Thick beard, sensitive skin, crappy combination... So I had the worst shave of my life last night. Used my Muhle 89 with a Feather blade (first shave with this brand) Stirling Bay Rum pre-shave oil, Maggards Orange Menthol soap, Alum, Fine Snake Bite aftershave. Tried out the cold water shave to see if it lessened my irritation etc. Wanted to use the menthol products to see if that helped any with the post shave feel for me. Pre-shave oil, Brush to soap, got a great lather going with the Maggards. I’ve been paying extra close attention to shaving without any pressure to avoid irritation. But man, the razor just tugs with almost every blade I’ve tried so far. Making sure to move my head to get the best cutting angle that I could, pulling up on my cheek to get the hair on my jaw. Trying to incorporate all the trick, tips, and techniques I’ve gotten so far to make it as painless as possible. Unfortunately it failed miserably for me. I know I can chalk it up to a learning experience, but it was so bad that I had to break out the cartridge razor to finish up the shave so I didn’t look like I had mange. But of course all that did was add to the irritation. I also made sure to take my time and not rush anything, didn’t have anything that had to be done so it was all leisurely. Then, in a stroke of immense stupidity I slapped on the Snake Bite after using the Alum block. Felt like I got a facelift administered by a Yeti. I’m sure if I didn’t have a bad shave it would have felt great, especially since the coolness lasted almost 30 minutes for me. But this time, not so much. The pulling of the alum, the tender skin, and the crazy coolness wasn’t pleasant at all. This is the first shave of my life that actually hurt, not just irritated, but hurt. I’ve been shaving for almost 30 years with cartridge razors getting BBS ATG and it’s never been this bad. I’ve done everything I can think of to retrain my brain on the differences in a DE and cart shave. So this leads me to some thoughts and questions for you guys who have thick beards and sensitive skin: The Merkur blades have the least tug that I’ve tried, but it just doesn’t let me get a close enough shave in the three passes, and doing touch ups just adds to the redness. My beard is thick, grows very fast, and my skin all over is sensitive. I just usually only get irritation on my neck. -What are some blades that are better for thicker growth, or is it just a trial and error thing? -Would an open comb razor possibly do better for this type of issue or make it worse? -Would investing in a slant razor be better than a straight head? -Would getting a heavier razor like a 34c HD be something to look into? -What are some Shave 101 things that I need to make sure to do to eliminate as much irritation as possible? (I’ve read so much on this and watched some many videos already, but I want to make sure I’m not missing an important step or technique) Appreciate all the help I’ve gotten here so far, and I hope I can get this figured out with some more help from you guys.
Try more blades till you find one that works. Have you found the angle sweet spot on that razor yet? Open comb as I understand it main benefit is that it doesn't clog if you have particularly heavy facial hair.
my advice: is just that my advice,ymmv maintain your prep,I like hot tap water, with nivea menthol soap. wash not scrub your face. face lather, take your time. let it soak in. rinse your razor in warm water. first pass, shave north to south, all the way across your face, shaving straight down. light short strokes. listen for angle no water running, no fan. next I rinse face, lots of warm water. re lather. next pass, from bottom up.I hold the razor by the very end. Short, easy strokes. from bottom up, everything but upper lip. no pressure listen only to the razor. ( this should be an ok shave, stay here if your irritated, skip to cold rinse) third pass, rinse and relather. from ear to nose then from ear to adams apple, very light let razor work. listening only to the razor. next I wash again with the coldest water from the tap, then pat dry. TIPS: FEATHERS cut me very easily, put them away for a while. if you like Merkur use them. get a balm, not an alcohol a/s, nivea is good. I've never used alum,I hear it stings, doesn't sound like a sensitive skin match. instead splash with witch hazel( after cold water, before balm) I put tea tree oil in mine, just a few drops. I do hope this helps. please remember, it takes a while to learn a new skill. be patient, it'll come. my advice would be to learn with what you got, not to chase after that miricle razor. they are just handles that hold a blade. good luck, d
Thanks for taking the time guys, it's much appreciated! I haven't been rinsing between passes, so I'll try that for sure. I'm going to snag some Witch Hazel as well and give that a try. I've got a huge blade sampler from WCS, so I have plenty of brands to try. The Merkur just has worked the best so far, but it's still not where I'd like it to be. Tried the Sharks, Feathers, Israeli, and the Merkurs so far. I've seen people suggesting to do an initial lather, let it sit for a couple minutes, rinse it, then lather again for the first pass. May try that too. I'm up for anything as long as I get a better shave.
I'm not a big fan of Feather blades, the proven blades are, Astra SP, most of the Gillettes, the Russisn blades, Personna Lab Blue. I'll write it again, my shaves were okay before I bought the iKon Shavecraft 102, once I started using the SC102 my shaves became fantastic! I'm not the only member here that believes in this razor. I was lucky enough to find a RRSS at a great price, my shaves improved from the great shaves I was getting with the SC102 with the RRSS. If you can afford to buy a SC102 I'd highly recommended it.
Kerry has a good point. I am not a big fan of Feathers but love the Personna Labs and the Gillette Silver Blues are not bad either. On the other hand I have never used a slant, and most likely will not mainly because I head shave, however I have read they are a good choice for heavy beards and sensitive skin. And yes you can always try an OC razor such as a FaTiP or the R41, which is different. Fair warning both of those razors are aggressive, at least the FaTiP is, I have yet to use the R41. I recommend Speick Balm and Shea Moisture Tea Tree Aftershave.
what is your normal routine? The single best piece of advice I ever received was to limit changes. If I have a new blade I go back to old standards for the rest of my shave. Same with a new razor. Every new razor gets a blade that I am familiar with the first time around. I do not try a prep change, technique change, blade change, razor change, or product change at the same time. Alum...be sure to rinse it off after a minute or so. Not everybody does this but if you have sensitive skin you should try it. The residual may increase stinging and not give you any added skin health benefit. Blades...very much different for every person but maybe scale it back to something not as sharp. All that tugging feedback is important. It tells you when you are maybe going against the grain and dont realize it or didnt prep well or blah blah. Like those people that dont feel pain...they dont know their hand is on the stove until they smell the meat cooking. That is how Feathers seem to be. There are plenty of blades in between Feather and Merkur. Crystal, Personna red or blue, Gillette...all work well for me and my beard is fairly coarse and dense. technique...you dont mention what direction your passes were in. You cant live by north and south. Figure out how your beard grows. The right side of my face grows N/S but the left grows more NE/SW. My neck has like 4 distinct different directions it grows. You may be shavign against the grain without intending to. If I go against the grain on my neck it sucks to wear a tie. I rinse after every pass so I can feel where I have stubble still. If the area is smooth, I dont shave it again. I really only ever do 2 full passes, the rest is touch up on spots. I see no reason to run a razor over smooth skin.
I was having the same problem for a little bit there and am just starting to get past it. I learned that angle is key as well as making sure your face stays wet and the lather is nice and slick. I got the WCS sampler and found that the derby extras have been the best while still getting my technique down, everything else would give me pretty bad irritation. make sure that you're not putting that pressure you did with the cartridge razor and also that your not doing multiple strokes over the same area over and over again before you relather, which was my biggest problem. i had to stop ATG until my technique was better and its definitely paid off. Good luck and stick with it!
With your beard and skin sensitivity, sounds like you would benefit from an SE. That DE balde may not be sturdy enough to handle the beard type and that would cause major irritation.
Thanks again for the input guys, really good things to think about and implement in here! I've got some Astra's, Gillette 7 o'clock Sharp edge, Nacet's, and the Derby's. I'll try those out next and see what I get. The Alum stays on for maybe a minute, while I rinse out my mug, that's about it. It actually makes any outward visible signs of irritation go away which sort of amazed me how quickly it worked. And yeah Kerry, I'm up to pick up whatever will help me get a good shave. I knew you were a big fan of the slants. I wish RR would get some back in stock. I forgot they had more go on sale today, and missed them. Does the 102 have the twist on the head like the RR's do? It didn't look like it from the pictures I've seen. In know the more expensive Ikon does.
yeah, I like my little Merkur 39c slant. Enough that I will eventually get an Ikon and make it my go-to razor.
I have the same issue with tough beard and sensitive skin. For me the key is good prep. If your whiskers don't feel soft before you start shaving, you might try working on the prep a little. Here's what works for me... Pre-shave oil is optional. It seems to help speed the prep up for me but I can get the same result without it if I give a little more time for the whiskers to soften. Use wet hands to scrub some shaving cream or soap into your beard. Let that sit for a few minutes. Using a brush to apply cream/soap at this stage doesn't work nearly as well for me BTW. After a few minutes, get hands wet again and scrub some more. Let the wet suds sit there a few more minutes. Keep repeating that and apply some more cream/soap if you need to. As you're scrubbing with your hands, you will probably notice your whiskers getting softer. When they don't feel like sandpaper anymore, you should be ready to lather up like normal and shave. For blades, I had very little luck with Merkurs. You might want to try something sharper but smoothness is also important to avoid irritation. Personna Labs work great for me but there are several others that are almost as good so try some others. Your preferences might be a bit different from mine so you need to see what works best for you.
I hope you get better luck with the Gillette 7 o'clock blades. I get the best shave with them and would consider getting more in the future. I also agree with everyone's comments on prep. Prep is huge when it comes to mowing down whiskers that are like barbed wire. Find what works best for you to soften them up.
I think you have received some good advice so far. One thing you might want to try is additional skin recovery at the opposite or an opposing time of the shave. I would recommend that you use a good shaving balm twice a day. Once after you shave of course and then once again at the opposite time. If you shave in the morning, then use the balm again every day at the end of the day. This will give your face more good moisture which will help in the recovery process.
Do you bowl lather, or face lather (or something else)? How much time does the lather sit on your whiskers before the blade starts cutting? For me, face lathering and letting the lather sit on my face a bit makes a big difference.
Just to give you information overload, I'll throw my 2 cents in. Blades - Astra SP, Feather, Silver Blues, Personna Lab Blues, and 7 OClock Black and Yellow. Try all of them and pick a favorite to use for a month or two. Razors. I've tried many types. NEW OC is ok. 37c Slant is ok. What really helped me was blade exposure. Fatboy on 9 and R41 are my two favorites. A DE89 with one or two shims also works very well. I would suggest shimming your 89 and let us know if that helps before considering others. Don't shave ATG, at least until you can get comfortable shaves without it. Also skip one or two days between shaves if you can. Again, at least until you get more comfortable. While everyone will preach prep, it's never been much help for me. I can hang out in the shower for 30 minutes and use pre shave products for another 15 and it's not any better than a simple rinse. I do use an oil in the shower but that's for my dehydrated skin and it gets rinsed before I shave. My shaves aren't any better or worse without it.
