Thread: First shave down, wow that burns...

I managed to find some time this morning to take a nice hot shower and try to get in more than just my sideburns. It went okay, I didn't slice off any of my face and the sink isn't stained red. I couldn't find the skill need for a portion of my neck, upper lip, or chin. I did end up with a few weepers, and quite a bit more razor burn than I am accustomed to. I have to admit, it does burn a bit now, time for some neosporin. Hopefully it won't take too long to get good enough that my face doesn't feel like this. Many thanks go out to everyone who posts on here. Without the help you all provide, I am sure that I would be in the hospital instead of just wishing my face would stop burning.

-Ray

Sounds like you are using a bit too much pressure.
I'm sure you have heard that before, I sure read it a lot when starting out.
Still, it took me quite a while to realize how little pressure needed for a clean and comfortable shave.

Keep at it, practice is king

As Brinando said, very very little pressure is the way to go, don't try and remove all the hair in one pass. That is if you have a razor that's honed correctly of course. It just takes some time before you get the hang of it, I think almost everybody struggled before they got a good shave, it will come.

It can be difficult to get the hang of "little pressure". There has to be some pressure, of course, but it is always an excess of pressure that causes razor burn. The best way to envision it is to forget about cutting whiskers and think in terms of just wiping the lather off your face. If the blade is sharp and you are maintaining a correct angle, then you'll cut whiskers without harming your skin. If you get razor burn, you are either using too much pressure or making too many passes.

agree with all. I thought I was being gentle on my first 2 shaves, but compared to shaving now I was strong arming it. Also took another tip from a members post and corrected my angle. 1 or 1/2 the spine width off the face to get the angle. use that instead of thinking in degrees. I'm new to shaving but I'm just tellin what stopped my burn. old hands feel free to correct me if I give bad info. I'm a big girl.

Agree and agree. Lighter pressure and less angle. I have found that less than the recommended 30 degrees for the first WTG pass is better (based on a tip from Larry at whippeddog- credit where due!) If it makes you feel better we have been there... I walked around all day once with bright red cheeks (and yes they did hurt). Give it a couple days if you can to recover when that happens!