Thread: $300. Spent And I Still Can't Achieve a Comfortable Shave

I would second the astra blades, cold water and you need to be stretching or the shin will bunch in front of the razor and you are going to cause these sorts of problems. Watch all the shave vids and they start at the side burns hand above and stretching and then stretch from a spot that has already been shaved as you continue through. Puffing your cheeks, tilting your neck etc will also help to create flat surfaces for shaving. Start small and I would get decent de shaves before moving back to the straight as it is easier to learn. Good luck

Here is what I would do. Let your face heal for a week. Then go to a barber and let him give you a shave. This will let you know if a good shave is possible. Some states still allow barbers to use straights if not he will use a shavette. At least you will know if it is skin or technique related. Bring your straight maybe he can use it to shave you. Good luck.

Having not read the other advice, my biggest aha moment when I first started was:
Shave for COMFORT, not for closeness of the shave.
My shaves destroyed my skin at first, afterwards when i went for comfort, shaves weren't as good/close, but slowly that changed and at least my skin felt decent and I was able to go out in public looking halfway decent
Good luck, we've all been there at some point, keep at it

Here is a link to find SRP members in your area.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/memberlist.php?do=search

As others said, this appears to be technique related. May be a rolled edge from improper stropping, inadequate beard prep, lack of stretching, etc. The list goes on.

Keep us posted us your progress. That is one scary neck. Ouch.

Originally Posted by TristanLudlow

Having not read the other advice, my biggest aha moment when I first started was:
Shave for COMFORT, not for closeness of the shave.
My shaves destroyed my skin at first, afterwards when i went for comfort, shaves weren't as good/close, but slowly that changed and at least my skin felt decent and I was able to go out in public looking halfway decent
Good luck, we've all been there at some point, keep at it

There is a ton of good advice in many of the posts,,, But that right there is what changed things for me 35 years ago when I stated with a SR

It was painful for me to shave back then using a disposable my neck looked almost as bad as yours if I shaved two days in a row...

I learned to use a SR because everything else HURT so I shaved for comfort the SR allowed the ultimate in adjustment for that..
The shaves got better as I got better but it is always about comfort first

What were you using before you bought the DE razor - and did you have the same problem? You have chosen two of the worst blades to start with - the Feather is very sharp but degenerates very quickly which can lead to too much pressure, and the Derby blades are classed as very poor. The Astra should be OK - so my advice would be to concentrate on using the DE for now and forget the straight for the time being.

By doing this you reduce the number of variables - practice building lather in a bowl using the same brush and soaps - this will let you know how much water is required to get a consistent lather. Try two with the grain passes in the problem area rather than XTG or ATG - you may have to do some beard mapping to establish just what direction your neck hair grows. Most important is what Glen said - don't push it.

firstly i have not read the whole thread, but i think that skin stretching is important for a good shave, to effectively stretch you need to use your facial muscles, as well as a bit of forward planning:
To strech the sideburn and cheek area pull up and back from above the sideburn, use lower jawbone to stretch downwards at same time. (yes you will look like a monkey).
For your jawline either stretch it up onto your cheek, tilt head down to side you are shaving.
Chins are tricky, i shve in on a bit of an angle, and use my lip and chin muscles to stretch the skin.
On my upper lip again i shave in at a bit of an angle, use a bit of inflation and also pulling outwards with my thumb on the cheekbone area.
To stretch your neck I would turn my head slightly in the oposite direction and tilt upwards towards the side oposite to which i wasd shaving, and pull down on the side i am shaving close to my collarbone.

Some of these stretches will vary a bit for the second pass but you will work out what works, the trick is to start from the edges somewhere so that you are creating relatively lather free areas.
A suggestion that I have read is to use a bit of alum or styptic on your finger to improve grip.

Don't forget that the 30 degree angle is firstly a guideline and that your face isn't flat so you have to constantly adjust it to the curve of where you are shaving.

With your straight did you try holding the razor almost flat and then slowly increasing the angle to find a comfortable angle?
I dont use safety razors often but when I do, to find a good angle i will start with the head of the razor on my face and slowly roll it as I am drawing it down the pass until it feels like it it is cutting.

It looks like a lot of those that responded didn't notice that you said that this picture shows what happened when you were shaving with a Merkur safety razor. You didn't mention which Merkur you were using. That information might help. The Merkur 34C is a very mild razor and if you don't have that model I would suggest that you get one. Use a mild blade such as a Derby or an Astra -- not a Feather. A Feather is so sharp that it will remove skin imperfections rather than ride over them, which is what it looks like is happening here. For the time being, just stick with the safety razor until your issues get sorted out.

Also, you you said that this is the result of shaving WTG and XTG. First, I would suggest that if you haven't mapped the hair on your neck that you do so. You really need to know for sure which direction is with the grain and which direction is across and against the grain for every part of your neck.

I would also suggest that for a while only do one pass with the grain on your neck and then let us know if you are getting skin irritation. If, afterwards, you don't have irritation, then I would suggest doing a single pass shave every day for a while so that the whiskers don't have a chance to get very long before they are removed again. The neck is the most sensitive area that we normally shave and some people just can not shave XTG or ATG on their necks. You may be one of them. After your skin heals up, try that and report back with the results. If that works then you can try two passes WTG if you want a better shave.

It very well could be that the hair on your neck is growing in all kinds of directions and that could be an issue as well.

Originally Posted by Uzi

It looks like a lot of those that responded didn't notice that you said that this picture shows what happened when you were shaving with a Merkur safety razor. You didn't mention which Merkur you were using. That information might help. The Merkur 34C is a very mild razor and if you don't have that model I would suggest that you get one. Use a mild blade such as a Derby or an Astra -- not a Feather. A Feather is so sharp that it will remove skin imperfections rather than ride over them, which is what it looks like is happening here. For the time being, just stick with the safety razor until your issues get sorted out.

Also, you you said that this is the result of shaving WTG and XTG. First, I would suggest that if you haven't mapped the hair on your neck that you do so. You really need to know for sure which direction is with the grain and which direction is across and against the grain for every part of your neck.

I would also suggest that for a while only do one pass with the grain on your neck and then let us know if you are getting skin irritation. If, afterwards, you don't have irritation, then I would suggest doing a single pass shave every day for a while so that the whiskers don't have a chance to get very long before they are removed again. The neck is the most sensitive area that we normally shave and some people just can not shave XTG or ATG on their necks. You may be one of them. After your skin heals up, try that and report back with the results. If that works then you can try two passes WTG if you want a better shave.

It very well could be that the hair on your neck is growing in all kinds of directions and that could be an issue as well.

Thank you. That particular shave was with the Merkur 23c. I got this razor for $20 on amazon last year. I'm going to buy the 34c today. I'm not sure if this is it or not.
http://www.amazon.com/Merkur-Heavy-C...rds=merkur+34c

Thanks so much guys for all of the feedback, I've been reading everyone's suggestions and I've been taking notes to read over before my next shave. I am so glad to be apart of this community, and am so humbled with the responses
After I get this problem solved I can't wait to share it to someone struggling with something similar to me!

Time to breath. You need to take a big step backward and then follow an experiment process. You're looking for the culprit. Go back to whatever shave process actually worked. Is there one? Even if it involved a Bic disposable and Barbasol foam in a can. Shave with this combo for a little while until your skin goes back to normal without irritation.

Now from here you make one change at a time. First I would change the prep to what you would do as if you were going to use an SR but still use your Bic. Anything happen? If no then move on to lather and so on. You may find something out that you least expected. If nothing else you will eliminate potential contributing factors and narrowing down to the real problem. I would not change from the Bic until the last move. Then go straight to the SR. I would skip the Merk and Feather because it just adds unneeded complication to the experiment. If you get this again then you know its razor/technique related.