It sounds like you are well on your way to a perfect shave.
Interesting! I've read some people use a spritzer for their witch hazel. Might have to give it a try!@Johnnynroy
I use just generic Witch Hazel and I put it in a spritzer bottle.
More efficient and less wasteful that pouring and splashing like AS.
This little bottle for example.
I agree that the concept of using no pressure is not a simple as it might seem. Practice is what it takes to get it right. Shaving the neck area might be the most difficult to master due to the asymmetrical growth patterns and sensitive skin. This thread is a gold mine of information regarding neck shaving challenges.
Welcome to the madhouse Johnny.New guy here.
Welcome to the madhouse Johnny.
With your type of beard hair, shaving is a LOT easier with a rigid blade. The Maggard OC V2 head holds the blade rigid, whereas the DE89 doesn't (this isn't a problem for shavers with "average" or softer hair). The non-rigid blade (in your DE89) will catch and pull at your hair (as you noticed) when the blade angle and pressure aren't precisely right. And with your whisker type you DO need to use just a little pressure. "No pressure" at all is a joke IMO, especially with coarse beards where the blade will just bounce off the hairs... mind you, your heavy MR7 handle will help you out there (but won't help your skill so much).
Hopefully @rabidus may be along with some pics and advice regarding blade rigidity.
Congratulations on your best shave to date.
I agree that the concept of using no pressure is not a simple as it might seem. Practice is what it takes to get it right. Shaving the neck area might be the most difficult to master due to the asymmetrical growth patterns and sensitive skin. This thread is a gold mine of information regarding neck shaving challenges.
Good to hear that things are moving in the right direction. If your lather was very different with the new cream, I would suggest that it was a function of technique rather than quality of the old one. Good lather is heavy, wet and slick and provides glide and protection (but you knew that anyway).
I'm a big Proraso Red fan. I don't have problems making lather with any soap or cream, but like you, I did when I started.... So far, just trying to switch and go WTG as much as possible. Difficult to see the transition though with all the lather there.
Welcome aboard and congratsNew guy here.
I have to shave daily for my job, and since I've been daily shaving for over a decade, the beard grows fast. Hair is also very wiry, dry and curly. Started DE shaving in earnest last Sunday, with 3 days of growth. Got a EJ DE89, TOBS Jermyn St Sensitive, Omega 11137 brush and a blade sampler pack, all from Maggard. I mapped out my face my first day, but then proceeded to do the standard three pass shave ignoring my grain. Oh and used an Astra Stainless (bad idea). Right back to cartridge levels of razor burn/ingrowns/PFB. A couple nicks, no cuts. Since then have only been varying the blades daily, without much improvement. Been focusing on technique, using only enough pressure for contact with the skin. Unfortunately, my hair is so rough and wiry that most blades were just pulling on it, not cutting it. Did try bowl lathering instead of face lathering. And started trying to shave with my grain instead of just going down, then across one way, and finishing the other way. Also cut it to WTG, XTG. Tried Kyle's prep, no decrease in razor burn. Showered then shaved, no difference. Post shave mostly the same, usually Alum+Thayer's Witch Hazel+Nivea Sensitive skin. Reapply Thayer's at night most nights.
I also have been reading on here to stick with the same setup for a month. My patience wasn't holding up as it seemed like my razor burn was only getting worse, not better. I decided to get a few more things. Got some proraso red cream, and pre-shave cream. Got an actual lather bowl (my wife gave me odd looks when I brought the cereal bowl down to run through the dishwasher)... and ordered some Maggard razors (V3a, V2 and Slant heads and M7 handle). Cut myself on my upper lip 2 days ago with a Gillete 7 O'Clock Yellow SharpEdge. Frustrated, but decided to try out the Astra SP (worked decently well) and had to take yesterday off. This morning I did the one thing newbies aren't to do: I changed multiple things. In fact, only things that were the same from two days ago were my brush and blade. I even changed how I shaved. And it was the best shave I've had.
Used proraso pre-shave cream after my shower. Proraso red shave cream (lathers well and stays wet on my face unlike TOBS), the Maggard V2 head on M7 handle, Astra SP blade (loving this so far), and normal post shave. Alum told me I went too close in spots, but I also varied the shave and tried going XTG, ATG. Minimal razor burn. Just went back and rechecked: least amount of bumps I've had on my neck in a decade. I'm hooked.
I'm a big Proraso Red fan. I don't have problems making lather with any soap or cream, but like you, I did when I started.
My aim with any lather is that it's slick, yogurty, and thin. No Santa Claus stuff to clog up my razor or (in particular) to stop me seeing exactly what I'm doing.
I do the same - actually use if for every aftershave product, not just witch hazel. Conserves product. Helps keep the shave den nice and crowded.Interesting! I've read some people use a spritzer for their witch hazel. Might have to give it a try!
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