I'm beginning to believe my skin is not as sensitive as I once thought it was. It is sensitive but today I used TOBS sandalwood cream (a gift from my secret Santa) and it went very well; no red blotches or rash. This cream is not advertised for sensitive skin and at one time I would be nervous to try it. I've been using a safety razor for eight months now and my technique has improved a lot. I'm thinking much of my irritation initially was due to technique. I am very pleased because this cream is terrific to lather and smells great.
Yep, I'm with you both. My initial tendency was to use mild razors (tech, for example) or an adjustable on a low setting, fearing irritation. I ended up overworking my shave resulting in irritation. As my technique improved I used more aggressive razors and found that my shaves were better with no irritation. I think the name "aggressive" could be more appropriately termed "efficient". Hey, we're all still learning!
I read somewhere a while back that many folks (not all) who think they have sensitive skin really don't, the culprit of the irritation were cartridges. As has already been said, seems the "sensitivity" went away soon after switching to a DE.
9 out of 10 times redness will have nothing to do with sensitive skin or products. It all comes down to shavers error, lack of technique . But how? The shaver has 15 razors, but this shaver hasn't mastered any of them. Pick a kit and stick with it. Even if you've been wet shaving for 2 years. I read about a shaver here that never has a good shave. Go back to basic. Retrain. Relax.
Very good point. I stay with pretty much the same set up on a daily basis with the exceptions of different soaps or creams. This allows me to continue to improve my technique. Over time the shaves have improved to the point where I know right away if I have screwed something up.
Your experiences (shaving irritation due to a combination of sensitive skin and overdoing/overworking the areas to get 'smooth') led me down this path: Mild Razors > Aggressive Razors (posted Oct, 2013). it's a 7-pages long thread, but there's plenty of good information shared on a variety of DE razors.
My first month I shaved with a very mild razor and got to where it was moderately comfortable then I got a Gillette Adjustable and started messing with the settings. First 3-4 then 4-5 then 5-6, once I turned it all the way open and got to where I could shave on 9. That taught me a lot about how to hold a razor. Then I went back to my first razor this morning and I got zero irritation, nada, nothing. I didn't even need aftershave.
