Thread: putting my skin through too much

i feel like ive really butchered my face over the last week and a half, no big cuts or drawing blood or anything but my face just feels Really raw and i do have more red bumps than ever before. i think it's been the combination of forcing a straight over my face that isnt properly sharp and then trying to get ultra close with the mach 3 on other days. Before i got a brush and any decent creams i never really bothered trying to get ultra close but now that ive got those it's like common sense went away and i thought i had a free pass for baby butt close shaves that my face isnt use too. so before my cheeks fall off im going to ease back on these shaves... question now being would a DE like the merkur hefty classic be a good idea as something to try and train my face to a more aggressive shave with? or would the idea to purchase this just go under the category of putting my skin through too much again

As long as you are using the Merkur at a proper angle, I should work fine. First things first. Back off on your shaves. Take a day or two off it that is possible. If using a straight is what you really want to do, rather than buying a DE, send it to Lynn or one of the other honemeisters and let them put a proper edge on it. Your face will have some adjusting to do, but if you spend 2, 3 or even 4 weeks getting to that point, look at the shaves you'll achieve the rest of your life. In the meantime, apply aloe gel or some type of quality moisturizer to our face. Even Corn Huskers Lotion might be helpful.

RT

If your razor is not shave ready that is the problem. Unless the
razor is made shave ready this problem will not end. The Mach3
may not be helping matters either. Before going to the straight
did you use a Mach3? If so did you have any problems?

See if a member can properly hone your razor before purchasing
a DE.


Hope this helps,


Terry

yeah im going to take a day or 3 off of shaving, i actually said that yesterday but i gave in and had at it again today and now my face is the rawest i can remember.
before buying the straight the mach3 had been my stand by but like i said i was content with a mediocre shave going with and maybe across the grain but also like i said now with better prep and creams etc.. i took it upon my self to start making an aggressive against the grain pass. i know in reading this that it's painfully obvious my skin isnt ready for that but i was like a kid who got a bike on a snowy christmas (that bad boy waa going for a spin whether there was snow or not).

i guess the DE idea is probably pointless

I remember when I first started shaving with a straight I went through the same ordeal. Before assuming the problem is your razor and not inexperience try the usual tests with your razor and if they pass assume its inexperience.

Just remember to take it slow at the beginning. Start the straight shave with the simple and basic strokes and after you have mastered them move on to the next. Nothing wrong with starting with a straight and finishing with a DE at the beginning. Lay off the straight a few days and try again if need be. The important thing to remember is that at one time everyone used them and they mastered it so you can too and will. Its just that some pick it up faster and less painfully than others.

yup bigspender that's definetly part of my problem, i've been stroping this thing nightly to the tune of 200+ round trips on 2 different pastes and i think my form is decent to good and ive gotten it sharper. id say it passes the hanging hair test about 70% of the time but the reality is i dont know what sharp is i guess... i also dont know any other straight razor shaver and the barbershops in the area ive called all use disposables (no help there) so ive got nothing to compare it to. going with the grain i just cant get closer than a weak 5'oclock shadow so that's what lead me to my first attempted against the grain pass with the straight today and the result was a Very raw and semi red face. the answer is probably the same as it was when i first bought it... send it to a honemeister, hopefully whomever i send it to can tell me how far off it was from shave ready, guess im just stubborn and had to do it the hardway.

Maybe I'm missing something, but did anyone mention the prep you're doing? I make is a point to making sure my beard is properly prepped before shaving. The point of wet shaving is the "wet" part

Originally Posted by dawill

Maybe I'm missing something, but did anyone mention the prep you're doing? I make is a point to making sure my beard is properly prepped before shaving. The point of wet shaving is the "wet" part

i think my prep is pretty good, ive only been shaving fresh out of the shower and hitting my face with a hot/faucet wet, wash cloth for a minute or two and then lathering up with musgo real or proraso before the shave, im 90% sure what is killing me is the aggresive shaves im trying to put on my untrained face and a seemingly not sharp enough straight. i do find myself repeating strokes with the straight (almost like i do with my mach3) over skin that no longer has lather on it (im trained to the mach3 i guess) and that's probably part of the problem but i think for the most part my problem lies outside the prep. im not quiting though, hate the mach too much to do that

NoMore,

Do you have a first name? Try throwing in an extra prep step. After using the hot towels, lather up and apply the towel one more time. I don't think it will solve the entire problem, but it may certainly help.

RT

Originally Posted by rtaylor61

NoMore,

Do you have a first name? Try throwing in an extra prep step. After using the hot towels, lather up and apply the towel one more time. I don't think it will solve the entire problem, but it may certainly help.

RT

sorry, yes my name is James

lather it up, towel the lather semi-off (i assume let the lather sit beneath the hot towel for a bit) and then re-lather?
i saw that in one of the videos on here but i havent tried it. when my face heals in 2-3 days ill definetly give that a shot along with a very light shave with my hated mach3