What are your thoughts about a good razor and blade combo for sensitive skin.
I would also take soap/cream recommendations.
Thanks
I would also take soap/cream recommendations.
Thanks
Sensitive Skin Razor
- Thread starter G'Ville Ute
- Start date
What's your beard type?
- Thread starter
- #3
Well that is a good question. I don't know how to answer that. I am new to this whole concept of DE shaving and haven't ever analyzed it. I would say it is medium density heavy in some places and light in others.
I learned on a Merkur 34C and I'd say it's pretty mild. For sensitive skin nothing beats Proraso Blue (even though the containers are white, lol). Their cream and balm are a great combo.
Welcome to B&B!
Welcome to B&B!
Some say for sensitive skin you need a very sharp blade, like a Feather, in a very aggressive razor, like an R41, to minimise the number of passes you require. Others favour a "moderate" blade, like an Astra, in a mild razor, such as a Gillette Tech. Both might well be right for some people, but I think the main thing is to keep your pressure to an absolute minimum whichever blade/razor combo you use. I'm afraid I can't be much more specific on soaps; personally I find Mitchells Wool Fat soap to be very soothing on my skin, but others are allergic to the lanolin it contains. Many with very sensitive skins seek out scent-free creams, of which there are a few around.
Regardless of what kind of skin you have, you need to pick a blade sharp enough to not tug and pull. This really needs to be according to how coarse whiskers you have. Give at least Voskhod, Astra SP, Gillette Silver Blue, KAI and Feather a chance. I named them in approximately sharpness order.
When it comes to razors for sensitive skin there are two schools: 1. Get a mild razor. 2 Get an aggressive razor and use fewer passes.
I was belonging to the later group, but I have moved to the first group after several years of shaving.
A mild razor is able to give a close shave, but requires a lot more skills to do so. You need to have more precision in keeping the right angle. Some are compensating the faulty angle by adding passes and more pressure. This is of course forbidden and will cause irritation.
An aggressive razor is not the same fuzzy when it comes to keeping the correct angle. You can cheat and get away with a close shave. Also as you feel the blade, you almost automatically ease on the pressure. But still it might be too much pressure and you might get some irritation from dragging a blade over your skin.
After trying many razors, I find among the mild razors the ShaveCraft #102 and X3 razors to be the most smooth ones. The X3 is maybe a bit more smooth as you hardly feel the blade at all. X3 requires really precision in keeping right angle or you will not get a good shave. X3 requires manual blade alignment as the pins are not big enough. #102 is of higher quality and will require slightly less attention to the angle than X3. This one aligns the blade perfectly. The price is that it will be slightly less smooth than X3.
Among the really aggressive razors, Mühle R41 is my favorite. It is a razor requiring full attention or you will bleed.
But as usually, YMMV.
When it comes to razors for sensitive skin there are two schools: 1. Get a mild razor. 2 Get an aggressive razor and use fewer passes.
I was belonging to the later group, but I have moved to the first group after several years of shaving.
A mild razor is able to give a close shave, but requires a lot more skills to do so. You need to have more precision in keeping the right angle. Some are compensating the faulty angle by adding passes and more pressure. This is of course forbidden and will cause irritation.
An aggressive razor is not the same fuzzy when it comes to keeping the correct angle. You can cheat and get away with a close shave. Also as you feel the blade, you almost automatically ease on the pressure. But still it might be too much pressure and you might get some irritation from dragging a blade over your skin.
After trying many razors, I find among the mild razors the ShaveCraft #102 and X3 razors to be the most smooth ones. The X3 is maybe a bit more smooth as you hardly feel the blade at all. X3 requires really precision in keeping right angle or you will not get a good shave. X3 requires manual blade alignment as the pins are not big enough. #102 is of higher quality and will require slightly less attention to the angle than X3. This one aligns the blade perfectly. The price is that it will be slightly less smooth than X3.
Among the really aggressive razors, Mühle R41 is my favorite. It is a razor requiring full attention or you will bleed.
But as usually, YMMV.
I have very sensitive skin and use an Edwin Jagger de86 - it's been updated to a de89 - and it's great. As for soap/cream... it seems every time I use one for awhile I develop a sensitivity. So far Fine L'Orange Noir soap has been good, Cryogen soap (which is straight menthol) hasn't been a problem either. For cream, Castle Forbes lavender and George F Trumper coconut, although if the latter is too thick it will cause some irritation, I need to make sure I have plenty of water when whipping up a lather. Oddly enough the one unscented soap I tried cause major irritation.
Define sensitive skin...
For me the answer is a mild/moderate razor (EJ89 series or my current favorite Wolfman SB) with a sharp, smooth blade (current favorites include GSB, Personna red, Personna lab, Nacet, Astra SP and German Wilkie). Others prefer different options but this is what works for me.
I definitely place the EJ89 as moderately aggressive. They really are in the middle, if you compare them to SuperSpeed, Weishi, Tech, X3 etc.
Merkur 34C with Astra SP blades
Excellent, simply excellent.
I have sensitive skin. My hot spots are the sides of my neck and the corners of
my mouth.
Through trial and error I found that the soap I use is as important as the razor and blade. I need soaps with plenty of residual slickness. My favorites for this are Soap Commander, Fine, and Stirling. You may also find that certain soaps contain ingredients that set off your skin. But that might only come from learning the hard way. For example, RazoRock American Barber burned my skin. Not sure why, I just got rid of it.
After trying numerous razors, I discovered that vintage Gillette adjustables work the best for me. I use a Fatboy on 3 with nothing but Feather blades.
I use very little pressure and I limit the number of passes. When going against the grain on my neck, I use very light buffing technique.
Get a good brush! My sensitive skin also dictates what brush I use. I like to face lather. But most animal hairs irritate the heck out of my face to the point where I feel like my face is burning. This is especially true of lower-end badger hair and boar hair brushes. I have to go with the ultra soft synthetic brushes. The RazoRock Silvertip Plissoft brush is my absolute favorite. I can work up a luxurious lather on my face without burning myself.
Finally aftershaves don't normally give me problems. However, I can only apply post-shave. I read about guys that splash on aftershave throughout the day to refresh. I tried that a few times and it made my face feel like I had a bad sunburn. It even got dry and flaky the next day.
Unfortunately, a lot of the DE wet shaving thing is trial and error. It might take a few tries to figure out what works well for you. What's good for one guy here might not be right for you
Have fun!
my mouth.
Through trial and error I found that the soap I use is as important as the razor and blade. I need soaps with plenty of residual slickness. My favorites for this are Soap Commander, Fine, and Stirling. You may also find that certain soaps contain ingredients that set off your skin. But that might only come from learning the hard way. For example, RazoRock American Barber burned my skin. Not sure why, I just got rid of it.
After trying numerous razors, I discovered that vintage Gillette adjustables work the best for me. I use a Fatboy on 3 with nothing but Feather blades.
I use very little pressure and I limit the number of passes. When going against the grain on my neck, I use very light buffing technique.
Get a good brush! My sensitive skin also dictates what brush I use. I like to face lather. But most animal hairs irritate the heck out of my face to the point where I feel like my face is burning. This is especially true of lower-end badger hair and boar hair brushes. I have to go with the ultra soft synthetic brushes. The RazoRock Silvertip Plissoft brush is my absolute favorite. I can work up a luxurious lather on my face without burning myself.
Finally aftershaves don't normally give me problems. However, I can only apply post-shave. I read about guys that splash on aftershave throughout the day to refresh. I tried that a few times and it made my face feel like I had a bad sunburn. It even got dry and flaky the next day.
Unfortunately, a lot of the DE wet shaving thing is trial and error. It might take a few tries to figure out what works well for you. What's good for one guy here might not be right for you
Have fun!
A Fatip Testina Gentile is worth a shot.
dont buy any agrassive razorblades , (like feather or yellow gillete ) they tear you up , get a good soap arco or wilkinson soap , buy that 39c merkur its soft and gentle and more effective than most razors .
- Thread starter
- #16
A 39C? I would have thought that would be an aggressive razor. I was (still am) considering the 38 so 39 falls right in with my likings...
the 39c is not that agressive if youre paying attention to what youre doing and are using a soft blade , but With a feather or a yellow gillete its shows its teeths, but also use a good slick soap , best price is arco and the wilkinson sword is also good , i have the 38c also its not so effective , but can it be improved by shipping it under the blade , the key to get the smootnes out of the 39c is to choose a soft blade like wilkinson sword (india) (i had 20 shaves on that blade )or Topas ,i bought 500 of them now ,
and skip that againts grain or cross grain just shave With the grain of the hair , and do short strokes With the grain of Your hair
I think there are three soaps that are a must try for everyone, Proraso, Haslinger, and Tabac, before one goes off into SAD. Tabac might be have a little too much scent if you are really sensitive. Proraso White for sensitive skin, and especially, Haslinger Schafmilch is very kind and worth a shot (imo).
Being a newbie , most important thing is making sure you have a slick , protecting lather . If you like big razors , a Bevel is my favorite . If you want a smaller razor , you can't beat a Gillette Tech with a sharp blade in both. I have sensitive skin and nothing has been better for my face than Stirling shave soaps. I like Piacenza , and Sharp dressed man scent.
