Thread: Noobie in trouble!

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

Does not sound like trouble to me.
Whiskers grow from deep down in the skin. If you have light
skin and dark whiskers a shadow is normal. In 40 years your
whiskers will be white like mine so this will not be an issue forever.

Or get a good tan... the sun bleaches hair and browns skin.

I would lighten up on the hot water wash and shave prep.
Hot water causes skin to swell and get thicker. Think wrinkled
pruned fingers after swimming or soaking for a while.

There are two parts -- skin, whiskers.
You want to soak the whiskers to soften them but
not over soak the skin. But they are joined... so it
is a timing and balancing act.

Try a quick 20 second face lather followed by a good rinse
with cold/cool water. For the next 1-3 min build a thick
and deluxe lather in a bowl. Then paint that lather on
your face and shave. For me I like my skin to almost dry
then I lather. The base of the whiskers dry slowest (I think)
so the skin drys while the whiskers soften. I said 1-3 min
so try 1 then 2 then three min and see what works.

First pass will nick whiskers if it does not chop them off.
A second lather will continue to soften whiskers for a second
pass.

You are not alone.... this is why the multiple blade monsters
are so popular. But those monsters are the cause of discomfort
for some of us.

I will try a different pre-shave as you and other have suggested to see if it helps! When I have shaved I can see some the in grown hair, and it looks like it grows side ways under the skin.

Originally Posted by Sargon

If you have thick, dark whiskers and fair skin, there will be a shadow. Unless you've used other shaving methods and had better results, I doubt that it is anything you are doing wrong. Plenty of guys have a light shadow (myself included), even when well shaved. That said, you could *try* a sharper blade, a second ATG pass, etc and see if it helps a bit. Also, try a softer brush (sounds like you are using boar, which I personally like, but which isn't as soft as a horse or a higher end synthetic or badger) Some guys get brush burn from scritchy brushes.

I have a real badge hair brush but may look other at ones. If I don't do a ATG pass then there's plenty of hair left (may angle issue?), if I do then I tend to get razor bumps/burn. When I shave today I'll slow my shave right down as I may making too many passes. Will see if I can limit the shave to 3 passes.

One last question- If my hair grows at an angle on my neck on one side, what is the best way to shave it?

Well today's shave was not that much better! I tried to do just two passes but still had bits that were missed, and having trouble getting a 30 degree angle on the neck. Can't really judge it :| And the badger brush started to irritate my skin a little after the 3rd time of applying it.

Im sorry to hear that! What products where you using before you started your new routine? May I suggest you go back to the old products for a shave and see if that makes a difference. May be a allergic reaction to one of the new products you are using. You can always rule that out then find out which product it is by elimination. If that turns out to be the case there are tons of other product to choose from. But I would try and go back to what you know works to find out if thats the case. So use just your old shaving cream for 1 shave and see how that goes.

Just a thought.

Originally Posted by AledJ

Well today's shave was not that much better! I tried to do just two passes but still had bits that were missed, and having trouble getting a 30 degree angle on the neck. Can't really judge it :| And the badger brush started to irritate my skin a little after the 3rd time of applying it.

Originally Posted by aircoder

Im sorry to hear that! What products where you using before you started your new routine? May I suggest you go back to the old products for a shave and see if that makes a difference. May be a allergic reaction to one of the new products you are using. You can always rule that out then find out which product it is by elimination. If that turns out to be the case there are tons of other product to choose from. But I would try and go back to what you know works to find out if thats the case. So use just your old shaving cream for 1 shave and see how that goes.

Just a thought.

I have been using Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Cream, but will try the Proraso cream and Derby blade again. Not sur how good my shave was before but will go back to the other products, and then see what happens.

edit: Although I still have a little razor burn I seem to have had a better shave looking at it now! I'm not sure what I can do about the in-grown hair, maybe a chemical peal....... I don't know. Or maybe i'm unfortunate to have light screen, and very dark hair :|

I don't know about the ingrown hairs since I don't experience those but I do have light colored sensitive skin, dark hair, and my beard grows very flat. I've been DE shaving for about 1.5 months now. I have learned I have to make extra sure to stretch my skin good each pass to get an evenly cut beard. Then I do 3 passes being VERY careful to not use pressure on my razor. I do one WTG pass and two XTG in opposite directions. If you HAVE to use any pressure then you need to work on angle, skin stretching, or blade choice. If I want a BBS shave then I will sometimes brave an ATG pass but I am sure to get irritation.

Angle just takes practice and you will eventually be able to feel the right angle, even on your neck. Be sure to stretch the skin in the opposite direction from where the hair grows. And some people's hair grows in various directions in different spots on their beard so if your hair grows in a bunch of different directions this may be a bit of a problem. As for blade choice, get a sampler pack and try a bunch of different blades. There's really no other way to choose a blade than trial and error.

Finally, I have recently been on a buying spree on ebay and at the local antique and thrift stores. I found that for me personally the Gillette Super Speed gives me the best balance of irritation free shave and efficient hair removal. The Gillette Tech is a very mild razor and coupled with a sharp blade did a decent job with no irritation but I had to do an ATG pass to get there. The SS gave me a good shave with only 3 passes (1 WTG and 2 XTG in opposite directions).

The razors I have tried and my impressions:

Merkur HD: My first DE razor - moderate aggressiveness, easy to get bad irritation by pressing too hard. Also, as long as I remember not to apply pressure, the weight of this razor cuts really good. Fairly easy to find the right angle.

Gillette NEW open comb: A little more aggressive than my Merkur HD. I tried it once and was scared to try it again. I will try it again some day with a duller blade like a Derby.

Gillette Tech: Very mild razor. I tried it with a Crystal blade and it didn't want to even cut ATG. I had to use a sharper blade for this one to work for me. It is ok with an Astra but I have to do an ATG pass to get as close as I want. That added a touch of irritation and some extra time. Angle is closer to perpendicular than the Merkur HD or the Super Speed.

Gillette Super Speed (early model with the taller head): moderate aggressiveness, will leave weepers if I'm not careful. Very smooth and comfortable feeling while shaving though. Even though it is aggressive and will leave weepers I don't get as much irritation as I get with my Merkur, it just feels more refined. I didn't have to touch up as much either. The angle is similar to my Merkur. This is my new FAVORITE. I will try it with a duller blade next (maybe a derby) to see if I can get less weepers and totally irritation free.

Originally Posted by AledJ

Well today's shave was not that much better! I tried to do just two passes but still had bits that were missed, and having trouble getting a 30 degree angle on the neck. Can't really judge it :| And the badger brush started to irritate my skin a little after the 3rd time of applying it.

It is possible your face is telling you to lather in a bowl and paint the lather on your wet face.
I use a one pint plastic rubbermaid kitchen storage thing. Three for four bucks... round, red lid
smooth on the inside slight ribs on the outside.

Just face lather enough to clean your face... leave the scrubbing for a wash cloth unless you
happen to like a scrubbing like I do at times. I find that my old $7 VDH boar brush gives me a good scrub.

If your whiskers grow near flat ATG will be a problem. Get them from the side.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

...It is possible your face is telling you to lather in a bowl and paint the lather on your wet face.

Exactly! I was just going to say that.

My face can't take a lot of face lathering. I like to paint on a thick, velvety, lemon meringue type lather. I'd also recommend NOT washing the Proroso pre-shave after after applying it; put the lather right on top. Maybe also try just a WTG and then a true ATG. I say 'true' as I found I had got a but lazy, and just started going N to S and W to E and E to W without REALLY following the changing grain...

I would add plain soap to the first application of hot water. This will remove the oil from the hair and allow the water to start softening your beard sooner.

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Exactly! I was just going to say that.

My face can't take a lot of face lathering. I like to paint on a thick, velvety, lemon meringue type lather. I'd also recommend NOT washing the Proroso pre-shave after after applying it; put the lather right on top. Maybe also try just a WTG and then a true ATG. I say 'true' as I found I had got a but lazy, and just started going N to S and W to E and E to W without REALLY following the changing grain...

With the grain, against the grain are only two points on a clock.
If ATG causes problems as it does for me when using a Feather blade
skip the direct attack and get at it from the side.

If 6:00 is ATG try 4:00 and 7:00 or even 3:00 and 9:00

BTW: My WTG is more a 11:00 and 1:00 many days.

SUMMARY:
No one angle of attack will work for all of us and
all the parts of our face. So adjust as needed.

I hear you saying WTG, XTG and ATG, but have you really mapped out what the growth pattern is of the various parts of the face? You may find the parts that are not well shaven after 2 passes are a result of the direction the hair grows in that area is different.

I have this on my neck which grows from the middle out to my ears, so 1 pass down and 1 pass up is really two XTG passes.