I don't know quite what to make of this. The past couple of weeks, my face has been noticeably red. Doesn't feel hot as if razor burned, just, well - red. To the point where a couple of people at work have said, "so, what's with your face?" At first, I thought it was some new bath soap I've been using since there was some red on my forehead too (scrubbing too hard?), but it was mostly the shaven area. I went back to my old bath soap (been using it for years). Didn't seem to help. Made a conscious effort to apply zero pressure with the DE. Nope. Used a variety of creams and soaps (GFT, Taylor, MB, T&H, C&E, Tabac, whatever)...Still RED. BTW, normal routine is shower first, then NS, SN, across the grain and touch up if needed. Followed by cold rinse, Thayer's and aftershave of some variety. All has been fine for several months now, then all of a sudden...this RED thing! So, this morning, I tried something desperate. [Caution...graphic mental images ahead. Parental control advised!] I shaved with a fresh cartridge in my old M3!! Not only did I have at least as smooth a shave as I've been getting with a DE, but I did it with ONE ATG pass plus touch up! Not a typo...ONE PASS, AGAINST THE GRAIN. No nicks, no nothin', just BBS. And no red! What??? Yes, cartridges cost more, but time and comfort are worth something, right? Not sure where I'm going with this, but I guess if anyone's had a similar experience, I'd love to hear about it. Maybe I'll use the M3 for a couple of days and go back to DE and see what happens. I DO enjoy the relaxing 3-4 pass routine, but damn, that one pass BBS sure was nice! Any and all opinions welcome! (Just don't ban me for the M3 thing! )
::ban ::ban ::ban just kidding. Wow! That is interesting and disturbing. Keep us up to date when you go back to the DE.
Michael, I don't want to anger the DE gods :scared003 , but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Sometimes when you hit a bad spot like the kind of irritation you were experiencing, you change one or other thing until you find the problem. Like you said, you don't have to abandon the DE altogether, but you might have to mix 'em up and make the cartridges part of your routine. You don't mention what blades you use. Perhaps that is one variable to look at. (Try a sharper one like Feathers, change 'em out after only one or two shaves, try an adjustable if you don't have one already...) Hey, if the M3 works for you, and you still like to use a brush and soaps or creams and like the shaves, use what works. But, yeah, I would miss DE shaving, too. Hope it works out for ya, man.
Blair, I'm USING Feathers! They actually seem better when they're a couple of shaves old, whatever THAT means - but I'm still red. I do have some Merkurs around here somewhere, maybe I'll give those a go. If that changes things, I'll look into Derbys or something. I suppose I could always do three passes with the M3!
Wow...I thought maybe you weren't going sharp enough, so you were kinda dragging the razor across your face to get close and making the irritation worse. Hmm...I know Feathers can be pretty erratic for me. One might work fine, the other stinks. And they do seem to settle in after a few shaves (weird, I know). I have very good luck with Gillette Swedish Euro blades. Kinda tough to get, but TESC has 'em for $3.55 per five pack. That's a little high with shipping on top of that, but still less than the cartridges. I just order about five or six packs at the time so the shipping is worth it.
Have you tried a gentler blade, like an ip, or a sharp? I would highly recommend trying them if you haven't. Feathers are just too harsh for me.
Yeah, but what do I do with the 90 of them I still have?! I'm going to try the Merkurs I already have and JoAnna (what a woman!!) is sending some Sharps. Maybe a Fusion?!
I can take the Feathers of your hands I say whatever makes your shaves the best go with it If it is a M3 then so be it. (its still wet shaving right) ya won't get banned for it............but if you use Gillette Foamy with it maybe :rofl
I haven't used Foamy in about 40 years so I don't think that'll be an issue. Besides, I have a zillion tubs of "the good stuff" and some very nice silvertips - so I can't imagine going there! One thing I didn't mention...I bought the Feathers in early December and have been using them exclusively since then. Only in the past couple of weeks have I had this problem. I've used the Feathers in a 1949 SS, a '60 SS, a Slant, a 1906 Gillette Single Ring and the B&B Merkur HD (sorry, but that's all I have! ). Since the Superspeeds are supposed to be the mildest, I've been using the '49 lately. Doesn't seem to matter. Tomorrow, the '49 SS, a fresh Merkur and maybe some C&E Almond. We shall see.
Michael, What ever works for you man, whatever works! One neat thing I've noticed here at the Shave Den, so far, is that there are no Shaving Police here....shhhhh! If you like the M3, then so be it my man. Use it when you want, how you want, anytime you want....and enjoy the shave. Hey...switch it up if you want....M3 a few days, DE some days. I use my Sensor some days, not often but I use it. Hey Shaving Police....did ya' hear that? PottyDoctor uses a cartridge razor some days! One thing I refuse to give up are my badger brushes and my soaps and creams....no way baby!!! Like a famous man [could've been Elvis] once said....."This ain't rocket science....it's shaving....so lighten up and enjoy the ride!" :rofl
Hmm, just had a thought (doesn't happen often, so bear with me). The 100 Feathers from Cotton Blossom come in 10 packs of 10. I just opened one...a couple of weeks ago! About when this problem started. Perhaps it's time to try another 10-pak!
You got THAT right! Agreed. That's what I like about this place! It's shaving, for God's sake! Just shaving!! So how'd you like Pat's cheerleader outfit? Woman can't carry a tune in a bucket, but she's got balls, I'll give her that! :rofl
There ya go...sorta like a murder mystery. "Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth." (Sherlock Holmes) But in all seriousness, there could be some oil on, or some imperfection in, the blades you opened that might be causing your problem. Try out that Merkur, and then try another batch of the Feathers from a different pack. Hope you find the source of the trouble.
