1 Month Progress: Ups&Downs

[Raphael_P.]

Hey guys, roughly one month ago, I entered the world of wet shaving. Since then, I experiemented with different lathering methods, differend blades and heads. So far I managed to get a really good grip on bowl lather, producing enough lather for 3 passes and a comfort one (just cause I can!). I got to try my own razor head (Timor G&F/Muhle) and my friend's Rockwell 2C. I've also got the chance to try Astra blades, Personna, Voskhod, Timor and Derby. So far my ideal shaving routine is Bowl lather (LaToja), Timor 1353 CC Razor, Derby Premiums, Nivea aftershave (cause I'm on a tight budget rn) and for the passes:1 WTG(full face),1 XTG (but AGT the neck) and 1 AGT (full face but the mustache). Seems to be working quite good, but the only thing that's still bothering me is the itty bitty nicks I get under my jaw and my neck. Every time I go and shave my face, they open again, but if I let them fully heal my beard would be too long and I'm gonna get cut again trying to shave it off.
Should I change something in my routine? Should I rock a thick goatee?
Any advice is helpful!
-Cheers.

 

[Gryffindor]

Hey there!

It sounds like you have more ups than downs in your first month. Certainly more than in mine!

If the nicks are where a goatee would be, I'm no help there. I'm a never shaver, and all of my nicks have been from just using a poor angle. I can feel exactly when they happen, and I make an effort to immediately take stock of how the razor is positioned when they do.

If you believe that your angle is good, though, perhaps swap out just the blade and leave everything else the same. You could also really let your face heal, use a trimmer to cut the growth down, and then shave the remainder with your DE.

 

[Raphael_P.]

Hey there!

It sounds like you have more ups than downs in your first month. Certainly more than in mine!

If the nicks are where a goatee would be, I'm no help there. I'm a never shaver, and all of my nicks have been from just using a poor angle. I can feel exactly when they happen, and I make an effort to immediately take stock of how the razor is positioned when they do.

If you believe that your angle is good, though, perhaps swap out just the blade and leave everything else the same. You could also really let your face heal, use a trimmer to cut the growth down, and then shave the remainder with your DE.

I will let my face heal for a week or so. Also I don't feel it when I get nicked, the only time I see it is when I apply my next lather and small red dots start appearing. I was thinking a goatee or a nice mustache would suit my face, I have really strong black hair. They never go away, even after a 3 pass shave, there's still a grey shadow. With the extra facial hair I hope I create enough contrast so the shadow won't show as much.

 

[ajkel64]

Thanks for sharing your journey so far. I wouldn’t change to much to soon, this is where many can get themselves into strife. I would stick with one set up and work with that until you start getting the results that you want. Then maybe start changing things about. Stick with it and you will get there.

 

[Raphael_P.]

Thanks for sharing your journey so far. I wouldn’t change to much to soon, this is where many can get themselves into strife. I would stick with one set up and work with that until you start getting the results that you want. Then maybe start changing things about. Stick with it and you will get there.

Yeah, I like my current routine, so I'm not changing it any time soon. I'll just lay off a bit, so my old cuts won't open when I shave again.

 

[BigJ]

Great progress!

Two thoughts:
#1. The neck and jawline are difficult because it is hard to keep the optimal razor angle with NO pressure! Focusing on those points may help.
#2. Mapping your beard is worthwhile because it will help you to understand how to approach various areas.

You have the right idea: stick with one set-up and focus on technique! That is the shortest route to optimal results IMHO!!

 

[Johnnynroy]

I will let my face heal for a week or so. Also I don't feel it when I get nicked, the only time I see it is when I apply my next lather and small red dots start appearing. I was thinking a goatee or a nice mustache would suit my face, I have really strong black hair. They never go away, even after a 3 pass shave, there's still a grey shadow. With the extra facial hair I hope I create enough contrast so the shadow won't show as much.

Full disclosure: I also have trouble overshaving areas, so I speak from experience and understand the difficulty having a dark, coarse beard that shows a shadow no matter how close a shave I've gotten. That said, sounds like the issue is weepers, not nicks to me. Small but, imo, significant difference. A nick or cut will be enough to scab over and will constantly reopen when you shave and is caused by the blade edge digging into the skin through the epidermis and into the dermis. You'll typically feel them as the nerves also run in the dermis. A weeper, on the other hand, is due to shaving too closely in an area. You remove some of the epidermal layers when you shave naturally, but a weeper is caused when you remove too much of the epidermis in an area, allowing the capillaries below to leak through the epidermis. Shouldn't cause any pain, and is easily staunched with cold water, alum or occasionally styptic. Weepers are due to over shaving an area, so the solution for those isn't necessarily waiting for them to heal, rather, to not shave so aggressively over areas. Trying to make your shave into a BBS will cause weepers. Instead, try to aim for a DFS or CCS. With time and improvement in technique, a BBS will naturally follow. Your angle might be slightly off, and pressure (too much) is also a likely factor. Add this to a three pass shave that includes some ATG shaving and you have the recipe for weepers. Try doing one wtg pass, then the xtg pass for a couple days. When your face no longer feels sore and raw, add a xtg pass in the opposite direction if you want a closer shave. After a week or two with the two xtg passes, you could consider switching the second to an atg pass, but immediately switch out if your face starts getting sore. I also do use a styptic solution (the clubman nick stick, but any should do the trick) with any of my weepers as I got lazy and dont want to wait for them to stop bleeding on their own.

Final thought: the technique that will come with time is the locking of your wrist and using your elbow and shoulder to do all of the motion of the razor head. Coming from a cartridge razor background, this was the hardest habit to break for me. It's the constant wrist movement that causes weepers, as the edge of the blade undulates as you move your wrist up and down to follow the contours of your face. Use your elbow and shoulder to adjust the blade angle and I'll bet a lot of your troubles become less prominent.

Hope some of that helps you, enjoy the shaves!

Joel

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Raphael_P.]

Full disclosure: I also have trouble overshaving areas, so I speak from experience and understand the difficulty having a dark, coarse beard that shows a shadow no matter how close a shave I've gotten. That said, sounds like the issue is weepers, not nicks to me. Small but, imo, significant difference. A nick or cut will be enough to scab over and will constantly reopen when you shave and is caused by the blade edge digging into the skin through the epidermis and into the dermis. You'll typically feel them as the nerves also run in the dermis. A weeper, on the other hand, is due to shaving too closely in an area. You remove some of the epidermal layers when you shave naturally, but a weeper is caused when you remove too much of the epidermis in an area, allowing the capillaries below to leak through the epidermis. Shouldn't cause any pain, and is easily staunched with cold water, alum or occasionally styptic. Weepers are due to over shaving an area, so the solution for those isn't necessarily waiting for them to heal, rather, to not shave so aggressively over areas. Trying to make your shave into a BBS will cause weepers. Instead, try to aim for a DFS or CCS. With time and improvement in technique, a BBS will naturally follow. Your angle might be slightly off, and pressure (too much) is also a likely factor. Add this to a three pass shave that includes some ATG shaving and you have the recipe for weepers. Try doing one wtg pass, then the xtg pass for a couple days. When your face no longer feels sore and raw, add a xtg pass in the opposite direction if you want a closer shave. After a week or two with the two xtg passes, you could consider switching the second to an atg pass, but immediately switch out if your face starts getting sore. I also do use a styptic solution (the clubman nick stick, but any should do the trick) with any of my weepers as I got lazy and dont want to wait for them to stop bleeding on their own.

Final thought: the technique that will come with time is the locking of your wrist and using your elbow and shoulder to do all of the motion of the razor head. Coming from a cartridge razor background, this was the hardest habit to break for me. It's the constant wrist movement that causes weepers, as the edge of the blade undulates as you move your wrist up and down to follow the contours of your face. Use your elbow and shoulder to adjust the blade angle and I'll bet a lot of your troubles become less prominent.

Hope some of that helps you, enjoy the shaves!

Joel

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Just to be sure and not reopen those wheepers I will let them heal, but after that I will go for that milder routine you said. Thanks for the information and yes you did help.

 

[SailFast]

Welcome! I’m sure your shaves will improve with time and practice. It’s an adventure not a race. Haha

 

[Macfrommichigan]

More prep, lighter touch, and a couple more months....

 

[Invicta]

Welcome to B&B. Keep working on your technique. The Shave Wiki has good information to improve your technique; ShaveWiki | Badger & Blade

 

[China shaver]

Welcome aboard
- all the above advice is the same as I followed months ago, now I rarely get weepers and certainly no nicks. For the first few months (after suffering from weepers in the neck area for weeks) I quit ATG on my neck area only shaving WTG. Then when my neck toughened up I started XTG left to right and right to left. That continued for more weeks until no I can go ATG VERY CAREFULLY.
I'm no expert as these other guys are, but doing what I did worked for me.

 

[Raphael_P.]

Cool