That does sound pretty thorough. One prep method you may want to try (mentioned on another site) is to let the lather sit on your face for a full 10 min before washing it off and relathering and then shaving. This seems to work well (so others have said) for "steel wire" beards. Another thought is that maybe things (oil and lather) are drying out during all your prep. Might be something for you to check with your next shave and to either rinse and relather or to wet your lather a bit just before you shave. This link is a bit lengthy, but might be worth a look.
Thanks for the advice and the link. I tried adding into my routine a finger applied and massaged in lather (after oil) covered with a hot wet towel for 2mins followed by brush applied lather. Worked far better, with nearly no tugging. Might try leaving the hot towel on for an extra minute today and see if that resolves it. I find the lather then towel technique strange though as my face appears much more dry than rinsing/oil/lather, but if it works which it seems to then I'll stick to it!
As mentioned already, no tugging from Astra's with me, Proraso pre shave is good. (As is the pre shave from the shave den store, although I have not tried it YET as I need to run my current amount of products down)
I can easily get tugging under my nose if the razor angle gets too steep. You might want to check that you're not tilting the razor too much because it's easy to do.
You may also want to experiment with direction - many people need to adjust the direction to S-N on the neck area to shave with the grain (which would probably be a good goal for eliminating the tugging).
I think my pre-shave is sorted: shower, oil, lather massage, hot towel, lather. Seems to be working a lot better. Still a bit of tugging-although after slowing everything down to a snails pace yesterday I think it may be the angle contributing. Seems to happen most around my chin-awkward to get the angle right. As for neck mine isn't that simple... N-S directly below chin all the way. L-R all the way below both jawlines. Towards ear from Adams apple. It's the section top L + R of Adams apple that's causing me grief-in between all directions!
Good move trying another blade, Derbys for me where no good as well. I tried Astra's and was not too impressed they where not bad just felt I could get better shaves with other blades but everyone's skin is different. I love a Gillette 7 0 clock yellow or Voskhod but have not tried the other colors beside yellow so cant speak on them. I would load a 7'0 clock next and see how you fare. Once you feel your getting a good shave stay with the same brand a few blades to get your technique right then look at revisiting the other blades like the Derby since you have them. Once you have found a good shave and technique close when you try new blades you will know the first shave what you think of the blade.
Even though Derbys are may favorites, they are an acquired taste. I'd go for a nice Sampler pack and use a new blade every day. Make sure that you really clean off your equipment each time that you use it. A little disinfectant on the razor each time wouldn't hurt. While others may disagree, I think a large part of one initial iteration is do to 'dirty equipment' once you're use to the shaving you may slack off but starting use a fresh blade each time and hose everything down. Don't forget the Alum, Aftershave and Balm! They're just as important as the soap you use.
Sounds to me like your prep is cool...I've had problems with the consistancy of Derbys lately.....and I've been getting some tugging with Astras in some of my razors, not all...especially my favorite....and I can't and won't tolerate tugging...life is too short...lol Those Gillette 7 o'clocks are winners for me though....but no matter how great the blade...stay on top of the prep....and use short strokes and no pressure....the blade should do all the work....
Finding your blade is so key but technique is too and it does take time. You said you were going N-S. Just make sure you are going WTG on that first pass. Your hair might not grow N-S. Mine for instance is different on one side of my face than the other. Making a hair growth map really helped me out when I was early on. Also pressure. I used to get frustrated when people would remind me about no pressure as I was certain I was using a light hand. Then one day I watched a shaving video of a barber doing a straight shave and somehow it occurred to me then that his technique was feather-light compared to mine. As one barber said: imagine you are trying to shave the hair off of a peach without cutting into the skin. I started by holding my razor with only my thumb and first finger for a while and that helped me. Good luck. When you find the right blade you'll know it! Astra's and Blue Personna's have worked great for me. My skin won't tolerate Derby.
Thanks for that advice Mitch. I do indeed have hair growing in several directions all over. Cheeks are generally N-S as too is top lip, bottom lip and bottom of chin down the middle of my neck. On/below jawline runs left to right, Adams apple runs out to ear, top of Adams apple goes at an angle out and up. Quite awkward to master, but I'm getting there and shaving WTG. I have switched my blade again. I started recording my shaves-scoring out of 10 and making notes. I found the Astra (green) to tug a bit, although better than derby. I also tried Astra blue as they had better reviews on the shave shack, these were much the same. On a 3rd shave with these blades they tugged so much I decided something sharper was called for. I have now been using Gillette 7 o'clock black. These have been excellent, much smoother finish, no tugging, hardly any burn with correct technique. They do need a much more precise angle I find, and can nick if I'm not careful-but I'm much happier. They even seem to last a bit longer too. Edit: I was incorrect-I actually have Gillette 7 o'clock blue (Russia).
