Hello from Israel!My name's Roee, I'm 23 years old and been struggling with shaving bumps my entire life. I've been lurking the den and the internet and came to the conclusion I should try DE shaving. A friend of mine bought me a Gillette Sterling from India, and I used some extremely cheap brush from the pharmacy and a Nivea shaving cream. The shavings weren't quite great, I had to go ATG like 5 times to get BBS, and my face would get quite irritated. I would use some cheap AS lotion and my mom brought me some israeli branded Witch Hazel astringent. The irritation improved slightly, amd I recently decided to buy a Merkur Futur+blades and a Dovo silvertip brush. My shaves got MUCH better, though I shave once every 3 days due to technique problems I hardly get any cuts, except the nect area, which always was a problem for me... It seems like the growth on my neck is quite strange.. Left to right is WTG, right to left is ATG, N to S is XTG. Today I decided to shave 'properly' and go ATG in my neck area as well. My prep was as following: Hot shower, Dr Fischer Genesis Men soap (seems to be quite moisturizing) lathered my face using the old cheap brush. That while I soak the badger brush in bowl with hot water, which I put in a bigger bowl with hot water from the kettle (kind of a DIY scuttle). This time I grabbed the razor quite close to the head and used short strokes, going WTG, then XTG and then ATG, in my neck area too. For some reason, this time my ATG wasn't pleasant. At all. I felt like the blade was tugging my hair, and it made my neck sting like a ^%$@!. I ended up getting about 90% BBS, going just WTG in my upper and lower lip area, because I always get cuts when going XTG in that area. As an AS I used Dr Fischer's mosturizer cream which also acts as an AS. Now, I know my pre-shave soap and AS may be bad, but I don't have access to Thayer's or so because I'm from Israel and DE shaving is VERY uncommon here. I came to realize the Merkur blades may not be for me, so my brother, who lives in NYC is gonna send me some Thayer's lavender WH and a sample pack. Is there anything else you guys recommend I should do? I should also note I added Glycerin to the cream and it made the lather quite slick.
Welcome to TSD! Please sign up for the Newbie Give-Away HERE I definitely would try other blades, also going against the grain on your neck could be an issue. Work on your technique a bit before you attempt ATG. Welcome aboard! Kerry
welcome! I would recommend a sampler pack of blades so you can choose the ones that are right for you. it can take some time to get the hang of it. the first couple DE shaves can be rough until u get the right amount of pressure or lack there of.
Welcome to the Den! Definitely buy a sampler pack of blades to try out. I have made my own pre-shave oil by mixing 1 part olive oil, 1 part grape seed oil, and clove oil for scent. It definitely makes my shaves much more enjoyable.
Hello Roee, and welcome to The Shave Den! You have already received some very good advice, and you are definitely on your way to getting some great shaves. I humbly suggest trying some two-pass WTG shaves for awhile. That will give your face time to heal and also provide some time to improve your technique. You can then incorporate some XTG strokes and see how that works. I would save the ATG strokes and additional passes for later - when your technique has improved and your skin becomes used to DE shaving. Pay close attention to preparing your skin for the shave, creating a slick and protective lather, taking your time, using NO pressure, and following with a moisturizing post-shave routine. It sounds complicated, but it becomes automatic and enjoyable as you get more experience. Keep us posted on your progress!
A warm welcome to you from North Texas. You might want to take a look at some of the references contained in my signature line below for discussions of the 30 Day systems and more on shaving hardware and software. With that being said ... Welcome to the Den. We know you'll fit right in. So grab yourself a comfy chair, and give our threads a spin! Burma Shave
Glad that you landed here at TSD, Roee. It is a great community of shavers. Join us on The Shave of the Day thread. It is fun, and you will see all kinds of products. And please Mark YOUR location on the TSD map - instructions here.
welcome and hello there in the holy land...technique is HUGE....you have to unlearn pretty much everything you know about shaving....stay at it even if it doesnt seem like its better yet. it will be...
