adductum, have you tried a cold or lukewarm water shave at any point in your learning curve? I started with hot and ended with much irritation. Reading about other's shaving routines had me trying the cold water approach. As good, and sometimes better, shave and a heck of a lot less (almost none) irritation. As it stands now, cold in the warm weather and lukewarm in the cold weather is SOP with pleasing results.