Trying to understand "mild" vs "aggressive" razors

[gpjoe]

With a very sharp blade in a mild razor, you should be able to achieve a reasonably close and irritation free shave. But getting a very close shave with it will take some learning and effort (lots of skin stretching, etc).

With an aggressive razor, you will no doubt achieve a very close shave, but at first you should expect some irritation until your technique improves. Getting an irritation free shave with an aggressive razor takes time to learn and a very slick soap.

You should definitely wait inbetween shaves for your skin to heal if you have any noticeable irritation.

This ^^^

A mild razor is more forgiving when learning. The shaves won't be (or may not be) as close as a more aggressive razor but will be more comfortable, and improve as your technique improves.

I prefer mild razors because I'm too lazy to work on my technique, so my shaves require three passes and touch up, and are never true BBS...close, but not 100% perfect.

 

[RazorTom]

Something I'm still confused about is why many experienced shavers advise starting with a mild razor until technique is mastered. If one can get a nicer, more comfortable shave with an aggressive razor, then why spend time with a "mild" razor that is less efficient, not close shaving, and causing irritation (too many passes)?

For example: With the DE89 I get neck irritation and a patchy shave, I find it to be a pretty inefficient razor. Then why should I continue to "work on my technique" with that razor if I can get a wonderful shave from a Muhle Rocca with less time/effort? If I were to perfect my technique with a the DE89, would I realize that it is much more comfortable to shave with over something like the Rocca or R41? Serious question here, I am not trying to make some sort of statement. I'm willing to put in the work to learn the milder razors if there is an added benefit.

 

[ak395341]

As a noobie myself, I’ve found that the adjustables have been amazing for me. The Fatboy I use for example lets me dial up aggressiveness for the first pass and dial it down for the last two of the three. While my technique still needs a ton of work no doubt, I feel like I stuck with a mild razor and this caused MORE irritation since it required way more passes to clear the growth or I was going across the grain or against the grain when not enough stubble had been cleared. Especially since I don’t shave everyday, this meant that the second and third passes caused more irritation because the first pass didn’t clear as much as it should/does for others. In any case for my personal experience it was better to do something like 9 4 1 settings on a Fatboy. Irritation is way down but I do still get the occasional cut as a result of too much pressure or a bad angle. I think a lot of what others said here does matter. Go slower on aggressive settings to reduce issues. Good luck!!

 

[ivan_101]

This is the answer.

You don't say, OP, how long you have been DE shaving for, but it sounds like you have at least 7 razors now. I would say that's too many for a learner to rotate through without establishing some foundations.

A lot of us here are "razor whores" who use a different razor for every shave, but the only reason we can do that is because we have been DE shaving for a long time, and probably also spent many months (or years) using just one or two razors.

It takes time to build the muscle memory that allows you to get consistent results with one razor. After that, you have to start again with another razor and go through the same process. By the time you "learned" three or four razors by clocking up a few months of shaves with them exclusively, you are starting to get to the point where you can pick up anything and get the hang of it in a few shaves...at least that was my experience.

It's worth pointing out as well that by "a few months" of shaves I mean shaving 4 or 5 times a week. If you only shave every 5 days, it's going to take longer to achieve the desired level of proficiency. Of course, you may be considerably more skilled than me - it's fair to say I was a slow learner during my first couple of years of DE shaving!

Mate, did you actually call us 'razor whores'? When you put it like that it doesn't sound very good. Maybe 'connoisseurs'?

 

[StewB]

Something I'm still confused about is why many experienced shavers advise starting with a mild razor until technique is mastered. If one can get a nicer, more comfortable shave with an aggressive razor, then why spend time with a "mild" razor that is less efficient, not close shaving, and causing irritation (too many passes)?

For example: With the DE89 I get neck irritation and a patchy shave, I find it to be a pretty inefficient razor. Then why should I continue to "work on my technique" with that razor if I can get a wonderful shave from a Muhle Rocca with less time/effort? If I were to perfect my technique with a the DE89, would I realize that it is much more comfortable to shave with over something like the Rocca or R41? Serious question here, I am not trying to make some sort of statement. I'm willing to put in the work to learn the milder razors if there is an added benefit.

I have asked myself the same question...

Is a "mild" razor really what you need?

My experience with DE razors started in February 2022 so I've only been shaving with them for about a year and a half. Before that I used cartridge razors for probably more than 25 years. Needless to say I had bad shaving habits because cartridge razors tend to encourage too much pressure get a...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[Eben Stone]

Something I'm still confused about is why many experienced shavers advise starting with a mild razor until technique is mastered. If one can get a nicer, more comfortable shave with an aggressive razor, then why spend time with a "mild" razor that is less efficient, not close shaving, and causing irritation (too many passes)?

For example: With the DE89 I get neck irritation and a patchy shave, I find it to be a pretty inefficient razor. Then why should I continue to "work on my technique" with that razor if I can get a wonderful shave from a Muhle Rocca with less time/effort? If I were to perfect my technique with a the DE89, would I realize that it is much more comfortable to shave with over something like the Rocca or R41? Serious question here, I am not trying to make some sort of statement. I'm willing to put in the work to learn the milder razors if there is an added benefit.

I have asked myself the same question...

Is a "mild" razor really what you need?

My experience with DE razors started in February 2022 so I've only been shaving with them for about a year and a half. Before that I used cartridge razors for probably more than 25 years. Needless to say I had bad shaving habits because cartridge razors tend to encourage too much pressure get a...

www.badgerandblade.com

IMO, it's the same reason why non fiduciaries should not be offering financial advice. Who is qualified to tell someone to put an aggressive razor up to their face without knowing their level of experience or technique?

I jumped on the R41 wagon, after 14 miserable shaves with a mild razor, and I survived. I learned more in the first 2 seconds of that R41 shave than I had previously in all my prior 14 shaves combined. But I can't tell some newbie to use an R41 when it's obvious they have absolutely no idea what no pressure really means.

 

[brianshave46]

Alright, so I am new at this and became quickly frustrated with my first DE razor purchase, the Merkur 34c. I felt it was way too mild and not efficient enough, so I stupidly sold it and purchased a few "aggressive" razors (r41, GC 84, and Rocca). I proceeded to save every other day with the more aggressive razors and did indeed receive more efficient and closer shaves, BUT at the cost of some pretty nasty razor burn on my neck. I decided that maybe I should slow down and let my skin heal before giving the milder 34c another try. So I purchased another 34c and gave my skin 5 days to heal with no shaving.

Today, I put a feather blade into my new 34c and did my usual 3 pass shave. I was thrilled to have a decent shave with a lot less irritation. Not quite as close as I get with the other razors, but at least my neck is not shredded. I plan to try another shave with the 34c in ~ 48 hrs to see how it goes. I'm hoping to have an even closer shave as I continue to figure out the angle and improve my technique. Right now I am just so relieved to not have a bunch of razor burn on my neck. The thing is, I'm not sure if the the lack of irritation is due to using a milder razor, or if I have less irritation because it has been 5 days since my last shave LOL. I guess we'll see... Has anyone else experienced this?

My hat's off to you my friend, for being new to wetshaving and shaving with a Mühle R41. That's an aggressive razor, one I would not recommend to a beginner.

 

[dmshaver]

Welcome to B & B, enjoy!

 

[Quaznoid]

7 razors. Oh my. You only need one. Learn to use it. That 34c was a good choice. You probably should have made that your one and only. Use the 34c exclusively for 6 months. Once you master it, keep it and get rid of the others.
Lose that Feather blade, too. Unforgiving. Too sharp. I’ve been DE shaving for 50 years and I can’t handle them. I like Lord blades. Personna Lab Blues work well for most people.
For a while shave only WTG. Maybe every other day. Try canned foam for a while. Slow down, ease into it and enjoy it.

 

[RazorTom]

7 razors. Oh my. You only need one. Learn to use it. That 34c was a good choice. You probably should have made that your one and only. Use the 34c exclusively for 6 months. Once you master it, keep it and get rid of the others.
Lose that Feather blade, too. Unforgiving. Too sharp. I’ve been DE shaving for 50 years and I can’t handle them. I like Lord blades. Personna Lab Blues work well for most people.
For a while shave only WTG. Maybe every other day. Try canned foam for a while. Slow down, ease into it and enjoy it

You're right, 7 is too many. I've narrowed it down to 2 razors - Muhle Rocca and Edwin Jagger DE89. Today, I tested a Persona Platinum in my Rocca but ended up switching the blade back to a Feather, which I honestly don't find too sharp. In my humble newb opinion, a razor can't be too sharp, only too dull.

For me, the Rocca and the EJ DE89 have worked best so far, I'm consistently getting nice shaves from them. Part of me wants to narrow it down to only 1 razor, but I enjoy having more than 1. I plan to keep the Rocca and the DE89 with the feather blades as my primary blades. I'm liking the feathers so much that I bought 200!

I may have to give the Lab Blues a try, keep reading good things about them.