Sounds like you aren't wetshaving. It's my understanding that canned cream is actually a pretty dry product because of the propellant. What kind of soap do you use to wash your body? When I first started wet shaving (a few weeks ago) I didn't have any fancy stuff because I was afraid it was going to hack me up and I would only shave with a DE a few times before giving up. So I improvised. I have always had terrible irritation on my neck and as long as I don't go against the grain, this formula works great for me. I used a combo of Dove soap and spray Gillette Shaving Gel and got excellent results. It is super easy to do and you will be wetshaving in no time (with no additional expense). Also a good method for traveling without bringing a lot of supplies (every hotel gives you hand soap - and all you need is a travel shaving cream). 1. get your hands wet and lather the soap in your hand like you are washing your hands. Once you get a nice coat of soap on your hands: 2. spray a small amount of cream / gel on your palm - a little goes a long way 3. rub that together with the soap 4. take the tips of your fingers on your right hand and run them under the faucet / dip in in sink and drip a few drops into your left hand. Incorporate water into the cream / soap mix. 5. repeat step 4 till you get a nice moist lather. Do a couple of trial-runs adding water slowly till the mix gets too wet so you can see what a good lather looks like and when it is too dry / too wet. 6. apply to face 7. shave with no pressure
I'd add a few clarifications to what CHSeifert said: You don't really need a high end silvertip brush. Don't get me wrong, they're nice. But, anything above pure badger will be perfectly functional. I still use my Edwin Jagger Best Badger frequently. You can also go with a good boar (Omega is the most popular brand) which will also work great, but does take some time to break in. You can also get some shave creams that perform as well that cost less than what was listed. You'll be giving up the highly premium scents, but not performance. The Real Shave Company (cream not gel), Speick, and Palmolive are all excellent low-cost creams. You can find others looking through reviews, but those are ones I can recommend through personal experience.
sir-nix-alot, that post you just made is awesome! Tonight is shave night for me and I think I am going to try that! Believe it or not, I actually forgot, but I have shaved a few times with my cartriage razors in the past with strictly water and liquid hand soap and it wasn't bad at all! I agree with the lather process and going all out for the best shave with a brush and bowl and soaps and creams and after shaves, but if I am going to continue wet shaving, I don't think any of that is for me. I like the DE razors, but prefer a shorter routine that works well. Great post! and I will probably stick to my favorite after shave, Noxema! Just rub it in, no water and it feels great, especially a few minutes later!
You might try a good brushless cream if you really aren't willing to try putting in the time. Kiss My Face is the one I'd recommend, but I've heard good things about a few others (Alba, Trader Joe's). Whatever you decide to try, please let us know how it works. Good Luck!
I do have some Neutrogena I had purchased from walmart. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s a brushless shave cream in a squeeze tube. It says you only need a dab, but I put a dab in my hand and it looks like I could use a little more than a dab LOL I could try that and let you know soon.
This is my recommendation, after reading this thread and every thing else you've posted, Joe. Traditional wetshaving takes time to learn, but once you have learned, it only takes as much time as you want to give it. My full recommendations; shower before your shave prep your beard use a shaving cream, not the canned stuff use your cartridge razor until you have the first part worked out fully. Like I said, I've read your posts. You seem rushed, and unwilling to try what the others are advising. If you let them, they can really help you find what you're looking for; less bleeding.
I forgot one thing. Do you have a preshave oil? If not use a little olive oil on your neck before you lather up. Take a couple of drops and work it in really well on your wet warm skin. I honestly can't tell a difference on my face with pre shave oils; but there is a huge difference on my neck. I have been using Art of Shaving's pre shave but found out it is just a mix of olive oil and castor oil. Because of their exorbitant pricing, I'll be mixing my own when the sampler runs out. Tell us how it works out for you.
I actually do have pre-shave oil samples from Art of Shaving and tried it, it didn't help much. JoAnna, Thank you very much for your caring reply. I do sometimes feel a little rushed to learn, but I have honestly been trying everything. I did shower once first, only to shower again due to the bleeding afterwards. What I have been doing instead that is helping a little is washing my face good with very hot soapy water then doing a hot towel a few times before lathering up. If you have been reading my posts, then you already know my face is almost BBS, although it takes many passes to get that, but my neck is the problem. I am willing and have tried many suggestions given, but maybe I am not trying them long enough? Tonight, I am going back to the fat handle tech, with the dorco 301 blade which was suggested by many that I stick with and gave me the best results so far. As far as creams, gels, soaps, I am still stuck on that one. When I was getting ok results, I was using canned gel. Should I continue with that for now with my setup, or should I try something else? I liked the post about using a mixture of soap, water and shave cream/gel.
And by the way, it wasn't easy to get the samples, probably because I went to Art of Shaving in a high end mall. The people seemed stuck up, and didn't even want to give me a sample or hear about what I was experiencing! Another reason I wound up joining this forum!
Use 2 squirts rub it together in your hands then rub it on your neck first and use some pressure to work it in. Spend 30 seconds or so then wipe the excess on your face. Try it tonight with your wetshave! It works wonders!
Great offer, JoAnna! Kudos. Joe, Have you mapped your neck yet? Looking really close as to which way your beard grows can be the difference in bleeding and not bleeding. Without face mapping you may think you are going WTG but may, in fact, be going ATG.
Do you do a Christmas sampler other than soap of the quarter? Being new to wet shaving, Id like try your full line. I'm asking for your soaps and milks from my family. I have no idea how they are going to coordinate things with so much variety and the probibility of duplicates. I have read nothing but rave reviews and can't wait to try your stuff out!
Not as such. Most products are available in sample size, as I'm sure you know. We do have gift cards in the store, if that might help.
Tom, I did face map and that is what made my bleeding go from "after surgery looking" to much more tolerable lol. It was a great idea and I now know my face better than ever. For example, I always though shaving down on the sides of my next was with the grain, turns out to be opposite. Sir-nix-alot, I tried exactly what you said, and I got a pretty good shave. There was bleeding, but the kind that stopped very quickly. I am perfectly smooth all over but my point is, thanks to your advice, I did feel like I was wet shaving for the first time in months where as I can now tell what everybody means about can gel and cream being dry. Although, I still like my Noxzema can shave cream, I haven't used it in a long time. But thanks, the soap/gel/water at least gave me a smooth shave and felt like wet shaving. I still had bleeding, but working on that!
Joe, You sound almost apologetic, which is something I can understand, as internet forums tend to be brutal if you say something that others are going to disagree with. But there's no need to feel that way here ... and just like Steve says, it really is your shave, and what works for you works for you. There's no right way or wrong way to do it. I take that back--if DE shaving is not enjoyable for you, then it's the wrong way, and if you like cartridge razors better, that's the right way. I hope you stick around here, though, because there's so much more to shaving than just the razor. We still want to hear what you have to say about the creams and soaps and aftershaves and colognes you try out. You say you've been trying for three months--the whole point is for it to be enjoyable, and obviously slicing yourself to pieces isn't enjoyable. And after a certain point it isn't worth it to keep trying. Just do what suits you best, man. Good luck.
I'm happy that worked out for you. How many passes tonight? What kind of soap did you end up using? Slow it down so you aren't making yourself bleed, even if it means you aren't getting as close of a shave. Get used to a blood free shave before you progress. I know the frustration you must be feeling, because I have had similar issues my whole shaving career. I got a little cocky after a few good shaves and did a number on my neck doing some blade buffing, too many passes and shaving against the grain (bunch of ingrown hairs, and some bad irritation) trying to get a super clean shave. It was so bad, and the irritation was getting worse with every shave that I had to take the weekend off to let it heal up (using the shave lotion after the shower each day). Then I started fresh again this week only going with the grain and my neck looked good even though the shave wasn't as close. But IMO the un-irritated neck looks 1000x better that a uber-close shave with irritation. Today I got an awesome shave (despite having my 1 and a half year-old tearing up the bathroom) after figuring out that my neck is 2 "zones" and the zone around my Adam's Apple is far too sensitive to do anything but with the grain. So now that you have a true wet-shave under your belt, try different ratios of soap to cream. I used a lot more soap than gel because I was more interested in slickness from the soap and was using the gel for the aloe and other skin conditioners. But like everything on this site, you gotta figure out what works best for your face. Like I said, I have only been doing this for two weeks; and I absolutely love shaving now. I haven't shaved on consecutive days ever in my life and now I look forward to shaving every day. For me, it isn't the ritual or the fun toys - the irritation free shaves make shaving rewarding. I think once you get a few irritation free shaves you will feel differently and want to get some shaving creams / soaps that will only enhance the comfort - I know I do!
I can't say I'd recommend the Dorco ST301 blades. I know blades are such a subjective choice, but all the blades you've mentioned (Derby, Astra and Dorc0) treated my face exactly like you're describing, so I think I can say you need to find a smoother blade. Look into Personna Reds or Crystals. I didn't know how smooth a blade could be until I tried those two (they're the same blade, just different printing on them). Also, try some pre-shave oil. I know some people here will cry foul for this recommendation, but it has really helped me get through the learning curve and stick with this method of shaving.
You might want to try getting a brush and cream, and sticking with the cartridge while you get the hang of whipping up lather. Then by the time you get the hang of that, your face will have healed and you'll be good to go in the lather dept. Also keep in mind (note that I am NOT pushing you in any way), that some people on this forum DO shave with cartridge razors, but also use the brush/cream/soap method, finding that although they don't like DE/SE shaving they can still enjoy the benefits of a fine lather. Either way I recommend picking up a decent brush and nice cream to start, it makes a world of difference over canned/brushless creams.
The Red Person and Crystal Persona are NOT the same blade. Very similar and made in the same factory, yes. But, they are definitely different.
