So my equipment and supplies came in ahead of schedule, I got it setup last night, studied some videos (mantic59) and re-read some articles in anticipation of shaving today.
I started out with a pre-shave oil, I read that grape seed oil was the best to use. Well, now I don't believe that after trying it because it just gunked everything up.
Next, I lathered up with some Proraso, BTW I would definitely like to know how that is pronounced. The lather was nice and warm and I really enjoyed it.
Then came time to tame the Futur beast! The Futur was loaded with a Merkur Blade. My first 'with the grain' pass was on a setting of 1 and I quickly determined that was not working and slowly increased up to 3, using half increment increases. My first pass produced a small nick just below my adams apple, no big deal.
The second pass was 'across the grain' and I could tell that my shave was getting closer and I could audibly hear the blade slicing the hair, awesome! The second pass was without incident, but I did notice that I could visibly see my facial hair and I was concerned that I wasn't properly shaving because I could see what appeared to be a 5 o'clock shadow.
With the third 'against the grain' pass I decided to apply just a little pressure to get a closer shave. I started low on my neck and went up my face with short strokes and heard more hair being removed. After the third pass was completed I did not see the shadow on my face, but I still could see it on my neck.
I decided to do another pass on my neck only. I lathered it up and decided to make this a downward (North to South) pass with the same slight pressure I had just used to go against the grain. When I got done with the neck pass I noticed some slight redness.
I did the cold water rinse to close the pores and noticed some slight irritation on my neck and then the Alum Block set my whole face on FIRE!
I rinsed the Alum off after my face had dried, about 2 minutes and then generously applied an After Shave Balm (ASB) which calmed my neck a little bit.
Some time has passed now and I still feel the irritation (razor burn?) on my neck and some red bumps. Is there anything I can do to minimize the damage? I really do not want any ingrown hairs or to complicate tomorrows shave, so I am looking for some preventive maintenance suggestions.
In summation, I enjoyed the experience. It takes much longer to shave this way, but I honestly believe that my face is being taken better care of than before and I think my skin looks better.
Thanks