Five O'clock shadow after shaving?
I've been reading these forums for quite some time, first on a single edge razor and then onto double edges. I have never tried single edges but I have recently started diving into the double edge world and it's fairly different from a Schick.
I bought a Merkur 23C recently and one of my friends swore by Derby razors since they supposedly yield a great shave. Needless to say I have enjoyed the shaving experience since not only have I bought the blades as well as the razor, I have also invested in some Col Conk soap, a Badger brush, as well as some C.O. Bigelow Proraso shaving cream.
Now here's my dilemma:
After shaving and doing a few passes, normally one across the grain (towards the middle of the face), another across the grain (towards the ears) and then one more with the grain and slightly across it , I still can see the contrast where the hair was, almost 5 o'clock shadow!!
I don't let my facial hair grow for more than a day or two and sometimes I get the baby butt skin (should I feel this against the grain too?) in random patches on my face however when I take the effort to clean up areas that I missed I have some razor burn from this. This irritation sometimes happens on the first pass. I've even applied close to no pressure with the razor as well as holding it from the bottom of it.
I've seen Mantic's videos on youtube where his face is immaculate but I'm wondering what I can do to avoid these irritations as well as raise the lightness in color where the hair grows.
Thanks to those pros that answer
What to make of all this:
Hey, thanks for all the responses.
I have not had too much of a problem with the angles, as long as I can hear it cutting or feel it I think that I'm on the right track. I followed Russ's advice of the certain order of passes after a hot shower and leaving my brush in hot water until I was out but upon really close review it looks almost like I didn't shave!! :gaah:
I might try the Gilettes, I'm not too sure which supplier to order them from, if anyone knows of a decent place to buy from online that would be pretty awesome. My normal stock is "Best Grooming Tools" and they have decent rates as well as fast shipping. Are these the Gilettes that Obie was talking about? I have not found the yellow pack on their site:
Gillette 7 O'Clock Double Edge
I feel stubble and see the dark area, I only FEEL the stubble against the grain but not with it.
Can TheBigSpendur give any pre shave prep tips besides hot water? Normally I stretch the skin while I'm shaving and this seems to let me get at the hair pretty close.
Andy is right too, since I can't stand a beard I may as well enjoy the process of prepping and taking the 10 minutes to clean up; I just want to see some nice results from it. What he said about rogue blades has not surprised me but one of my friends suggested that Bluebird blades are pretty good.
What Irridum blades are decent? Any ideas where I can try out some of those Swede blades?
Bluebird Razors:
Bluebird
When I got my razor it came with 3 packs of free blades Racer, Silverstar and Rainbows, I have never heard about them so I'm guessing they're crappy blades - has anyone had any luck with them before?
I'll just keep hopping from blades until I find anything decent
Thanks guys
DoubleEdge23c