Facial features & skin types

Hi all, I am wondering about facial features, skin sensitivity & how that affects your shave. I am a pretty tall & skinny guy, and I have a kind of lean face with lots of angles. My skin is pretty sensitive too. Could that affect the type of razor I should have? Most often I've been coming away with very raw feeling skin, and my neck looks like I spilled kool-aid spilled all over me. The rest of the day I feel really tender. :cry: Currently I have some sort of Dovo-Solingen which I purchased from a local shave shop, along with a Dovo strop. It seems like pretty good equipment & I just need some help learning to use it!

You know, it seems the whole straight razor shaving experience is very different for people with heavier faces or people with just plain more meat on them from a couple of videos I've seen. One guy in particular I saw on YouTube was really pressing the razor into the side of his face and it looked pretty decent when he was done. If I tried that I'd have no cheeks left! Another member posted a reply which I've copied below (since my original question here was buried in another post).

I just wanted to find out from you all if any razor brand/type is better than another for new people to use. And does the 30 degree rule apply for people all around, no matter what type of facial features you have?

Thanks!

~ Mike

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mparker762 - Senior Member - writes:

I've never heard a correlation between BMI and razor type, usually the discussions are about possible correlations between beard type and razor grind and size. But you're right that people with more rounded faces probably can get away with more pressure than guys with bony angular faces. It's probably also the case that they probably need to use more pressure as well to make their skin conform to the edge of the razor if they want to shave more than a 1/2" stripe at a time, especially if they're using a razor with a smiling edge.

I'm pretty sure I know the video you're talking about, it's the one with the mediterranean-looking guy shaving with the TI Pierre Theirs razor. He does seem to use a lot of pressure, though that's because his razor isn't terribly sharp (he mentions in the comments that it was due for a refresh at the time he made the video), and also because his heavy beard is just tough to shave. He's also pretty heavy so it wouldn't take much pressure to distort his face like that. I've got a heavy beard as well and my face distorts some (though not as much as that guy) even if I'm not using any pressure - even with something as sharp as a Feather. The particular razor this guy in the video is using usually has a smiling edge and he's got a pretty round face so he may use more pressure than you would just to shave a decent swathe of skin.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by mike-s

And does the 30 degree rule apply for people all around, no matter what type of facial features you have?

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Yes. The angle may change depending on which part of your face you're shaving - some parts of my face the razor is almost flat. And in the early part of the coup de maitre stroke it's nearly 90 degrees.

It really sounds like you're using too much pressure. Or maybe there's something in your soap or cream that's irritating your skin.

Did you buy your razor new? If so, it may not be as sharp as it should be. See the Sticky post at the top of the newbie forum for information on new "shave-ready" razors. There are plenty of members here who can hone your razor for you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jimmyray

Did you buy your razor new? If so, it may not be as sharp as it should be. See the Sticky post at the top of the newbie forum for information on new "shave-ready" razors. There are plenty of members here who can hone your razor for you.

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Yes sorry I forgot to mention that. I did purchase it brand new and tried shaving for a month or so. That wasn't the best experience, to say the least. I kep reading on the Yahoo site, finally sent it to classicshaving.com to get sharpened/honed, and got it back maybe a few weeks ago. It shaves better now, but still my skin feels so raw afterwards.

I've been using a straight razor almost everyday for about three weeks now. Initially my face was raw and sensitive after each shave but the last few shaves I've had have been very good with little to no irritation. Some of this is due to improving skill but it also seems like my face and stubble is getting use to the straight razor ---is this possible? I'm just trying to give a little encouragement from one newbie to another --persevere my friend.

What is your prep. routine like (how many passes on strop, what kind of strop, beard prep, etc.)?

Is this question for me or mike-s?

I too have a very lean face; the part that gives me the most trouble is recurve formed my my windpipe. One thing I found is that a smaller razor (3/8) allows me to shave this area better. With a larger razor, the spine gets in the way and prevents me from holding the blade at the best angle, which generally results in an inferior shave or irritation.

I find that smiling edges (those sexy curves) combined with spike tips let me get into most tight corners, so for my size isn't as important as shape.

X

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xman

I find that smiling edges (those sexy curves) combined with spike tips let me get into most tight corners, so for my size isn't as important as shape.

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Maybe that's part of it too; my larger razor is a round point, and the small one is a spike.