After years of suffering from razor burn and ingrown whiskers this weekend I started on my DE shaving adventure.
I have always shaved in the shower with some kind of canned foaming product and the latest and greatest multi-bladed Gillette wonder. No matter what I tried, while I could get a somewhat close shave I experienced a lot of ingrown whiskers and irritation. I would have to not shave on the weekends to give myself a chance to heal up a bit, and by Tuesday I would be suffering again. Things had gotten to the point where I couldnt wear a tie at the office most days as it would accelerate the irritation.
So after extensive research online I decided to try shaving with a DE razor. I was quite skeptical that the shave would be better then what I received from more modern designs, but anything that could lessen the discomfort of shaving was worth a shot.
Last Friday my razor, brush and sample package of razors showed up. Saturday morning was time for the big trial. I took my time preparing and started to shave. I was shocked how easy, and comfortable the shave was! It wasnt the closest shave, but I expected that it would take some time to learn this new skill. I went with 2 WTG passes, and some mild XTG clean up and ended up with a very respectable result with no irritation.
Sunday (the 2nd shave) didnt go as well, as I had missed on the lather consistency and ended up with several nicks. Half way through I smartened up and re-made my lather and finished up without further mishap. Even with this mistake my face felt much better then after my normal shave.
Monday morning (shave #3) is the one that has me committed to DE shaving from now on! I managed a 3 pass shave (WTG, XTG and ATG) without major mishap, and am sitting here in the office without any discomfort at all, and I have a tie on!
There is a lot still to learn, and a lot of practice required to be able to consistently get a smooth shave over all parts of my face and neck consistently, but I am looking forward to every shave from now on.
I want to take a moment to thank all the contributors on this site as there is no way I would have known what to do without all of the excellent advice that is provided here.
Marc
I have always shaved in the shower with some kind of canned foaming product and the latest and greatest multi-bladed Gillette wonder. No matter what I tried, while I could get a somewhat close shave I experienced a lot of ingrown whiskers and irritation. I would have to not shave on the weekends to give myself a chance to heal up a bit, and by Tuesday I would be suffering again. Things had gotten to the point where I couldnt wear a tie at the office most days as it would accelerate the irritation.
So after extensive research online I decided to try shaving with a DE razor. I was quite skeptical that the shave would be better then what I received from more modern designs, but anything that could lessen the discomfort of shaving was worth a shot.
Last Friday my razor, brush and sample package of razors showed up. Saturday morning was time for the big trial. I took my time preparing and started to shave. I was shocked how easy, and comfortable the shave was! It wasnt the closest shave, but I expected that it would take some time to learn this new skill. I went with 2 WTG passes, and some mild XTG clean up and ended up with a very respectable result with no irritation.
Sunday (the 2nd shave) didnt go as well, as I had missed on the lather consistency and ended up with several nicks. Half way through I smartened up and re-made my lather and finished up without further mishap. Even with this mistake my face felt much better then after my normal shave.
Monday morning (shave #3) is the one that has me committed to DE shaving from now on! I managed a 3 pass shave (WTG, XTG and ATG) without major mishap, and am sitting here in the office without any discomfort at all, and I have a tie on!
There is a lot still to learn, and a lot of practice required to be able to consistently get a smooth shave over all parts of my face and neck consistently, but I am looking forward to every shave from now on.
I want to take a moment to thank all the contributors on this site as there is no way I would have known what to do without all of the excellent advice that is provided here.
Marc
