This seems like an awful lot to put your skin through before a shave. In my use-case less is best, otherwise irritation beckons and a subpar shave for the following day.Update:
A few more days in and things have gotten better...but slower. Trusting that my technique has not changed over the years and accepting the likelihood that my whiskers have, I figured that I can do one of four things: nothing, and accept my sad new reality; re-arm with 'newer and better' gear', hoping for a different result, and starting an arms race with myself; or experiment with variations on what I'm doing now to test different hypotheses. I decided to do the latter, and thought to begin at the beginning - with prep.
After taking Sunday off to let my 'sunburn' calm and do some research, with yesterday's shave, some new steps were added. Now I'm not suggesting that these steps are advisable for everyone, but for me, they seemed to make a noticeable difference given the recent changes in my shave results. The bad news-if I can't figure out a way to eliminate steps or otherwise shorten the routine, weekday wake-ups are going to get a whole lot earlier. Here's where I'm at:
Beginning with a shower, I made sure to saturate my face several times at the beginning. Using a washcloth, I gently exfoliated my whole face with special attention to the shave zone. After rinsing thoroughly, I applied a heavy handed application of glycerine soap making sure to really work it into the skin. The soap was left on while I completed the rest of my normal shower ablutions. Then I rinsed the soap, but not so much as to entirely remove the glycerine 'slickness', draped the hot washcloth over my shave zone, and took a seat on the shower bench for a couple of minutes to let time do it's magic. On existing the shower, I did a through face lather (RazoRock XXX), set the brush down and used my finger tips to massage the lather even more thoroughly into my face and neck before taking my second time out to squeegee the shower glass and let the dog outside for his business. On my return, the initial lather was rinsed, and I relathered taking care to add incremental amounts of water as necessary to achieve a good consistency before beginning the first of three passes with the Mergress set on 3.5 and Super Platinum (2nd shave) combo. The result was not perfect, but much better, and the additional prep hydration allowed me to buff the tough spots, with very little discomfort or irritation. I probably should have taken Sunday and Monday off to be certain that the minor irritation wasn't a carry over from the Saturday's shave, but I needed a shave for work.
Going forward I am definitely going to rif on hydration steps in my pre, including experimentation with different steps/durations, and possibly products. In years past I've used Proraso Pre-Shave and a number of pre-shave oils but found their use to be time consuming and unecessary. But that was back when things were going well for me, so it may be worth revisiting. If anyone out there has routine or product recommendations, please share.
What Happened?
- Thread starter speedwell
- Start date
This seems like an awful lot to put your skin through before a shave. In my use-case less is best, otherwise irritation beckons and a subpar shave for the following day.
Love the dermatologist post!
I guess I’m getting into the same boat as white whiskers are appearing. I told them no but they won’t listen.
I can still achieve bbs but I noticed that I need to do a few touch ups around the chin. That’s where I got the biggest concentration of stubborn whiskers.
It might be a razor/blade combo that’s the issue. That’s the angle that I’m attacking right now. I noticed that even if I use my mighty Tech, I can still achieve a BBS shave. It requires touch ups.
You might think that an aggressive razor will do the trick? I tried my Merkur 39c (slant) and it was a massacre!
My skin seems to prefer mild to medium aggressiveness. So, I’m still working on it.
I guess I’m getting into the same boat as white whiskers are appearing. I told them no but they won’t listen.
I can still achieve bbs but I noticed that I need to do a few touch ups around the chin. That’s where I got the biggest concentration of stubborn whiskers.
It might be a razor/blade combo that’s the issue. That’s the angle that I’m attacking right now. I noticed that even if I use my mighty Tech, I can still achieve a BBS shave. It requires touch ups.
You might think that an aggressive razor will do the trick? I tried my Merkur 39c (slant) and it was a massacre!
My skin seems to prefer mild to medium aggressiveness. So, I’m still working on it.
- Thread starter
- #43
Yes, sir. Plenty of cold shave experience (founder of C.O.L.D.). It actually makes things a little worse for me. While it tightens the pores, I believe it also causes the hair to constrict, so I wind up with a bunch of hairs not getting cut. The blade just passes over them with no result, however, there's never any irritation for me with a cold shave.
- Thread starter
- #44
- Thread starter
- #45
Update:
It's been a little while since the last post due to a bunch of unimportant distractions in my life, but I wanted to catch everyone up. I'M BACK! Enjoying very good results once again despite the proliferation of uncooperative white whiskers. I've kept the glycerine soap in the routine but eliminated the hydration lather in my prep cycle. This lather does make a difference, but when I considered the time it took, it wasn't completely worth it. Still hydrating more than usual and leaving a good trace of glycerine soap on my face after rising. For the time being I've abandoned cold water shaves to eliminate those variables. The big new idea has been what I call the 'One And A Half'. Starting with good prep, and excellent lather, I do a one and a half pass shave. First full pass I go across the grain and for the half pass I go against the grain but only in the problem areas. The result I'm left with is very solid, with no irritation. For any rough spots that remain, I use a combo JHook/Buffing technique with a very light touch. While the result is typically a BBS-, given that it's fast, easy and irritation free, at my age, I'll take it. The one downside is that this only works for me if I shave daily. Any more, and the tougher hairs resist being cut regardless of the blade choice. Next step is to refine my method further looking for easy ways to improve quality and reduce time spent. When I'm comfortable with where I get, then I'll try to replicate results with different blades and razors.
It's been a little while since the last post due to a bunch of unimportant distractions in my life, but I wanted to catch everyone up. I'M BACK! Enjoying very good results once again despite the proliferation of uncooperative white whiskers. I've kept the glycerine soap in the routine but eliminated the hydration lather in my prep cycle. This lather does make a difference, but when I considered the time it took, it wasn't completely worth it. Still hydrating more than usual and leaving a good trace of glycerine soap on my face after rising. For the time being I've abandoned cold water shaves to eliminate those variables. The big new idea has been what I call the 'One And A Half'. Starting with good prep, and excellent lather, I do a one and a half pass shave. First full pass I go across the grain and for the half pass I go against the grain but only in the problem areas. The result I'm left with is very solid, with no irritation. For any rough spots that remain, I use a combo JHook/Buffing technique with a very light touch. While the result is typically a BBS-, given that it's fast, easy and irritation free, at my age, I'll take it. The one downside is that this only works for me if I shave daily. Any more, and the tougher hairs resist being cut regardless of the blade choice. Next step is to refine my method further looking for easy ways to improve quality and reduce time spent. When I'm comfortable with where I get, then I'll try to replicate results with different blades and razors.
Interesting finding. I noticed when I started using cool/cold water, as the ambient temps increased, I had some straggler hairs still remaining but definitely a less irritating shave. Thank you for sharing your experiences and glad things are going better for you.
