My face has never been able to tolerate multiple passes only wtg 1 pass. I was just curious if everyone was able to do all of these multi pass shaves when they used cartridges. Maybe I need to learn a new technique or try different blades or something because I sure would like to be bbs at least once in my adult life, very frustrating!:angry032
Never did multi-pass with carts because, yes, they did cause burn. Of course, when I was using carts it was just the daily routine of scraping the face because Uncle Sam said I had to while in uniform. Only since moving to DEs and the soaps and the brush do I do multiple passes. To help answer your question, give us a rundown on your routine. Maybe by getting it written down you may discover yourself something you may be doing or not doing that will help get you closer to a shave you're happy with. We'll certainly be more than happy to chime in with our thoughts! Caveat - what works for someone else may not work for you.
When using real lather, I can get two passes, WTG and XTG, with a cartridge with no ill effect. It's a boring, just acceptable shave but I can do it.
I never go against the grain. For me it builds ingrowns like crazy. I know my shave doesnt get as close that way but theres nothing I can do. Id rather my face not look like i got hit with buckshot with all those little red dots everywhere.
Routine as follows: While in the shower wash with a mild face wash, apply hair conditioner, [don't really know if this does anything or not] splash with more hot water after getting out, apply gabel's, lather up and go to town. Follow up with av and smile cause I look so purty.
Maultiple passes with a cartridge? Back in the day, when I used a cartridge, I only made one pass, ATG. That was the only way I could get close enough for the shave to be halfway decent, and it never occurred to me to make multiple passes. :think002 After I'd been using a DE for roughly six months I tried my last cartridge (I'd spent so much $$$ on the four-pack I felt I ought to actually use that last one!) and tried multiple passes. Shave was so crappy in comparison to what I'd gotten used to with my DE that I decided, why bother? :signs045 God made every man's face unique. If one pass WTG is what your face can take, then that's what you should do. Might want to double-check how much pressure you're using and your prep routine, but otherwise, seriously don't worry about it. :happy088
can I suggest something I have been doing this for the last couple of weeks. shaving everyday is nice but it does take a toll on your face. I let my face rest one day and shave the next. if you can get away with it at work they you may wanna give it a try. I get comfortable clean smooth shaves this way. I do get stubble but I'm young so I does not look bad.
For most of my life I shaved once or twice a week because I'm so prone to razor bumps. Even with a DE it wasn't that good, of course the internet didn't exist and I was a self taught shaver. But since I've found this site and B+B I can now shave daily with a DFS, and no more bumps and ingrowns. Just wishful thinking on my part to do better than I'm doing now, but believe me it's a blessing to look clean everyday rather than grungy.
:sihns011 That's really not enough info, can you expand on it please? What face wash do you use? What razor and blade combo? What brush and soap/cream combo? I read that you like to use the Gabel's brushless cream as a base layer, but you may be able to forgo that, and move to a mentholated cream/soap to get the cooling effect.
It's a salycilic face wash like neutragena, vdh or williams, merkur 23c with personna super (blue wrapper), thayers lavender, ice blue av. I have a skin condition with a prescribed cortico steroid lotion I have to use once or twice a week, similar to psoriasis (don't know how to spell it). My neck line is the trouble I could probably go xtg everywhere else though, just a moment of ham hand syndrome or let my mind drift and neck will look like hamurger, I always feel like I'm ice skating shaving the neck waiting to slip and fall. Thinking I should also try a more mild razor like that lord tech you were discussing earlier.
I read that now you can shave daily whereas before you couldn't, and you no longer suffer from bumps. Is it that your face is feeling raw after the one pass and you can't try going across the grain then? One of the things I'm always leery of is face washes, folks use them to exfoliate their skin, lather up with a stiff brush, and then shave with a D/E razor. A D/E razor is one helluva exfoliator in and of itself, without the need of using a face wash. I read that you use an Omega pro brush. Do you build the lather on your face? Have you ever tried any other brand of blades other than the Personna's? I know it seems like I'm asking a lot of questions, but these will help to try figure out where to go from here.
Never tried face lathering, didn't think it would matter. The only blades I've ever tried are what I could buy in the store. Shave isn't rough but adams apple real easy to get pinged. Neck line beard grows horizontal so it makes it a challenge to fit razor head flush and get the angle. Tried shaving south to north just on the neck and get rashed instantly, the same going north to south.
Oh there's no irritation after the shave as long as it's wtg. Curious as to what was weird about the thread being that I asked a technique/how to question in the shave school forum?
I'd start by dropping the face wash, per Bill's suggestion. You're most likely just increasing irritation. At minimum, limit use to the areas of you face you don't shave. Next, I'd get a blade sampler pack. Very few people find blades sold in US stores to be anything better than average. But, most of us can't get the blue wrapper personnas in stores. It's a blade I like, but blades are a very personal thing. Final advice would be an alum block, if you don't have dry skin. Alum is very effective at killing the bacteria that cause the majority of skin infections which play a part in most skin conditions.
I myself have facial hair like a crop circle, so I don't tend to look for a WTG or ATG :ashamed001 I just do a North-South, then an East-West, then a South-North and finally a touch-up for the parts that still have some hidden hairs...... Did so waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back when using cartridges and still do this on a daily basis. The only "irritation" I get is when my face isn't properly prepped with a shower of a face wash.
I'm not busting on you or anyone that doesn't pull off a 4 pass shave everyday without irritation but I think that if you aren't able to do so it may be a technique thing. I started off doing 4 pass shaves back in the first few days/shaves. They were awesome. They were awesome because I was scared as hell. The more comfortable I got the more confident I became and started to develop bad habits like using pressure and taking long strokes. I got to a point where, although more comfortable than cart shaving, shaving was becoming a chore again. So I stopped cold and reevaluated everything I thought I knew I was doing. I was hard on myself too. I critiqued everything. By being completely honest and setting aside my pride I realized I was at fault for my discomfort. As soon as this became apparent, I started shaving with as little pressure as I could get away with, from my sideburns down to my collarbones (N to S), then from my sideburns into the centerline of my face (W to E) repeating from the other side, then from the centerline to sideburns (E to W), and then finally from my collarbone up to my sideburns (S to N). I do this everytime, everyday, and with absolutely no pressure. I imagine it as pulling splinters with the blade; you gotta get under them in order to cut them. Now I am practicing J-hooking to get those difficult spots. I even do this twice a day sometimes. Since I've gotten good at it, I get no irritation and DFS+ 99% of the time. It can be done. You just have to be patient and honest about your ability and technique. Be ready to admit to yourself that you don't know what the hell you are doing, no matter how long you've been at it. Then be ready to correct your errors. Pressure, angle, speed. These 3 things are the key once you get the right setup. I mean no offense to anyone. I just think that sometimes it isn't easy to realize you may be the reason things suck. It wasn't easy for me to accept. Just want to throw out this as a possible fix. I only do it in the spirit of helping. I want nothing more than for everyone who wants to walk around with a shiny face to be able to and the above was my path to that.:happy005
No offense taken. Taking stock of equipment now, looking into a more mild razor and better blades. As for technique it's a work in progress and am trying 1 thing at a time for a week and seeing how each change effects the outcome. Just tried drideckers reccomendation on ditching the face wash last night, so I'll see how it goes this week. I might be wrong but I don't think my razor and blade combo is right for my face.
Passes... Now: Using A 3 Piece Tech: 1 pass wtg, 1 pass xtg, plus some "gliding" on my neck, and some "buffing" around upper and lower lip. Then With Multi Cartridges: 2 passes with the grain. When I first started out, using multi blade-cartridges: 1 pass wtg, 1 pass atg, then got ingrown hairs, rash bumps along with acne that is accompanied with adolescence. Then started going 2 passes wtg. Once started DE and SE shaving (currently DE'ing exclusively now) well, look at first sentence.
I also have never had success with ATG shaving. My neck line gets in grown hairs very bad. But even WTG I get them sometimes. I have a VERY full beard too. Just switched to DE. Was using Mach III. The DE did me the same way. Of course it was my 1st time. I'm using an old Gillette from an antique store. Grocery store brand blades and Williams soap. So any # of those things, including inexperience with a DE could be MY problem. Just keep at it, try different products and equipment. You'll find what works for you. For what it cost to buy Mach III blades, I know I can afford to try some different stuff. And maybe my face just can't handle XTG.
After watching Mantics vids I noticed I had been going about things a little too fast. My preshave consisted of warm water and that's about it. I was getting a closer shave with the DE instead of cartridge but not the BBS I wanted. The idea or process of reduction not elimination is another thing I wasn't doing. So now I've fix that. I can now do multiple passes (wtg, xtg, atg) with no problems. Turning something I have to do anyway into a hobby is great.
