Its the so called soap the OP is using. Its most likely past its prime. When my tub of cella went rancid on me last month, it suddenly stopped having the ability to cut close on my neck, no matter how much I used to lather up.
the first few days of de shaving created a bunch of irritation.skin gets used to it over time.only based on my experience.
Latest thought on my progress with DE shaving and reducing razor burn. For me: Once you have eliminated your process items, it all comes down to, tools and technique. I have already applied all the products without shaving just to make sure my PSO, soap and post shave balm is not the cause. the next item I have been doing is to decide which I am looking to do with technique: 1. Reduce the number of passes and quite possibly avoid the ATG pass 2. Use smoother and milder equipment. 3. Only use alum on weepers and cuts. 1. To reduce passes, for some, this might mean using a more aggressive setup. This could be in the form of a more aggressive razor or just finding sharper blades for your existing equipment. I have tried a more aggressive razor and , for me, this didn't get me all the way. you might need to try a bunch of different razors until you can find your match. Either using more aggressive razors or at least just skip entirely some types of passes or save them for 'date night'. I am sure many of us are perfectionists and would like BBS every shave but if it means being irritated all day, you have to choose which you can live with. 2. I have found in my milder Merkur 34C and with my tough beard, so far, Astra SP, Gillette Sharp Edge Yellow, Rapira Platinum Lux and maybe even the Voskhods will shave very quietly to the point that I have to guess if I am removing hair. You want this!!! Do not apply extra pressure. Instead, just slide the cream off your face. Keep the pressure light and think of shaving as the process to remove cream from your face. Hair removal is a side effect. You might need to find a sharper, smoother blade (which is a bit of an oxymoron since you cannot always have both). 3. Finally, I have been applying alum across my entire face and often I get a red face just from its application. I read that it is an objective test of how well a shave I have done. Unfortunately, a scraping shave, instead of a slicing one, will leave you red and irritated with the alum. I shave in the shower and while my face is wet, I apply the alum. I can lessen the redness a little just doing a cold water rinse in the shower and toweling off completely. then I re-wet my face with cold water and make it super wet. the more water the better. Then apply the alum. It seems the more concentrated the alum is, the more it burns and reddens my face. I added Witch Hazel to my post shave for its antiseptic properties and hoping that will help keep acne and infections down(which it has) and I might forgo the alum. It might be beneficial to only apply the alum for cuts since it is a skin astringent ( tightens the skin and helps seal wounds). I use it for testing my shave as well as to minimize pore size to limit bacteria entry. This is what I have learned for myself and I hope you will post what has and has not worked for you. All the best. I know I can speak for all the guys here who have helped me in saying, 'WE are here to help you succeed in shaving'. All the best
Since I shave everyday, I've never been one to chase the baby. If he wanders by all well and good. I've always shaved ATG even with carts. I guess I'm blessed with tough skin. As far as alum goes, it has never reddened my skin. It is a good indicator of whether or not I was pressing or going over the same places. Quiet alum=a good technique shave. As stated it's also good for closing off any weepers. I do use a moisturizer before my A/S and that seems to be all my face needs.
