Good shaving "goo" vs. soaps/creams/etc.

[cmac3317]

I'm looking to get back into DE shaving for about the 4th time. Each time I've started before, I've eventually gotten frustrated with the time it took and the results. While it did seem to cause a little less irritation than my Mach 3, I still ended up with irritation as well as a shave that wasn't anywhere near as close as the one I get with my carts. I'm going to try again, because no matter how careful I am with my Mach 3, I can't get a shave with no irritation. No one has ever called attention to the irritation on my neck, but it's really embarrassing to me personally. I typically don't like to spend any more time than I have to shaving, and I honestly don't really care about the experience, but I just want healthy skin.

I've got an EJ DE 86bl as well as a Merkur 34C. The only blades I currently have are Derby and Shark blades (I'd like to try the Astra Platinums... and if anyone's got any other suggestions for someone with fair, sensitive skin and normal hair growth, I'd appreciate hearing them). I also currently have Every Man Jack sensitive shave gel and unscented Kiss My Face cream.

My question is this... Can I expect to get decent results using the EMJ gel I currently have with a DE razor? All of the ingredients are "good," and it provides a decent lather. I'm just wondering what the specific reasons for buying a "better" soap or cream are. Like I said, I don't really like to spend a lot of time shaving, so if I can just slap on a decent lather rather than spending the time with the brush and bowl, that's good with me. I typically like to stay away from parabens if possible (just to be on the safe side). I'd appreciate your responses. Thanks!

 

[The Don]

Can you talk through your pre-shave routine? I know you don't want to spend a lot of time shaving, but investing the time in beard prep will pay big dividends on irritation. Thoroughly washing your beard and using a brush will help exfoliate and hydrate your face, making your beard easier to shave off and less irritation. I'm not sure if your EMJ gel will lather with a brush. If not, there are plenty of paraben-free creams and soaps out there to choose from.

 

[imbored2deth]

I have very sensitive skin as well. I have found that Van Der Hagen products tend to work well for me provided I have good prep. Definitely cheap enough at <$2 at walmart provided you have a brush. I suppose you could lather by hand but there are benefits using the brush in this case. My prep is using dove soap and warm/hot washing my face for a couple minutes or coming out of the shower. It seems to work for me.

Yes, details on your prep. Do you use a soap or cleanser and is it possible that you are allergic/sensitive to that?

EMJ may be ok. Something that may help would be to lather up for a couple minutes. You can probably use a brush with the gel or if no brush use your hand for a couple minutes. Pay very close attention to water/gel ratio as you want to get the best possible slickness. You will have to go by feel on this one.

If you want to go with cartridges, try the twin blade disposables. They work great for me. Either Gillette good news or the generic knockoffs. No shame in using what works. You can even try the single blade sensitive shavers. Maybe just do 1 WTG pass on your throat to see how this works.

I have had good success using a product called "bump patrol" I get from walmart. It may help but YMMV. I apply it to my throat area after shaving. Seems to help a lot for me.

The longer the whiskers can be loaded up with water/cream the better off you are. It will soften the hair up and make it easier to shave. Shave your throat area last and allow water/shave cream to penetrate for as long as possible. So just shave your face first for however many passes you want to do but leave your throat for last. Make sure it is good and slick though.

Another thing that helped me was not to stretch my skin when shaving my throat area. Leave it slack and take small strokes. Know which way the hair grows and that shaving XTG or ATG may be trouble for you.

 

[cmac3317]

Thanks for the replies! I've mapped my hair growth, and I usually do WTG/ATG, and if I've got time, I'll do WTG/XTG/ATG. Both of these have resulted in irritation, but WTG/XTG/ATG gives me a closer shave. I shave in the shower, and here's what I've been doing...

Pre-shave: I wash my face with my body wash, then with either a facial scrub (every other day) or cleanser. I'm pretty sure I'm not sensitive to either of those.

Shave: In the shower... no cream/soap has given me drastically different results whether I use a brush or not, but the Kiss My Face cream leaves my skin feeling softer than any other that I've used.

Post-shave: I use Thayer's Aloe-Cucumber toner on my neck, then let it dry, then I use Every Man Jack post-shave lotion. I'd be interested to hear suggestions on better after/post-shave lotions as well.

Also, at night, I've been applying Eucerin Aquaphor to my neck, because I recently read a post that said it gets rid of irritation overnight. This has definitely helped, but I still get irritation after my shave in the morning. Shaving at night isn't really an option. Also, while I'm sure the more expensive stuff is great, I'd prefer to spend as little as I need to on shaving supplies. I'd appreciate hearing any more thoughts... Thanks!

 

[smitty151326]

No matter what I do I have never been able to shave ATG (before or after switching to DE) without tons of irritation on my neck. Try to just go WTG then XTG and see if its close enough for you. Sometimes I'll even use use an XTG pass that is almost ATG and I get very good results. You may have to sacrifice a little closeness for comfort but it will look much better than walking around with a red neck .

As far as your gear, body wash seems a little harsh to use on your face but I have dry skin so if it works for you then use it. I have been using hair conditioner on my face in the shower which definitely helps soften my hair before the shave. I've heard kiss my face is good, or you could try one of the great cheap shave sticks such as arko or palmolive and face lather with a brush. That way you can avoid using a bowl. For an aftershave I've only use Nivea ASB because its cheap and works great.

I'm new at this as well so I'm sure more experienced members can add more but these are the things I've picked up since joining B&B. This advice has helped me get great shaves with virtually no irritation.

 

[dgtroy]

Mixed soap in the 70's and 80's, then Noxzema w/aloe till 3 years ago. I like the thing with doing prep in the shower. Try shave cream and shave out of the shower. I always mixed some water with the Noxzema (just works better that way). Not sure about the parabens (guess you'll have to research that yourself). If you don't mind using canned shave soap. This one worked the best for my sensitive skin. Got to difficult to find in the store but this link will hook you up if your interested.

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=160619&catid=288413&aid=338666&aparam=goobase_filler​

 

[celestino]

If the Kiss My Face is providing you with a better post-shave feel, then an even better soap will do it better; such as Mike's Natural or Mystic Water and others.
Your soap will work fine, but it seems that you will have to reduce the number of passes to avoid irritation until you perfect your technique. There is no way around this, unfortunately. Once your technique improves, you will be able to have a great, quick and irritation shave. Good luck.

 

[jsj_297]

ive been experimenting with barbasol products the past few months. I have had absolutely zero problems in comparison to my arko, tabac, etc etc soaps and creams. i think some of this stuff is a bit exaggerated personally. The yellow and green canned barbasol is a good shave lather, I refuse to call it goo.

 

[cmac3317]

Nice, I'm going to have to try some Noxzema and Barbasol... It would be nice to find something that works that's inexpensive and easy.

 

[Senetsomed]

Using the right blades made all the difference for me. I know the emphasis that is put in preparation here, however, and mentioning again that in my humble experience, the best preparation doesn't cover for mediocre blades.... Derby and shark.

 

[SEnSE]

Stop shower shaving. Your getting your skin too hot & actually drying it out.

Solution: Pre-shower shave using cold water only. You don't seem to care about the experience or luxury that heat can give so this should be all you need besides a good blade for you. I never used Shark, but both Derby & Astra were horrible for me.