Personal shavepocalypse- ideas?

[NickedUp]

It's strange. I've been a wetshaver (safety razors, mostly) for about two years now. I've amassed a range of GEMs, Gillettes, Injectors, and such, and various soaps, creams, and brushes. All has been fine for some time- the Injector even gives a nice shave sans product in the shower on those "SH*T SO LATE!" days.

Over the last couple of weeks, everything's stopped working.

I can't get an ok shave, let alone a DFS or BBS to save my life, out of any razor, with any blade, and irritation is really kicking in. Normally things are smooth and comfortable.

What the heck's going on? My skin doesn't seem to have changed in any tangible way, and I doubt my blade stash has all up and rusted on me. Has anyone else run into this?

 

[tominabox1]

Yep, happened to me about a month ago. Re-focused and used one setup for about a week then it started coming back to me again. I would have gone longer but thats when I found a Slim for $10 and that screwed everything up! Once I got a hang of the adjustable, my shaves got real good again and unless I get antsy and shave 2x a day (which I keep doing, can't help it I LOVE shaving) the shaves are irritation free and DFS+ every time.

[shaving 2x a day gets risky really fast. once a week or seomthing is ok but if I try to do it 3 or 4 days in a row, even moderately bad technique gets amplified...its just better to not risk it, but I am a sucker for the smooth shave so I don't see myself stopping any time soon]

 

[djh]

I haven't suffered through your problem, but I would suggest taking Saturday off (ie not shaving, if that is possible) and then trying to have a relaxed shave on Sunday without worrying about the results. Hopefully then you will be back in the right frame of mind on Monday morning..

 

[dpmtherrien]

You may just be getting too overconfident. Slow down and take a good look at what you're doing when you shave. Also check the amount of pressure you're applying to the razor. The pressure thing can be a big part of shaving nicks and irritation.

Try going back to the beginning and doing just a WTG pass for a few shaves. See if that soothes out your shave. If it does then try adding another pass, either XTG or even a ATG, and see how things go. Check things like your shave angle, and maybe a different blade. I've found that laying off the pressure will usually show a big change in the overall shave. Try doing some different things, and good luck.

 

[netsurfr]

You may just be getting too overconfident. Slow down and take a good look at what you're doing when you shave. Also check the amount of pressure you're applying to the razor. The pressure thing can be a big part of shaving nicks and irritation.

Try going back to the beginning and doing just a WTG pass for a few shaves. See if that soothes out your shave. If it does then try adding another pass, either XTG or even a ATG, and see how things go. Check things like your shave angle, and maybe a different blade. I've found that laying off the pressure will usually show a big change in the overall shave. Try doing some different things, and good luck.

+1 Slow down. Pay attention to pressure (with the goal to minimize) and angle of the blade. Skip ATG passes if you are doing them until you get your technique back in shape.

 

[Dharion]

Not wanting to scare you but this could be a result to an allgery or another disease. Sure it's hard to tell from distance.

 

[NickedUp]

Good advice, all. Thanks. Perhaps I am getting a bit slapdash and nervous (bad combo, that.)

I'll try these ideas out.

 

[Tigger23505]

No ideas that haven't been discussed to death already.

I would suggest hopping into the wayback machine and looking for anything that you are doing differently. Time, prep, soap, brush, blades, ...

Failing to find anything obvious, just go back to basics.

Above all resist the temptation to change everything all at once.

Pick a razor, pick a blade, and pick a soap - don't make any changes for a week. Then pick one thing and change it, use that set up for a week and see if you like the change, if not keep changing things one at a time.

Keep working at it, you'll get it figured out.

 

[DE Shaver]

Sometime you fall into a rut and you let your concentration or technique lapse. I've had days where I just finished a shave and thought "***? Did I just start DE shaving?"

Take a couple days off from shaving and when you think you feel like shaving, get out your gear and focus on the shave. You'll find the shave will be better.

 

[Carolina Kiltman]

Nothing more to add really, except, think back to the first few shaves that went so well, and try to duplicate everything you did then.

It could be a lapse in concentration, or perhaps a combination of products reacting with each other, not totally unheard of!

Once back on the track, only change one thing at a time and see what happens.

Good luck