Originally Posted by
ian452
The big mistake I made was going from multi-blade to straight. I highly recommend that newbies buy a DE. I was waiting for my sister to send me my dad's old Gillette slim adjustable from England and couldn't wait... shaved with the straight several times while I was waiting. Talk about blood and rash. Once I got the DE I used it for a few weeks and it conditioned my skin. Now shaving with the straight is a dream.
I was also pressing too hard, even with the DE. Apparently this is a common mistake because we press on really hard with multis to get any semblance of a decent shave. We must un-learn.
I would also recommend a pre-shave cream. I use Proraso green pre-shave and it makes a huge difference... did some tests it works. And a Alum bar for immediately after will keep the bumps down.
And be careful.... those things are razor sharp :-)