New Shaver in the house

**kasabian** · 06-09-2006, 05:04 AM

Hello everyone. I am new to the world of "gentlemans" shaving. Up until 2 days ago I was a gillete mach3, shave gel, and alcohol based balm man. Not anymore!

I got myself a nice safety razor, some almond cream, a badger brush and some "skin food" from trumpers.

Today was my second shave with all this new stuff. I'm really enjoying the experience.

I just had one or two questions that you guys might be able to help me with:

So far, I'm getting a really good close shave. But I'm getting a few nicks and quite bad razor burn on my neck. I was just wondering if this was normal? I guess my skin has to get used to the new methods right? I do have overly sensitive skin anyway... do you think in the long term, proper shaving (safety razor, brush..etc..) will help improve and toughen up my skin? I'm still only 24...

cheers, thanks a lot for your help. great forum.

**Kyle** · 06-09-2006, 06:20 AM

Kasabian,
Welcome to wet shaving and to B&B. I really like your naming of this method as "Gentleman's Shaving".

First of all, neck problems are very common and will take a little bit of time to work through. Neck hair usually grows in an insane pattern and lays very close to the skin. The single most shave-changing factor will be learning the proper razor angle and how to keep it while shaving the neck. Stay after it, and you will soon have it mastered. Also, the skin will toughen up a little bit, and it will also become much more healthy in appearance and feel.

Again, welcome.

**Austin** · 06-09-2006, 06:39 AM

Kyle, answered your question thoroughly. The only thing I can add is to make sure you do not apply pressure to the razor. Let the weight of the razor glide across your skin. Enjoy.

**letterk** · 06-09-2006, 09:53 AM

There may be some discussion on the "Gentleman" part, but that's for another thread.

I had some serious razor burn on my neck when I started as well. It really was a case of trying to do too much to fast. Don't go for the BBS shave right off the bat and ease into it. As Kyle said, learn the direction of the neck hair. Also, experiment with different direction passed until you find the one that causes the least irritation.

**jmhUT** · 06-09-2006, 10:23 AM

Hi Kasabian,
It was only a few months ago that I converted and I had the same initial results. I still do my 3rd neck pass with a wet/dry electric. IMO a styptic pencil is a newbies best friend. Others prefer alum which is fine but my experience has been better with a styptic. You rub it on your still damp skin and it instantaneously closes pores and nicked skin before anything can get in there and cause problems. I have also found that it reduces redness. They are very cheap and can be found in any grocer/drug store. Also, while I was learning I went back to the M3 occasionally to give my skin a break. I still skip at lease one weekend day for the same reason.
Cheers,
Jeff

**roughrider** · 06-09-2006, 03:35 PM

The great advice from these gentlemen should help to improve your shaves.

**HeadandFaceShaver** · 06-09-2006, 04:51 PM

I too and relatively new to safety shaving and experience the neck irritation. Its been slowly getting better. For me, switching to a different blade helped some. The biggest thing, like Kyle said, was not trying to do too much too soon. Sure, as a newbie I can get rid of every bit of against the grain hair and be BBS, but at such a cost! Itchy, blotchy, red skin and an ingrown hair to boot!. I'm much less ambitious right now and am getting better results. I'm learning which passes give me the most irritation and am decreasing my adjustable razors setting on the more aggressive passes while reducing my blade angle much more than before. I am confident that in the months to come I will be able to get an irritation free BBS shave! BTW, even with my current not so aggressive shaves I"m getting better shaves than with the old Mach 3.

-Brandon

**Cutthroat** · 06-09-2006, 08:08 PM

I'm another new guy but here is what worked for me. Pay close attention to which ways the hair grows on your neck and remember absolutely no pressure. I do 3 passes n-s, s-n, e-w from the outside in. Smooth as silk and no irritation. Just take your time. It took me about 3 weeks to really get the hang of it. I suggest an alum block. Rinse and then gently rub the wet block over everywhere you shaved. It will help if you happen to draw blood but more importantly you will know if you have used too much pressure with the razor. Sometimes you will feel like you have done everything right but the block holds the truth. When you get that really great shave that is sure to come you wont even feel the slightest tingle from the alum. Hit some Thayers or Proraso pre-post and you will be fine. It seems like the burn I sometimes get with the DE is still less severe and fades much much quicker than if i somehow burned with a cartridge.

Good luck!

**guenron** · 06-10-2006, 06:33 AM

Welcome Kasabian. It appears that you are off to a good start. There will be some nicks, some irritaiton, the occassional poor shave, but this is the place to learn how to overcome those setbacks common to every new wetshaver's experience.
Ask for advice or an opinion on any issue and the chronic keyboarders here will provide plenty! Quite often it might even solve your problem.

**kasabian** · 06-12-2006, 11:12 AM

Hi Gentlemen

Thanks for the feedback and support.

I got off to a good start I thought, but then I had some problems. I had a really bad shave a couple of days ago. I got pretty severe razor burn on my neck. I was so angry, I was ready to throw in the towel

I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong. I've read all the instructions, followed all the steps as mentioned on this forum and various other places, but it all seemed to go wrong.

Once I had calmed down though, I remembered the advice that this takes time to master, and it's worth it in the long run.

One thing I don't understand though is, shaving AGAINST the grain being a big NO-NO.

To be honest, shaving against the grain is the only thing that has ever worked for me. If I shave WITH the grain, nothing much seems to happen.

either way - i still got razor burn with the double edge.

Anyway, call me a wimp, but for the time being i'm doing my neck with a mach3 and the rest of my face with the double-edge.

I know, I know this is bad, but I've got a few job interviews/meetings in the next few days, and I don't want to turn up with a face like a medium-rare steak.

I will go back to the neck double edge shave soon. I'm not giving up!

**With The Grain** · 06-12-2006, 11:16 AM

....

**Suzuki** · 06-12-2006, 11:41 AM

I also have to go against the grain to get a decent shave, just take your time and make sure there's lots of soap and/or water too keep things gliding smoothly.

I can vouch for the alum and also recommend witch hazel (the Thayers products are great and quite cheap) to soothe any burn.

Finally, you may want to try different blades as some are sharper than others - sharper = fewer passes and therefore less irritation.

Just my two cents.

**mrob** · 06-12-2006, 12:33 PM

Kasabian,

If you run a search you'll find that there was quite a discussion/poll in one of the forums on against the grain shaving. I am also one who requires a SN pass to get a decent shave, and was confused about all of the recommendations not to do so. The poll revealed that the vast majority of guys do indeed shave against the grain, usually on a final pass or combined with blade buffing and/or a touch and cut.

So, go ahead and shave against the grain, but use a light hand, a sharp blade and keep your face well lathered--and only go against the grain after you've reduced the beard pretty significantly by shaving with and across the grain first.

Good luck!

**DoubleE** · 06-12-2006, 03:37 PM

Kasabian:

Hang in there.....it will get better. I too used a M3 on my neck before mastering the DE neck technique! Not because of irritation but because I could get a better shave. After much practice, I finally learned how the hair grows on my neck and can now beat the M3 quality of shave anywhere on my face! Not without an against the grain pass however - sometimes more than one for trouble spots.

I too recommend Thayer's witch hazel. It can be very soothing and my preference is the original. Just a touch of alcohol but no burn.

Have you tried using a different razor blade? It's amazing the difference a blade change makes sometimes. If you've spent much time here, you already know there are lots of choices and lots of favorites. If you haven't experimented with others, I'd certainly give it some consideration.

Your face will continue to adjust so give it time, work on your technique, and let us know how the progress goes.

**kasabian** · 06-14-2006, 10:41 AM

Thanks Gents

Yepp...I've been reading about different blades, on the forum. At the moment I'm using Merkur. This isn't really by choice. It's just what came with my razor when I got it. I got 10 spare Merkur blades. At the time, I didn't know there was different types of blades. I just assumed they were all the same, just different brands. I think I could benefit from a sharper blade though. I don't think I could handle the FEATHER ones just yet (from what I've read). I quite like the sound of the ISRAELI blades, so I might give them a go, next.

I feel guilty asking too many questions, but here is another:

When shaving, are you supposed to just take single, long, strokes with the razor across your face? I find this never really works for me. I tend to do short little "scrapes" if you like. Know what I mean?

Is this totally wrong? Sorry if that's a stupid question. I just don't know...

Thankyou in advance

**mrob** · 06-14-2006, 10:48 AM

I've tried both long strokes and short ones, and found better luck with short, slow strokes on my first 3 passes. I then move to faster, blade buffing stokes as my touch & cut after the 3 passes.

My 2 cents.

**yasuo200365** · 06-14-2006, 12:37 PM

Kasabian,

I notice you're from London ..., so there's no need to buy the Israeli's or Feathers because here in the UK we are lucky enough to have Swedish Gillettes & Tesco (own label) blades. The former are very highly praised on the forums.

Swedish Gillettes are not the easiest blade for our American friends to get, but many swear by them and are willing to pay a premium to import them. Personally the Swedes just edge the Feather's into second place for me, plus to we have to buy Feathers from the States and import them. John Lewis's sell the Swedes.

The Tesco own label blades have only been around for a few months, but everyone who has tried them as far as I know is singing their praises. They are superb blade & cost just £2 for 10. The blade is a mystery, but I compared the finish of the steel with Swedes, Merkur, Derby, Israeli, Wilkinson Sword & Feather (and even Zorrick

) & guess what the closest match was the Feather ..., could this be a clue?

I wouldn't recommend you start shaving against the grain for two reasons - first although many guys do it on the forums there are plenty of (respectable) sources that will tell you that it is much harsher for the skin; secondly there is some satisfaction to be had in mastering a good shave going with-the-grain rather than taking the easy route...., in the long run I believe your skin will be better for it as well.

Regards
John

**yasuo200365** · 06-14-2006, 12:41 PM

I forgot the Personna's in the comparison.

Regards again
John

**kasabian** · 07-09-2006, 05:01 AM

haha..who would've thought Tesco of all places would have top own brand razor blades!

Thankyou...I will definately try them out. You can't go wrong with that price. And I'll try to pop into John Lewis some time this week, see if I can get my hands on some swedish gillettes.

Hey gentlemen shavers, how you doing? I just got back from a 3 week holiday in Los Angeles. I took all my shaving instruments with me. It was fun. The best part of the holiday was lining up all my shaving stuff in the nice, swanky hotel bathroom.

Well...just kidding... it wasn't the BEST part of the holiday, but it was pretty cool.

So it looks like i'm a bit obsessed with all this shaving stuff now. Every supermarket/shop/liquor store I went into, I was heading over to the shaving section to see what they had. I managed to get loadsa PRORASO stuff from a shop called TARGET (i think it's pretty famous, right? cool place

) I got some THAYERS witch hazel. I love the traditional bottle design. And it's great to use too. I've been using it everyday for about 2 weeks, and it's still practically filled all the way up to the top.

hmm...what else... I went to a swap meet and found a metal cup kinda thing to use as a shaving bowl/mug. It's antique. It has pictures of cowboys on it and it says "PONDEROSA RANCH". I don't know how good it is in terms of a shaving bowl, but when I use it, I feel like John Wayne or something...haha

oh, and in the moment of madness I bought a CLUBMAN PINAUD moustach kit! It includes moustache wax, a small set of scissors and a miniture comb

I have never had a moustache, nor do I plan to anytime soon, but this little kit was just too funny.

So as you can see, i've lost the plot a bit.

In regards to my actual shaving, it's going pretty well. Some days are better than others, but all in all it's good. I'm still needing the gillette mach3 razor to do under my nose and stuff.

My skin feels better though. Every morning before I shave, my face feels like brand new sandpaper. As opposed to before, when I was using MACH3, it felt like used, tatty, sandpaper.

**Kyle** · 07-09-2006, 05:14 AM

kasabian,
Welcome to B&B. It sounds like you are really having a good time with both wet shaving and the collecting of the associated paraphernalia. If you haven't done so already, be sure to post pics of your new purchases. That shave mug sounds especially interesting.