Wanting to try an injector, a couple months ago I bought a pair. An E2 and a black handle I1 (which I mistakenly thought was an I2 Hydro-Magic). I heard some scary things about the E2, so for the time being, that is just a collectors' piece for me. When I got the I1 and some blades, I had my first injector shave. You know how you always read how it is impossible to get any nics or weepers or even razor burn? Well, this is where the YMMV part comes into play. My face was bloody after that first shave, two passes (WTG and XTG), and I still had a 5 o'clock shadow. I realised my mistakes quickly, though. I was using pressure and I was doing long strokes at a fast pace.
After giving my face a week to heal, I tried my second injector shave, making sure to use no pressure, and to go slow with short strokes. The results? After one WTG pass, I had to stop as I was getting more nics. Perhaps my face needed longer to heal.
Giving my face about 10 more days to heal (using my go-to corded Remington rotary shaver in the meantime-- again, YMMV is important-- I know a lot of guys here hate electric shavers, but for me, the Remington rotary gives me a perfect BBS shave with zero irritation and never any nics, every single time), and using aloe vera gel a couple times a day, I tried my third injector shave. First, though, I changed the blade. A side note. I took both the "wasted" first blade, and this second one that gave me the bad shaves, and followed xxvaleria's advice and did some lengthwise strokes on a whetstone, dulling the sharp edges, making a couple "blanks" for future use. Anyways, the results of the third shave? Much better. I was able to do two passes, WTG and XTG. Got a SAS, and only a few small nics. I noticed it was during the XTG pass.
So for my 4th injector shave, this morning, I did 2 passes, both WTG, although the second WTG pass was on a slight angle, not enough to be XTG. DFS achieved. Still got a couple tiny nics, but things are improving.
A couple questions for the more experienced injector users here. How does the I1 compare to the I2 Hydro-Magic? Are they identical or is one more aggressive than the other? How about the type Gs (specifically the blue handled G4 and G5) compared to the I1?
After giving my face a week to heal, I tried my second injector shave, making sure to use no pressure, and to go slow with short strokes. The results? After one WTG pass, I had to stop as I was getting more nics. Perhaps my face needed longer to heal.
Giving my face about 10 more days to heal (using my go-to corded Remington rotary shaver in the meantime-- again, YMMV is important-- I know a lot of guys here hate electric shavers, but for me, the Remington rotary gives me a perfect BBS shave with zero irritation and never any nics, every single time), and using aloe vera gel a couple times a day, I tried my third injector shave. First, though, I changed the blade. A side note. I took both the "wasted" first blade, and this second one that gave me the bad shaves, and followed xxvaleria's advice and did some lengthwise strokes on a whetstone, dulling the sharp edges, making a couple "blanks" for future use. Anyways, the results of the third shave? Much better. I was able to do two passes, WTG and XTG. Got a SAS, and only a few small nics. I noticed it was during the XTG pass.
So for my 4th injector shave, this morning, I did 2 passes, both WTG, although the second WTG pass was on a slight angle, not enough to be XTG. DFS achieved. Still got a couple tiny nics, but things are improving.
A couple questions for the more experienced injector users here. How does the I1 compare to the I2 Hydro-Magic? Are they identical or is one more aggressive than the other? How about the type Gs (specifically the blue handled G4 and G5) compared to the I1?