Shavette Newbie , advice required

[duke4423]

Dear Friends,
I have been shaving with DE for last 8 years. Before that I was using carts and was having a huge problems with ingrown hairs on my neck. I switched to DE after one of my doctor friend suggested it and I have never used carts again.
Last week, my elder son gifted me Parker SRB shavette and I have tried it twice since then. I watched many videos to know the right technique and on both the occasions, I successfully completed only wtg pass with the shavette. After that the xtg and atg were completed with my DE without any issues.
On both the occasions with the Shavette encounter, I suffered one nick on chin and two weepers on my neck. But after applying the Alum block afterwards, everything was good. A little redness on neck which disappeared after 2 hours and it was very assuring experience.
I have only one question, why the redness ? What am I doing wrong ? There is no itchiness at all. But after seeing the redness my wife was really disturbed and hence I am asking this question.
I have used the Parker half blade on first shave and Wilkinson Sword (India) half blade on the second shave but the redness is there.
Will like to have some advice from the experienced users here.
Thanks !

 

[rbscebu]

I assume that you relather between passes and that you do not shave where there is no lather.

One or more of three things is causing the irritation on your neck; blade angle is too steep, to much pressure, not properly stretching the skin.

A shavette type razor needs to be used at a flatter angle than a traditional straight razor. When using my shavette, the razor's spins is only about 2mm above the skin surface. Remember, you only shave with enough pressure to take the lather off, the whiskers will just automatically come with it.

 

[duke4423]

I assume that you relather between passes and that you do not shave where there is no lather.

One or more of three things is causing the irritation on your neck; blade angle is too steep, to much pressure, not properly stretching the skin.

A shavette type razor needs to be used at a flatter angle than a traditional straight razor. When using my shavette, the razor's spins is only about 2mm above the skin surface. Remember, you only shave with enough pressure to take the lather off, the whiskers will just automatically come with it.

Thank you so much, I think I am not yet efficient in stretching the skin, because with the DE, I am not doing that.
I will keep trying till that redness issue is gone. I will let my skin heal for 2-3 days and will try with proper stretching again.

 

[Old Grump]

It took me about 30 attempts to be able to complete a successful full pass with a straight. Arguably, a DE shavette is even less forgiving.

Besides stretching the skin - a must - use less pressure. Like, just enough to let the edge contact and glide over the skin, and no more. If you're pressing at all, you're pressing too hard.

Concentrate on just removing the lather, wiping it off with the lightest possible touch. Ignore the whiskers, for now. You can always take another stroke or make another pass. Skin takes longer to grow back than whiskers.

 

[duke4423]

It took me about 30 attempts to be able to complete a successful full pass with a straight. Arguably, a DE shavette is even less forgiving.

Besides stretching the skin - a must - use less pressure. Like, just enough to let the edge contact and glide over the skin, and no more. If you're pressing at all, you're pressing too hard.

Concentrate on just removing the lather, wiping it off with the lightest possible touch. Ignore the whiskers, for now. You can always take another stroke or make another pass. Skin takes longer to grow back than whiskers.

Thank you, I am not applying any pressure at all. I am just finding it tricky to maintain the correct angle as I am just starting with the shavette. I am not getting any noticeable redness on cheeks but get some redness on neck only.
I will try to implement your suggestions, thanks once again !

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I use DE, Feather Artist Club, and straight. When I use the AC or the straight, experience has taught me to use a wetter lather than I use for the DE. As said above, focus on the angle so the spine is barely away from the skin, and use zero pressure. Shave off the lather and the bristles will sort themselves out. Good luck.

 

[duke4423]

After two days of rest, I again tried today with my Parker shavette. As suggested, I purposely made the lather bit wet and was careful with the angle all the time. I did 2 passes WTG and one pass XTG on cheeks.
The result is very comfortable SAS on neck and almost DFS on cheeks.
There is almost no redness on my neck and all in all , I had a very encouraging experience with my shavette.
Will try again tomorrow and let's see how it goes.

 

[rbscebu]

@duke4423, congratulations. It will only get better as you improve upon your technique.

Welcome to the gentlemanly art of SR shaving.

 

[ajduplessis]

Reduce you blade/skin angle to as flat as the shavette will allow. Reduce your pressure...

Also lather for a straight my be very, very very wet.

 

[rbscebu]

BTW, when stretching your skin, it is best to stretch it against the direction that you are shaving. This means that you are shaving away from the fingers that are doing the stretching.

This is not done this way to protect your delicate manicure.

 

[EspressoAndAftershave]

I love shavette shaving. Please allow me to share a few tips that I learned the hard way, and I think they will help you immensely:

1. Use a pre-shave oil. It doesn't have to be expensive or fancy. Even if it's only a dime size amount of plain olive oil, it will greatly reduce irritation, and help the blade along. Pay special attention to the area around the bottom of your neck.

2. Lightly drag the edge of a new razor blade, a couple of times, across cork, a foam egg container, etc. before the first use, to remove microscopic burrs and give less scratchiness.

3. Once the blade is loaded in the shavette, lightly round the corner points of the razor on the rough bottom of a coffee cup, so that you don't accidentally poke your face with it.

...and try shaving with cold/cool water instead of hot.

 

[duke4423]

Thanks for all your suggestions friends !
Today, I tried again with my shavette after two days of rest.
I did first pass WTG which was without any problems. The second pass I did was XTG. There was no problems on the cheeks but I had a nick on my right jawline and two small weepers on left side of my neck.
I will not attempt ATG till I am fully confident about my technique.
After applying Alum, there was not that serious burn and after an hour, there was just a tiny bit of redness.
The redness has disappeared after two hours and my skin is quite comfortable.
Will try again the day after tomorrow with the same set of soap, brush and everything.

 

[Slash McCoy]

BTW, when stretching your skin, it is best to stretch it against the direction that you are shaving. This means that you are shaving away from the fingers that are doing the stretching.

This is not done this way to protect your delicate manicure.

Maybe just me, but I ALWAYS stretch by pulling the skin upstream, to help the whiskers stand up better and push further out of the follicle. Yes, when going ATG this does have the razor traveling toward the fingertips. As for the danger from shaving toward the fingers, well, just have to be careful. Upstream stretching helps a lot, especially with ATG if you are so inclined. Stubble laying nearly flat against the skin has the effect of guiding the edge down into the skin, and raising the whiskers upward a bit will mitigate this effect, along of course with using a very low shave angle for ATG fun. If you only go WTG which is quite sensible if you have a nice sharp edge, then stretching upstream places the fingertips behind the spine of the razor as per your post, and alles gut.

 

[duke4423]

Today was very much comfortable shave with this shavette. Also, made the lather a bit wet, tried stretching the skin as suggested. Today, what I did something different was to do it at very slow pace. I did not rush anything. WTG and XTG on cheeks and WTG and XTG on the neck for the first time. Since I was very careful with the angle, not a single nick or a weeper ! Totally satisfying DFS for me today !
All in all, very encouraging experience !

 

[ajduplessis]

Alum particularly is severe on my skin leaving it red for a hour or 2. Its a cheap one, not sure if this contributed.

I switched to alcohol aftershave (clubman) and this eliminated the redness. Proraso slashes are also wonderful for your skin. I only use alum for cuts & nicks now and to help slip when stretching my skin with wet slippery fingers.

Try Alum on you skin the day after shaving. If you skin develops redness it a clear sign to stop using.

 

[duke4423]

Alum particularly is severe on my skin leaving it red for a hour or 2. Its a cheap one, not sure if this contributed.

I switched to alcohol aftershave (clubman) and this eliminated the redness. Proraso slashes are also wonderful for your skin. I only use alum for cuts & nicks now and to help slip when stretching my skin with wet slippery fingers.

Try Alum on you skin the day after shaving. If you skin develops redness it a clear sign to stop using.

Thank you, will try that tomorrow !

 

[Latherdude]

This thread has been quite informative. I must ask, why the wet lather as opposed to a thicker, dryer one?

 

[Slash McCoy]

This thread has been quite informative. I must ask, why the wet lather as opposed to a thicker, dryer one?

So the razor glides over the skin and doesn't stick to it and bunch up the skin ahead of the edge. But feel free to try it both ways.

 

[EspressoAndAftershave]

So the razor glides over the skin and doesn't stick to it and bunch up the skin ahead of the edge. But feel free to try it both ways.

Btw, those Gold Dollars are great, Slash. Thanks again.

 

[Seg85]

Gave a shavette a go for the first time today and even made another post about it. Should have browsed the forum before!! Great tips all in all, makes a lot of sense that the angle is way lower with these. Cheers for sharing and everyone else for your input!