Thread: Shaving for a while with a DE and still have irritation?

I like the Wilkerson Sword Blades. I got at Walmart here in town to be the best ones I have tried so far. And the Proraso is my go to cream as well. I used the setting on 5 for ever but out of a whim I changed to 4 last week. I believe I like 4 a lot better.

ya, i actually dropped by 2 settings to 4 from six and that helped imensly

crazyengineer,
Try less pressure with the razor, or you angle and you might want to check your lather, or the ingredients of the Prorasso or which ever cream/soap you are using. Just a suggestion. As Obie mentioned, the type of blade you are using might be contributing to the problem.
Good luck.

crazyengineer,
i forgot to mention that natural shea butter will help, immensely, with the burning after applied with the Thatcher's Witch Hazel. It is a bit oily, but works, magnificently.
Cheers

I face lather. U rub the first lather in just like str8ers. It's like a preshave treatment w/o the xtra products.

Originally Posted by crazyengineer

jimmyHAD,

Also, I am a college student and it is kind of hard for me to order things, is there anything that i could get from local super market, walmart etc... that will help?

will a pre shave help? (i generally shower before a shave)

thanks for any advice

Pre-shaves might help -- you'll only find out by trying. Three suggestions for a pre-shave, all cheap and easy to try (use either one, not both):

1. In the shower, put a little hair conditioner on your face. Don't rinse it off.

2. After the shower, put some vegetable-source oil on your face -- almond oil or walnut oil work well.

3. After the shower, put some "personal lubricant" (either water-based or silicone-based) on your face. (Astroglide works OK).

You need just a very thin layer. Lather right over the conditioner or oil or lube.

[The conditioner has some lubricants and hair-softeners in it. The nut oil is a lubricant. The personal lube has either glycerin or silicones -- both good lubricants. So there's some logic behind these suggestions.]

you might also check "uberlather" in this Forum.

I've used all of them, and they helped me with razor-burn problems. But I found that as my technique improved -- less pressure, less pressure, less pressure -- I didn't need them as much.

A "no pressure" shave requires a really sharp blade, whether straight or DE. But blade preference is highly personal.

Charles

I personally think that the main reason for irritation is too many passes especially against the grain. There are many reasons you can be experiencing irritation, however, and since each person is different it might be best to change one thing at a time and see if that one change yields any improvements. My money is on blades.

See if you can get your hands on some DE Feather Blades, said to be the sharpest around, and see if they make a difference. I saw them on Amazon and am going to be getting some myself to see if I can reduce the amount of passes I have to make when using a DE. I shave with a straight at home, but when I travel I use a DE.

Crazy,
I'm a total newb having come here to learn about straights, but I ended up with a DE for fun. I've gotten awesome shaves with it right away... i don't know if this is right or not, but it works for me and is cheap: After warm shower, warm water, then olive oil on my face. Then make up my soap while the oil is yummifying my face. Leave the oil on an lather up!

When these guys talk about light pressure they mean light. I'm using basically the weight of the razor. I hardly feel anything when it's passing, but it's doing it's thing. I'm using Derby blades, I also got a variety pack, but I'm working through the Derby's first. So far 0 complaints from me. The olive oil will leave your face super soft. It's been famous for this quality for a long time. I put it in a dollar store squirt bottle that's about 3 inches tall. 5 squirts or so is the amount I use.

Good luck, and I'm having your luck with my straight, so I feel your pain! LOL

-= Beer

Hi Crazyengineer,
I agree that you are using too much pressure on your shaves. The other possibility is that the blade you are use is not the right blade for you. You stated that you got a big sampler pack. Keep trying different types of blades. For example, I tried different blades for a month and then found that the blades that work best for me were the Feather, Astra super, blue birds and shark blades. The others did not work for me. You blade choices will/might be different. You stated that you like the Bic blades. Use the Bic blades as a comparison for the other blades you try and then rate them.
As opposed to shaving with a multiblade razor, you should not add any pressure when you are shaving with a DE razor. Just let the razor's weight do the work. Take it slow in the beginning. Learn the correct angle for your DE razor. The correct angle different from one DE razor to another. For example, the correct angle for a feather all stainless steel razor is much steeper than that of a vintage gillette de razor.
The third thing is your beard prep. Most of the time, we put more pressure and feel that the blade is not doing as good of a job when our beard is not prepped well enough. If the beard is not well prepped, you are also more likely to cause irritations.
Good luck

I think if you re read your original post you will see you appear to have answered your own question. When I started DE shaving and for years before that with cartridge shaving, I always applied an aftershave balm afterwards. For quite a while afterwards I had burn and redness and pimply outbreaks. I switched to sensitive balms as after all I had sensitive skin according to the packaging.......BS!

Go back to basics. If the blades you are using are giving you a close shave then continue with them. Wash your face and throat with soap in the shower then apply lather and shave. rinse after your chosen number of passes with warm water to wash away any shaving soap residue, then rinse well with cold water. DO NOTHING ELSE. If after a few days you notice less irritation then it is probably your balm that is causing the problems. Balm can block the skins pores and lead to irritation. Why are you using it? When I stopped using balm I waited a few days to see results then started using aftershave. I used Old Spice Fresh Lime (Shulton formula) and now Fonex Malibu from Turkey. I always had irritation before when I used aftershave because of my sensitive skin that I used sensitive skin balm for. Guess what? I don't have sensitive skin and I don't need balm. You probably don't either. A decent high alcohol aftershave will smooth, moisturise and polish the skin leaving it smooth to the touch and irritation free. Lots of us see averts on TV or in magazines telling us we need aftershave balm to combat this and that which is how they sell so much of it. Going back to basics with just face wash, shaving soap, razor and blade will soon let you see what's at fault.

As far as applying oil to your face then lathering over it I would be wary if you value your brush. Most brush manufacturers will advise against this as oil, whether shaving oil or food related ie almond, olive etc, will clog up the hair in the brush and inhibit it to fulfil it's role as it will no longer take up water if the strands are full of oil.

I hope this helps. I was in the same boat and was more than a little dismayed after reading so much about De shaving before I tried it and having nothing but irritation before I went back to square one and removed as many products as I could.