Thanks for all the tips and greets ;-) In my last shave I tried going full BBS, also going ATG in the neck area (left to right in my case), and here are the results: The irritation at the adam's apple has been there for quite some time, not quite sure why. I've tired shaving once every 4-7 days and that part of my neck is still irritated.. It's like chronic ingrowns I'm really getting better at shaving my sideburns, and I get no irritation whatsoever. However, I did notice I get some tug n pull with my Merkur, so a friend of mine is gonna lend me some Feathers for me to try and if it works for me he'll just sell me a bunch of them. It also seems like I have really really short stubble, but the neck felt perfectly smooth.. Is this common? How would I apply the pre-shave oil? Just rub it on my face and lather as one normally would?
Hello Roee, and welcome to The Shave Den! The neck is difficult area for most of us to get clean. I too have odd hair growth on my neck, and it took me some time to learn how to work with it. Stretching the skin slightly can help. (not too much, you'll know if you over-do it) I place my free hand at the base of my neck, press and pull down slightly. This seems to do a much better job of getting the skin to flatten out, and that is the goal. It is much easier to shave a flat area than one that is curved. Keep at it, and things will get better soon. Best wishes Roee, and Happy Shaving!
Hello again! It's been a while since I've posted, but I've been experimenting with some products and methods, here's some info if anyone cares: For some reason, the facial soap I was using (Dr Fischer's) doesn't seem to work anymore... It used to really moisturize my face and make it feel all soft and slick, but not anymore. I tried using it in the shower, rinse it, rub hair conditioner on my face for the whole shower and then rinse the conditioner when I'm done. Still didn't do much. While taking the shower I soaked my Dovo badger brush in a small bowl, and I placed the small bowl in a bigger 1 with hot boiling water, kind of like a DIY-improvised scuttle. I can not say the shave got any better. The only thing that WAS nice was the hot lather.. It's a nice luxury I've been repeating ever since, but my shaves were still kinda "rough". I came to realize it was the Merkur blades I've been using, combining with the Futur and me being a newbie... Bad combo, haha. My brother sent me a sample pack and Thayer's alcohol free witch hazel toner. Today I used it for the first time, only this time I replaced Dr Fischer's with a soap from a brand called Ecolove, which was AMAZING! My skin felt really soft and moist after using it, and smelled nice too ;-) I decided to step up a level this time, and added glycerin to the lather. Now, I've tried that once before and it was pretty nice, my lather was slick through the whole shaving process and I just had more lather. This time I added glycerin, 2-3 drops of the Ecolove soap and used Nivea shaving cream for sensitive skin (the regular one didn't do well, and MEM gave me some serious irritation the 3 times I used it), combined with a Feather blade (for some reason, my pack is BLACK rather than YELLOW). Oh man, the shave was AWESOME! The feather really cut through the hair without any tug-n-pull or hops or anything. I did get some nicks (1 major and 1 small nick) because I was talking to my dad while shaving and he made me laugh I really feel the Feather blades are the ones for me, since they cut through my "problemtic area" (right side of the neck area) with quite ease! I don't even wanna try different blades Went WTG-XTG-ATG in my cheek area, and WTG-XTG in my neck area, not BBS but not too far from it. I'd like to thank you all for your information, I really enjoy shaving now and hope to master the craft of DE shaving soon ;-) And I've come to realize I must get a scuttle!!
Hello to The Den! I've got some DE shaving exprience... I noticed I gotta go over the same several spots many times in order to get all the hair off, which causes me to either stop attempting whenever I feel my face has has enough or to just go over the same place too many times, causing irriation. My prep was perfectly fine, and was even 1 of my best preps ever - my skin and hair we're all nice and soft. One thing I did change is trying Astra blades rather than the Feathers I always use.. I ended up with some of the worst irritatios I've ever had, even in spots I've never had before! Could it be my skin's reaction to the Astra blades, or just bad technique? P.S - I was somewhat aiming for BBS in my cheeks and DFS in my neck area.
chasing the baby is usually the easiest way of encountering issues. but don't feel like you're in a boat by yourself. I chase it all the time. sometimes I get the results, sometimes not so much. that being said, I'd have to give you the right advice, don't chase the baby. my face didn't like astra so much. there is a difference between ss and platinum and other coated blades. my best so far has been with stainless steel, the others not as much. I don't mean to be vague, I sorta stuck with what I liked. therefore haven't enough first hand knowledge to denounce what may be a better blade that I'm using incorrectly. but to answer your question, be aware there is a difference in the performance of some coated blades. also, make sure your passes remove stubble in increments from different directions. when all is done, everything is smooth but one area. your technique may be an issue. check your angle, maybe employ some gentle skin stretching or some turning your head in a direction (to tighten the skin) and, don't chase the baby.
Hello , I see your using a Futur razor. After your first pass WTG lower the setting to 1 or 1 1/2 for the ATG pass. See if that helps.
I actually use the Futur on 1, because I figured I'll get nicks and cuts using higher settings... I've come to thinking that I should use higher settings so it reduces hair easier.. I'll try that Anyway, I think I'll stick to the Feathers for now, even though thet gave me some weepers. EDIT: Forgot to mention - I tried cleaning my face at night using a cotton ball and a WH Astringent (with some alcohol) and I felt like my face was on fire..
