Recommendations: Lightshave.

[TorqueRanger]

I am not a experienced shaver here like alot of the guys here.. But I have put my dues in and have learned alot what works for me .. I have what I consider very coarse facial hair (My wife thinks it feels likes a Brillo pad for scrubbing pots) .. I have also a DE89 that right now is my only razor till my Go figure my 66' Gillette slim shows up.. Instead of spending your money I would start to work on your on your shaving style cause there is no reason that you not get a BBS shave with either a DE89 or a shavette.. I blade of choices right now are the Persona ,Feather, and Voskhod .. Please do me a favor and try this and get back to me if this helps out or not Please ..
What I do is start like normal but shave the top to bottom breaking on the chin line in straight up and down strokes..Then reapply shaving creme then I shave under my nose and chin with across strokes till the corners of my mouth on each side .. You can go left or right whatever is comfortable for you.. Next I shave directly under my chin in 2 passes with 1 pass on each side of the throat in a straight upward motion..Then I shave the rest with starting in the middle with upwards strokes but the head angled towards my ears to finish the shave.. Then I just spot shave what ever I missed... The hardest part is doing the second shave with making the razor cut across the grain of hair to get the best shave possible but this works for me and might not work for someone else..

 

[molon_labe]

Same as me. The Derby's are a one use, one pass throw away. I find all I can get out of a Feather is a 3 pass then a single pass and throw away. I tried the AstaSP and they were close to Feather but I got some weird mild tugging that felt like little sparks. I like the look of the Grande, 15c and R41 but again I don't like 3 piece razors. Maybe I'll try an OC Whilst looking for the gillette slim.

I forgot to mention the Personna Super (Lab Blue) are also a great balance between sharp and smooth. Slightly sharper (feeling) than Voskhod but slightly less smooth. The end result is similar for me, but depending on your preferences you may want to give those a try too.

The 15c is the same as the 41c but with a different handle. The aggressiveness is similar to the DE89 but in an OC design. I was able to get very comfortable and irritation free shaves with the 41c, but it's definitely not aggressive.

I think the Merkur 34c is slightly more aggressive than the DE89, it's a 2 piece design, and I know it pair nicely with many different blades out there so that may be your best bet if you want another razor. I think going too aggressive (Grande/R41) may actually increase your irritation if you have to shave regularly.

 

[LightShave]

I am not a experienced shaver here like alot of the guys here.. But I have put my dues in and have learned alot what works for me .. I have what I consider very coarse facial hair (My wife thinks it feels likes a Brillo pad for scrubbing pots) .. I have also a DE89 that right now is my only razor till my Go figure my 66' Gillette slim shows up.. Instead of spending your money I would start to work on your on your shaving style cause there is no reason that you not get a BBS shave with either a DE89 or a shavette.. I blade of choices right now are the Persona ,Feather, and Voskhod .. Please do me a favor and try this and get back to me if this helps out or not Please ..
What I do is start like normal but shave the top to bottom breaking on the chin line in straight up and down strokes..Then reapply shaving creme then I shave under my nose and chin with across strokes till the corners of my mouth on each side .. You can go left or right whatever is comfortable for you.. Next I shave directly under my chin in 2 passes with 1 pass on each side of the throat in a straight upward motion..Then I shave the rest with starting in the middle with upwards strokes but the head angled towards my ears to finish the shave.. Then I just spot shave what ever I missed... The hardest part is doing the second shave with making the razor cut across the grain of hair to get the best shave possible but this works for me and might not work for someone else..

I've been shaving with the same system for over a year and think I've done all the practising I can. I definitely need variation in hardware to experiment with..

 

[LightShave]

I forgot to mention the Personna Super (Lab Blue) are also a great balance between sharp and smooth. Slightly sharper (feeling) than Voskhod but slightly less smooth. The end result is similar for me, but depending on your preferences you may want to give those a try too.

The 15c is the same as the 41c but with a different handle. The aggressiveness is similar to the DE89 but in an OC design. I was able to get very comfortable and irritation free shaves with the 41c, but it's definitely not aggressive.

I think the Merkur 34c is slightly more aggressive than the DE89, it's a 2 piece design, and I know it pair nicely with many different blades out there so that may be your best bet if you want another razor. I think going too aggressive (Grande/R41) may actually increase your irritation if you have to shave regularly.

That's strange. You think the 41c is less aggressive than the 34c? I would like something aggressive as I can always drop down to 2 or three shaves a week. The R41 twist is more than a vintage fatboy..

 

[TorqueRanger]

I've been shaving with the same system for over a year and think I've done all the practising I can. I definitely need variation in hardware to experiment with..

Look I am not trying mean here but if you can't get a BBS with a Shavette then there is a real problem here and I would try something different or stop doing it and let a professional do it the right way for a BBS.. Cause you already spent all this money on razors stuff but still can't get a proper shave..

 

[LightShave]

Look I am not trying mean here but if you can't get a BBS with a Shavette then there is a real problem here and I would try something different or stop doing it and let a professional do it the right way for a BBS.. Cause you already spent all this money on razors stuff but still can't get a proper shave..

If you could send me a link of someone going against the grain on the chin with a straight I'll be seriously impressed.

 

[TorqueRanger]

Screw It ,I'm done your on your own..


Good Luck

 

[anoop]

While my beard is probably not as coarse at the OP, I have the same issue with very sensitive skin. If I aim for BBS, my skin can only handle a shave every other day or it ends up very irritated. Instead, I've recently been aiming for a 2 pass SAS/DFS with my AS-D2. I can get that with zero irritation. For some reason, a 3rd pass will create spots of irritation especially on the neck. As a result, I'm trying to just be happy with the SAS/DFS.

Of course, my tolerance for discomfort is pretty low and I wear comfort waist, pleated pants because they are comfortable even though most people think they look hideous.

There's also a lot of factors beyond the razor -- the blade, the prep, the type of cream, the after shave/moisturizer -- and sensitive skin makes picking the rights ones for all of those a lot harder.

For the razor, I definitely recommend the AS-D2. With the DE89, I got razor burn no matter what.

 

[molon_labe]

That's strange. You think the 41c is less aggressive than the 34c? I would like something aggressive as I can always drop down to 2 or three shaves a week. The R41 twist is more than a vintage fatboy..

Yes the 41c is definitely more mild than the 34c, maybe even more so than a DE89. That being said it is still great for me as a daily shave razor, close and effortless shaves without irritation. You almost have to be trying to cut yourself to do so.

Based on my experiences with several razors of different levels of "aggression", and experimenting with different blades, I think the blade has more to do with irritating sensitive skin than the razor itself.

Instead of thinking your irritation is due to thick hair that are getting irritated because a blade is not sharp enough to cut through it without pulling, imagine the irritation is a result of the blade taking too many layers of skin off at the hair follicles. Feather blades feel smooth because they are so sharp and don't meet resistance when cutting through hair, but they are more harsh on sensitive skin than you realize because they are also taking off more skin with each stroke/pass.

When you try the Voskhods you will see what I mean, you may not be able to get as close in 2 passes but you will have more skin left over after after 3 than you do with the feather after 2. It will allow your skin to heal and after time the irritation will be a thing of the past.

 

[molon_labe]

If I aim for BBS, my skin can only handle a shave every other day or it ends up very irritated. Instead, I've recently been aiming for a 2 pass SAS/DFS with my AS-D2. I can get that with zero irritation. For some reason, a 3rd pass will create spots of irritation especially on the neck. As a result, I'm trying to just be happy with the SAS/DFS.

This is also great advice. If you have sensitive skin, don't feel like you need a BBS every time you shave. There's also no rule that says you need to do a 3-pass WTG/XTG/ATG shave like all the YouTube videos say you have to do, I can't go ATG no matter how careful I am or I bleed and have irritation on my neck. Play around with it a few times, I've gotten really comfortable near-BBS results by doing 2 WTG passes followed by an XTG pass. You may be happy doing 3 WTG passes, you never know.

 

[freebird0064]

Try to pick up a Red Tip SS, you should be able to get one for less than an adjustable. I get good shaves with mine and a light touch works .

 

[LightShave]

Yes the 41c is definitely more mild than the 34c, maybe even more so than a DE89. That being said it is still great for me as a daily shave razor, close and effortless shaves without irritation. You almost have to be trying to cut yourself to do so.

Based on my experiences with several razors of different levels of "aggression", and experimenting with different blades, I think the blade has more to do with irritating sensitive skin than the razor itself.

Instead of thinking your irritation is due to thick hair that are getting irritated because a blade is not sharp enough to cut through it without pulling, imagine the irritation is a result of the blade taking too many layers of skin off at the hair follicles. Feather blades feel smooth because they are so sharp and don't meet resistance when cutting through hair, but they are more harsh on sensitive skin than you realize because they are also taking off more skin with each stroke/pass.

When you try the Voskhods you will see what I mean, you may not be able to get as close in 2 passes but you will have more skin left over after after 3 than you do with the feather after 2. It will allow your skin to heal and after time the irritation will be a thing of the past.

Excellent explanation sir! I will keep what you have said in mind. Thanks for your recommendations and advice.

 

[LightShave]

Try to pick up a Red Tip SS, you should be able to get one for less than an adjustable. I get good shaves with mine and a light touch works .

Wow, they are cheaper. Hats off to you sir!

 

[Shaveathon]

Thanks for your advice. I have tried Derbys, AstraSP, wilkinson sword and feather. Feather being the best I have tried. I have GSB, Polsilver, Voskhod, Rapira and others on order. However I am finding the DE89 very stale and too mild for me to do anything with it.

I'm bumping this thread because I'm curious as to what you finally decided to do. What razor did you eventually purchase? I'm looking at the Merkur Futur right now as a possible 2nd razor. I also have a coarse beard with sensitive skin. My neck hairs grow almost all the way down to my collarbone and I even have to shave hairs at the end of my eyebrows that grow towards the sideburns! Add the hairs on the bridge of my nose and that's some trifecta! Like you, I have a EJ DE89(L), and I have to do quite a touch up pass to get a BBS shave, as the middle of the neck and the lower chin along each side of the jaw need alot of work after three passes. I've tried alot of blades and find the GSB's to give me the closest shaves and most uses.

I haven't tried the Feather blade yet. I'm waiting to get a better shaving soap and pre-shave oil. I've been using EJ's Sandalwood soap, but while the smell is nice, I find it evaporates rather quickly and doesn't offer as much slickness as I see some of the top shavers get on Youtube with their creams and soaps. In your original post, you didn't mention preparation and soaps, so that could be an answer for a closer shave with the DE89, too.

 

[pbrmhl]

If you want an aggressive option that's not TOO expensive, the Muhle R41 is my favorite. I have both ATT and Slim, but the R41 is way better than the Slim set at its highest adjustable setting. The ATT H2 is my favorite, but the R41 is not far behind. At a fraction of the cost