Feel the burn!

I've been at the srtaight razor lark for about a month now, never anytjing more than a very minor nick :D So very pleased with myself. Dunno what the hell happened today however major razor burn, mostly around and particularly under the chin. :eek: Can barely touch it but it stings.

I use the following pass pattern, 2 x WTG with 1 x XTG. Always needed a bit of work around the chin area after that, includes a little ATG .

Assuming I'm doing the "hanging hair test" (never seen it demonstrated on YOUTUBE or any place else)correctly my blade is sharp enough.

Never had razor burn in my life, never. I WANT MY MUM!

Take two days off and then start again. Your skin may need a break.

I usually have the best ever shaves on 2-3 days growth (tough to wait that long though!:p)

Sometimes sub-par shaves just happen. It could be due to poor prep, different pressure
or angle that day, or something else. Give your a skin a rest and then get back to it.

- Scott

I've reverted to the mach 3 for a day. Back onto the learning curve again tomorrow.

Try again with 2-3 days growth as suggested by Seraphim. This will give your skin a chance to calm down.

If your skin is still irratated after a few days of no shaving, then try just a 2 pass shave without the XTG pass to see if that helps or makes a difference. Maybe make an extra effort on the prep to see if softening the whiskers helps, although to be honest I think the problem lies with your blade or technique.

Focus on technique for the next few shave and see if things improve. Your skin has been good to date, so there is no reason why this isn't just a minor hiccup and things will get back to the way they were. Perhaps it was just one of those days.

I always found too much pressure cause me problems, it wasn't till I went for a shave in a barbers that I noticed what the blade felt like on my face and I was surprised at how little I could feel. So a soft touch and take your time.

Darren

There are several reasons.

Too much pressure and going ATG in the neck seems the most probable causes to your burn.

The neck is a more sensitive area than the cheeks, so you need more attention and less pressure there.

First go WTG, then XTG and if you still want to shave some more (although after these two passes I barely have any hair to remove) then go ATG.

Also, a good and warm lather and a sharp razor are key to achieve this.

It would appear thet the problem IS the blade. Just had a shave with a "shave ready" razor purchased on e-bay. WOW!
Such a difference. It sounded and felt very different to my experiances so far. I now have a benchmark for my other blade and will attempt to re-hone now I know what to aim for. Also revisit Lynns DVD before I try the hone. Thought I had it right but just goes to show.......

Thanks to all.

Congratulations. Now you get it. You have now learned what is constantly being declared on this forum.

That is, learning to shave with a poorly honed razor is not a good thing and when you are learning to shave you don't know the difference between a poorly and properly honed razor and therefore your first foray into straight razor shaving should be done with a bona-fide shave ready razor.
:nj
Pass it on!