ive been using my straight razors more often. and i understad there is going to be at least a little tugging with a straight razor. but im finding they catch on my hair alot i know they are sharp though. shaving sharp anyways. so what would cause this? like ill get to around my chin and it will just stop which makes me have to use a bit more pressure which causes irritation. is it even possible to get a irritation free shave with a straight razor or am i expecting too much? and every where else on my neck i can feel the irritation from tugging its uncomfortable for me now
a bit frustrated
- Thread starter Staggers and Jags
- Start date
Tugging tells me that the edge is not sharp enough. Have you shaved off a reference edge honed by a pro?
Tugging and irritation are not normal. They are problems to be solved.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
There are five things that you need to consider; edge keenness, skin stretching, shave angle, blade pressure and face preparation.
If the edge is not keen enough you will experience tugging, irrespective of the other three things.
Skin stretching can introduce tugging, either too much stretching, too little or the wrong direction. Every person's face is different. You need to work out what is best for you.
Shave angle (using a keen edge) is the most common reason for tugging. Flatten your shave angle. It feels counterintuitive as you will get to the stage where you don't feel your whiskers being cut - but they are. You can feel with your fingers in the direction of the stroke that your whiskers were cut.
There are two components of pressure. One is pressure against (perpendicular to) the skin and the other is pressure against the whiskers (tangential to the skin). The pressure against the skin needs to be as light as possible to remove the lather. Don't worry about cutting whiskers, they will come off with the lather provided the edge is truly shave-ready. Pressure against the whiskers needs to be high enough to cut the whiskers without hesitation. How much pressure is dependant a lot on the edge quality, your whiskers and face preparation.
For face preparation, you need to achieve two things. First you need to remove all oils on your whiskers. With the oils removed, you then need to get your whiskers saturated with water. Give your face a good wash and rinse with a low oil content bath soap (I prefer Pears Transparent soap). Rinse very well and keep your face wet for at least three minutes before applying your lather.
Yes, it is possible to shave with a straight razor without any skin irritation. Many men achieve it. It takes time, practice and patience to achieve that goal. Shaving daily, wether you need to or not, is the secret to getting there. Miss a day and you loose more than a day's muscle memory learning.
If the edge is not keen enough you will experience tugging, irrespective of the other three things.
Skin stretching can introduce tugging, either too much stretching, too little or the wrong direction. Every person's face is different. You need to work out what is best for you.
Shave angle (using a keen edge) is the most common reason for tugging. Flatten your shave angle. It feels counterintuitive as you will get to the stage where you don't feel your whiskers being cut - but they are. You can feel with your fingers in the direction of the stroke that your whiskers were cut.
There are two components of pressure. One is pressure against (perpendicular to) the skin and the other is pressure against the whiskers (tangential to the skin). The pressure against the skin needs to be as light as possible to remove the lather. Don't worry about cutting whiskers, they will come off with the lather provided the edge is truly shave-ready. Pressure against the whiskers needs to be high enough to cut the whiskers without hesitation. How much pressure is dependant a lot on the edge quality, your whiskers and face preparation.
For face preparation, you need to achieve two things. First you need to remove all oils on your whiskers. With the oils removed, you then need to get your whiskers saturated with water. Give your face a good wash and rinse with a low oil content bath soap (I prefer Pears Transparent soap). Rinse very well and keep your face wet for at least three minutes before applying your lather.
Yes, it is possible to shave with a straight razor without any skin irritation. Many men achieve it. It takes time, practice and patience to achieve that goal. Shaving daily, wether you need to or not, is the secret to getting there. Miss a day and you loose more than a day's muscle memory learning.
- Thread starter
- #5
Try not to impart too much information, it may be used to assist you...
Have you tried artist club style blades from e.g. Feather or a proline blade?
If you are able to shave without tugging and irritation with these a well honed razor should at least be as good, or better.
Sounds like your edge isnt shaeo wnough
I have a question on this part of what tou said
“For face preparation, you need to achieve two things. First you need to remove all oils on your whiskers. With the oils removed, you then need to get your whiskers saturated with water. Give your face a good wash and rinse with a low oil content bath soap (I prefer Pears Transparent soap). Rinse very well and keep your face wet for at least three minutes before applying your lather.”
I rarely use a straight maybe once a week but i use a DE razor almost everyday and part of my routine is I use Maggard oil right after I use my pre-shave cream. It sounds like you mean to remove all oil from your face.. am I right in thinking that you should remove all oil from the skin before shaving?
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
The more water absorbed by your whiskers, the softer they are and more easily cut. Oil on your whiskers can inhibit the water absorption into the inner cortex structure of the hair. The idea is to remove oil from the whiskers (not necessarily the skin) to better allow water to penetrate into the hair shaft.
Once the hair shafts are hydrated, placing oils onto the outer cuticle layer of the hairs should not noticeably reduce the hairs level of hydration.
If you wish to use any pre-shave products before lathering, I would suggest that you apply your products after you have hydrated your whiskers.
Awesome i always wet my whiskers for about 5 minutes i keep splashing water and massaging it in first, then ill use proraso white massage it in then i use 2-3 drops of oil and massage that around my face. Seems to work quite well this way. What would you suggest as a face wash to strip oils cause i usually use a dove bar soap with little exfoliating beads in it, does that soap leave anything behind that inhibits water from absorbing?
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
Sorry, I cannot advise you on which soap is suitable. I have tried a few bath soaps to wash my face. My preferred one is now Pears transparent (the amber coloured one) from either India or Saudi Arabia. They cost about US$0.67 each (125g) locally. One cake lasts me about 2 to 3 months with daily use - face only.
Getting a wedge grind solved the issue for me.
I shave with a straight because I get less irritation than any other method I've tried. Irritation causes my weird skin disease to act up. Ark edges on straights help keep it at bay.
That being said, I've experienced exactly what you describe. When I managed to amp up my edges, it all disappeared. I have used edges that pulled or stalled. Ideally the blade should cut cleanly and not pull or stall. A truly nice edge will remove the beard with with little sensation. Good edges cut the facial hairs easily and will not tug. It's a revelation when you feel the whiskers being cut instead of tugged.
Do you use magnification on the edge to see what's going on? I lean on magnification a lot and learn from what I see.
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