Thread: Very raw feeling face

I have been shaving with the straight razor about 4 times now and I go wtg and atg, my cheeks mainly feel very raw after, my neck is fine ever this troublesome spot feels fine but my cheeks just feel rubbed raw. Am I pressing to hard? Normal but maybe some aftershave instead of toner??

Yes, you're pressing too hard. Use a lighter touch. You should be thinking about removing the lather from your skin -- that's how light the touch should be.

For my own experience (with a DE razor):

http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...e-shaving.html

. . Charles

It's probably a combination of too much pressure and bad angle, try loosen the pressure, ideally you don't want to use any pressure at all and pay attention to the razors angle.

You should also stick to doing only one WTG pass in the beginning, and add a second WTG or XTG pass in a few weeks when you starting to get the hang of the tchnique.

BTW: Is your razors shave ready i.e professionally honed?

I think you're experiencing razor burn because you're going too far too quickly. You'll eventually get really smooth shaves with a straight razor. The ATG pass is best performed without pressure whatsoever. You can apply pressure and get a slightly better result, but there's a price to be paid for that, and you are paying it. Find a shave balm and use that instead of the aftershave. Your skin needs to heal instead of being dried out by aftershave.

There are plenty of guys in this forum who will hone your blade for you, some even without charging.

+1 to all the previous suggestions. A light touch is extremely important! It is almost counter intuitive, as men we are taught if something seems to be working a little more force makes it better, right? I didn't realize how light the touch should be until I watched my brothers start shaving with a DE at my encouragement. I told them, "you're not plowing the field, you're shaving your face!" Just enough pressure to remove the lather and the correct angle should have you smooth and irritation free in no time. Good Luck!

You're just suffering from new shaver syndrome. It's a combination of lack of experience with bad angle, bad pressure and sometimes dull razor. With experience comes facility with the razor and you figure how to best attack your beard and things improve.

I always strop before I shave, linen side 30 times and leather side 30 times, I do apply some pressure but I should only do wtg for a week or do? Shaving everyday or every 2 days??

Originally Posted by Ricpac

I always strop before I shave, linen side 30 times and leather side 30 times, I do apply some pressure but I should only do wtg for a week or do? Shaving everyday or every 2 days??

The most important thing is if your razor is properly honed, if not get it honed by a pro.

Stick with WTG until you are comfortable with the razor, the different moves etc. give it at least 10-15 shaves before you add a XTG pass and stick with that until you are getting pretty good shaves before you start going ATG, at that point your technique should have improved enough to be able to go ATG with little discomfort.

I bought it from SRD and yes it was honed. I'll try the wtg only for a while then.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

You're just suffering from new shaver syndrome. It's a combination of lack of experience with bad angle, bad pressure and sometimes dull razor. With experience comes facility with the razor and you figure how to best attack your beard and things improve.

Agree wholeheartedly. A lot of people were helpful in my quest to master the straight razor, but once the suggestions were received the rest of the process had to be learned, not taught.