May Day - May Day.Houston, I think we have a problem!

[kawika503]

Salutations, thanks in advance to anyone who has any light to shine on this post.

First off, the gear (all purchased from www.italianbarber.com):
- RazoRock 3pc DE razor
- RazoRck Classic Shaving Cream (in the tub)
- Omega Professional boar's-haired brush
- RazoRock Alum stick
- Lord Platinum blades (came with razor purchase)

The 1st shave:
My first shave happened last night, after my shower. My regimen is as follows: 1)hot shower that included my normal face wash with Clearasil, 2) although I did not use a hot towel, I did stand in the steamy shower for a good 15 mins - post washing, 3) applied RR shaving cream using my Omega Professional brush, 4) 1st pass - WTG, 5) 2nd pass - XTG, 6) 3rd pass - ATG, 7) applied RR alum stick, 8) applied Nivea post shave lotion.

Immediately following my shave, I noticed that my face and neck did feel quite smooth and tight (albeit from the alum stick application). I also noticed that I wasn't able to achieve a very close shave on my 1st try at WS...but assume(d) that the lack of experience and technique contributed to that result. No problem, I'm in this for the long haul and I'm willing to find my "perfect setup". I touched up any overly patchy spots with my Schick Hydro5. FAST FORWARD >>> I woke up for work, my face looked fine and I got ready as usual. FAST FORWARD>>>

I just took my lunch break and on my way back to my office, I stopped into the ol' men's room. As I was washing my hands, I happened to glance in the mirror and OMG, my face looks kind of bad. Aside, from the sporatic patches of stuble, I am starting to see that as the day goes on, I'm starting to develop a little bit of redness all of the shaving area. Not rashy or blotchy, just even redness throughout. I'm also starting to notice that my skin is raised along my chin and jawline. There is dryness and I assume that I can easily remedy that by using a better post shave lotion. Lastly, in general, my shave - although it felt good - turned out to be very inconsistent, leaving me with a "harsh" look to my face and dare I say, worse than post cartridge razor shave.

I've been up and down B&B trying to find out what went wrong. I know, I only shaved once, but if its a matter of the "software" I'm using, then I want to change it before my next shave...or as soon as possible. As far as I know I am not allergic to anything and although I have fairly sensitive skin, I've never had too many issues in the past. Now if the issue lies with the "hardware", then does anyone have any suggestions to what blade I should switch too or recommend? Many B&B vets say to shave with the same blade until my technique is down, but if the blade is not working, I'd rather change the blade sooner to achieve a more comfortable post shave. The RR razor will remain in rotation 1) because its the only one I own and 2) I don't think its a razor issue, as it did its job quite nicely. Or, could it just be that I just did a REALLY job and now my face is retaliating?

Any suggestions? Any tweeks to my current kit? Any help is appreciated as my job is centered around public speaking and feeling self concious about my face is kind of counter intuitive to the whole WS thing. Wouldn't you agree?

 

[Wingnut]

Sounds like a case of too much, too fast to me. Your first shave, and you did a 3 pass shave, including ATG--and then, not content with the closeness of your shave, you shaved again with your Hydro 5?!

It sounds like your ambitions outstripped your skills by quite a bit, and you paid the price with irritation and razor burn. I'm surprised that you did a lot of research and couldn't find this information, since it's quite a common new shaver problem that's discussed here often.

So, first order of business: give your face a few days to heal up. Regular applications of your ASB will help it to heal. Then, when it's time for your next shave, go ONLY ONE PASS WTG. Work on correct blade angle and using NO PRESSURE (see the "Tutorials" link in my signature for pointers on how to do that). Your goal should be a COMFORTABLE shave, not a close one--at least for the first few weeks. Patience, Grasshopper!

The good news is that it's almost definitely not a gear problem, it's just your lack of proper technique. That will come with practice, and practice takes time. Be patient and gentle, work on blade angle and no pressure, keep the faith, and you'll be shaving like a pro in no time at all!

 

[Mad Man]

Hey buddy,

agree with Johnny, sounds like razor burn from too much pressure/incorrect angle.

Forget the ATG passes for a while and really take it EASY...

To guarantee it's not an allergic reaction test a small amount of your product on the inside of your elbow - leave on for 20 minutes. If it doesn't swell/turn red it's deffo technique.

cheers mate - let us know how the next one goes!

 

[Greg1911]

Welcome to B&B and it is important to crawl before you run.

 

[kawika503]

Sounds like a case of too much, too fast to me. Your first shave, and you did a 3 pass shave, including ATG--and then, not content with the closeness of your shave, you shaved again with your Hydro 5?!

It sounds like your ambitions outstripped your skills by quite a bit, and you paid the price with irritation and razor burn. I'm surprised that you did a lot of research and couldn't find this information, since it's quite a common new shaver problem that's discussed here often.

So, first order of business: give your face a few days to heal up. Regular applications of your ASB will help it to heal. Then, when it's time for your next shave, go ONLY ONE PASS WTG. Work on correct blade angle and using NO PRESSURE (see the "Tutorials" link in my signature for pointers on how to do that). Your goal should be a COMFORTABLE shave, not a close one--at least for the first few weeks. Patience, Grasshopper!

The good news is that it's almost definitely not a gear problem, it's just your lack of proper technique. That will come with practice, and practice takes time. Be patient and gentle, work on blade angle and no pressure, keep the faith, and you'll be shaving like a pro in no time at all!

Ambitious, I am. (I don't know why that came out like Yoda) I did do a lot of research on the boards as well as on youtube. I heard it time and time again..."no pressure"...BUT, its a lot different when you have a face full of lather and a DE razor in your hand - at that point you do the best you can. I guess, when the results didn't come back as a match - I did what men do best,and ATTEMPTED to fix the problem. Smooth move! Not literally, obviously.

Alright, well, I'd like to thank all who came to my rescue with tips and advice. I'm not a daily shaver to begin with, so it'll be second nature to go a day (or 2 this time) without shaving. I will stick to 1 pass WTG and concentrate on my blade positioning. *fingers crossed*

Thanks again guys.

 

[takeshi]

I've been up and down B&B trying to find out what went wrong. I know, I only shaved once

Bingo. One data point is never a trend. No one gets their first shave exactly right. Spend some time with what you're currently using to get your technique down and then worry about equipment and supplies.

That said, some find alum helps with irritation. Some find witch hazel to be more beneficial. You'll get the 'no pressure" with experience.

 

[kawika503]

Salutations, thanks in advance to anyone who has any light to shine on this post.

First off, the gear (all purchased from www.italianbarber.com):
- RazoRock 3pc DE razor
- RazoRck Classic Shaving Cream (in the tub)
- Omega Professional boar's-haired brush
- RazoRock Alum stick
- Lord Platinum blades (came with razor purchase)

The 1st shave:
My first shave happened last night, after my shower. My regimen is as follows: 1)hot shower that included my normal face wash with Clearasil, 2) although I did not use a hot towel, I did stand in the steamy shower for a good 15 mins - post washing, 3) applied RR shaving cream using my Omega Professional brush, 4) 1st pass - WTG, 5) 2nd pass - XTG, 6) 3rd pass - ATG, 7) applied RR alum stick, 8) applied Nivea post shave lotion.

Immediately following my shave, I noticed that my face and neck did feel quite smooth and tight (albeit from the alum stick application). I also noticed that I wasn't able to achieve a very close shave on my 1st try at WS...but assume(d) that the lack of experience and technique contributed to that result. No problem, I'm in this for the long haul and I'm willing to find my "perfect setup". I touched up any overly patchy spots with my Schick Hydro5. FAST FORWARD >>> I woke up for work, my face looked fine and I got ready as usual. FAST FORWARD>>>

I just took my lunch break and on my way back to my office, I stopped into the ol' men's room. As I was washing my hands, I happened to glance in the mirror and OMG, my face looks kind of bad. Aside, from the sporatic patches of stuble, I am starting to see that as the day goes on, I'm starting to develop a little bit of redness all of the shaving area. Not rashy or blotchy, just even redness throughout. I'm also starting to notice that my skin is raised along my chin and jawline. There is dryness and I assume that I can easily remedy that by using a better post shave lotion. Lastly, in general, my shave - although it felt good - turned out to be very inconsistent, leaving me with a "harsh" look to my face and dare I say, worse than post cartridge razor shave.

I've been up and down B&B trying to find out what went wrong. I know, I only shaved once, but if its a matter of the "software" I'm using, then I want to change it before my next shave...or as soon as possible. As far as I know I am not allergic to anything and although I have fairly sensitive skin, I've never had too many issues in the past. Now if the issue lies with the "hardware", then does anyone have any suggestions to what blade I should switch too or recommend? Many B&B vets say to shave with the same blade until my technique is down, but if the blade is not working, I'd rather change the blade sooner to achieve a more comfortable post shave. The RR razor will remain in rotation 1) because its the only one I own and 2) I don't think its a razor issue, as it did its job quite nicely. Or, could it just be that I just did a REALLY job and now my face is retaliating?

Any suggestions? Any tweeks to my current kit? Any help is appreciated as my job is centered around public speaking and feeling self concious about my face is kind of counter intuitive to the whole WS thing. Wouldn't you agree?

Part Duex...

Alright, so I've been chomping at the bit for the last couple of days to shave again. It's been a couple days, just a mild-stumble, enough for a decent shave. This time I concentrated more on my pre-shave routine, adding in a hot towel for about 3 minutes, then I used my brush to apply my daily face wash and let that sit for a minute. Then I rinsed it off and then applied shave cream lather and hung out for another few minutes before jumping in the shower. My hope was that the lather (during pre-shave) would help soften the stubble. Showered, stood in the steam for a bit and then upon exiting the shower I applied my post-shave lotion (because I have not picked up a pre-shave lotion) and then applied another brushing of shave cream lather. While shaving, I tried to focus on technique (i.e. blade positioning, no pressure and going WTG). I did 3 passes, but 2 were WTG and the last was XTG (chin-ear, since that’s the direction of my growth). I did apply another layer of lotion before my last pass. As advised, I omitted going ATG in today’s routine - which I do feel like I need, but I was ok with the results I had already achieved. Plus, I didn't want to get "pass-happy" and do too many, as we all know, I tend to do Anyway, after the last pass, I rinsed, then with a dripping wet face, applied alum (screamed inside a little bit), let it sit for a minute and "pat" dried any excess water. I then applied my EMJ post have lotion directly on the alum.

Once all was said and done, my 2nd safety razor shave ever, was my BEST one yet, but still needs some refining. I did notice a difference from the added pre-shave variants and well as using the EMJ post shave lotion instead of the stuff I used in my pre-wet shave life. Also, skipping the ATG pass also helped immensely with avoiding razor rash and burn. Again, I still feel like I can achieve a "better" shave, but I'm also working on patience So, I'll keep working at WTG and XTG passes for now...maybe even for awhile. Adding the hot towel did help soften up the beard stubble, which i think helped produce a more desirable shave. In my inexperienced opinion, anyone with more course hair should give the hot towel a try if they are experiencing some resistance. I am Asian/Pacific Islander and have very course/thick hair. I never took that into consideration when researching my expected wet shaving experience.

Anyway, I'm hopeful, even more than ever about WS and shaving with a DE razor. I will admit, with my first failed attempt, I was losing hope in this process. Another added bonus, on top of a great shave, was that I found great value in the Every Man Jack (EMJ) post shave lotion both post and pre shave. The product is light, not oily or too viscous. The scent is non-offensive and I'm a sucker for the like menthol tingle (almost wish it was stronger). I will continue to use EMJ for post shave and will pick up a pre shave lotion and maybe look into the other products they make. I was informed my another forum member that EMJ makes a shaving cream for brush use, but it's not usually found in stores - so check that out online if you think you're interested and post a review 2 shaves down and a lifetime to go. Looking good and feeling like a BOSS right now!