic) and then applying lather.
 
I
I have followed the rules and do what I see on the videos

There's your problem right there - we can only give you 'suggestions'. If you look at them as 'rules' and follow blindly you won't get anywhere. You need to figure out for yourself what works and what doesn't - after every shave think about what worked well and what didn't, and what slight adjustments you can make to do better tomorrow.

I have been applying no pressure and am actually having trouble with the blade stopping and pulling the hair even with the Gem which is heavier than the Tech. And sometimes it seems that my skin gets cut but not the hair :huh:

That sounds like bad prep or bad razor angle.
 
Just remember that this is learn as you go. Technique is important. It's also important to know that things that work for me may not work for you. The only advice I can give is to concentrate on your blade angle. DE razors don't have pivoting heads that keep the blades at the correct angle regardless of any contours on your face.
 
+1 on the 'skip the ATG for now' thing.

Back when I was shaving my whole face (I keep a light beard now... just shave neck), I couldn't even THINK about ATG before a WTG and a couple XTG passes, and even then it was questionable. And my neck now, I try to stick with 3 passes max... a combo of WTG and XTG. ATG on my neck is unfathomable: Too sensitive.
 
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