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Whiskers getting thicker?

I have been shaving with a DE razor for a couple months (almost a year I think). In the past I have tried many razors and I found the Astra. It was the perfect blade so I bought 200 of them. The last couple weeks I'm having a problem with these blades. They seem to tug a lot they don't shave well as they did however I still get a bbs. I'm still using exact the same shaving equipment (a semogue brush, ceramic bowl and Proraso shaving cream). Is it a bad batch or is my beard getting thicker as I'm in my mid 20ties. Has anyone faced the same issue as I?
 
Quite a few possibilities there. Many gents find that their beards thicken with age: certainly mine has. And winter seems to affect my shaves, maybe because I put on a winter coat or maybe because it is harder to keep the lather hydrated.

It could be a bad run of blades, too. Astra QC seems to be kind of spotty. Is that the only blade you have on hand?
 
I have many blade samples here. A while ago I have bought some more blade samples. I tried Permasharp and boy that blade is in my opinion comparable to the Feather. Very sharp, smooth and forgiving. Not a single nick or razor burn. I also have tried out Personna Blue Lab, great razor and in my opinion the blade performs exact the same as the Permasharp.

I have tried many different blades:

- Derby
- Merkur Super Platinum Stainless Steel
- PermaSharp
- Rapira
- Dorco ST-301
- Shark Super Stainless
- Shark Super Chrome
- Voskhod
- Bolzano Superinox
- Timor Stainless Steel
- Feather
- Astra Blue
- Astra Green
- Personna USA Labs

I have ordered some Crystal IP's from Israel and I really hope their good. I'm wanting to try the Polsilver Super Iridium and Iridium Super.
 
Polsilver is a great blade, i like it better than feather's.
I just tried Voskhod, another nice blade.
I'm not impressed with Derby, Merkur or Shark...

...and yes, whiskers get thicker as we get "better" :wink2:... it comes with the territory
 
I use astra sp blades and I love them. Try corking the blade by pulling both sides of a new blade through a piece of cork. Once through on each side is enough. This will take the burrs off of the blade, if there are any.
 
@LMAN007: Does corking really work that well? I would have thought that something like that would dull the blade, and shorten its life. I may have to try that, and see for myself.

@O.P.: It is also possible that the better care that you are taking of your face is allowing your beard to grow faster and thicker. I can't say for sure what is causing the change, but I had something similar when I started about a year ago. I'm 25, so it is possible that puberty is still working some of its magic on my facial hair just as you suspect. Whatever the cause, it doesn't seem to be completely unprecedented.
 
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it wasn't just you mate. I was in the same confusion past few months.I got myself a sampler pack and damn permasharp super only a hair lower than PSI.Is yours permasharp(Rusia) or India permasharp?My beard do get thicker for sure and astrasp is kind rough on the 1st shave.
 
@LMAN007: Does corking really work that well? I would have thought that something like that would dull the blade, and shorten its life. I may have to try that, and see for myself.

@O.P.: It is also possible that the better care that you are taking of your face is allowing your beard to grow faster and thicker. I can't say for sure what is causing the change, but I had something similar when I started about a year ago. I'm 25, so it is possible that puberty is still working some of its magic on my facial hair just as you suspect. Whatever the cause, it doesn't seem to be completely unprecedented.
Since I started corking, about 3 months ago, I have had the same constant shave with the astras. I shave with 1 blade every
other day for 3 shaves, with each shave consisting of 4 passes + touch-up. No dullness yet nor no bites from a blade either.
But I only use the blade 3 times, where as some people use them till the metal wears off. Does it work ? I don't know,
but like I said, since I started corking my astra sp's , not a bad blade has reached my face.
 
Lately, I have been shaving twice a week (Mon and Fri) and use a new Personna Platinum Chrome blade for each shave. If I try to use a blade for a second shave it feels like it has grown teeth and is ripping the hairs out. This coming from someone who used to change his blade faithfully every Monday.

In other words: Yes, I think my whiskers have thickened with age.

Thanks,
Mike
 
It's yes for me too.... I am 47 now and during the past several years of DE shaving I have noticed an increase. I shave every 2 to 3 days, so I usually have a heavy stubble by then... I'd shave daily except my skin does not like that....

Because of the heavier beard now, I use the sharper top notch blades, (Med Preps and Perma Sharp Supers, and they do the job quite well.......

John H.
 
it wasn't just you mate. I was in the same confusion past few months.I got myself a sampler pack and damn permasharp super only a hair lower than PSI.Is yours permasharp(Rusia) or India permasharp?My beard do get thicker for sure and astrasp is kind rough on the 1st shave.
I have the Russian Permasharps the one with the Turkish letters on it.

LMAN007: I will try that later on and will post back the results. I use the Astra only for 3 shaves, I think I can shave 5 time with them but since they're so cheap I won't even think about it.

EDIT: I corked the Astra and I noticed the shave went pretty smooth. Thank you for the golden advice!
 
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