i just can't get it right

Hey all,
I'm josh and am have been SR shaving for about a month now.
I came here for some advice,
I just can't seem to get a decent shave,
I try going for as much a BBS as possible, but my skin gets so irritated and heated. I tried just shaving for shaving without irrtation and not for a bbs, but the neck and jawline remains a big problem.

My last try was with a Le Grelot shave ready from rasurpur, so the razor is fine. (I didn't even strop this one, just used it right out of the box)

I used a steam hot towel as pre shave method.

My soap was l'occitane cade, man I dno of it's me, but I love the scent tho, I just can't seem to find the right consistency, it just feels like it gives me no protection or glide or any moisture at all. I tried making lather in a bowl, with a little water, with a lot of watter, etc. I also tried face lathering, that didn't rly work either.
I just seems to dry out so fast, I put it on my face, all goes well at the start, but it seems dried out so fast and doesn't seem to protect my skin much ;o
maybe some of guys guys got any ideas or tips for lathering this soap;
I do get a nice thick creamy lather when I whip it up in a bowl, but it dries out pretty fast like in a minute or so ;O and it leaves my skin very dry when I wipe it off or after I shaved that part; after one pass my skin feels very dry; too bad I spent my last bucks on this soap and can't go out buying a cream ;/ so if anyone has any suggestions for the soap, very much appreciated. I also only lather one part of my face at the time, only the left side, then the right and the middle one at a time before I'm about to shave that area.
I was thinking about maybe applying some moisturizing creme/lotion right before my shave, but i dno if thats a good idea or not.

my brush is a super badger TI

I'm currently without a strop tho, only using the linen atm since my strop is conditioning, but it's not that my shaves were much better with using my leather strop.

Now on to the shave itself,
I already told you about the lather;
the shave itself, i tried a lot of angles already, started out with a 30° angle, that seemed to pull at my whiskers and wasn't that confortable;
i switched my angles to less than 30° and tried some shaving, this seemed to eliminate some pulling and went better.
I also had to loosen up on the pressure a lot, I think my pressure is still a little too much, but I tried with very light pressure as well, but still had some burning sensation afterwards, the best so far has been shaving with a guillotine style motion and slicing, that helped in removing any pulling but it's not for every area (also the pressure must be very light doing this, so my pressure is prolly still an issue)

also I feel like I'm just scraping my face with a cheese scraper, the cheeks are basically fine, but its the neck ( ow yes the neck again) and jawlines,
I just can't find any angle that seems not uncomfortable,
the lather I put there doesn't seem to give any protection either

my skin is just burning after I shave

the only area without any problems is the upper lip, maybe cuz of the natural muscles begin able to stretch that skin very well, i can shave there without pulling if I adjust my angle as I shave to feel which one doesn't pull I shave my upper lip with a normal ATG and XTG pass and is bbs, also Im just using the tip of the blade on the upper lip, on my neck and face I use more the middle as well which seems to irritate my skin more

I might just forget about a bbs shave and just go for a comfortable shave
I'll adjust my pressure and try some more angles
my lather remains a big mystery for me, I'm whipping up a lather till it gets rly stiff and feels like ur whipping up honey, but that seems to dry, so I usually add some water in there and whip it up some more.

if anyone has anything he wants to say, discuss, advice,
be my guest
happy new year btw soon for all of you :)

Try to use less pressure on the razor.
If the soap dries out that fast try a wetter lather or a different soap.

While you are learning go for comfort, not BBS. The BBS will come in time.

A few things:
Can you find some glycerin to add to your brush when you make lather?

Also keep your face wet- it's good to reapply lather, but add lather to your whole face. If your face feels dry, then your whiskers are also drying out, and that can contribute to the pulling sensation.

If your brush is getting dry, stick the tips of the bristles in water, briefly, or stick it under the hot water tap for half a second. Lather building can be hard.

Adding to the problem might be a problem like I had- I shaved very slowly when I started, taking 45-60 minutes each time. Don't rush, because you'll hurt worse. Take your time, and rebuild the lather as necessary. It's okay, really.

Also, make sure you map your beard accurately. You might have to go without shaving for a couple days to see it clearly. There are a number of people here (myself included) that have things such as sideways- and upward-growing facial hair. Once you know where those spots are, you can adjust your strokes better.
J.

It sounds like you have a lot of problems.

First, take a few days off to get the skin back to normal.

Then, add water to the lather after it whips into a cream.

Get a strop.

The trick to all this is to learn how to hone to a razors edge, strop the edge to shaving smoothness, and shave light enough to remove whiskers without taking out several layers of skin.

So, of the four key components (lathering, stropping, honing, shaving), it sounds like you are screwing up on four of them.

Leave the razor alone because honing without any experience isn't going to help much, as you said, the razor is pretty sharp.

Get a strop though and work on the edge, taut, smooth, slow, and no pressure.

Get your lather worked out, even if that means adding wet soap instead of lather, or lather with wet soap. Mix the two up if you need to. So, infuse your beard with hot wet soapy water and then apply the lather. That way neither will be relied on alone.

Shave lightly, after the beard can soak a bit. Maintain a 30 degree or less angle with every stroke. Each stroke performed slowly and carefully.
Re-soap/lather after you finish each side of the face. Two passes should be four latherings.

Then, after you've picked up a little skill you can simplify things a bit.

If you do shave again before you get a strop, then strop 100 strokes on flattened newspaper before shaving.

Already you have gotten great advices .

What makes me wonder is you do already know everything.
You ask question and in next line answering yourself to it.

Soap-try tabac
shaving tech-slicing is the best you have done it -please avoid the pressure.
(your blade must be in right sharpness for this shave)
agree in some places you cannot do so just go straight motion but without pressure.PRESSURE IS ENEMY OF STRAIGHT SHAVING,HONING ETC.
stretching -without it you won't be successful.
Give time to your skin to get used to straight shaving(will take time)
Lastly be patient .
Remember one day you will read all this and laugh a lot.
have fun

Sounds very much like a lather problem to me. There is a subtle, but decisive difference between lather from soap, and from cream. Category:Lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki has methods for both. While it is tempting to whip up soap into a meringue like lather, it will dry (too) fast. What you (should) get from soap lather is cushino and glide, more so than from a cream if you are doing things right.

Get that straight first, ie spend some quality time learning to build good lather.

Also, since you are using a soap, make sure to start with as little water as possible, and add water in the process of building the lather. This may take up to three minutes. I have one soap (Knize 10) that actually takes that long, but then it is well worth it.

Good luck, and keep us posted,

Robin

I'll pick what i can out of that mammoth first post!

Work on your lather. It shouldn't dry out that quickly. If you shave slow, keep re applying.
Could be a possibility that soap is too harsh for your skin. It is mine & i have to use creams.
Watch Mantics lathering video.Mantic's
Try applying some conditioner to your stubble for a couple of minutes. Let it work. Rinse well. Apply lather to wet face.

Angles are hard to judge. Aim for two spines width. If that's still problematic, close it up a little.
Keep the pressure to just enough to maintain contact & prevent skipping.
Don't keep passing over the same areas repeatedly.
Keep either the heel or the toe leading, so that the blade is angled slightly. Look here. (I think you already do this)
Make the stroke from the elbow, not the wrist.
Stretch well, & in the right direction.
Get some Vitamin E oil. It soothes razor burn in moments. Really. Try it!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jooosh

I might just forget about a bbs shave and just go for a comfortable shave

---

You've hit the nail on the head. Closeness will come when the skill develops. There's a lot to learn at first.

Take some time to heal, or it won't get any better, then it's back in the saddle!:gl:

Man there is alot to learn here. When my stuff gets here I think I'll have to practice making lather a few times before I actually put the razor to my face.

Everyone's advice so far has been really sound. Two things I'll mention since I didn't see them above: Try a pre-shave oil and take a really hot shower before shaving.

The pre-shave oil will keep a layer of slickness right on your face. It doesn't mean you can slack off with the lather, but this might give you a little more protection.

Using the Kyle Prep - hot towel over a lathered face - doesn't work very well for me. Instead, I take a hot shower to soften up my beard. I dry off and throw on a beater and shorts, start getting the gear in place, etc. Just before I put the lather on my face I splash a lot of hot water on my beard so it's back to soaking wet. I also rinse with hot water between applying lather. Your face must stay wet.

After reading the other posts, make your next shave just a WTG pass and walk away with a bunch of stubble. Another member said, "A little stubble is better than a little irritation." If you want, you can finish up with your old style of shaving. Going over areas trying to get BBS isn't going to work. For me, I noticed that it doesn't take MORE shaving to get BBS it takes BETTER shaving. It's going to take a while to get better at this, so just be patient and enjoy the trip.

:gl:

jooosh - If you've only been shaving a month with a str8, perhaps you are putting too much presssure on yourself to achieve a bbs shave.

Along with the dry lather, you may be reshaving areas of your face--and esp. your neck--too much in an attempt to achieve the bbbs shave you desire. Remember that your face as well as your beard have to adjust to this new method/technique of shaving. I found this true when I switched to a DE as much as a str8.

I also experienced horrible stinging, razor burn, when I first used my str8 razor. I determined that it was because I passed the razor over the same part of my my face numerous times in an attempt to achieve a bbs shave. When I applied the ASB and AS to that part of my face, it burned like hades.

The next time I shaved with my str8 I didn't aim for the closest shave possible on that area of my face, but only a close shave. That was good enough for me--and my face didn't burn afterwards. I figure that as I gain in experience with my str8 razor technique that my shaves will become closer and approach the bbs shave we all hear about and want to achieve.

As for your dry lather...Try dipping the tip of your brush in some hot water in your sink and paint your face with the moistened brush to keep the lather on your face moist. I've especially found this to be the case in winter months when the interior environment of my home tends to be dryer because of central heating. That may help reduce the drying out of your lather.

Don't give up. Remember, patience is a virtue...

damn,
I just had a shave, didn't shave for couple of days, so I had quite some hair to remove.
I did quite some laps on a horsehide strop and went to work with my TI Le Grelot 3/4 razor.

I did not use any pre shave method now, somehow after a hot steamy towel my face already feels somewhat dry/dried out.

so onto the lather,
a lot of guys gave very good advice about everything in general and lather making.
What I did was I used some of my l'occitane soap and just made some soapy water and put that on my face as was suggested. It was very watery and moisturizing to say the least. I then let that sit on my face for a while when I was building up more lather, I must've applied around 4 to 5 layers of lather every one a little less watery than the previous layer of lather. Man does this work or what, the lather was amazing!

The razor just glided across the face ever so smoothly, it felt very smooth, very protective, me = stunned.

I did one pass using pretty much only a slicing motion, knowing that with this technique you must use very light pressure, so it's actually a very good technique to use, I've never had any ''injuries'' doing the slicing,
I tried a regular downwards stroke but that did pull (especially without a pre shave method), however with the slicing technique no pulling whatsoever, amazing technique. A pretty much non existing pressure, hmm that does work! :)
Also focused some more on stretching my skin, which also helped a lot.


So, this all resulted in a very awesome shaving pleasure sensation,
very smooth, lather is extremely important, your shaving technique is also extremely important, stropping too, everything is;
it's a whole experience, everything is related and needs very proper care.
It's just amazing!
I can now see the fuzz about the l'occitane soap and the grelot razor!
The lather felt amazing, no drying out, the razor glided across my face with ease, the razor felt very very smooth.
From now on I'll always start with just soapy water (which is exactly what it says it is water with soap, not soap with water)

No irritation, no redness, no torture; only a little stubble remained but I am amazed how close it actually is.

Thanks everybody for giving advice and helping me out,
I appreciate you for taking your time to reply and basically to read my rather long first post to begin with :p thanks for helping me out!

Hooray for you jooosh! Shave on!!!

There you go! :tu

The best part: it'll get even better as you perfect your technique.