Hello & Help

Hi, ive been part of this forum for a while, but seem to have forgot about it due to moving, im 32 happily married with 2 kids, 7 & 11. anyway, i always wanted fresh barber shop shave, its on my bucket list. besides that ive been shaving since i was 12, and out of those 20 yrs have never got a good shave, ive tried just about every type of razor and cream i can find, as soon as a new one came out, it would be on the sink. so ive decided to go back in age, one of my X-mas gifts is a safety razors, a (Merkur Model 180 Long Handle) to bad i wont get it till and be able to use it till then. but i did some research and that seemed to be a good start. the last razor i have to try would be a straight, but im to nervous to go for that! i guess i just dont know what im doing, heck 20yrs and every way? i feel like a kid again. asking for assistance, as to whats wrong, the worst part is the bottom throat area, no matter what i do, it breaks out, to a bumpy irritated shave? JR

JR welcome back! If you look thru the help section on shaving you might get a lot of you answers there. A lot of the techniques for straight shaving translate well into DE shaving. But some advice to get you thru till Christmas if you are still using the canned goo something I found that might help with the gel type is to add a few drops of water and lather it up in your hand so its more a rich foam instead of a gel. Use very little pressure with whatever razor you are going to be throwing away once your Merkur arrives, and utilize the three pass method as described in the help section. Once you run out of the canned goo get a good soap or cream and a good shaving brush.
Once you get the Merkur I would recommend getting a sample pack of blades to see which ones work best for you. And if you have any more questions one you get the Merkur dont be afraid to ask.
As for a straight razor if I can do it anyone can.
Enjoy your new addiction.

Thanks for the info, I don't use the can goop, yet at the moment not the brush soap, just normal soap, I have a brush also, but don't use it, I've just gotten to the point, were, if I'm going to have a little iritaiton, I might as well just make it a quick one in the shower. I also shave my head lol, yet never have a problem! 6 swipes in the front, 6 in the back, then once around each ear, but with a special razor made for it.. but its just a double disposable blade.. JR