Wow...My very first DE shave was...

Horrible!

Geez, I am so disappointed. I thought that I had followed all of Mantic's videos.. I mean I took a HOT shower first and made sure my beard was thoroughly wet and soft. I had my brush soaking in hot water the entire time I was in the shower to make sure it was nice and hydrated. As soon as I got out of the shower, I took the brush and loaded the bristles with soap. I then used another bowl to build the lather. It lathered up really, really quickly. I then brushed it on my face for the first pass.

On the first pass I was sure to go with the grain and use small strokes, concentrating on blade angle and not putting too much pressure. I rinsed the blade often in hot water.

After the first pass, I lathered up again and went across the grain. And then, following that, I lathered up again and went against the grain.

The end result was this : my cheeks, lips and chin are really, really smooth. Not the smoothest shave I've ever had, but equal to the best, to be sure. I nicked myself on my jaw, once, because I was not paying attention. I also nicked myself a little bit on my upper lip, because I still feel awkward with the razor.

The bad part... The REALLY bad part is my neck. After shaving with a cartridge, I have always had razor burn and, inevitably, little red bumps on my neck. After today's shave, the razor burn was worse than I have ever had in my life! And all the red bumps from my last cartridge shave four days ago are totally inflamed and irritated.

Putting on my aftershave felt like I was setting my face on fire (I prefer the toning of an aftershave with alcohol in it).

I am sincerely hoping that it's just a matter of my face getting used to this, and that this will all pass soon.

Here are a few things I am concerned about. I don't know if these could have contributed:

1. After soaking my brush the entire time I was in the shower, I did not shake it to get the excess water out.

2. I feel like the lather I built up was way too watery. Moreover, it disappeared from my face very quickly, and I had to reapply often.

Would the lather being way too watery contribute to my razor burn and many little nicks on my neck? Or is it just that I haven't refined my technique, yet, and have to lose my bad cartridge shaving habits?

Any feedback or ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Tom

 

You should shake your brush out a few times after soaking it. If you dont, your lather will be to watery. If you're water is to watery, it will dissapear quickly and not be cushiony. You used to much water and made your lather to thin. The razor bumps and razor burn are due in part to your lather, but more so due to a lack of experience. It takes time to learn. And you should probably learn to shave WTG and XTG very well before attempting ATG.

 

The razor was a late 40's era Gillette Super Speed which, when I got it in the mail today, looked in pristine shape, as if it had never been used. I used Merkur razor blades. The brush was a little on the cheap side -- a Tweezerman pure badger. (I don't feel like spending $60+ on a shaving brush just yet.) The soap was a homemade shaving soap. My wife has been making homemade soap as a hobby for years now, and this shaving soap recipe came out of one of her natural soapmaking books.

 

I was afraid that the lather was way too watery, and that might have contributed to my problems.

Still, though, in most of the places that I went ATG, I didn't really have problems. My cheeks, lips and chin are all fine.

It was just my neck that got so super irritated...

 

Well, I've *tried*. Most of my face it's pretty easy. On my cheeks, lips and chin it grows North-South. Along my jaw, it goes from my chin back. But my neck I can't really tell. I even let my beard go four days, to get a nice growth to try and determine, but I really couldn't.

 

May be worth trying another brand of blade, I know for me the Merkur blades cause irritation. Also, not to insult your wife's soap making abilities, but it might be a good idea to purchase a soap so you have something to compare it to. It might turn out that your wife's shave soaps are the best in the world, but if you don't try another, you will never know.

 

Oh no offense taken. Up until now, my wife had never attempted to make a man's shaving soap. This was her first try, and it's a recipe she just grabbed out of a book. I do have another shave soap on the way, but it hasn't arrived yet. I just thought the decent (and wise) thing to do was to try the soap my wife made first.

 

I didn't realize the Merkur blades weren't well thought of. I have to admit, that's about the most confusing thing about all of this. Everyone seems to have a different opinion about what blade is best, and there are so many different blades to choose from. I'm sure that it's a very personal thing, and that experimentation is necessary, but it seems a little daunting.

And I know this sounds terribly naive, but can blades really be THAT different from each other? I mean they are shaped the same, basically made out of the same substances, they fit in the razor the same way... It just doesn't seem like there even could be that much of a difference.

To answer your other questions, my wife does make bath soap. In fact, that's pretty much all she's made up until recently. She hasn't sold anything online, yet, but is seriously considering it. We bought a tremendous amount of oils, essential oils, fragrance oils, bottles, and other various and sundry raw materials recently, and she is considering trying her hand at making and selling a variety of soap and other related bath products online.

 

Sorry about that. :ashamed001

To answer your other questions, my wife does make bath soap. In fact, that's pretty much all she's made up until recently. She hasn't sold anything online, yet, but is seriously considering it. We bought a tremendous amount of oils, essential oils, fragrance oils, bottles, and other various and sundry raw materials recently, and she is considering trying her hand at making and selling a variety of soap and other related bath products online.

 

The cheeks are the easist area, than the lips/chin and than the neck being the hardest. But if you've never shaved with a DE before it will take some time to get the technique down. You can get BBS shaves without going ATG. I do 1WTG and 2XTG and get bbs shaves. I Only do one 1WTG and 1XTG on my neck to keep it from being irritated. It all takes some practice.

 

First of all - don't quit. Its getting harder to call myself a newbie, but I can assure you that I have been with DE shaving for a short time. I am getting the hang of it, and I am a complete moron! Its a very satisfying way to shave. Here are some tips that are pointing me toward success. Hope they help:

You can get an inexpensive pre-shave in a gel or oil. Any kind will do to start, so long as your skin likes it. I prefer a gel. A dime sized (or smaller) squeeze rubbed on the face (especially on the neck and around the "goatee" area) keeps the whiskers wet and provides a light protective surface. A little bit only - keep it thinned out with water if you gum it up.

I swirl the wetted brush over the soap a number of times to pick up some soap in the brush (do not lather up in the soap container). If you use cream, just dip the brush tips in the cream. It doesn't take a whole lot, but more is better than too little as you have seen.

I lather on the face, swirling over and over until there is a nice lather. The lather can't be too dry, however. So I sometimes re-wet the brush (toward the handle side so as to not wash the lather off the brush) and keep working on the face. I like a consistency that is less stiff than cool whip and wetter, but without being so wet that it is runny. Think of something you want the blade to glide over rather than shovel away.

NO PRESSURE. Let the razor do the work. Reduce the beard rather than trying to get to skin on each pass.

I'd take a guess that your neck experience is more a result of the blade angle than anything else - it was for me. So I'll take some heat for this, but as a newbie I say shave with the grain (at least on the mustache, neck and jawline) until you develop some technique! You will not get a BBS shave, but you will probably avoid the irritation you encountered.

After a few shaves you can try different techniques in easy areas, like the cheeks. Practice different angles by holding the handle further away from your face and then closer to your face. You will feel a difference.

When you have some skills, then start practicing going against the grain (on the cheeks first, then the neck and maybe the mustache and lastly on the chin) using the techniques and different angles you tried. When going against the grain, be VERY attentive to your angle (how far from the face you hold the handle) and make sure your lather is nice and moist.

Hang in there - the rewards far outweigh the learning curve experiences.

 

I used to be disappointed with neck shaving as well. I always had razor burn and irritation. It took me a few months to realize that the grain on my neck is actually sideways from the middle to the side both left and right. Once I figured that out, my razorburn all but disappeared and my neck is much smoother. The routine I go with now is: Lather <- middle of neck->, Lather --> middle of neck <--, Lather, up, Lather, Down

 

My neck is much more sensitive than my face. I don't think that water in the brush made your neck all red and bumpy, I think you did it when you pressed the razor against the grain. Against the grain on your neck is risky business and quite difficult, it is the last area for me that I have yet to achieve both smooth and comfortable.

(Like others have no doubt already said) make sure you know your hair grain direction and don't shave against it without at least having made a pass across the grain. Use a very light touch. If it takes pressure to shave a patch, change angle or direction or something. Forcing it anywhere will result in pain and redness if you have a sensitive neck.

Your soap may be adding to the problem as well (skin reaction to chemicals?), but I don't think it could be your primary issue with the redness. It's too much metal being pushed where the neck doesn't want it pushed. You've got to ease it in


PS
Also, don't limit yourself to a flimsy double edged razorblade. The straight razor is a wonderful option

 

Wow.... Geez, let me get used to a double edged SAFETY razor before I start dragging a straight razor across my jugular! I don't want any Sweeny Todd impersonations in my bathroom!

 

Yeah, I think I'll let my beard grow for another 3-4 days and try to figure out the grain on my neck. I, too, think the hair on my neck grows in weird directions. I think it either goes from the outside in, or from the bottom up.

My mistake might have been going top -> down first. That would have been XTG first.

I'll try changing the direction next time. With a better lather and a better blade, too. Hopefully that will change my luck.