Newbie from California Checking In . . . Slightly frustrated!

Hello all -

I started DE shaving a few months ago and I'm loving it!

My gear:

Merkur 34c
Feather blades
Royal Shave PB3 silvertip badger brush
TOBS - Mr. Taylor's Cream
Alum block (This is my aftershave! I use this as directed. Wet face & block, apply block, wait 1 minute, rinse w/ cold water)
No aftershave (my allergies don't do well with fragrances)
No aftershave balms (I have fairly oily skin and can't stand the greasy feeling on my face!).

I initially tried a few sample packs of blades and the Feather brand works by far the best - for me at least.

I switched to DE shaving to eliminate rashes / ingrown, and save a few bucks (or more) on disposable razors. So far, I have seen a positive result. However, I am having a very tough time achieving a BBS shave!

My first pass is always WTG. If I leave it at that, I usually get a decent shave and things are fine.

However, no matter what I do, on the second and third pass (XTG & ATG), within a few hours of shaving, I get an tremendous amount of rashes and ingrown hairs. The only time I don't break out is when the its WTG. I don't thing achieving the BBS shave using 1 or 2 WTG passes is possible!

During all three passes, I always apply very little, almost zero, pressure to the blade. I usually don't get any nicks / weepers.

Am I doing something wrong?

Is an ingrown-less BBS shave out of the question for me?

Any thoughts and suggestions will be appreciated.

Many thanks,

Ara

Make sure that you are maintaining proper blade angle, applying zero pressure, and take your time. Also make sure you have a nice protective lather before you begin. Two of the most common mistakes i have noticed are improper blade angle and/or insufficient face prep. What is your preshave routine like?

Welcome to the club. Glad to have you aboard. For some people, ATG is just not in the cards. Also, it's not a good idea to actively pursue a BBS--DFS is just as good, and a BBS only lasts for a few hours anyway. Aim for a close, comfortable shave, and the DFS and BBS will come along when they are ready.

Fraternity Gentleman - I normally try apply zero pressure while shaving. However, I must admit that at times, I rush.
My preshave routine: wash face with cold water, bowl lather using cold water (TOBS) for about 1 minute, then apply lather on face (1st swirl motion, then i paint the lather on).

Welcome to the community! What is your prep routine before shaving? This is one of the most important aspects.

Greetings Ara. Welcome to B&B. Glad to have you aboard. Perhaps you should only do one pass for a day or two, then two passes for a day or two. See how it goes.

Try letting the water hydrate your whiskers more. This could be letting the lather stay for 3 minutes, shaving right after a shower, or using a pre shave such as proraso or even noxzema.

Hello and welcome to B&B, Ara. This is a great forum full of friendly, helpful shavers. You'll learn a lot here.

Welcome to B&B!

Welcome to the forum, Ara !!

Greetings from Sacramento area, welcome to B&B.

Personally what worked for me was eliminating the alum and replacing with a Thayer's witch hazel splash. It is an astringent and comes in lemon, peach or original. It can serve as an ASL also.

Welcome!!! Stick with it ! ! ! It will get better my friend!!! the men above and after me have helped me with countless similar issues, you did the right thing asking.

Great insight from all. ..I also think that prep is a factor here. I would also consider other blades, maybe a sampler would help determine a better blade.

Ara, glad you have joined, hello and welcome to the friendliest forum

Sorry for the delayed response. Some people find that cold shaving works great for them, but I have yet to have much luck with it. To try and rule out your preshave as the culprit I would try some rigorous prep for a few shaves. My routine, when time permits, is as follows:

1. Soak my brush in warm water

2. While the brush is soaking use the warm water to rinse your face

3. Work up a good lather and apply to face

4. Take a wet towel that you heated while your brush was soaking and drape it over your face (I get the towel as hot as I can stand)

5. Sit back for about 5 minutes and enjoy some good music while your beard softens

6. Remove towel, rinse off any remaining lather, re lather, and proceed to shave

I would be curious how your shave is affected if you try following this regimen. If you don't want to try it that's fine, but if you do please let me know how it works. And as always ymmv