Hey everyone, Unfortunately, I have been getting some terrible irritation during my shaves for the past few weeks and have been trying to figure out what is causing it. The most likely cause in my estimation is skin scraping from bad blade angle, but I'm not sure if this is actually the case. The irritation always appears on the left side of my face at the lower cheek/jawline area, as well as upper neck in that same region. In addition some irritation also appears on my right mid-to-lower neck area. These are the only two places I really get irritation. Thoughts? It is killing my DE motivation!
Those regions are my trouble spots as well except mine's the right side and I don't have any issues on the left side. I get irritation quite a bit not as bad when i used a cart. Lately, I have really been concentrating on minimal pressure their and using a J hook (starting xtg then hooking atg). A few shaves now and it seems like that may be my solution.
Are you right handed?? I ask because getting the left side of your face is a bit more difficult when you are reaching across your face/body. Changes the angle of the razor and blade. You may also be putting pressure on your face without realizing it. Same with the mid to lower neck area. You are changing the angle of the razor and blade to get there as compared with the upper right side of the face. Well this has been my experience anyway. Working on the angle and pressure is what it took for me.
We have discussed this a few times before and there seems to be a majority of us who find we do better on the opposite side of our face from our dominant hand. I still get a better straight and DE shave on my opposite side. Have you checked your grain carefully? You may have grain patterns that change from one part of your neck to another. You may be going ATG on a sensitive area on your first pass.
+1 It's all in the details.... How many passes are you doing? Are you relathering in between passes? Are you being sure to NOT go over an area again without relathering (this was the hardest bad-habit for me to unlearn)? Are you positive WTG is in fact going with the grain, XTG is in fact going across the grain, etc...? How long have you been at DE shaving? Have you tried bullfrogging? How is your prep, is your stubble softening enough? Without more information, it's tough to make suggestions....
I use a wide variety of creams / soaps. Today it was Palmolive and Ingrams. I use a Merkur 34 c nearly every day. Today I used a Sharp blade but most of the time I use an Astra Superior. I know that I'm going wtg on my cheeks/jaw/upper face. On my neck, the lower half grows e-w and the upper half grows in sort of a NW to SE direction (basically a diagonal, almost spiraling downward). I am indeed right handed. I am relathering in between passes, as well as washing my face. In addition, my pre consists of a hot shower and real shaving pre. I have made the mistake of going over and over some areas without re-lathering. Is it better to just do one stroke and move on?
Yes. And that's what I had (still do, sometimes) the hardest time with. Once you go over an area, don't go over it again until you relather. You think there's enough residual, but that's where most of the irritation actually comes from. Also, use short 1" or less strokes instead of one long sweeping stroke. You don't necessarily have to rinse the blade in between all the short strokes, but the idea is to have shorter lighter strokes - with a long stroke you inevitably add more pressure trying to match the contours of your face...
I had a similar problem and it ended up being the blades. I was using Sharp blades and they chewed me up real bad. I cant say your problem is also the blade but consider these: http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6949 they are sharp and very smooth and very cheap! (100 for 12 bucks shipped)
+1 for both. The shorter strokes help you be able to control your pressure, angle and speed. All 3 of those can cause irritation. As for the blades I found that I was compensating for not using the right kind of blade and that was causing irritation. Also some blades are just plain irritating to my skin as well. If using shorter strokes don't help, keep trying different blades til you find the right combination. Also have you tried a tech razor. My first D/E was a 34C and I have sensitive skin. I found the HD a little harder for my skin to start with then with a tech. It is very mild and can give you a little more latitude for mistakes. Just some ideas...and late night ramblings.
All good advice ... but I don't think anyone's mentioned stretching, so I'll do it. When I see videos of people wet shaving without stretching, I shudder. I always stretch as much as possible, especially on the neck, chin up and pulling the skin downward.
Yeah I used a Lord Tech previously. It was awful! I skin scraped ALL the time with it. AS far as the red personnas are concerned, I do have those already! I also have a feather portable that recently came in, maybe that will be a bit better.
Good advice so far. I'd add that you may want to stick to one razor, one blade, and one soap until get this figured out. The fewer the variables to consider the better. My personal favorite blade is the Astra Superior Platinum, which you mentioned as your normal blade - perhaps stick to those until you're shave is smooth.
I have not used a Lord Tech. However, a feather portable is fairly good. It shaves about the same as a no date code tech (older models). However, the handle is smaller and lighter. I prefer the fat handled tech myself if I were going for a tech variant. However, like was said, choose a good razor and stick with it to work on technique.
Two more notes... 1) Hair grain can change, so you might want to recheck. 2) Beware of pain. I had a (right) shoulder injury and didn't realize how it was effecting my stroke, particularly on the left side of my neck. I held my arm differently to avoid pain and subtly changed the blade angle. It took me a while to figure out the source of the irritation. I didn't actually feel any pain while I was shaving. If you have muscle or joint pain, it can have an impact.
Sorry I just woke up so my brain my not be up to speed yet... I haven't used a Lord Tech, I'm assuming that the blade exposure is relative the same, but it then sounds like either you might be either using too much pressure or incorrect angle for a blade that might not be sharp enough for your beard or you are using a blade that just isn't smooth enough for your skin. I might be way off, I apologize I haven't had my coffee yet. Bram
Your problem lays in incorrect DE razor handling. If you use a BIC disposable you wouldn't be having any issues, provided that you let your previous skin-scrapes heal in full - with the aid of cortisone cream and a few days off from shaving.
I like a few drops Shave Secret in my after shave routine. It doens't work so well for me during a shave (YMMV), certainly not as advertised (a shaving cream replacement). It's much better as a final oil pass, but my skin prefers other oils, like olive oil or a 50/50 mix of Vit E + jojoba oil. For an extra kick, try mixing 5 drops of SS with Proraso Pre/Post cream. Cool!
