Light Pressure = Pulling and Tugging?

[weaz12]

Hello,

I've been DE shaving for about 4 months now and the frustration is really starting to set in. I used the Merkur 34HD for the first 3 1/2 months and over that time I have tried as many techniques, tips, and blades as possible. The bottom line has been that I can not get a quality shave without ending up with irritation and burning. When I say quality shave, I mean a shave in which the result is a clean face where there are no uneven patches of whiskers.

My hair grows from West to East everywhere except on my cheeks. From right above my jawline all the way to do my neck, my hair grows side to side and I find it incredibly more difficult to go ATG with a DE than I used to with a Hydro3 cartridge.
The problem is that if I don't go ATG and XTG, I end up with certain areas right on the underside of my chin and jawline that end up looking like they have 5 oclock shadow, while the rest of my face is BBS.

So, I decided to buy a Merkur 39c Slant Bar......thinking that the slicing motion of the blade might help me with my struggles. After 2 shaves with the Slant, I have not been able to see any difference in the troublesome areas. On the rest of my face, I noticed a huge difference and absolutely love the way the Slant Bar slices my whiskers. I just dont understand why nothing seems to work on the underside of my jaw and chin. It just sucks to know that every time you shave your going to have to go over these tough areas numerous times in every direction imaginable and end up with razor burn & rash for 2-3 days. Right now, my option is razor burn, or look like a hobo with random patches of 5 oclock shadow.

Any thoughts and/or advice is appreciated.

 

[rivieraranch]

Beard mapping is in order here.

 

[rxonmymind]

Sorry to hear this! Seeing that you have a slant it's really possible to get a dfs shave with it without having to resort to ATG. Try stretching your cheek with the left hand upwards and go only WTG & XTG for now or several times in that area. Avoid ATG. I know under my neck I can achieve great results with just going wtg by pulling the skin in various directions and running my hands over the hair and immediately following it with the razor. No need for atg.

 

[bahill]

Have you tried the sharper blades?

Gillette Silver Blues? Gillette 7O'Clock Blacks? PolSilver SI's? Feathers?

Any of the less sharp blades pull and tug on my whiskers...the sharper ones like above are just so much better to me. Good Luck.

 

[Viseguy]

My hair grows from West to East everywhere except on my cheeks.

I have the same thing on my neck: whiskers grow West to East, so ATG on my neck is East to West (my right to my left). The following is what I do on my neck; YMMV, of course.

I don't bother with WTG (West to East) on my neck, for the simple reason that it doesn't accomplish much. (Also, I'm a righty, so shaving left to right is awkward for me.) My first pass is straight North to South (XTG). My second pass is a diagonal: Northeast to Southwest, which translates into something between XTG and ATG. My third pass is the same as the second, except that I go East to West (ATG) under the jaw lines on both sides and South to North (XTG, but in the opposite direction) on the strip of neck that's directly under the chin. So my third pass is an XTG/ATG hybrid, but with pure XTG under the chin and pure ATG under the jaw line. I usually stop there and end up with at least a DFS, and often BBS, on the neck. Anything more than this causes burn/irritation, a clear case of diminishing returns.

To sum up: I avoid WTG on the neck because, for me, it's just abrasion without results. I do a good bit of XTG and a little ATG, but rely heavily on the XTG/ATG hybrid by shaving diagonally.

Four months isn't that long. Be patient. Keep on experimenting. Know when to stop shaving: razor burn is demoralizing, and you really want to avoid that. It took me over a year to get consistent DFS/BBS on my neck, so give yourself more time. Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress!

 

[noahpictures]

Hello,

I've been DE shaving for about 4 months now and the frustration is really starting to set in. I used the Merkur 34HD for the first 3 1/2 months and over that time I have tried as many techniques, tips, and blades as possible. The bottom line has been that I can not get a quality shave without ending up with irritation and burning. When I say quality shave, I mean a shave in which the result is a clean face where there are no uneven patches of whiskers.

My hair grows from West to East everywhere except on my cheeks. From right above my jawline all the way to do my neck, my hair grows side to side and I find it incredibly more difficult to go ATG with a DE than I used to with a Hydro3 cartridge.
The problem is that if I don't go ATG and XTG, I end up with certain areas right on the underside of my chin and jawline that end up looking like they have 5 oclock shadow, while the rest of my face is BBS.

So, I decided to buy a Merkur 39c Slant Bar......thinking that the slicing motion of the blade might help me with my struggles. After 2 shaves with the Slant, I have not been able to see any difference in the troublesome areas. On the rest of my face, I noticed a huge difference and absolutely love the way the Slant Bar slices my whiskers. I just dont understand why nothing seems to work on the underside of my jaw and chin. It just sucks to know that every time you shave your going to have to go over these tough areas numerous times in every direction imaginable and end up with razor burn & rash for 2-3 days. Right now, my option is razor burn, or look like a hobo with random patches of 5 oclock shadow.

Any thoughts and/or advice is appreciated.

It sounds like you haven't figured out all the angles of attack. I recommend stretching the skin, especially the difficult areas under the jawline. Tucking in your chin (bull frog), tilting your head to the side will make it easier.

Do you shave in the order of WTG, XTG, ATG?

 

[Coler]

OK until the last 2 days when I took delivery of an R41 the 39C was my daily shaver, and it was pretty exceptional on my beard (which is thick and fast growing).

Things to think about :-

- I found it particularly efficient when used with a swift stroke, somewhat longer than with other DE's. This means you have to have the skill to hold the angle correctly all the way through the stroke.
- No pressure. No pressure. No pressure. No pressure. No pressure.
- No pressure.
- You want a great prep.
- You want a great lather.
- You want the right blade. I use a Feathers in all of my razors including this one.
- You want to re-lather for each touch-up.

My most challenging spots are under the jawline on the neck/throat. They require to be shaved a couple of times from a couple of different directions at the end of my three pass shave, but they will ultimately be BBS after these brief touch-ups.

In case I forgot to say it, no pressure.

 

[Cerbul13]

Try a semi sharp blade, but do 4 passes. WTG, XTG,CTG, ATG.
Also make sure you remember to stretch the skin so that you feel like the passes prior to ATG will reduce enough stubble. Stretching in the correct way, is the key to reduce stubble good enough in the WTG/XTG passes.

 

[coolbus18]

Great advice. My neck growth is similar and it's every direction around the ole voice box. I too shave with a diagonal for 1st pass on my neck, and for 2nd pass I use short scythe motionsThe jaw line and chin I do a little at a time getting feedback from the blade. Yup, ones skin will say, Enough! It just takes time. Prep and shaving soap (till one finds that"magic" soap(yeah sure) is important too.

 

[Copierguy]

Lot of good advice for those issues below the jaw line.

My 2 cents would be to try an ATG modified skin stretch of dragging a finger of your other hand just ahead of your razor. This does three things. Helps find the areas to focus on, the direction of hair growth in that area and applies a mild skin stretch. If you have the blade angle and pressure thing down this same technique can be employed doing an ATG buffing motion.

Hang it there, joy is just around the corner.