Close comfortable shave not possible?

[FreeBlues]

Practise, practise, practise! I'm on a similar journey and I'm getting better. Still not there, and I have good days and not so good days, but the good days are becoming more frequent. Just stay with it, be patient,it will come.

 

[trentr]

In a hurry so did not read entire thread. If no one else mentioned it, try just witch hazel as a splash and Nivea sensitive shave balm after the witch hazel. My skin is quite sensitive and if I have a bit of razor irritation it is exponentially compounded by perfumes or scents in aftershave products. More so on my neck (likely because that is my irritation area). Anyway, while I was getting all the lather/razor/blade technique down, the witch hazel/nivea appraoch helped me quite a bit. Once I got dialed in I went back to after shave with some smell good and have no issue. NOw learning straight razor, my neck irritation came back. As I get more proficient with the straight, my irritation is going away slowly. I had it bad, like to the point of looking like a strawberry and my neck feeling ON FIRE through the day. Hope this thread helps you find your way. Keep at it, you will figure out what works for you. Oh, and for me, 2 passes and quit on the neck. If not smooth, deal with it and try again next time. 3rd pass is irritation for sure. And my neck never gets BBS....yet anyway. Close, but not quite.

 

[xmacro]

Pressure was the reason I kept cutting myself with a DE for years. Once I told myself, "Let the weight of the razor do the work", even Feather blades no longer cut me.

 

[MikeyS]

I stand by great prep as a key to success. I’m still trying to find that magic blade/razor combo that works great for me but a huge turning point to not getting cuts, weepers or irritation was my recent change to prep.
First an adequate hot shower with an exfoliating face scrub. then, as ironic as it sounds, an after shave balm as a pre shave. It puts a lot of moisture and springiness back into your skin that the exfoliating took out. Went from knicks and irritation nearly every shave to barley ever.