Thread: Razor burn with new razor- beginner needs advice

Very, very true... like most things in life.

Glen (gssixgun) has a saying that holds true: slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

Glad to hear you had a better go of it this morning!

It only gets better with time as your technique improves. I can personally attest to this. Patience is the biggest virtue with straight shaving.

Pay more attention to prep. Try and get your beard to absorb as much water as possible. If your beard feels stiff after your prep, you need to change something. Prep that works for a DE is not necessarily adequate for a straight. Get the oil off your beard with soap before you use a hot towel or splash on warm water or a pre-shave product on your face. You should be able to feel the beard soften.

A lot of it for us begginers is technique, I'm getting a DFS and only been at it for a month. I have 3 shave ready razors and the first one on the second shave was bad cause I rolled the edge due to bad stropping. Went back to the videos and been using the second razor for awhile when I realized I was using too much pressure on my strop. I'm still having problems with shaving my chin with my non dominant hand, it's all about the angles. my dominant hand , it's easier to change the angles going over my chin, so I get a nice shave in one pass but on the other side, not so much. I believe if possible newbies like me need several shave ready razors to start with to get the feed back on stropping or technique. As others have said only change one thing at a time.

Originally Posted by crouton976

Very, very true... like most things in life.

Glen (gssixgun) has a saying that holds true: slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

Glad to hear you had a better go of it this morning!

LOL - that's awesome and accurate. Moreover, its... something you would expect a guy holding a wheal gun to say !

Either way all I can contribute after all the great/relevant posts already is don't give up. When I started the burn I got from my straight was unbearable. I was a on again, off again guy for some time. Thank goodness I persevered though, as once I learned to lighten it up and go smooth, I got the closest irritation free shaves ever!

Persevere, and good luck.

I am 5 weeks or thereabouts in and though I do still get some discomfort sometimes, it does calm down fairly quickly. I already do a lot less prep (almost none) than I did at first, and it is getting easier and better all the time.
Once things came together I started tweaking ons bit at a time, if I got a dud shave I would change it back.
If your skin is sore give it a day or two off, you are allowed to use cartridge/ disposables if you want, I still use a cartridge when I am in a rush, I figure I can get 5-7 shaves out of one so each cartridge will last me a few months at least.
Or just dont shave, the best shave I had was after 3 days growth.
Anyway persevere and you will get there

Originally Posted by edhewitt

If your skin is sore give it a day or two off, you are allowed to use cartridge/ disposables if you want, I still use a cartridge when I am in a rush, I figure I can get 5-7 shaves out of one so each cartridge will last me a few months at least.
Or just dont shave, the best shave I had was after 3 days growth.
Anyway persevere and you will get there

This is spot on. If you keep irritating your skin, the razor burn/bumps will take much longer to go away.

Personally, to help speed the healing time, I use a quality lotion (Nivea for men or Lubriderm) at least twice a day (when I get up and right before bed) and allow a couple of days between shaves. If at the end of 2 or 3 days everything hasn't healed, I'll either wait longer or, if I must shave, I'll shave with a double edge safety razor, and only with the grain. It at least keeps me presentable and provides the best method to keep from irritating my skin any more than is necessary.

DBeard, I know you said your next shave had improved, so obviously you did something right. I'm surely interested to hear how well your next few go as well. It goes without saying that I, and the rest of the members here, will be more than happy to offer advice for you if you hit another snag.