I just went to de/ wet shaving this week. Merkur hd, Taylor saddle wood shave creme AoS pre shave oil and after shave balm. I'm using the sample Merkur blade that came with the hd. Absolutely no problems on the first pass, but I keep getting weepers around my upper lip and chin on the second pass. I've never gone to a third pass as the de leaves me with a better shave than I've ever had. I re lather but I've not reapplied the pre shave oil for the second pass. Is this a mistake?
Most shavers don't reapply the pre-shave oil, but there are no rules. You should try it & see if it helps the second pass. Use a very small amount off PSO in a thin layer to prevent clogging the razor. Remember not to use any pressure with your DE razor. This is very important to reducing weepers & irritation. You're probably used to applying a little bit of pressure with a lightweight cartridge razor, but for DEs you should let the weight of the razor's head do the work. Also, the Merkur blade may not be the best blade for you. As wonderful as Merkur's razors are, their blades have very few fans. Do you have other blades to try, or have you considered getting a sampler pack of blades? Hang in there & keep us posted on what does/doesn't help
Her Soapiness has given you good advice. New DE shavers may not realize how much pressure they are using. At first, you really need to think about it. Eventually, allowing the weight of the razor to do the work becomes second-nature. BTW, AoS pre-shave oil is good, but expensive. When you use it up, check out the tutorials here, on how to make it.
Yes, I also got an assortment of blades, just used the Merkur first because it came with the razor. Since the nicks always happen in the second pass I thought it was more me than the blade.
It's very possible that you're right. Your technique could be the issue especially since the weepers are happening on the tougher to shave parts of your face. You may be using a steep blade angle. You could try moving the razor's handle farther away from your face a little more. I know on tough spots like my chin I have to pay attention to make sure I don't apply pressure to get into the low spots or I'll scrape the skin right off the higher spots.
I agree with feeltheburn's post. Another consideration is that DEs work by hair/beard "reduction". This means the razor is reducing the hair length in stages (passes), rather than cutting it down all in one go like a cartridge razor. On your first pass you're reducing beard length, but not to the level of the skin. The subsequent pass for you cuts at the level of the skin, resulting in more potential skin trauma.
I started not long ago with the Merkur HD as well and I too used the included Merkur blade. I got good results with it for about five 3 or 4 pass shaves. Suprising to me I was able to do so with no nicks at all even under my nose where I tend to add pressure. There was the occasional weeper around the chin and near adams apple but I remedied that by not trying so hard in these areas. I found, as many have advised here that more passes letting razor do all the work is far less irritating than "helping" the cut by adding pressure. I'm far from expert, but going easy on your second pass, then lathering up for a third is my advice. Ps.. I have not yet tried preshave oils so no comment there.
My problem is I'm already being bitten by the 'bug' and starting to eye an EJ DE 89xxx as an additional razor. Not sure how my wife would react to that... ;-)
Time,technique,practice and patience will get you where you want to be....The EJ89 has a great shave head...I needed to change the handle to a Weber SS BullDog for better grip and I prefer the shorter length YMMV..... It's not how your wife reacts to buying this razor(EJ89), how she reacts to the 3rd,4th and 5th razor is what you have to worry about... to the addiction..
Patience, patience,.... Oh,yea, and more patience. ;-) I waited a day since it was a weekend before shaving again. Forced my self to slow down, particularly on the second pass since I think I tend to try to rush on it. Slower, shorter strokes, mindful of the handle angle - no nicks on either pass. I did catch myself trying to apply pressure to get the blade to shave - probably time to try a different one from the sampler and get rid of the Merkur. I did try an Alum bar last night in my post shave but found it a little unpleasant - stinging and tingling. I only left it on a short while and washed it off before applying after shave balm (AoS). Still haven't felt a need for a third pass, partly because the results are so good after two and partly fear of irritating my skin.
And add just a bit more...patience. Part of the mindset I had to change when I 'went back' to DE/wet-shaving is to SLOW DOWN and enjoy the ride! I had grown so accustomed to racing through aerosol foam can & cartridge shaves that I really needed to simply relax, breathe deep and simply enjoy the pleasures of a gentle lathered wet shave. Alum bars are not for everybody. Some of us have rather sensitive skin and prefer an alternative to astringent post-shave treatments. I do have and occasionally put to use a styptic pencil, but I'm not a big fan of the alum bars. If two passes give you good results, then I think you have your answer as to how many you need. Two will often work for me—depending on how long between shaves I've gone, and the type of razor being used.
As I said in another thread, I am a neophyte here and to straight razor shaving but I have found that AoS preshave oil is not as effective as the oil my barber uses. I purchased a small bottle (1.7 oz) of American Crew Ultra Gliding Shave Oil from her and have been very please. It has a the smell of cloves and you can actually feel it warm in your hands before applying. I don't shave without it. I still get nicks but I am sure its from my technique more than the products I shave with but it is improving with each shave.
I get my razor this week and I will begin my test run on Saturday so if I make any mistakes it will be ok. I am heeding all the posts about keeping pressure off and letting the razor do the work.
