I bet your 1 pass is closer than my 9 pass.

[lordfink]

I started DE shaving about two months ago. (I also use a Feather straight edge razor on weekends but thats another story for another time)

Started with the Merkur 34C and have recently moved to the EJ DE89L. I too have problem areas... upper lip area just below nose, jawline, and lower chin. I also have a bump on my neck that I have to be very careful about otherwise I end up with a weeper.

There is plenty of great advice on this thread on lathering and blade angles, so I won't add anything else to that. But here are two areas on which I thought I'd share my experience:

Face prep
I always shower and use a face wash before the shave. Use a gentle and moisturizing face wash. A face wash that leaves you with a squeaky clean feeling is actually not very good for you as it ends up drying the face. Showering for too long or using a facial scrub ends up drying face and the shave is not so smooth afterwards. As I step out of the shower I don't dry my face and leave it a little damp. I rub a moisturizer or cream on my damp face and leave it on for a couple of mins... after that I start to lather. This face prep regime works for me.

DE blade choice
In the past two months, I've been sampling a number of blades
- SUPER Crystals: left me with razor burns
- Merkur blades: moderately good but didn't leave with a baby smooth shave
- Feather DE blades: I figured I was ready for Feather DE blades... to my surprise, the Feather was the only blade that would skip as I moved it over my problem areas!
- Derby: much like the Merkur, not bad but not the best either
- Astra: Absolutely fantastic so far. After regular use I've found that the beard growth in my problem areas is not so dense any more... making future shaves even better.
So I would suggest experimenting a little with your blade choice as well. You never know whats the right blade and right razor for your face.

Just my $0.02 and hope it helps you get back to DE shaving! Good luck!

[vreddy2000]

I can relate to some of your issues. my 2 cents.

1) your lather is either too dry or too wet.. sounds like your lather is not doing anything for you.
i would fix it it one of two ways.. apply a preshave oil..your lather quality becomes less important then.
or try tabac..it is very forgiving and gives great lather no matter what the prep.
2) try buffing .. small short motions...up and down over the same area...you can google it and you will see what i mean.
the reason i say this is..you say you can hear the hair slicing but when you go back and check you can still feel stubble..
that is propably because ..most razors expecially the mild ones...are mild because the blade sits tight against the guard..so only the hair that can fit between the furrows is getting cut.
think of it as a plough... you will have to go over the same space multiple times to get all of the stubble.
3) blade angle..
this is how i find my blade angle..
the head of the blade flat on my cheeck and then bring it down till i can feel the blade...
i am confused with the terminology on wether you call this angle flat or steep.. but the object of this exercise is to get the blade to slice and not scrape..

4) cold water shave
this makes the skin tighten and the hair stand up ..helping the blade slice easier..
since I started cold water shave about a month ago.i have not had one nick or cut..


hope some of above helps ..

o and one last bit...if you don't get done in 3 passes ..just let it go..and think abt it..and come back the next day and try again..
if it din't work in 3 passes it won't in 6..and your face might be too raw to try next day..

good luck (y)

[Bejaar]

Ouch....I feel your pain. Sounds a lot like what I was going through after I started. My first week went excellent, and then down hill from there. The blade I used originally was the Dorco ST300 with a Futur and it was good for the leap from cartridge. After a week I felt as if the effectiveness of the brand series itself wasn't as effective (after switching back for another round a year into my DE journey, I realized it was due to moving my expectations of a quality shave up a notch. Now that I was shaving with a higher quality hardware, my baseline of acceptable was now what I achieved with a Dorco), and at that point I bought a sample pack. Long story short, I created a log to keep track of the performance vs. comfort of the blade I used from that pack. During my rotational period some were decent, others were great, and others would tear away at my confidence as they would my skin. Along the way I found troubleshooting the hardware, blade, and whipping up of lather was a necessity if I were to become even a proficient novice. These are some of the items that led to poor shaves and long nights of rocking back and forth in the corner:
1. Proper seating of razor in blade
2. Proper cleaning of hardware (razor and brush included)
3. Replacing blade on a regular basis
4. Beard softening techniques (shower before, use of hot towels, rinsing face with hot water between passes)

Point being as a starter, you're always going to run into something that may be an issue with technique, mechanical failures, improper fits, or just an off day. Stick with it and eventually it will work out. After all the tweaks and different techniques, it took my almost 9 months before I found something that works for me.

Today the process I follow is:
3 pass shave on the face (WTG, XTG, ATG)
2 pass on the neck (WTG, XTG. I find that ATG doesn't work for me and just creates a lot of ingrown hairs as my neck is extremely sensitive)
Again, I rinse with warm/hot water between passes
Apply Alum Bar, wipe off
Apply witch hazel
Apply Balm

"Measure twice, cut once" I always say.

[kirill]

This is an interesting one to be sure, I would almost want to see a video of you shaving, just to try to properly diagnose the issue.

If your prep is solid, your lather is good, you're using next to no pressure with a proper blade angle, and you're stretching your skin when necessary, then unless you're misunderstanding some part of the process, I don't see where the problem is arising other than a problem with the razor itself. I hope you update us when you receive your EJ89.

In the meantime, stop overlapping your strokes, you should never shave an already shaved spot before relathering, make sure to follow your beard map such that WTG is actually WTG, and try to limit yourself to a single pass. Even now I don't go ATG on my neck, sometimes it's not meant to be, good technique or no, plus I think most people would have unpleasant results with lather sitting on their face for 70 minutes.

[ShaveThis]

You've got more advice here than Carter's got pills.
It makes me want to suggest that you don't over think this whole thing. While shaving certainly has a few important points to keep in mind while you develop your technique, it's not rocket science. Men, and women, have been doing it for a long long time. I don't mean to belittle your learning curve so please don't take this the wrong way. Relax, try to enjoy it and less is usually better.

I am inclined to think that you have a problem with your razor. I'd stick to the disposables till you get your new one. Also, someone in this thread suggested an TTO adjustable. I would too. Many razors in one.

Best of luck and we are all with you. We all have had our problems.