10th shave...2nd since honing

hey just happy to report this is my second shae since honing and my razor is cutting great, 2nd shave in a row with no nicks whatsoever... shaves are getting closer too. im getting the hang of this

now for the questions.

im shaving ambidex, but its easier on my face then on my neck, do alot of you ambi shavers use one hand for your neck and two hands for your face?

im just thowin down a couple laps on my strop between 2nd and 3rd passes, like 10 linen 10 leather, is this wise?

does the cold rinse after you finish suppose to cut down razor burn? its not helping lol. the only part of shaving i dont like is the razorburn

Hi
I have been shaving every day with a straight for 1 year and absolutely love it. Shaves are getting closer every day. I have 4 razors , three are professionally honed. I have gone from a guy who hones with a belgium coticle, then finishes on a Dragons tongue (12,000 grit similar to a chinese 12K stone), then he strops on leather. I get great shaves, but made them even smoother by doing 20 laps on a balsa wood paddle covered in chromium oxide. The shave is silky smooth and I would recommend this as it dramatically cut down my razor burn.

Re the burn, finish with a cold water splash and dab the towel to dry (dont rub as this causes irritation). I use Gillette aftershave balm sensitive, low cost but fantastic, my number one to prevent razor burn. I have tried a lot of products, including Brut Aftershave Balm, that is very good, but not readily available in the UK.

I also use both hands but find it difficult on the neck when I change hands, its just practise and i am getting better. I go ATG on the neck and cheeks only and get the closest shave ever. My face still looks good 10 hours later, but I must leave at least 24 hours between shaves otherwise I get serious razor burn. I also cleanse and exfoliate the skin whilst showering, exfoliating every 2 days and cleansing every day. This really helps reduce razor burn, dont know why but it does.

If you want to use aftershave then i have started using Old Spice Sensitive, the burn is very slight, nothing like my other aftershaves. I wait a couple of minutes after applying the aftershave and then apply the aftershave balm, it works just fine.

Regards
London:gl:

Hi - I've been DE since October 08 and straight for 2 weeks.

I suffered alot from razor burn in the early DE days - I too have a strong beard which lays close to the skin on my neck.

The best thing I found was Prorasco Pre/Post shave cream. Its chalky and you wipe it in your wet hands then spread on wet face after the cold rinse. It contains Menthol and Eucalyptus and just takes the burn out almost immediately. I then wash my teeth as this settles on my skin then I use Musgo Real balm.

Hope this helps
TMax

I shave with my dominant hand and use my left to stretch so I can't comment on the ambidextrous part. On the razor burn, once I started using very little pressure and the gradual stubble removal technique explained here I no longer suffered from the dreaded burn.

It occurs to me that blade angle and the level of sharpness of your razor could also contribute. There are probably other factors possible as well with prep being one of them. I know that most guys can do three or more passes with no problem while more then two and I get irritation. Just my skin.

All helpful suggestions from the guys. Do a good pre shave, try proraso pre/post shave cream. Castle Forbes is good too.
If your using Diamond Pastes, that causes irritation. I use Nivea extreme comfort shave balm. I like it, it's very soothing.
Cro2 has also helped, I find that if I do 20 passes on my flatbead strop, I helps cut down on razor burn. Rich

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zib

Cro2 has also helped, I find that if I do 20 passes on my flatbead strop, I helps cut down on razor burn. Rich

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+1 on that, IME