First time DE user = bloody mess

I've been shaving my head for about 18 years, I finally figure I would give these safety razors a try. I ordered a Merkur Futur and some Astra blades. I prepped my head as I normally would for a cartridge shave, warm shower rinse and use of shaving gel. I have a few bottles of shaving gel left and I wanted to use them up before going with soaps. I went slow at first with short strokes on setting 2. Setting 2 didn't give a close enough shave so I tried 3.

I saw it was gliding pretty easy and tried to go at the same speed and stroke as a cartridge blade. Bad idea, first long stroke, it nicked my head well and shaved a little skin off. The top of my head has a little pimple like bump that is always there and always gets nicked. Doesn't bleed this bad, maybe just once or twice a year. I have a Proraso Gel Bleed Stopper which I will have to look for.

Needless to say, I'm going to have to work on my prep and technique or go back to cartridge blades

Keep working. My first face DE shave was also a bloody mess.

The Futur is an aggressive razor even for face shaving. I would not recommend it for head shaving. Rather get something milder like a Gillette Tech, Superspeed, Edwin Jagger DE89, Merkur 33C.

Yea, that razor will bite, get a milder razor as stated above.

as others have clearly stated quite possibly the worst razor for head shaving.

Don't give up on the Futur! I use mine regularly set at about 4.0 for my head and face with no issues. It did take a few shaves to get used to.

I have some large scars at hairline and back of head that require attention when going over. I have shed blood with multiple razors if I rushed or wasn't paying attention. The worst cut ironically was from using a Harry's cartridge.

I just came back from vacation where I used a Harry's cartridge for a week (forgive me). I did notice multiple weepers the first couple of shaves. I wonder if scalp has transition period from one type of razor to other?

Cheers
John

Welcome and great to have you here on B&B. Sorry about the nick. Keep practicing.

I'd give away those last cans of shaving gel and make the move to a good slick soap or cream, along with a nice brush and alum block.

I haven't tried Haslinger's yet, but my favorites right now are La Toja Sensitive & Arko Moist creams, RazoRock XXX, Pre de Provence soaps.
The brush I've fallen in love with is the Shave Revolution "Evolution Synthetic Stubby" with Persian Jar handle. I'm sold on "synthetics", this one has nice soft tips, yet plenty of backbone for scrubbiness. From the knot to the handle, price and balance, this brush is far and away my favorite.

Sorry! Two suggestions:

1. Give this some time. DE is a skill that takes awhile to master.
2. Read through the wiki on technique.

Well wotth the effort IMO!

Don't throw in the towel yet!

Give it some time and go a bit slower when shaving.

DE takes a while to learn to do well. NO PRESSURE means just that. And UNLEARNING old habits take time for everybody.

Give yourself a day or two to heal up and try again with real lather from real shaving soap applied with a real shaving brush and I'll bet it will turn out better!

Yeah, I agree with the others. Don't give up!
I'm still relatively new and I thought I'd have my technique perfected after a couple months, but my neck would disagree...face is fine though. But it is still much more fun than shaving with cartridges, IMO.

I use a Postwar Tech, it's mild and very efficient. I used to use a NEW SC, but I find the Tech to be better for head shaves. I go WTG and ATG for the best results. I use the Astra SPs, great blade. I enjoy BBS head shaves everyday.

I started laughing as soon as I saw the word "Futur". Kudos for shaving the dome with a DE. Braver man than me

Anyone who shave their head is braver than me....
And your head looks like my face after my first DE shave!!!
OUCH

sparrow6 said:

I started laughing as soon as I saw the word "Futur". Kudos for shaving the dome with a DE. Braver man than me

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I have a Futur and it bites me even when it's set to 1. I dont use it too much anymore.

sodium33 said:

I've been shaving my head for about 18 years, I finally figure I would give these safety razors a try. I ordered a Merkur Futur and some Astra blades. I prepped my head as I normally would for a cartridge shave, warm shower rinse and use of shaving gel. I have a few bottles of shaving gel left and I wanted to use them up before going with soaps. I went slow at first with short strokes on setting 2. Setting 2 didn't give a close enough shave so I tried 3.

I saw it was gliding pretty easy and tried to go at the same speed and stroke as a cartridge blade. Bad idea, first long stroke, it nicked my head well and shaved a little skin off. The top of my head has a little pimple like bump that is always there and always gets nicked. Doesn't bleed this bad, maybe just once or twice a year. I have a Proraso Gel Bleed Stopper which I will have to look for.

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As stated by my cohorts, welcome to IMO the greatest place on earth (or the interwebs).I haven't been DE shaving for all that long myself and I can tell you that it took me quite some time to get the technique down. Echoing the statement of others, you are very brave for shaving the dome with a DE.

I don't have much experience with the futur, however it's on my list. My first two DE razors were the Merkur 34C and the Mühle R89 Rose Gold. I would most definitely donate what you currently have and invest in soap, brush, and an alum block. Along with form, those three items made a significant difference in the quality of my shave. Additionally, the quality of lather also improved my shave significantly (sadly this took longer than my form to acquire).

Again, welcome! I wish you the best of luck on your new journey/adventure. Also, if you'd like, I'd be more than happy to send you a loaner razor until you get something you're happy with. Happy shaving!

This new hobby has proven to be an exciting albeit expensive one.

Yes, for your head (and face), try the Edwin Jagger DE89 as already mentioned. It's a very nice shave.

Check out Jon @ baldnation he's a master at the head shave and his dome always appears nick free.

Jacquers said:

The Futur is an aggressive razor even for face shaving. I would not recommend it for head shaving. Rather get something milder like a Gillette Tech, Superspeed, Edwin Jagger DE89, Merkur 33C.

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Yes, you ordered the wrong razor for head shaving. A mild DE razor will do head shaving very well with little to no blood.

I recommend the "Perfecto" razor found on amazon. Silly name but really nice easy razor.

P.S. the Perfecto razor prefers Personna Blues as an everyday blade.

I'm not giving up, not scared off yet I'm going to try again once its all healed up in about a week or so. I think its more of a case of user error than the fault of the razor as to why I bleed a bit. I already have some scaring on my head due to auto accident so I'm not too worried about adding a few more due to shaving

The red arrow is where I always have trouble even with a cartridge blade. The purple arrow was a nick at the start of a concave area where I went too fast. The other spots were just blood drops, only two nicks on the noggin.

I'm going to place an order for some soaps, brush and maybe another razor to try out on my next amazon order.