Thread: FYI: Round Points

The neck is expert-friendly territory. I had to discipline myself to keep it simple there at first, and not chase that "tropical storm" of wild growth you describe.

Yea, you can see the vertical lines caused by the tip but also general redness. Could be a lot of reasons, already covered, for the general redness. Any point will do that but round points are definitely more forgiving. It is a good thing you weren't using an extra hollow bellied razor with a spike/square point honed to the tip. Those tin foil thin blades are very unforgiving if you don't watch what you are doing with the tip.

If you are trying to get at the hollows maybe try stretching your skin to one side or the other to get that part raised out of the hollow. Don't go digging in a hollow with the tip of the razor. Could have been worse though.

Bob

As alluded to by others, maybe try restricting your early shaving to easy areas like the cheeks, or only do one pass with the grain on the neck.

Maybe you can elaborate on your prep and technique, so we can make more suggestions. Like... Did you go WTG only? Multiple stokes per pass? Multiple passes? Just using lather, or anything else? Prep done? What did you use before?

I ask because, I found that, even after reading a bunch before trying this, there were many nuances to understand. For example, I knew I needed a light touch, because I had used double edged razors for years. However, I found that I have to be MUCH lighter than even that (I found out when I sprained my thumb and couldn't hold the razor tightly, and got a better shave!).

Likewise, I used to just apply pre shave, shower, apply lather, and shave. I found that I needed to do more prep, before shaving. It differs per person, but share some details on your process and maybe we can help out!

Please don't think I'm piling on, but if you could feel the pressure at the toe, you were lucky not to cut yourself, because it says to me that you not only had too much pressure, but the pressure was uneven, less on the heel than the toe, which is tempting fate. One wrong move and you're slicing. I really think you'd have better success with some short, buffing strokes that you can barely feel. Often, I'm not aware of the blade touching my skin, because the pressure is so light.

I have a Revisor spike that would have left you without a head. Lol. But seriously, you'll do fine over time. It just takes time getting used to a SR. But if anyone's offers you a spike tip, take a zero for the day.

Okay, first: a response regarding my shave routine that day.

Before picking up a SR, I was using goo & Quattro Titanium cartridges. I also started reading this forum more than a month leading up to it, and started implementing what I was learning immediately. No pressure helped tremendously with my post shave comfort. I also started using "left on left" and "right on right" so my slightly non-dominant hand could learn the shape of my face.

Pre: shower, using Garnier Fructis - Volume Extend on my stubble to soften and add some lift. The wife made my lather during my shower. A few drops of glycerin & vitamin E were added while it was being built. I re-moistened my face & applied lather for pre-shave.

The Shave: started simple with the side burns & cheek. I noticed my lather dried rather quick. So I switched to lathering in sections, and re-lathering if it felt like I wasn't getting that "glide" I had seen mentioned in sooo many threads. Being both stubborn & a bit of a completionist, stopping with just the easy bits was basically out of my control lol. I'm also meticulous & "rather safe than sorry" is my rule of thumb when dealing with things that I lack experience with.

The difficult hair was obviously my chin and around my mouth. ATG was trying, a.k.a.: a fun challenge . My neck was a challenge because of the tropical storm & hollows. These hairs are somewhat thin, lay nearly flat, and go in all kinds of directions. Add to that, I just don't have much stretch to my skin.

When I got to my neck, as I watched my pulsing jugular, I mentally replayed that vid posted in the Ladies Corner of a "steel facial" when the shavette is used on the gal's eye lids. Safe to say too much pressure was not an issue. As for uneven pressure? Not so much. Maybe a little, but not enough to account for all those marks. Less than a quarter of the blade is used when shaving the neck.

Post Shave: rinsed the lather remnants off with tepid water, the a cold water rinse. Followed up with Nivea Post Shave Balm - Sensitive.

The trouble: muscle memory & being a "storm chaser". First time using a SR is rather awkward. No real muscle memory for it. The lack of awareness for the entire blade's position is how I managed to use even pressure AND still feel the rounded tip on the other "valley wall" of the hollow next to my addams apple.

Oh, and it was multiple passes. Not multiple strokes per pass. I.e.: no razor on bare skin.

I think I covered everything... hope this helps.

Still sounds like 3 things to me. Your lather was not up to scratch, definitely need to be more aware of where and what the tip of the razor is doing and possibly a blade edge issue. To me a prep is irrelevant as I just lather up and shave so I can't comment on your prep routine being adequate or not.

Bob

It sounds like you're being very analytical about your process and following the great advice from the forum. I've been doing this for only 4 months (coming from a DE) and recall doing many of the steps you are talking about.

One thing I did, was to alter my pre-shave method. Before straights, I'd apply Poraso pre-shave, shower, leaving face alone, and then go right to lathering and shaving. Now, I do multiple steps. In the shower, I wash my face well with soap, and then apply hair conditioner and let it sit. After showering, I apply pre-shave cream (was Poraso, but now I use Noxema and glycerin) and let it sit while I prepare the lather. Then, I apply a hot wash-cloth to my face (twice) to really heat up the beard. I reapply pre-shave cream and then put lather on top and do a pass. I reapply preshave and lather and do next pass. Since I'm getting faster, I lather in two sections (used to do four).

It seems to work for me, so I haven't altering any of the steps.

The other thing that I wanted to comment on was your mention of less than 1/4 of the blade used. I'm wondering if that is cause the toe to dig in a bit? Maybe you can try keeping the blade totally flat (heel to toe) and at a low angle (1-2 spine widths) and do just a downward pass. Don't worry about trying to get the hollows (I have issues on either side of the adam's apple), or trying multiple directions.

After doing that a few times, try some direct up, and slightly angled up or down passes on the neck, again, not worrying about getting BBS. You can always finish with cartridge/DE, if needed. I (personally) know that is hard, to not want to stick to it and get a BBS shave, but I've found that the more I keep trying the more I irritate the skin in that region (which makes subsequent shaves harder).