First DE experience: Borderline barbaric!

[boonedoggle]

After carefully doing all the prep work I learned here (washing, lathering, hot towel, resting, 2nd lather with The Art of Shaving Lavender cream) I felt my bear was primed and ready for shave. I began using my new Merkur DE, and it was far from what is describe as luxurious and enjoyable. The blade felt like it was ripping and tearing my beard more than cutting. I had 3 days of growth on it, and being I have a thick beard, normally have some discomfort after 3 days with my Mach 3; but nothing like this. I have new razor bumps I haven't had in years on my neck and painful razor burn. I am totally discouraged from doing this again. I don't like experimenting, especially when it brings that much pain. The blade is not adjustable, so I don't know if the blade was too tight or what. I'm going to give this another shot, but I suppose I have to let my face heal first. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciate.

 

[Monkeyboy]

What kind of blade are you using? The merkur blade that came with my hd tore me up for my first DE shave. Being brave, I switched to Feathers right away and that actually improved things for me. I've never had a shave this close with an M3 and with no ingrowns anymore.

It sounds like your prep is right on but what about your technique? Like everyone drives home, it is really important to use little pressure (grip the razor with two, three fingers and just use the weight of the razor) and keep that magic 30 degree angle. Study the grain directions of your beard - it might be funky in some spots - mine is totally horizontal on my neck. I do three passes - WTG, XTG and ATG. Resist the urge to go over a patch twice without relathering too.

Anyone can rake an M3 across their face but it really takes time and patience to break the old habits and learn the proper techniques. I would say take a day or two off to heal and then maybe just start out doing two WTG passes. Then when you are comfortable, try a XTG and when you are comfortable with that, try ATG only then.

 

[crankymoose]

what make of blade was you using? by any chance was it the Merkur blades that came with the new razor? if so try a sampler pack of blades at http://www.westcoastshaving.com other then that were you using the correct blade angle see thread http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=24685&highlight=angle
your prep sounds real good and all AOS shave cream from my experience has provided great lather, maybe someone else can suggest something as well good luck

 

[Gunnar]

I'm no expert but apart from fitting a new blade to your razor I see a few problems here:

1. Try shaving daily. Shaving three days growth with no prior experience of DE shaving may be part of the problem.

2. Don't press the razor hard against your face. Take a piece of writing paper as long as your razor and as wide as it's head. Stroke this over your face and neck. Try and stroke with such a light touch that you only just notice the paper touching your skin. That is how light a touch you need when using a DE shaver.

3. The angle of the razor is probably wrong. Most men angle the razor too far forwards. Lean the razor back until it doesn't cut you beard at all, then lean it downwards until it just begins to cut.

4. Shave in one direction only for the first two to four weeks of DE shaving. Downwards (north-to-south) is the easiest and approximates to with-the-grain (WTG) for most men.

 

[spinyeel]

I shake like Shakira on speed and I still manage to get great shaves.It doesn't happen overnight for most people though.Patience and practice are required in buckets but the end results are extremely rewarding.Keep at it mate,it's well worth the effort.Cheers Phil.

 

[Knslyr]

What kind of blade are you using? The merkur blade that came with my hd tore me up for my first DE shave.

Same here. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. It turns out the Merkur blades are HORRIBLE for me. Since I've been using Derby Extras, things have been wonderful.

 

[boonedoggle]

Yes, they were Merkur blades. Part of my growing my hair out for a few days was finding out the growth patters, which are all over the place. I put very little pressure, as suggested and tried to get the blade to do the work, again just tearing. I knew my face was lubbed up enough, so I can only imagine it was the thickness and inexperience. I will attempt again tomorrow.

 

[chili]

thats what happened to me when i first started out. I found out that by holding the razor at the end, using NO PRESSURE and using long strokes made my shaves better. Of course ymmv (still not sure if this acronyms right!), but give it a try anyway. By holding the razor at the end you'll be using its weight.

 

[prewt]

I think it was mantic who advised you should start SLOWLY. Shave the cheeks of your face with a DE then use what you know for the rest of your face. As you get used to the DE, you can progress to other areas, like the neck and under the nose. The blade itself could have had a bur on it, best advice is go slow and softly. It will get better, I promise.

 

[boonedoggle]

I think it was mantic who advised you should start SLOWLY. Shave the cheeks of your face with a DE then use what you know for the rest of your face. As you get used to the DE, you can progress to other areas, like the neck and under the nose. The blade itself could have had a bur on it, best advice is go slow and softly. It will get better, I promise.

Great ideas! I actually feel better with my neck shaving techniques, so maybe I'll do that. Thanks everyone!

 

[Newfie]

Jimmy, biggest contributor I see from your post is the 3 days growth. If your beard is heavy and then tried to mow down 3 days growth, you'd be better off with a scythe!!!!

I find Merkur blades decent, but do not compare to Feather or Derbys, and I'd rank Red Pack Personnas a little above Merkur (IMHO, YMMV, yadda yadda).

You didn't mention how long the shave took you. When I was using a Mach III, I could shave in 5 minutes in the shower, but DE was taking me 45 minutes at first. There's an example of how long it should take you.

 

[boonedoggle]

Jimmy, biggest contributor I see from your post is the 3 days growth. If your beard is heavy and then tried to mow down 3 days growth, you'd be better off with a scythe!!!!

I find Merkur blades decent, but do not compare to Feather or Derbys, and I'd rank Red Pack Personnas a little above Merkur (IMHO, YMMV, yadda yadda).

You didn't mention how long the shave took you. When I was using a Mach III, I could shave in 5 minutes in the shower, but DE was taking me 45 minutes at first. There's an example of how long it should take you.

yeah, I would whip a shave in like 5 minutes with the M3, but I actually took my time (around 30-40 minutes) between the screams and crying!

 

[netsurfr]

I'm no expert but apart from fitting a new blade to your razor I see a few problems here:

1. Try shaving daily. Shaving three days growth with no prior experience of DE shaving may be part of the problem.

2. Don't press the razor hard against your face. Take a piece of writing paper as long as your razor and as wide as it's head. Stroke this over your face and neck. Try and stroke with such a light touch that you only just notice the paper touching your skin. That is how light a touch you need when using a DE shaver.

3. The angle of the razor is probably wrong. Most men angle the razor too far forwards. Lean the razor back until it doesn't cut you beard at all, then lean it downwards until it just begins to cut.

4. Shave in one direction only for the first two to four weeks of DE shaving. Downwards (north-to-south) is the easiest and approximates to with-the-grain (WTG) for most men.

+1 on comments above. However, you may find that your beard grows in a different direction at the bottom of your neck. Shaving N-S there may be the equivalent of shaving against the grain and could be very uncomfortable on the first pass.

Suggest mapping your beard growth so you know which direction is with the grain on your face. This can be done rather simply with a credit card. Move the credit card across your face; the feeling of going against the grain vice with the grain will be obvious.

 

[morajam]

just keep at it, work on technique, try new things and etc. Nobody here perfected shaving overnight here!

 

[Studdg]

If you don't want to experiment and try new techniques, this may not be your thing.

If you want to keep trying, just work on getting a decent 2 pass shave with a light touch for the first week. There really is a technique to this, and thanks to negative re-enforcement, you'll quickly learn what doesn't work.

 

[bman40]

hi.

I suggest the following:

1. forget that this shave ever happened
2. shave every day
3. use a different blade - Derby Extra is my fave right now...Feather is a bit sharp for a new-comer - I basically gave myself a microderm abrasion every day for the two weeks I used them.. they are at the back of the shelf for now...
4. cork the blade (run the very edge blade gently through a cork - takes off the burrs - search the forums for discussions on this.
5. use conditioner on your face in the shower to really soften your beard
6. NO PRESSURE - check out mantic's videos and the guides here - the idea is beard reduction over multipel passess.

*the merkur was too aggressive for me to start with - if you can find an old Gillette Tech (I got mine fotr $4) they are gentler and give a good shave...a superspeed give a genter shave, or maybe one of the otehre members can comment on a fatboy or a slim adjustable? I dont have one of these....

Barry