Hi everyone! Thanks for making such a great forum to lurk in. I've been spending far too much of my time reading all around B&B for the past few weeks and I decided to finally bite the proverbial bullet--creating an account. I've had some cheap wetshave gear for a little more than a year now, but the once-a-week shaves didn't go very well. Even worse, I wasn't really putting forth the effort to do better.
But since the first day I found B&B I've been striving for better and better. I'm up to about twice a week with very rare blood loss (never had a ton to begin with) and above the jaw is fairly clean with very little irritation. Below the jaw is much less clean cut with a persistent patch of irritation on the lower half. Coincidentally, this is the same area that switches from N-S to pointing towards the ears. I've seen a ton of posts about similar problems and I think I know what to focus on, so I'm sure the technique will come to me eventually.
But I'm rather impatient to be rid of that patch--then I can shave even more often!
So, I'm looking for help choosing new products. I figure good quality products might be a little more tolerant of my naivete and healthier for my skin. I pretty much haven't tried any of the usual suspects around here that everyone talks about with such high regard, so I was hoping you guys might help me pick some good stuff to try. I'm most interested in getting some soaps that are easy to create a good lather with even in moderately hard water, but other consumable product suggestions are welcome too. Arko and Haslinger are currently at the top of the list, and I already have Thayer's WH, Proraso White pre/post, and Nivea ASB.
I'm also now considering getting a soap with menthol or a similar cooling agent for a real cold water shaving experiment. I know this sounds like far too many routine changes, but I have good reason. Last night my shave didn't go too well. Not horrible, but the persistent irritation got noticeably worse and the actual shave was mediocre. This morning I saw how bad some of the patches of neckbeard were and I did something a little crazy. I splashed cold water on my face and gently buffed up the worst offenders--against the grain with only cold water and the remnants of last night's ASB! In retrospect that was a very bad idea, but there were no consequences: I now have a few tiny patches of BBS skin (or near to it) on my neck with no additional irritation!
Thanks for reading everyone! I'd love to hear all of your thoughts and suggestions. One last thing! I'm yet another of the poor college students, so I can't go and drop $200 on "samples." That's the main reason I'm posting here and not on the soaps forum.
But since the first day I found B&B I've been striving for better and better. I'm up to about twice a week with very rare blood loss (never had a ton to begin with) and above the jaw is fairly clean with very little irritation. Below the jaw is much less clean cut with a persistent patch of irritation on the lower half. Coincidentally, this is the same area that switches from N-S to pointing towards the ears. I've seen a ton of posts about similar problems and I think I know what to focus on, so I'm sure the technique will come to me eventually.
But I'm rather impatient to be rid of that patch--then I can shave even more often!
So, I'm looking for help choosing new products. I figure good quality products might be a little more tolerant of my naivete and healthier for my skin. I pretty much haven't tried any of the usual suspects around here that everyone talks about with such high regard, so I was hoping you guys might help me pick some good stuff to try. I'm most interested in getting some soaps that are easy to create a good lather with even in moderately hard water, but other consumable product suggestions are welcome too. Arko and Haslinger are currently at the top of the list, and I already have Thayer's WH, Proraso White pre/post, and Nivea ASB.
I'm also now considering getting a soap with menthol or a similar cooling agent for a real cold water shaving experiment. I know this sounds like far too many routine changes, but I have good reason. Last night my shave didn't go too well. Not horrible, but the persistent irritation got noticeably worse and the actual shave was mediocre. This morning I saw how bad some of the patches of neckbeard were and I did something a little crazy. I splashed cold water on my face and gently buffed up the worst offenders--against the grain with only cold water and the remnants of last night's ASB! In retrospect that was a very bad idea, but there were no consequences: I now have a few tiny patches of BBS skin (or near to it) on my neck with no additional irritation!
Thanks for reading everyone! I'd love to hear all of your thoughts and suggestions. One last thing! I'm yet another of the poor college students, so I can't go and drop $200 on "samples." That's the main reason I'm posting here and not on the soaps forum.