I have now shaved 3 days in a row with no irritation and today decided to change some things up a bit. I used my proraso instead of the TOBS Avacodo I had been using. I also did not take a shower before, but used Noxzema instead. I did W, XL and A with the grains in three passes then did a fourth pass with the grain for the heck of it (and heard no whiskers cutting 
)
This is what I did:
1. Find wife's Noxzema face cream and put it on my face with my hands
2. Rub it into my face with a wash rag that was soaked with hot water and ringed first
3. Set the wash rag over my face for a little while
4. Rinsed my face in hot water
5. Built up the Proraso lather in my hand (not on my face this time)
6. Applied it to my face
7. Waited for a couple of minutes
8. Dipped the brush in some water (just barely) and went back over my face with it
9. Shaved with the grain with no pressure as usual
10. Relathered
11. Dipped the brush barely again and went over face again
12. Shaved across the grain
13. Repeated steps 10-11
14. Shaved against the grain
15. Repeated steps 10-11
16. Shaved with the grain one more time
17. Rinse in cold water
18. Pat dry
19. Apply Proraso liquid balm (white bottle)
The last pass isn't really necessary. This is my best shave yet!
Based on the Noxzema, I am thinking about looking into the Proraso pre shave stuff. I saw the thread comparing the two, which prompted me to try the Noxzema.
The razor was my trusty Merkur 38C and the blade was a feather on its second day.
Now I am going to make a new blade bank.
Mark
)This is what I did:
1. Find wife's Noxzema face cream and put it on my face with my hands
2. Rub it into my face with a wash rag that was soaked with hot water and ringed first
3. Set the wash rag over my face for a little while
4. Rinsed my face in hot water
5. Built up the Proraso lather in my hand (not on my face this time)
6. Applied it to my face
7. Waited for a couple of minutes
8. Dipped the brush in some water (just barely) and went back over my face with it
9. Shaved with the grain with no pressure as usual
10. Relathered
11. Dipped the brush barely again and went over face again
12. Shaved across the grain
13. Repeated steps 10-11
14. Shaved against the grain
15. Repeated steps 10-11
16. Shaved with the grain one more time
17. Rinse in cold water
18. Pat dry
19. Apply Proraso liquid balm (white bottle)
The last pass isn't really necessary. This is my best shave yet!
Based on the Noxzema, I am thinking about looking into the Proraso pre shave stuff. I saw the thread comparing the two, which prompted me to try the Noxzema.
The razor was my trusty Merkur 38C and the blade was a feather on its second day.
Now I am going to make a new blade bank.
Mark
