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Tips For A Newbie?

Greetings fellow shaving enthusiasts!

I experience considerable skin sensitivity, which I suspect arose from prescription medication. After trying a rotary electric shaver and Gillette Mach3 cartridge razor, I took up double-edge shaving at the end of 2014. While I have taken in advice from various sources, I experience considerable irritation and cuts - sometimes to the extent that the irritation lasts for hours after, and the cuts remain for a day or so afterward. Below is my routine:

1. I keep my skin chemical-free; the only products I use are milk as a cleanser, and aloe-vera gel straight from the plant as an after-shave. Nothing else.

2. Prior to shaving, I wash my face with aforementioned milk, then soak a folded hand towel in hot water and hold it to my face for 45-60 seconds. I then wet my face with warm water.

3. Using a stick of Palmolive shaving soap and a brush, I work the soap in to a lather on my face, ensuring I keep it hydrated.

4. I use a Merkur 23C razor with Wilkinson Sword blades (currently the ones that come in the black case, but I may be using the white-cased ones in the future). The first pass I do with the grain, ensuring I stretch the skin as much as possible and only shave in straight lines.

5. After this pass, considerable stubble remains. I re-wet my face, apply another layer of soap, and shave against the grain (this is where the trouble occurs).

6. After taking a shower (I must to wash off the blood), I apply cold water to my face, then massage in aloe-vera gel, straight from a cut leaf.


Would anyone be able to offer suggestions on where I'm going wrong? Does anyone else use a similar setup and find they have no trouble?

Kind regards,

John
 
Some time back a B&B member suggested skipping the WTG pass, and making your first pass across the grain. Then make the second pass against the grain. While I don't often get razor burn or nicks, I find myself using this routine more often than not, and get great shaves.

Have you tried shaving after taking a shower? And also, perhaps try a fine quality soap for that first facial wash instead of milk. I really like the Mitchell Wool Fat Shave Soap, and often use their regular bath soap on my face before shaving. Both these products will add a lot of moisture to your beard prior to shaving and soften up that beard.

Good luck!
 
Hi. I've only been DE shaving for about a month so I'm probably not going to be too helpful. However, it sounds like you may be going against the grain (ATG) way too early. Where are your trouble spots? If it's always the neck perhaps you should just always go with the grain (WTG) and maybe across the grain (XTC) but never ATG. Try minimizing the amount of stubble before ever going ATG anywhere. Depending on the blade used I sometimes do 2 passes WTG, one XTG, and then a final pass ATG.

You may also be using a too aggressive blade for your skin. Have you tried other blades?

Good luck
 
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Try a some different razor blades, several different kinds. Map your beard and do passes according to the beard growth. You might try giving up on the ATG pass and do two XTG passes instead(XTG from in nose to ear direction and XTG from the ear to nose direction. You might be over stretching your skin. If the most trouble is on your neck you may have to only do WTG passes there and accept you'll never get the level of closeness you desire. You might also want to experiment with cold water shaving. Prep with hot water then splash your face with cold water and use cold water to lather and rinse the razor. Some people with sensitive skin report better results shaving cold.
 
Hello, John. Welcome! :)

1. Try cold water shaving. Not an ice cold, just what comes from a tap - helps a lot with irritation. It is not scary at all, on the contrary.
2. Do not go against the grain - not all the people can do this due to their hair and skin. I cant in most places. Going ATG does not grant BBS shave. A lot of people get perfect shave without going ATG
3. You have no single XTG pass (across the grain), still going ATG (against). There are many people who skip pass with grain and many does not ever go against the grain. Do XTD instead of ATG. Can be done twice if needed, from two directions. Usually XTG brings no irritation if there is no excess pressure applied.

You have not said that, but I should also say stay away with extra pressure

John, there is nothing wrong with your setup. Go easy, do not overdo, don't use a pressure and stop going ATG - I am sure you will be just fine. Many of us had the same or similar problems too - you are in good company here! Keep us updated.
 
Not much to add - I'd soften your beard more (3 min of hot towels or a hot shower), and go for comfort first and then closeness with your shave directions/repetition.

I shave WTG x 1 with touchups, or WTG x 2. I'd consider trying WTG x 2 or WTG/XTG. ATG is frequently quite irritating, so I'm rule out that your irritation is due to that my skipping it for now. If your face feels comfortable after WTG x 2 or WTG/XTG, then you have your answer.

Another option is to shave XTG/reverse XTG.

I actually don't stretch much, if at all, for a DE razor shave. As long as it's flat or as close as I can make it, that's good for me.

Lastly, what's your lather like?

Good luck!
 
Hello there John,

Welcome to B&B. I am also a newbie and experienced the same problem in early days as you. would you kindly answer following questions? Just so that I can get more of an idea where your problem originally is coming from

1.. What kind of beard do you have? Is it patchy, thin or coarse?
2.. When you take your first pass WTG, do you ensure that your blade angle is 30 degrees or less with respect to your skin and how much pressure do you apply?

kindly answer these two questions, I guess the problem you are having might be from the reason that I have in my mind.


cheers
 
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I'm totally new myself, but I second the advice of trying different blades. That has made the most difference for me and am now happily irritation free.

Could you please let me know, how you changed the back message written right under your username "I'm gonna tell you something tomorrow"?

thanks :)
 
Could you please let me know, how you changed the back message written right under your username "I'm gonna tell you something tomorrow"?

thanks :)

No idea! It must be an automatic message after a certain number of posts. I didn't know it said that until you pointed it out. I re-read your post three times thinking you were crazy!
 
4. I use a Merkur 23C razor with Wilkinson Sword blades (currently the ones that come in the black case, but I may be using the white-cased ones in the future). The first pass I do with the grain, ensuring I stretch the skin as much as possible and only shave in straight lines.

5. After this pass, considerable stubble remains.

Hard to offer help from far away. But in my experience, when you have found the right razor / blade combination, most stubble should be removed at the end of your WTG pass.

I don't know if it is a tools or technique matter in your case, but you might first want to practice on your WTG pass; angle and pressure. And possibly another blade may give you better results.

Even with a mild razor, I can get a good single pass shave with the right blade. The other passes are mainly for reducing the stubble even more, but a one pass shave is definitely passable when I don't have too much time for shaving.
 
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Is your razor assembled correctly? That is, have you accidentally been putting the base plate on upside down? (It happens.) A WTG pass should clear a significant amount of stubble; if it's not sometimes this is the culprit.

If it is assembled correctly, check your angle, use little pressure and skip the ATG pass, replacing it with XTG.
 
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Welcome to B&B

Drop into the Shave Wiki and read over some of the shaving articles. http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/ You will find a LOT of useful info in there.

If you have not already done so, stop into the Hall of Fame and tell everyone a little about yourself

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/forumdisplay.php/30-Hall-of-Fame
 
I'll second the advice to give some other blades a try, also make sure to map your growth pattern. Welcome to B&B too.
 
Welcome to B&B, John.

You have gotten some good advice above. Some points I want to emphasize.

DE shaving is a process whereby you reduce your beard by steps or passes. You are not going to get a perfect shave in one pass. Your first pass should be WTG (with the grain). After you do your WTG pass your second pass should be XTG (across the grain). I do two XTG passes in different directions. When you gain more experience your last pass can be ATG but the usual advice is to hold off on that for a while. In fact, many folks get a decent shave by doing WTG and XTG passes.

Putting pressure on the razor and the correct blade angle are two things that you have to be sure you are doing. If you are leaving too much stubble behind it could be your razor is not assembled correctly or you are using the wrong blade angle. For a helpful post on blade angle, look here. DE shaving is different from cartridge shaving in that you must be sure you are not putting any pressure on the blade. Let the weight of the razor do the work for you. If you do that you eliminate the major cause of irritation. I use two fingers and my thumb to hold the razor with another finger resting on the tip of the handle. This results in holding the razor very lightly with no pressure on the razor. You want to hold the razor as lightly as you can without it falling from your hand. Take a look at the wiki. Also this post may help you.
 
Hello and welcome, Light. B&B is a great forum. Plenty of great tips above. Wander on over to the Hall of Fame and introduce yourself.
 
Welcome!
I'd skip the ATG pass for now and do 2x WTG and if that wasn't close enough, do an XTG.
Also second the no pressure suggestion and finally, go for comfort rather than closeness.
 
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