You seem to be doing a lot right so far from what I can tell and I'm running out of things to say here..no that's not right I could probably go and on lol. At this point why don't you do some experimenting with the razor angle and some of the other suggestions and see how it goes. There's often lingering trouble spots on the neck around the jawbone and Adam's apple, but overall the DE is well capable of consistently rendering excellent beard reduction with little or no irritation and redness. Doing and trial and error usually accomplish the task.. so keep on doing and let us know of your progress.. good luck.. Joe...
I switched back to the pharmacy blades, and so far so good, I have been able to reduce quite a bit of redness except for one area, but it's an improvement. I have increased my angle a bit which seemed to have helped a bit. I'm wondering if it's possible to get a good shave by going with the grain? since I can still notice some stubble if I look closely in the Mirror, and I can still feel a bit of stubble aswell. My reason for asking is I'm 18 with the potential to grow some more facial hair, and I don't want it to look like I havent shaved, even though I have. But I'll surely know if I can or can's shave xtg the next time I shave. I also want to thank all of you again for your help.
I've been battling some difficult spots too and have been working on my technique and having some success. Here's what I tried that has helped: Spend more time on pre-shave prep including using a pre-shave oil, draw up a beard growth diagram, and go on You Tube and check out some of Mantic's Master Barber videos that show him getting shaves and engaging the barbers in conversation. Man, those videos have really helped me! There is something about watching someone else put a razor to a man's face that really helped make it clearer in my head what the blade is and should be doing. I've found from watching that I was still using more pressure than I thought. Those master barbers don't even touch the skin! Good luck!
Dennis; How has it been going? I've just a couple of quick things to add. Pivoting-head cartridge razors have made a lost art out of maintaining the razor's angle to our neck. Even with several with the grain passes it's possible to miss the same spot if it's in kind of concave area on your neck. The only important thing I haven't seen mentioned in your thread yet is; do not shave with the water running. While your learning, turn off the music. If possible, turn off the exhaust fan. If it's quiet, you can actually hear when you've got the angle right. You can hear when you lose focus and lose the angle for an inch. It works better than you'd think possible.
Thanks Java, Things have gotten alot better with my shaving, I have decided to shave more frequently which has solved the problem. I also haven't used a cartridge razor in a while now. Since I have been shaving for atleast 2-3 years with a DE razor, and I'm just starting to learn proper shaving technique since my whiskers have gotten more coarse over time. Thanks again.
Ever try using conditioner on your face? I have been stealing my wife's. Put on a pea sized portion, rub in around well, and either rinse or not, hasn't mattered for me. It's better than preshave oil, IMHO!
