Sticky face...

[Skrymr]

I've been wetshaving for a while now, and getting progressively better results. However one thing has been cropping up on me lately more and more. Whether it's with an open comb or closed, SE, DE, or straight. My face gets sticky under the razor, which causes difficulty. I have been face lathering with Arko for about a month now, and the first pass is the best as far a being slick, but each pass that follows gets progressively worse. I have tried glycerin, and shave secret as pre-shave, and even between passes, but they just don't seem to work. If I'm not very careful I get very poor shaves. I use Nivea sensitive as a post shave, but haven't tried it pre shave. Has anyone else experienced this? What helped?

I haven't ruled out lather, and have been practicing between shaves with using more water, and trying to make sure my ratio's are correct. But Arko is what has been working the best for me, bowl lathering doesn't give me anything near the results I get from face lathering.

 

[DE Shaver]

How would you describe your lather? I'm getting the impression it's a little too dry, which can account for "stickiness" when you shave. What differences are you seeing between face lathering and bowl lathering?

 

[Shangas]

I used to be TERRIBLE whipping up my own lather (I'm much better now, though) and I can fully relate to the "Sticky" sensation that you mention. It is a pain in the ***, isn't it?

It's irritating for DE razors and downright dangerous when encountered while shaving with a straight razor.

I reckon your problem may be your lather, as DE Shaver mentioned. If it's not hydrated enough, then it won't provide sufficient lubrication and a smooth shave. I scuttle-lather all the time and my lather's always warm, rich, thick and fluffy and that's never provided me with any problems.

Relathering is important. When you shave, your razor doesn't just remove hair, it removes moisture as well. If you don't relather sufficiently for each pass (or at the very least, keep your face wet) then the razor (which still has water on it) will 'stick' to your skin without a corresponding layer of lubrication on your face for the wet razor to slide across.

 

[Bazau]

I agree with the above ya lathers to dry , I face lather with arko and ya need to keep the lather nice an moist

 

[bmc1979]

Between passes, how well do you rinse your face? I've found that sometimes if I don't rinse the lather off between passes, the old lather can dry out and cause the sticky feeling you're describing.

 

[armykunin]

I agree with the other posts. Just from reading the title, the first thing that came to mind was lather being to dry. I had a similar experience one day when I lathered up and then waited a couple minutes before using it. My face was all sticky and I just had add a lil water to my lather and re-do it. You might also want to rinse your face off between passes as well.

 

[Skrymr]

Ok, thanks guys. My lather is thick and creamy and I get enough for three or more passes, but my face isn't slick for passes two and three. I'll try adding more water and see how it goes. I do rinse and re wet my face between passes, as well as add shave secret. The shave secret seems hit or miss.

Maybe I should bowl lather for a while and see how that goes.

Thanks for the help.

 

[SUNA]

I find that by the end of a 3 pass shave I get some similar actions. Hence why I only use a new blade for each shave. Try changing your blade and see if that helps. I get bad shaves on a used blade.