Is this tugging?

[FireDragon76]

There is no Shark SP blades. You might be confusing them either with the Shark SC blade or the Astra SP blade. Only recently did Shark release a Shark Platinum blade. I find the new Shark blades to be quite good, far better than the SS and SC blades and the Astra SP blade when shaving my coarse beard.

Yeah... Shark Chrome is what I meant. The one I tried was not so good.

The Shark SS'es are fine. They were the cheapest blades on Amazon Prime (less than 7 cents each) and they work, so I guess that makes them pretty good deals.

The better shaves are continuing . Today I only did a one pass shave but it was acceptable. No cuts or irritation. It's not the closest shave but it's good enough. I'm using a post-war Tech, and it's a very mild shaver.

 

[TinyT]

I think you're approaching this in exactly the right way. Don't worry about closeness, just keep aiming for comfort. Try to avoid the temptation to do excessive clean up, especially with an electric razor, even if that means leaving the odd rough patch of stubble. As the comfort becomes more consistent the closeness will start to happen, as if by magic.

 

[FireDragon76]

I think staying away from brushes right now helps alot as I can focus on just learning to shave with a DE by taking one more variable out of the equation. Also, it's giving my face a rest from exfoliation. I just took a shower and then used some regular Barbasol, and it worked surprisingly well, except I need to get a restrictor for the can: it squirts out way too fast.

 

[FireDragon76]

I've been using the same Shark SS blade for days and it shows no signs of dulling. I've been running the razor across my RazorPit after every shave.

I have tried lathering with soap a few times but it always gives me brush burn and the lather isn't as good as Barbasol.

Under the nose is very trick with my Tech - it's the one area I consistently get razor burn.

 

[RayClem]

I've been using the same Shark SS blade for days and it shows no signs of dulling. I've been running the razor across my RazorPit after every shave.

I have tried lathering with soap a few times but it always gives me brush burn and the lather isn't as good as Barbasol.

Under the nose is very trick with my Tech - it's the one area I consistently get razor burn.

If you get brush burn, it looks like you have pretty sensitive skin. I have a similar issue. I get around the issue by bowl lathering and painting the lather on my face. I also like using very soft brushes, a best badger or new boar brush is too rough.

I also like really good soaps that provide moisturizing and conditioning ingredients to leave my face feeling great rather than tight and dry as some soaps can do.

 

[FireDragon76]

If you get brush burn, it looks like you have pretty sensitive skin. I have a similar issue. I get around the issue by bowl lathering and painting the lather on my face. I also like using very soft brushes, a best badger or new boar brush is too rough.

I also like really good soaps that provide moisturizing and conditioning ingredients to leave my face feeling great rather than tight and dry as some soaps can do.

The soap in question is Van Der Hagen. The lather seems fragile.

I think synthetic brushes are the way to go. I was using a vintage pure badger. Worse than boar brush in terms of the abrasiveness.

I have somewhat sensitive skin. I know my hands can react to cheap detergent hand-washing "soaps", which is why I switched to Cetaphil.

 

[RayClem]

The soap in question is Van Der Hagen. The lather seems fragile.

I think synthetic brushes are the way to go. I was using a vintage pure badger. Worse than boar brush in terms of the abrasiveness.

I have somewhat sensitive skin. I know my hands can react to cheap detergent hand-washing "soaps", which is why I switched to Cetaphil.

Your additional details explain a lot.

1. Pure badger brushes are even worse than best badger when it come to scritch and scrub. Silvertip and two band finest brushes can be soft enough, but they will normally cost $50 and up.

2. Once broken in, a boar brush can be very soft. However, that can take a while unless you use one of the fast-break-in processes.

3. Synthetic brushes are normally inexpensive and can be soft, but not all are. I have a boss type knot that is harsher than I like on my face, but synthetic silvertips are great, as are tuxedo knots.

I have over 150 soaps in my den. VDH resides at the very bottom of the list ranked by performance. I have purchased three soaps that I rated lower, but I got rid of them. I still have the VDH if that is any consolation. Check out the shaving soap and cream sub-forum for recommendations.

I do suggest lathering in a bowl to minimize the contact time of the brush on your face. Develop a nice lather than the paint it on.

 

[FireDragon76]

Your additional details explain a lot.

1. Pure badger brushes are even worse than best badger when it come to scritch and scrub. Silvertip and two band finest brushes can be soft enough, but they will normally cost $50 and up.

2. Once broken in, a boar brush can be very soft. However, that can take a while unless you use one of the fast-break-in processes.

3. Synthetic brushes are normally inexpensive and can be soft, but not all are. I have a boss type knot that is harsher than I like on my face, but synthetic silvertips are great, as are tuxedo knots.

I have over 150 soaps in my den. VDH resides at the very bottom of the list ranked by performance. I have purchased three soaps that I rated lower, but I got rid of them. I still have the VDH if that is any consolation. Check out the shaving soap and cream sub-forum for recommendations.

I do suggest lathering in a bowl to minimize the contact time of the brush on your face. Develop a nice lather than the paint it on.

I tend to lather in a bowl but just swiping the badger across my face was enough to be irritating.

I have some nice broken-in boar brushes that I occasionally face lather with and they don't bother me too much.