Newbie with rash - Doing something wrong?

**1ntense** · 08-04-2012, 06:19 AM

Well, Ive now completed 3 wet shaves with my new DE razor and accessories but have been left with a fairly irritating shaving rash, especially on my neck.

Just wondering if its just something that will take time to clear as the ingrown hairs need time to sort themselves out or if it may be something Im doing wrong technique-wise.

Im shaving the way that geofatboy does in his vid on youtube (the one with the Edwin Jagger DE89) where he shaves in 3 different directions.

Any help appreciated

Cheers

Dan

**coburn** · 08-04-2012, 06:24 AM

Hello and welcome to B&B. I would recommend only shaving with the grain for a while to get your face used to the new gear and technique. You will not get a BBS shave but you will have little to no irritation, then you can start adding 1 pass and then another. This way if you get any irritation you can figure out what is causing it if its technique.

**turtle** · 08-04-2012, 06:30 AM

When you say rash do you mean red bumps or just irritation (razor burn).

Are you shaving every day?

You may want to cut back on the number of passes you are making and shave every day.

If you are experiencing razor burn you can use some Nivea sensitive after shave balm. You can find this at a lot of grocery stores and at most pharmacies. It is great for razor burn

**Marco** · 08-04-2012, 06:39 AM

Originally Posted by 1ntense

Well, Ive now completed 3 wet shaves with my new DE razor and accessories but have been left with a fairly irritating shaving rash, especially on my neck.

Just wondering if its just something that will take time to clear as the ingrown hairs need time to sort themselves out or if it may be something Im doing wrong technique-wise.

Im shaving the way that geofatboy does in his vid on youtube (the one with the Edwin Jagger DE89) where he shaves in 3 different directions.

Any help appreciated

Cheers

Dan

Dan, skin irritation is mostly caused by too much pressure on the razor. One of the main wet shaving rules is to use a super light touch with NO PRESSURE at all. Just allow your DE razor to glide over your skin with its own weight. Also, remember to proceed slowly and to take your time during the whole shave. At the moment my suggestion is to avoid shaving until your skin recovers and the redness goes away. Keep us updated.

**RobAtSGH** · 08-04-2012, 06:49 AM

Originally Posted by Marco

Dan, skin irritation is mostly caused by too much pressure on the razor. One of the main wet shaving rules is to use a super light touch with NO PRESSURE at all. Just allow your DE razor to glide over your skin with its own weight. Also, remember to proceed slowly and to take your time during the whole shave. At the moment my suggestion is to avoid shaving until your skin recovers and the redness goes away. Keep us updated.

+1

Give your skin a break for a day or two over the weekend. When you pick up the razor on Sunday night or Monday morning, your priority should be a comfortable shave, not a perfectly smooth one. Don't shave in the shower, and shave somewhere where it's quiet. No pressure on the razor, take your time, small strokes, and *listen* to the blade as it cuts your beard. If it sounds/feels like you're scraping more than cutting, then re-check your angle and pressure again.

**JDTTO** · 08-04-2012, 07:10 AM

Geofatboy might not be the best example.

Even though he gets the job done, his speed and angle are not the ones I would suggest for starting out.

When it comes to youtube tutorials, I would suggest Mantic.

**TonyJoe** · 08-04-2012, 07:32 AM

To the above comments I would also add the suggestion that you only shave over areas that are covered with lather. I watched the geofatboy videos when I first started 3 months ago and I had the same issues. I found my technique wasn't good enough to do go back over areas I had already cleared of lather without re-lathering first. I still follow this rule and I'm now getting comfortable shaves that range from SAS to DFS. I think that as you get more experienced you can bend this rule more but for now I'm happy with a rash-free neck - something I never had with cartridge razors.

**1ntense** · 08-04-2012, 07:44 AM

Thanks guys, think Ill give my skin a rest for a couple of days as suggested.

I have been shaving over areas where Ive already cleared the lather so maybe thats part of the problem.

The rash is more ingrown hairs I would say, in the form of red bumps :(

**JeffOlson** · 08-04-2012, 07:56 AM

Ingrown hairs are no fun! Shaving with the grain should help to avoid them. Too much pressure, or shaving against the grain, especially with a multi-blade cartridge, can cause problems.

**1ntense** · 08-04-2012, 09:27 AM

I thought shaving against the grain was needed to get a close shave though? :/

Im excited about my next shave and want to have one now haha, dont want to make my ingrown hairs/rash worse though :(

Im using Derby blades atm but also have some Feathers and Gillette 7 O'Clocks to try, how often should I be changing my blades and how good are these Derbys? Ive heard theyre good for beginners but wondering how much closer a shave I can get with better blades :)

**cluelessdude** · 08-04-2012, 09:49 AM

If everything above fails then try cold water shaving. It works for me in reducing the amount of irritation and allows me to shave everyday.

**JDTTO** · 08-04-2012, 10:15 AM

Originally Posted by 1ntense

I thought shaving against the grain was needed to get a close shave though? :/

Im excited about my next shave and want to have one now haha, dont want to make my ingrown hairs/rash worse though :(

Im using Derby blades atm but also have some Feathers and Gillette 7 O'Clocks to try, how often should I be changing my blades and how good are these Derbys? Ive heard theyre good for beginners but wondering how much closer a shave I can get with better blades :)

opinions on derby's vary but I consider them as nice and safe. At the start of the learning curve it's best to have not too many variables.

**artyfufkin** · 08-04-2012, 10:57 AM

I have issues with ingrown hairs on my neck and have found that I can only shave WTG. Any across or against the grain causes exactly what you're describing. I never shave against the grain which means no BBS on my neck, but that's just something I live with. BTW, I had this problem with multiblade and single blade cartrages as well, so its not an issue caused by DE or wet shaving. That said, you're on the right track with needing lather wherever you shave...don't shave non-lathered areas.

**lr11** · 08-05-2012, 06:48 AM

You need to slow down, and get your angle right. Also don't change the variety of your blade yet, you need to learn the basic until then keep all variables at a min.

You will be able to get at least 3-4 days of shaving out of one blade. You will probably see some rough cutting with a new blade but after the first shave the blade will calm down. Please take in account that the soap or shaving cream may be drying out your skin out or at least creating a portion of your problem.

**1ntense** · 08-05-2012, 09:30 AM

Well I left it a couple of days for my skin to recover a bit and shaved again this morning.

I went with the grain and across the grain but not against it and didnt seem to get that much irritation, it hasnt aggrevated my ingrown hairs either so will continue to avoid going against the grain until my skin has gotten a chance to get used to DE shaving. I also made sure not to shave over non-lathered areas and got some of that Nivea stuff that was recommended, have literally just applied it so cant say if its any good or not yet really though I did get a good deal on it in Savers if anyone from the UK is interested (Post Shave Balm, Deoderant and Shower Gel for £4.99) :D I also picked up some Erasmic cream and a shaving stick, unsure if its the stuff people talk about on here though as its made in the UK and not Jordan?