New to Site & DE Shaving

Hey guys!
Just dropping by to say thanks to those who contributed to the wealth of information.
It has been very helpful.

I have switched to a few different multi-blade razors in an effort to eliminate the ever present razor burn. I have finally decided to invest in the community and the dream of a close, razor bump free shave.

I decided, after some research to compile a shopping cart.
I just received a few days ago, my start up package.

I got:
Edwin Jagger DE89
Personna: Blue Lab (100ct)
Pararosso Green
Escali Badger Brush
No Name Stand

After a few shaves it felt good. No nicks, still a little razor burn though. Almost all my razor burn is on my neck-seems to be my trouble area. I seem to have these wrinkles that inhibit a good shave on my neck. I picked the Personna blades as many people with sensitive skin had good luck, though I am not 100% convinced. They do excellent on the face and beard, but terrible on the neck.

After about a week of shaving I decided to try a 3 pass in an effort to achieve a baby smooth face.
I felt confidant and dived in. WTG, XTG and then ATG. First two went well, then came ATG...it was like I went to a chopping house. Razor burn everywhere. My neck was on fire. Bumps with ingrown hairs and the works. I don't think my skin is capable of handling an ATG.

I will spend some more time shaving WTG and perfect my technique before I try the ATG.

So far I have found a few tips to try; Noxeema before passes and see if that helps.
I already use the Nivia Sensitive Balm, so that seems to help.
I may invest in a pre shave oil as well.

Does anyone else have any recommendations?

Very exited to see the progress and continue to journey to a clear, razor bump free shave.

Thanks for reading.

PerfectCreature said:

Does anyone else have any recommendations?

Click to expand...

It's entirely possible that your neck doesn't fully agree with the Personna Blue Labs. My suggestion would be to get a blade sample pack. And I'm sure you've seen the suggestion about using no pressure when shaving already.

Hi, welcome to B&B

Hello and congrats, you're well on your way! The experience you have on the lower neck is common and it is entirely technique. This is one of the areas which comes to Zen last of all the shaving you'll do. The Good Thing is: you've found the angle you don't want to shave for now, that leaves at least 320 degrees of alternate angle to approach the area and see which ones work better. The other part of the equation is blade angle control. This is something that takes experience and practice to guide your hands in unconscious reproduction of what your mind thinks it is doing.

Otherwise? everything sounds pretty normal! Don't panic and continue on! And like others have said, explore your interest in acquisition disorders - it's Our Job to enable you on that! Cheers! (/edit) Oh! and less or no pressure! Ya, I know, another thing for unconscious competency which requires time, practice, and the experience of reviewing results.

Welcome to the club. Glad to have you aboard.

Welcome to B&B [MENTION=110529]PerfectCreature[/MENTION]! Practice will clear up your neck troubles straight away! A large majority of people struggle with the neck at first.

[MENTION=110529]PerfectCreature[/MENTION] Welcome to Badger & Blade! We are happy that you have found your way to this humble community of ours. Keep at your technique...you will eventually get it. If I had to take a guess, I would think that you are using too much pressure. Keep at it though.

Additionally, as a member you just signed up, please stop by this thread: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...ter-for-your-chance-to-win!-May-28th-June-4th

Say I'm in and you have a chance to win a blade sampler pack! Again...welcome to Badger & Blade!

Welcome!

Hey, Don thanks for the heads up. I submitted my chance to win.
I'd be willing to send a few of my personnas for the next one. It would be fun to be able to try a bunch of new blades to find which one works best for me.

I'm going to try the Noxeema trick tomorrow and see if that cushions my neck a bit more.
I shaved really close with the 3 passes last night and still hardly have a stubble yet. Normally I would have a very noticeable stubble by now with the 5blade or a quick pass.

I will go with just a single pass tomorrow to give my neck some more time to heal and then try 2 passes.

I'll try to slow down even more. I've been using the grip method with my pinky resting/holding the end of the razor, and have been using as little pressure as I can, but I think you may be right. It's still puzzles me a little to get the perfect angle on the neck.

Welcome to the forum !!

Welcome! I too am a newbie to the forum, long time lurker!

Welcome aboard!

I too have sensitive skin and am somewhat of a newbie. Focusing on technique is excellent advice. I do use pre-shave oil and that seems to help, too. The Personnas never really agreed with my skin, so trying a variety of blades is also good advice; the Gillette 7 O'clock Permasharp (India) and Wilikinson Sword (India) blades seem to work well for me.

Keep us posted!

Welcome to the forum. I would recommend staying with your tools until you no longer have the razor burn. It is technique related in my experience. Once you get around that you can experiment with other blades, soaps, creams, etc. By that time you will have developed technique and can successfully use most anything with little adjustment.

Welcome to B & B.

I plan to stay with the Personnas. I have 100 to burn though, so I will change the razor between each shave to help.
Once I can get comfortable with shaving and the angles I will try some of the aforementioned blades. I quite like the razor itself, not so aggressive, which I think helps a lot. I think it was a 2.5 out of 10. I think it cuts very close when it has too.

I really do appreciate the input.

I have found much of my irritation is down to the cream/soap, some cause my skin to tingle after a short period of time and that's before hitting it with the razor, so far creams that work for me are Palmolive, dove sensitive and TOBS Jermyn street. I got 9 samples of various TOBS creams and the difference in shave experience from say their grapefruit to the Jermyn is marked.

Welcome to B&B.

The neck is one of the more difficult parts to shave. As always, use a light touch and the correct blade angle.

Some additional suggestions:

1. Be sure your lather has sufficient water in it. This makes your shave smoother.
2. Be sure your face is sufficiently hydrated whether you use warm or cold water. If your face is wet before you apply lather for each pass, IMHO, your shaves will be better.
3. Take a washcloth and dip it in cold water and then place it on your face after your last pass and before you apply WH.
4. At night, before retiring apply a good quality moisturizer to your face. I use CeraVe but there are other good ones out there, too.

Welcome to B&B. Glad you have joined us. Necks can be tricky. I have a particularly rough patch next to my Adam's apple; it grows in a swirling pattern. I have to approach from multiple directions, including points in between WTG/XTG, and XTG/ATG. Take your time, let the razor do the work (no pressure), and be patient. Your technique improves with practice.

Nice kit. BTW, I have never used pre-shave oil. Enjoy your shaves!

Welcome! Glad you're here! Personna blades are the only blades that consistently burn and nick me. So far, and I've been at it for 2 months, I've really liked Astra SP and Feather blades. I have extremely sensitive skin, and have transitioned to shaving with cold water. I've found that this works wonders for me! As for the blades, you might try getting a sampler pack. You can use them while not using Personnas.

The other thing is to keep reading posts here. The guys on here are awesome and helpful! Lots to learn from these guys! Also, watch YouTube videos like Nick Shaves, Kevy Shaves, TSE, Shave the Man etc. These guys, as well as many others will have great info.

In the end, good old trial and error and education are the best way to solve your shaving issues.