Just picked up a 40s style Super Speed, so I'm starting a sort of shave journal. Preshave: Shower with 2 minute face wash and hot rinse. Gear: 40s style Super Speed, Astra Superior Platinum (new), Omega boar brush, Palmolive shave stick Lather: I haven't yet grated the Palmolive stick down and fit it in a bowl, so I just face lathered today. I noticed that I had to apply more soap to my face with each pass because the brush didn't hold enough to continue. Is this normal for face lathering? Shave: 3 passes: WTG, WTG, XTG, followed by a cold rinse. Aftershave: Alcohol-based Gillette stuff - only a mild tingling sensation, which I think is what I could expect with any shave. Summary: No nicks/weepers, only 2 small bumps on my neck that experienced minor irritation! Verdict: Overall, I feel like it was a success, and I am confident for my next shave. My skin is slightly irritated from the shave, so I'll probably allow 2 days between shaves for a while.
A journal certainly would come in handy. This is especially true in order to ascertain the 'issues' that tend to creep up (such as post-shave irritation, sting, redness, bleeding, rash bumps) only when certain products or processes are put to use. Good luck with it!
Depends on the brush...and soap...and your water hardness...and the quality of lather built.... but yes, it's not uncommon
Day 2 of shave journal: Preshave: Shower with 2 minute face wash and hot rinse. Gear: 40s style Super Speed, Astra Superior Platinum (1 use), Omega boar brush, Palmolive shave stick grated and loaded into soap dish Lather: Spent about 30 seconds loading the brush, and I got much more soap this time than yesterday - enough for both passes without having to reload. Shave: 2 passes: WTG, XTG, followed by a cold rinse. Aftershave: Alcohol-based Gillette stuff - it stung just a little bit; then a tiny bit of Cetaphil face lotion. Summary: 3 or so weepers on my neck where I tried to go ATG. Verdict: I couldn't wait until tomorrow to shave again, so my skin will probably pay the price today! We'll see how it feels tomorrow morning, but as of right now, my skin is less irritated than yesterday.
I definately agree with Tuffy as time passes your technique will improve and your skin will become less irritated with every passing shave...Time,Technique,Practice and Patience will definately get you where you want to go.....
Great idea on the journal! I've only been DE shaving for 2 weeks, and I feel like I had a bit of an epiphany today! My lather was great, and I felt like I finally got the blade angle down. I have also been tinkering with my shaving pattern, and I think that today went really well. I had a BBS shave with little- if any irritation. For the first time, the blade seemed to just glide across my skin. Definitely a cool experience! Here's to being one step closer to mastering the technique!
Day 3 of shave journal: Preshave: Shower with 2 minute face wash and hot rinse. Gear: 40s style Super Speed, Astra Superior Platinum (3rd use), Omega boar brush, Palmolive shave stick grated and loaded into soap dish Lather: Spent about 60 seconds loading the brush, then face lathered. I quite like face lathering - it gives me a really good feel of how much water I need to add to the lather. Shave: 2 passes: WTG, XTG, followed by a long, cold rinse. Aftershave: Alcohol-based Gillette stuff - just a little bit of tingling today. Summary: 3 weepers on my neck, mild irritation on my neck. Verdict: A decent shave, and again, my skin feels better post shave than it did yesterday, although there was a little bit of irritation on my neck during the shave. I've got to give my boar brush more time, but I'm itching to try a badger brush! My boar brush is scritchy on my face (at least the inner bristles are - the outer bristles have split and are now soft).
Day 4 of shave journal: Preshave: Shower with 2 minute face wash and hot rinse. Gear: 40s style Super Speed, Astra Superior Platinum (4th use), Omega boar brush, Palmolive shave stick grated and loaded into soap dish Lather: Spent about 30 seconds loading the brush, then face lathered. Spent 5 additional seconds loading the brush with each pass Shave: 4 passes: WTG, XTG1, XTG2, ATG followed by a long, cold rinse. Aftershave: Alcohol-based Gillette stuff - kind of tingly. Summary: 1 weeper on my neck, no visible irritation. Verdict: ATG hurts my neck, so I probably won't be doing that any more. I discovered that part of my problem with my first 3 shaves was that my razor was too dry from shaking it off after a rinsing off the soap! Now that I just rinse off and shave without shaking it off and it glides much more smoothly. Face lathering is great. My stainless steel bowl does not work well for lathering with my current boar brush, but maybe I'm just not doing it correctly.
It will take time for your face to get used to the ATG pass. Keep doing the WTG and XTG passes and your face will tone up and tolerate the ATG pass in time.
Day 5 of shave journal: Preshave: Shower with 2 minute face wash and hot rinse. Gear: 40s style Super Speed, Astra Superior Platinum (1st use), Omega boar brush, Palmolive shave stick grated and loaded into soap dish. Lather: Spent about 30 seconds loading the brush, then face lathered. Spent 5 additional seconds loading the brush with each pass. 2 minutes initial face lathering. Shave: 3 passes: WTG, XTG1, XTG2 followed by a cold rinse. Aftershave: Alcohol-based Gillette stuff - kind of tingly. Summary: Mild irritation on my neck. Verdict: This shave went very well! My skin is becoming more used to DE shaving every day, and I can certainly tell the difference between a 4 day-old blade and a new one. Also, I could feel no whiskers WTG or XTG in either direction. If I am able to conquer ATG at some point, I'll be on my way to BBS!
Day 6 of shave journal: Preshave: Shower with 2 minute face wash and hot rinse. Gear: 40s style Super Speed, Astra Superior Platinum (2nd use), Omega boar brush, Palmolive shave stick grated and loaded into soap dish. Lather: Spent about 30 seconds loading the brush, then 2 minutes face lathering. Spent 5 additional seconds loading the brush with each pass. Shave: 3 passes: WTG, XTG1, XTG2 followed by a cold rinse. Aftershave: Alcohol-based Gillette stuff - kind of tingly. Summary: Mild irritation on my neck. Verdict: This shave went well for how little time it took me to complete it. I'm becoming much more comfortable with a DE razor.
No doubt if you are diligently following an established routine, you'll reap the rewards. For my own personal preferences (based upon how sensitive my skin is and how it reacts to extremely close shaves), I won't always shoot for the BBS every time. I will be content with a good, close-enough shave that may have a slight rough spot here & there most of the time.
Me, I always shoot for BBS. That's the ultimate goal, isn't it? But do I go out of my way (extra pressure, too many passes, a razor that I know is just too aggressive) to get it? Nope. Just do my best for perfect technique. I'm with HolyRollah - I'm content with a good, close-enough shave that may have a slight rough spot here and there.
Day 7 of shave journal: Preshave: Shower with 2 minute face wash and hot rinse. Gear: 40s style Super Speed, Astra SP (3rd use), Omega boar brush, Palmolive shave stick grated and loaded into soap dish. Lather: 20 second load, 60 second face lather, 5 second additional load with each pass. Shave: 3 passes: WTG, XTG1, XTG2, ATG, followed by a cold rinse. Aftershave: Alcohol-based Gillette stuff - kind of stung today, probably because of the extra pass ATG. Summary: 3 nicks on my mustache area on the ATG pass. Neck is a bit sensitive right now. Verdict: A decent shave, but I was disappointed by the nicks. It may have been prevented if: I had a new blade OR I was more experienced OR my face was used to DE shaving.
Question: are you going ATG because a lot of people do? Is it giving you a much closer shave (at the expense of comfort)? Methinks either you don't need it or you're rushing it (your skin might not be up to the task yet). For example, I can go against the grain all day but my skin takes issue with going XTG. I just can't. So now I don't and my shaves are more enjoyable (and every bit as close, since I've learned how to work this old skin).
That's an good question. I think I'm doing ATG because that has been the last pass that people do to get DFS or BBS, and I have felt ready to experiment with my technique a little bit. My shave isn't getting that much closer than XTG, so I'll hold off for now. My neck is probably just not ready for it yet, but my cheeks, jaw line and chin can handle it just fine. I may never be able to shave my neck ATG, but I'll probably wait for a week and try it again.
