Thread: Major burn after first straight razor shave at Barber

Was it only on your neck that you got the irritation?

The neck is very sensitive (I even had trouble with it when I used a cartridge) but now that I've been shaving with a straight for a while, my neck isn't irritated at all.

Not sure the barber did anything "wrong" but maybe he used a little to much pressure on the neck area to get it smooth.

I don't push for BBS on my neck, it would irritate my skin if I did. It's smooth when I run my hands over it, except when I rub ATG. That's when I can feel some stubble. It's good enough for me, My neck doesn't like me going ATG with the razor

How did he do as far as stretching your skin as he shaved you? Could you tell?

Barbers have to use disposable straight razor blades by law, and I suspect that is what was used by your barber. (Some barbers, I've heard, will use a true straight brought to them by the customer.) These disposable straight razor blades are extremely sharp. Whether they are sharper than the edge right off the hones of an expert honemeister, I'll leave for others to argue. But, definitely these disposables are sharper than the blades we SRPers use day in and day out.

If you have been on SRP long, you know there is a controversy whether a blade can be too sharp. I belong to the camp that thinks blades can be too sharp for the optimal shave.

In your case, with an extremely sharp blade, in that sensitive location, I am not surprised at all that you developed razor burn. And, I would not be surprised at all if your neck tolerated a less sharp straight razor blade quite well.

Less sharp, but still quite sharp. Shave ready sharp.

Don't be afraid to try straights.

Hard to say but he might have put more pressure on that area. Also if he was using a disposable blade razor as he should have been they are as a rule not as smooth as a true straight properly honed is.

Not talking about Feather disposable straight blades but the more common Personna such as I used to use shaving customers in the tattoo shop. They ain't worth a damn for a face shave IME. Believe me, if it was bad we wouldn't all be here talking about how much we love shaving with them. Welcome to SRP.

Yes, the barber made a big mistake somewhere. Don't worry about it. Just keep in mind that there is a big learning curve, even for a barber.

There isn't much point in the discussion but the most likely problem was that he failed to use an oil of some sort with a disposable straight blade. A real blade doesn't need a facial oil application, but a disposable requires it. They are wickedly aggressive because they are not made for an "open" straight edge. The blades are made for Double Edge (DE) razors.

Another possibility is that he went hog wild against the grain (ATG) and created his own irritation. Since it was on your face he probably didn't really care.

A regular straight razor, in your own hands, with your own experience, will not cause these problems; if you know what you are doing with it.

Originally Posted by avatar1999

Was it only on your neck that you got the irritation?

The neck is very sensitive (I even had trouble with it when I used a cartridge) but now that I've been shaving with a straight for a while, my neck isn't irritated at all.

Not sure the barber did anything "wrong" but maybe he used a little to much pressure on the neck area to get it smooth.

I don't push for BBS on my neck, it would irritate my skin if I did. It's smooth when I run my hands over it, except when I rub ATG. That's when I can feel some stubble. It's good enough for me, My neck doesn't like me going ATG with the razor

How did he do as far as stretching your skin as he shaved you? Could you tell?

I just got the irritation on the left side of my neck ONLY. He defintely went against the grain since my beard is quite thick so with the grain alone won't do the trick, but just not sure why it would just affect that section.

I think he was streching the skin somewhat.

Anyway I did not expect this kind of irritation that's why I went to a barber.

From what I gather most people think it's the disposable blade that did it. I am just a little perplexed why it would affect only one side of the neck though. it was quite a disappointing experience since they charged a lot for the shave which took 45 minutes . I just expected the smoothest shave ever.

It sounds like he may have been using too much pressure on the blade and giving your some of that irritation.

"It sounds like he may have been using too much pressure on the blade and giving your some of that irritation."

This would be my first guess.

Don't hold it against him, but do tell him about it. Maybe he'll offer you another shave as recompense.

We all have our position on the learning curve.

From my little experience I've found the disposable blade more rough. Jagged looking on the edge when looking at magnification levels. I think that straight are much smoother edged.That plus I'd say the issue is too much pressure on one side like others have said. Another issue is he most likely doesn't do shaves daily like barbers used to do. Not enough day to day practice. But he was plenty happy to do it when he found out you was willing to pay the funds. Its not his mug he's working on.