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Skin irratation no matter what! Please help

Hi Dante,

All these years I've never tried any pre-shave oil! Something about soap + oil seems contradictory to me, but you be the judge.

Rubbery skin usually means your lather is still not slick enough. Try more soap and more water, don't skimp on either.

Pre-shave cream helps alot with slickness too and to me makes all lathers equal. If you don't have any like the Proraso/Noxzema, try applying a thin layer of your existing soap/cream on your face, bowl lather then wipe the lather over the first layer. I swear the extra unlathered layer helps with slickness.

Okay, will try, thank you! And would you recommend cleansing my face pre-shave or should I skip this step? Or what is mostly common and recommended?
 

lasta

Blade Biter
Okay, will try, thank you! And would you recommend cleansing my face pre-shave or should I skip this step? Or what is mostly common and recommended?

Yes of course! Only thing worse than an unshaven face is a dirty face.

BTW, didn't every other post here tell you not to shave for a few days?

Contradictory, I know.
 
Oh, I didn't know that they share identical head, what the hell? They are different brands.

I Just ordered Mühle R89 then, thanks for that!

I tried to shave now. Without applying hot water, only like slightly warm, almost body temp. I skipped the pre-shave oil and I tried the "ride the cap" thing. I even stopped applying pressure, I just did let the razor "do it's thing" with it's own weight, and it worked pretty well, but the blade did skip my skip much more. That's the main reason why I had to "push" a bit before. The thing is that I cleanse my face before every shaving. Should I not cleanse before shave? Or what is the common "rule" with this? I think that cleansing make my skin more rubber-ish and that's the main reason why I used the pre-shave oil to minimise the blade "skipping" on my skin. The irritation went like 40% better tho, I guess the main issue was the pressure and angle. I hope that when I switch to proper razor like the Mühle, it will get even better.

I have slightly suspicion that the aftershave might be causing the problems as well. After the shave it was like 80% better than before but when I applied aftershave, the irritation did get worse. It might be the "time delay" or the after-shave itself. I'll try the alcohol-based one I had previously and see the difference. Now I have to deal with the rubber-feel skin so the blade will not skin. Any tips?
Excellent choice, congrats!

Me, I don't "clean" my face, ever. Never have either. I firmly believe in less is more principle and try to minimize the amount of chemicals that go on my face. I'll be 48 next week, skin looks like 25. Go figure. I have never used any exfoliation scrubs, facial cleaners, toners, etc, etc... my routine is very simple:

Rinse with warm (not HOT!) water
Massage some proto-lather
Lather-up (Mauro Di Lernia method)
Shave (WTG, XTG, ATG + clean-up)
Warm rinse
Massage lather leftovers and leave it on my face while I tidy up my gear
Shower
Cold rinse
Splash (sometimes when the weather is cold/harsh, I might add a layer of moisturizer or balm on top)
Done!

If you're getting irritation from aftershave, then 2 things:

You are scraping skin, instead of shaving whiskers - too much pressure. I'd just skip shaving until your R89 arrives.
Use an alcohol-free splash or balm, instead.

Good luck!
 
-for me blades last 1-2 weeks and the first shaves are not that good. But I shave my face 90% of the time and if I shave anything else it is with an other razor and blade preferably under the shower. Blade is binned and razor cleaned never use what’s have been on your (censored) on your face without cleaning!
-oy that is also the case for the brush!! Keep it clean and better have more.
-bowl lathering gives a bit more control over the lather and just paint

-dry brush your elbow pit, if you get irritation you can not handle that brush go for a synthetic!
-lather your elbow pit, if you get irritation dump that soap
-same applies to other products

-there are dedicated shaving products for ingrown hairs.

-for me a slight sisal scrub with paa or stirling pre shave soap makes any soap slicker.

In winter a cream before night makes a difference

a Gillette kcg or a tech are just like the 89 used by many starter the Henson will limit your shaving angle to the right one or no shave… and your short Handel should fit if desired.

Get some Gillette kcg blades, like them get Gillette platinum light blue which are cheaper and shave pretty close. Ron R has a nice cheat sheet for sharp blades….

and go for dfs without pressure.
 
Last edited:
Excellent choice, congrats!

Me, I don't "clean" my face, ever. Never have either. I firmly believe in less is more principle and try to minimize the amount of chemicals that go on my face. I'll be 48 next week, skin looks like 25. Go figure. I have never used any exfoliation scrubs, facial cleaners, toners, etc, etc... my routine is very simple:

Rinse with warm (not HOT!) water
Massage some proto-lather
Lather-up (Mauro Di Lernia method)
Shave (WTG, XTG, ATG + clean-up)
Warm rinse
Massage lather leftovers and leave it on my face while I tidy up my gear
Shower
Cold rinse
Splash (sometimes when the weather is cold/harsh, I might add a layer of moisturizer or balm on top)
Done!

If you're getting irritation from aftershave, then 2 things:

You are scraping skin, instead of shaving whiskers - too much pressure. I'd just skip shaving until your R89 arrives.
Use an alcohol-free splash or balm, instead.

Good luck!
-for me blades last 1-2 weeks and the first shaves are not that good. But I shave my face 90% of the time and if I shave anything else it is with an other razor and blade preferably under the shower. Blade is binned and razor cleaned never use what’s have been on your (censored) on your face without cleaning!
-oy that is also the case for the brush!! Keep it clean and better have more.
-bowl lathering gives a bit more control over the lather and just paint

-dry brush your elbow pit, if you get irritation you can not handle that brush go for a synthetic!
-lather your elbow pit, if you get irritation dump that soap
-same applies to other products

-there are dedicated shaving products for ingrown hairs.

-for me a slight sisal scrub with paa or stirling pre shave soap makes any soap slicker.

In winter a cream before night makes a difference

a Gillette kcg or a tech are just like the 89 used by many starter the Henson will limit your shaving angle to the right one or no shave… and your short Handel should fit if desired.

Get some Gillette kcg blades, like them get Gillette platinum light blue which are cheaper and shave pretty close. Ron R has a nice cheat sheet for sharp blades….

and go for dfs without pressure.


Thanks guys! To everyone who participated in this topic. I finally shaved with my new Mühle R89 and I'm speechless, because it solved my problem 100% and there is no irritation at all on my face! I'm glad that the products I own are ok for my skin. I risked going ATG and it worked as well, I got irritation-free baby smooth shave.

For people who stumble upon this topic in the future, there are the things I changed with my sensitive skin:

1. I stopped using too hot water pre-shave, I just use slightly warm.
2. I switched to proper safety razor - Mühle R89.
3. I stopped using pre-shave oil and I rub a bit of shaving cream with wet-hands to the wet face before lathering my face.
4. I stopped applying pressure to the blade. I just let the weight of the razor to do its work.
4. I mix the lather with more water. The lather absorbs so much more than I expected and I stop at the point it gets almost runny.


My routine now:
Warm water to my face, cleanse my face and then wash away the cleanser to get rid of the excess oil. After that I put on my wet face a bit of shaving cream (not lather, but cream from which you make your lather) and rub it in, then I lather up. I shave with the grain, keeping an eye to the angle and NOT APPLYING PRESSURE AT ALL. After the first pass with the grain I wash my face, apply the shaving cream with wet hands to the face again, then I lather up for the 2nd round of shave. I go directly ATG, minding the face curves and riding the cap. After the ATG pass is finished, I go with my hands around my face to find spots I missed, I lather that place again and carefully shave ATG. When I'm finished, I just wash face with warm waater, then cold water, use the after-shave balm and let it dry. After the after-shave balm is dried, I apply moisturiser and I'm all done.

Just remember to take your time and enjoy the shave. If you rush, you will get bad shave and irritation - it's not worth it.


Thanks again to all of you! I mean it! You made one young guy incredibly happy! I'm finally looking forward to shave again.

Note to all beginners - do not try to save money on your tools. As soon as you can, buy the proper ones, otherwise your shave experience will suck.
 
Thanks guys! To everyone who participated in this topic. I finally shaved with my new Mühle R89 and I'm speechless, because it solved my problem 100% and there is no irritation at all on my face! I'm glad that the products I own are ok for my skin. I risked going ATG and it worked as well, I got irritation-free baby smooth shave.

For people who stumble upon this topic in the future, there are the things I changed with my sensitive skin:

1. I stopped using too hot water pre-shave, I just use slightly warm.
2. I switched to proper safety razor - Mühle R89.
3. I stopped using pre-shave oil and I rub a bit of shaving cream with wet-hands to the wet face before lathering my face.
4. I stopped applying pressure to the blade. I just let the weight of the razor to do its work.
4. I mix the lather with more water. The lather absorbs so much more than I expected and I stop at the point it gets almost runny.


My routine now:
Warm water to my face, cleanse my face and then wash away the cleanser to get rid of the excess oil. After that I put on my wet face a bit of shaving cream (not lather, but cream from which you make your lather) and rub it in, then I lather up. I shave with the grain, keeping an eye to the angle and NOT APPLYING PRESSURE AT ALL. After the first pass with the grain I wash my face, apply the shaving cream with wet hands to the face again, then I lather up for the 2nd round of shave. I go directly ATG, minding the face curves and riding the cap. After the ATG pass is finished, I go with my hands around my face to find spots I missed, I lather that place again and carefully shave ATG. When I'm finished, I just wash face with warm waater, then cold water, use the after-shave balm and let it dry. After the after-shave balm is dried, I apply moisturiser and I'm all done.

Just remember to take your time and enjoy the shave. If you rush, you will get bad shave and irritation - it's not worth it.


Thanks again to all of you! I mean it! You made one young guy incredibly happy! I'm finally looking forward to shave again.

Note to all beginners - do not try to save money on your tools. As soon as you can, buy the proper ones, otherwise your shave experience will suck.
Congrats!
 
Really nice to see the R89 made a difference !!

The gap in your original razor pic scared me.

I can see it now and I'm honestly pretty suprised that I was able to pull off a shave with not that much irritation from that potato peeler I had 😂

I'm so in love with the R89 design, weight and craftmanship that I unpacked it after it arrived like 20 times just to take a look and touch it again and again, counting seconds to finally be at home and have a shave with it!
 
I was in a similar boat than you and after trying/buying many things, 2 changes were the most helpful :
  • Stop cleansing my face before shaving
  • Changing my razor (feather ws-d2s -> Timeless TI 0.68 sb and wolfman WR2 1.05 after)

Good luck !
 
Hello shavers,

to be honest, I'm really desperate and I don't know how to shave anymore, because I've tried everything and nothing seems to work - I still get irritation. Gillete 5, shavette, safety razor. I decided to go with the safety razor, because I like the long-time costs are low and it's easier than shavette. I get irritated skin (as shown on pictures 1, 2, and 3) no matter what, so I'm sure I do something wrong and I'd like an insight of professionals to tell me what. I have sensitive skin (on my neck). I spent like 6 hours going through every ingredient of every single product (picture 4) I have to have the right chemicals.

My routine: hot shower, cleanse with CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser, I let my badger hair brush sit in warm water to soak (from AliExpress, Qshave brand), warm up my face again, put on Morgan's pre-shave oil, let it soak in and prepare my lather of Taylor of Old Bond Street Aloe Vera shaving cream, then I get my face a bit wet again with the Morgan's pre-shave oil already on, I put on the lather, prepare my safety razor loaded with new or only once used Wilkinson Sword blade, the lather gets time to soften my beard, I shave with the grain, wash my face with warm water, put on oil again (otherwise the blade tends to skip and cause razor burn, maybe this is the problem?), I put on lather again and shave against the grain (leaving out the along the grain, because my beard grown different direction on each inch of my face haha), then I wash my face with warm water, then with cold water or piece of ice to close pores, secure any cuts with the alum stick, pat my skin dry, put on Taylor of Old Bond Street aftershave balm for sensitive skin (witch hazel etc, alcohol free ofc), put on moisturiser, disassamble my safety razor, wash every part and let it dry and I throw the blade to the can (if it's the 2nd use) or I let it dry (if it's the 1st use of it).

Now tell me please - is my routine bad? What would you suggest to change? Is my products bad? Should I go for different blade?

Just want to say that I want to shave against the grain to get the smoothest shave possible altho I know it might be a part of the problem. My beard grows pretty fast tho and I don't want to shave every morning.

The safety razor I'm using is also from Qshave from AliExpress (closed comb), because I wanted to give it a shot before investing into a proper one. I have to make a bit of a pressure to get the shave done, because the whole safety razor weighs about 50g which is pretty light. I'm thinking about buying Mühle R89 or Merkur 33C (I like the 3-part safety razor). Would this make a difference in the quality of my shave? Is the aggresivnes on my current safety razor (pictures 5, 6 and 7) too big or too little? And would it be better switching to one of the two mentioned?

Thanks alot for your answers and help beforehand, shavers!

Sincerely, Dante

Pictures:
Number 1: View attachment 1309756
Number 2: View attachment 1309758
Number 3:View attachment 1309755
Number 4:View attachment 1309757
Number 5:View attachment 1309752
Number 6:View attachment 1309753
Number 7:View attachment 1309754
By looking at the razor head I would say that is most likely the problem the amount of blade exposure is beyond "aggressive" it is darn right dangerous, get yourself a new shaver.
 

Whilliam

First Class Citizen
Lotsa' good advice here. All I can add is that you rinse your face after using the alum block. Then just finish up with some CeraVe lotion. No need for anything else. But be sure to rinse that alum residue off. Too astringent and drying to leave that stuff on your face.
 
DanteB I am pleased you found your solution that razor did look vicious, I also have a Muhle R89 (closed comb) and it is nice piece of engineering and should last you a life time, I started using a safety razor 6-7 weeks ago and at times have been at a bit of a loss as to what I was doing wrong, it took me a while to get the idea of using little pressure I was so used to disposables, now you have to find a blade that suits you, the ones I have tried are Astra superior platinum these are sharp while a little forgiving good for light to normal stubble, Nacet stainless sharp not so forgiving pretty much a benchmark razor, Feather new hi-stainless pretty much as sharp as you are going to get make sure you have got your razor angles down pat before you try this one and the Voskhod sort of my favourite at the moment as it is very cheap almost as sharp as the feather and durable.
Later on your stubble may become coarser (age) or you may want a quicker and closer shave I'd recommend the Muhle R41 it has been described as a hybrid open comb razor or simply "the beast" if you have learnt your razor angles you'll get close quick shave even against a few days growth with out any nicks or cuts.
 
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