Help

[fbfreak985]

hello everyone, quick question,,, everyone talks about how DE razors are so good and they give the best shave. So i went online and purchase the following. Merkur Futur, Vulvix best badger brush, Proraso cream, jack black preshave,a jack black after shave cooling gel, and jackblack scrub
I did the following...
1)shower and wash my face
2) use jackblack face scrub
3) apply jackblack preshave
4)whip up some proraso
5) set up the merkur

i first shave down then reapply cream and shave up. I dont understand, i barely use pressure and my face is so irritated. My neck is like bleeding from a million spots. Its hard to get close by the chin area and mustache.

Im 20 years old, fairly thick beard, but my beard hairs and neck grow in all different directions.

Please somone give me some help.... I want to enjoy this DE experience and if not will have to go back to the mach III

 

[redgrandam]

Do you really have nothing better to do than post this same thing in three different spots? c'mon.

 

[Chicken Enchilada]

First off, your prep is a little overkill. The shower alone should be just fine. I would at least stopp using the face scrub before you shave.

You also want to look at your beard and map out which direction it grows in. This is very important because the cause of you irritation could be from shaving ATG (against the grain). Since you just learning you should stick to only shaving WTG (with the grain), for a couple weeks. As you get more experience you can add an XTG (across the grain) pass, and an ATG pass.

The Futur is an adjustable razor, and since your just learning you should have it set on a low setting (probably the lowest).

Check out Mantic's videos on youtube, they are very helpful.

The other guys will chime in with some other helpful information.

EDIT: What's with the multiple posts? Is this for real?

 

[redgrandam]

EDIT: What's with the multiple posts? Is this for real?

That's why I didn't actually respond to the questions.

But I agree with what you posted exactly.

 

[HoratioCaine]

I'll bite. First off, if your face looks like that when you're done shaving, you ARE using too much pressure. Denial is thine enemy, so face the truth. No pressure means NO pressure. You didn't say what kind of blade you're using, but if it's an aggressive blade (like a Feather), the no pressure rule goes double.

Señor Enchilada is right: learn the growth pattern of your beard. If your beard grows in all different directions, but you are merely going "down" and then "up," you are certainly shaving against the grain in some areas during your first pass. That will only exacerbate the damage you do by using too much pressure. Paying attention to your beard growth and adjusting your direction accordingly will help. His recommendation to stick with WTG passes is a good one. If you do that, you can learn technique and hopefully complete your shaves comfortably before trying different directions. And yeah, keep the Futur on the least aggressive setting for a while.

He's also right in saying your prep is too much. Lose the scrub prior to shaving. Scrubbing irritates the skin, and will only make shaving problems worse. Try limiting your scrubbing only to your nose and forehead. If you scrub your face, do it after you haven't shaved for several days, and make sure you do it at least the night before the morning you shave. By the way, which Jack Black product are you using? I just checked their website and the only pre-shave I see is for an electric razor. The Beard Lube is advertised as a pre-shave and shaving cream in one, but I don't think it will be of any great advantage to you if you're using Proraso on top of it. I'd lose that, too. Good choice on the Proraso, though, provided you don't have a menthol sensitivity.

Remember, patience is key. There's nothing wrong with going back to a Mach3 if it works for you, but doing so prematurely will keep you from knowing if a DE is going to work as well or better.

Finally, I know you're only 20, but you're old enough to learn message board ettiquette. Not only is three posts in three different forums within the span of two minutes overkill, but it's a waste of resources. The mods will either have to merge them, which wastes their time, or they might delete some, which means that some of the work peope dedicated to helping you might get lost.

By the way, welcome to B&B.

 

[mdunn]

drop the scrub. between the exfoliation of the brush and the scraping of the blade youre removing too much skin.

 

[mbrossar]

+1 on pretty much all of the advice given here. I would approach your shave passes like this...

1. Make sure you know which way your beard is growing so you know which direction WTG, XTG and ATG really are for you.
2. Only make one pass WTG for at least two days. I'd keep this up until you're not getting any irritation.
3. Once you're getting the hang of it with one pass, add a second pass XTG and work on that until you're successfully completing it with no irritation.
4. Only then, add a third pass ATG, but don't go 100% ATG. Start off at a 45 degree angle to ATG (half XTG, half ATG). When that starts working for you, steepen your angle to 40 degrees ATG and work your way up slowly.

ATG's a tough thing to master and many never do. You really need to develop a light touch and a slight angle on your razor. You'd be surprised how slight your angle can be and still cut. ATG's a lot less forgiving than WTG & XTG.

Keep working at it patiently. It'll come.