Hi guys. I've been doing DE shaving now for over two and a half weeks, and for my face it's just not living up to its promise at this point. I'm getting pretty significant irritation every shave, and the shaves aren't very close either even after multiple passes. I'm trying to do what you guys say (no pressure, correct blade angle, proper lather, etc), but things just aren't working well. And it may in part be due to the fact that my beard is thicker/coarser and grows faster than just about anyone else's I've seen... in Movember I frequently have in three days what most of my work buddies take a full seven day week to grow. This means I absolutely must shave daily, and I'm also unfortunately cursed with very sensitive skin.
Because of that, I think the only way I'm ever going to get this to work (and I do want to get it to work, because I enjoy the traditional shave process) is with extra good technique. So I've taken to youtube in an attempt to see how others with good technique shave with a DE (and build lather), and I'm getting discouraged. In video after video, I see guys extolling the benefits of DE shaving but doing very poor technique, at least based on what I've read on here. I'll watch them do things like:
1. Use lots of pressure (based on their skin indentation)
2. Do repeated cleanup passes of the same area without re-lathering (no shaving cream!).
3. Use very steep angles where the safety bar is touching the skin, which means that razor (if it's like my EJ) is almost certainly scraping the surface of the skin rather than cutting only the hairs.
These guys all seem to be happy afterwards and talk about how great their shave just was, so all I can assume is that their skin isn't overly sensitive. I know from over two weeks of experience that if I personally do any of those three things it really hurts and leads to a lot of redness and irritation, so there's not much I can learn from most of these videos.
Do any of you have some good videos of people with really good technique shaving, especially if they have sensative skin and heavy beards? So far I've found the mantic59 videos but that's about it. I'd love to see more, especially some with closeups or higher resolutions, in the hopes that I can better learn how to hold a correct blade angle, get proper consistency in my lather, deal with the chin and jawline, etc. Any links or help would be much appreciated!
Because of that, I think the only way I'm ever going to get this to work (and I do want to get it to work, because I enjoy the traditional shave process) is with extra good technique. So I've taken to youtube in an attempt to see how others with good technique shave with a DE (and build lather), and I'm getting discouraged. In video after video, I see guys extolling the benefits of DE shaving but doing very poor technique, at least based on what I've read on here. I'll watch them do things like:
1. Use lots of pressure (based on their skin indentation)
2. Do repeated cleanup passes of the same area without re-lathering (no shaving cream!).
3. Use very steep angles where the safety bar is touching the skin, which means that razor (if it's like my EJ) is almost certainly scraping the surface of the skin rather than cutting only the hairs.
These guys all seem to be happy afterwards and talk about how great their shave just was, so all I can assume is that their skin isn't overly sensitive. I know from over two weeks of experience that if I personally do any of those three things it really hurts and leads to a lot of redness and irritation, so there's not much I can learn from most of these videos.
Do any of you have some good videos of people with really good technique shaving, especially if they have sensative skin and heavy beards? So far I've found the mantic59 videos but that's about it. I'd love to see more, especially some with closeups or higher resolutions, in the hopes that I can better learn how to hold a correct blade angle, get proper consistency in my lather, deal with the chin and jawline, etc. Any links or help would be much appreciated!
