Teach me about stubble..

[tejolot3]

If irritation is your concern, then my general suggestion is to try a sharper blade. Note that I did not say to try a more aggressive razor. If you suffer from irritation, then it's because either (a) you're going over the same spot too many times or (b) you're using too much pressure or (c) your lather isn't very protective or (d) you're just still new at this and your skin hasn't toughened up yet. The solution to (d) cannot be shortcut: it simply requires time. That leaves (a) and (b) and (c).

If (a), then the reason could either be that you haven't nailed down the right shaving angle, or that either the razor or blade isn't doing a good enough job cutting the first time. A more aggressive razor might fix the second possibility, but it cannot fix the first possibility.

If (b), then the reason could either be that you just haven't developed the muscle memory to maintain a constantly light pressure, or else you haven't nailed down the right shaving angle, or else the razor or blade isn't doing a good enough job cutting the first time. A more aggressive razor might fix the third possibility, but it cannot fix either of the first two possibilities.

If (c), then no change to razor/blade setup will do anything to fix the real issue. In fact, it might make the irritation worse, or increase the risk of nicks without reducing the risk of razor burn.

In my opinion, the solution is to use the same razor, same soap, same brush—and just try a sharper blade.

 

[Dimitri]

All blades made of stainless steel have the PTFE, it is sputtered and baked after the metal coatings are applied after grinding/honing.
As a matter of fact even the simplest stainless steel models will have at least some chromium for hardness and then the PTFE is applied. So there is no uncoated stainless steel material blade. This has been the case since the early 60s. Carbon steel blades on the other hand are pretty often uncoated.

The common misconception is that blades that say 'stainless' or 'super stainless' are uncoated, but Platinum or Chrome etc., are coated. Which is absolute nonsense. All are PTFE coated.

You know what Ivan, I've actually read about that here on this very forum. Not sure how I mixed that up. For some reason I thought I had read all stainless blades are chrome or platinum coated etc, but not all with PTFE. Thanks for pointing that out. Gave me good reason to go back and comb through some older threads here and elsewhere.

That said, I will revise my statement to the OP to simply state that he should still try different blades, as some can feel harsher than others. Feather being the classic example. Some people love them, some people find them overly harsh. If he hasn't already, best thing for him to do is get a sample pack of blades and see if a mere blade swap solves or helps improve his results.