Thread: Will it cure my razor burn?

For the past week and half I have looked into straight blade shaving, and I have to admit I am getting excited about it. As of now I hate shaving. I am of German, Polish, Scottosh, Spanish, and possible Jewish and Aztec decent so needless to say I have a full thick beard. Im 22 and my beard puts many men older than me to shame. I dont mean that in a mean way, its just the truth. But with that comes bad razor burn. I get it bad around the bottom of my neck where the edge of my beard line meets my neck with no hair. Along that line my hair grows in a bunch of different directions.

Will shaving with a straight blade help to avoid that burn? Ive watched a bunch of geofatguys videos on youtube and it looks like its a great shave, but Im still unsure.

Also, whats a good first blade. On SRD I was looking at the dovo natural, is that too much for a first time blade? And are there any shops in Houston, TX

Thanks,
Mike

Not sure how much you know about shaving but think of it as 'progressive hair removal' instead of shaving. In other words do several (3-4) passes starting with WTG (with the grain), XTG (cross the grain) finally ATG (against the grain). You may want to do 2 WTGs or XTGs before the finale ATG. I have a fairly tough beard, probably nothing like you have, but do 3 passes every day, very seldom any irritation.

Also consider beard prep. Soaking the beard with a hot towel, I use wash cloths, several times before applying soap/cream helps soften the hair which helps make it easier to cut. Also you can apply soap/cream then apply hot towel, that's how some of the old barbers did it. The main ingredient is lots of hot water. Most guys say it is best to shave after a shower as your beard is exposed to water during most of the process.

Of course it does help to have a well stropped shave ready razor to get a smooth, irritation free shave. I'm sure others will chime in shortly with additional info and tips. Hope this helps.

I'm new to the shaving world. Well doing it the right way that it is. My idea of beard prep is a shower, so I know thats where my first problem lies. Im gonna dig more into that.

On another note I need some clairty. On the razors to stay away post on this forum, "Best Quality" is on there. Is that talking about the Dovo's or is that an imitation brand?

That is not referring to Dovo.

As long as the razor is truly shave ready, you should be able to shave without razor burn. Now dont forget there is a learning curve. Also diff grind will perform better than others. I dont have a heavy beard but im sure others would be glad to let you know what works best for them.

Shaving with a straight razor won't immediately get rid of your razor burn, but it might do so eventually.

Also consider beard prep. Soaking the beard with a hot towel, I use wash cloths, several times before applying soap/cream helps soften the hair which helps make it easier to cut. Also you can apply soap/cream then apply hot towel, that's how some of the old barbers did it. The main ingredient is lots of hot water. Most guys say it is best to shave after a shower as your beard is exposed to water during most of the process.

This makes me think of Christmas. I asked my little brother if he wets his face before applying the shave gel(Fusion user). He said no, he just puts on the gel and shaves. He was telling me how great his new fusion was, and I couldn't even tell he'd shaved, with the exception of the razor burn I was seeing. Proper prep is one of about five things I'd consider high priority in getting a good shave with any type of razor. I can tell you I never had an issue with razor burn, but acne was a big problem. Straight blade shaving, or proper beard prep has almost completely cleared that up. I wish I could narrow it down further, but I won't go back to a muti blade modern shaver unless straights are outlawed.

Solus,
Heavy beard, new to str8s. Others may disagree, but I would suggest a heavy grind razor would have some benefits for learning. The only thing you've not mentioned is hand size - which might argue for a 5/8 for med. sized hands, 6/8 if you have large hands. This dividing line seems to be a general one that the 6/8 has a larger shank - easier to grip, articulate for guys w/ big hands.

Joe speaks to the other issue - beard prep. The tougher the beard, the bigger an issue this is. Selection of soap/cream will make a difference also. Obie is the guy to pay attention to there. One common prep technique is to let the face stay wet when exiting the shower, lathering up your face and massage the lather into the beard for a full 2-3 min. This will erase most of the lather, but help waterlog the beard. Its not the softness, but the hydration (waterlogging) of the stubble that makes it easier to cut. The external structure of the stubble is like layered shingles. Bloated stubble makes the outer edges of the shingles expand out a bit, making it easier for an edge to slide under the shingle and initiate the shearing. As you progress w/ your experience and technique, adding some sideways motion to your stroke (see advanced strokes in the wiki - sometimes called scything or guillotine stroke) will help - especially with the longevity of your edges.

Razor burn is almost always a pressure issue. We think of taking a blade to the stubble. Better to think of the stretching action making the stubble available to the blade. If it takes pressure to shave, something's wrong - most likely the orientation of the stretch.

I suspect you'll like the str8 alot. W/ a heavy beard, the second best choice is a poor substitute.

I'm in a similar situation, and I have found that using a straight razor has almost completely eliminated razor burn. Granted, it took 3 months of trial, error, bleeding and razor burn to get to the point where I can consistently shave well. Not perfect, but well enough that my face feels smooth and there's no irritation (though I did cut my lip today...got a little cocky). I still struggle with the pressure thing, but overall my face has never felt as good as it has the past two weeks since I had my razor rehoned.

I'm not simian-hairy, but I have the same problem as you: if I get irritation it will be at the bottom of my beardline, where it meets my neck. Yes, straight shaving has alleviated irritation to a high degree, but credit also has to go to preshave prep and beard mapping. In my case the cause of irritation is due to direction of growth. My beard grows mostly sideways on my neck, but at its base it grows directly upwards, and very flat to the skin too. So if I shave N-S (north to south) it will actually cut against the grain and under the skin, causing red, painful ingrowns.

Long story short, cut out the ATG shaving and your irritation should clear up. Sometimes this results in a less than close shave in certain areas, but as we often say around here, shoot for comfort before closeness.