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Hello guys I’m new in this forum but having really hard time with my shaves. Please help

M

Maximo77w

Jr. Shave Member
Hello guys. I’m actually a rookie at wet shaving and have been trying to shave with a de razor for the past 3 months. My shaves sometimes got better and other times got bad. 2 weeks ago I was actually having decent shaves trying out different sample blades. I know my technique still sucks but trying different blades to see if I find any that could give me a smooth irritation free shave. Tried a polsilver and felt it was too sharp for me. Then I tried a personna lab blue and also felt it was really sharp blade for me which also got irritation on my chin area. Then I tried voskhod and for some reason that blade gave me the best and smoothest shaves without any irritation. Don’t know if my technique that week got better but since it’s a sample pack of blades I had to keep trying the rest of the blades. Tried astras sp but gave me really bad irritation on my chin and also felt it was an aggressive blade for my face. Today I tried a Wilkinson Sword and it got even worse. For some reason every shave just keeps getting worse. I honestly don’t know what I’m doing wrong. The dam chin area it’s just a dam nightmare again for me. I thought I had this but it just keeps getting worse.

The blade is just NOT GLIDING through the whiskers on my chin area. I swear I try not to put any pressure but the blade just does not glide through...I had to stop because I was already feeling burning on my face. After the “supposed” second WTG pass.

Please tell me what I’m doing wrong. I’m just frustrated again with my coarse whiskers and really sensitive skin.

Is it because I’m using mild blades? I tried the Wilkinson Sword because it was supposed to be almost the same as a voskhod but either my technique is getting worse or I don’t know what.

I really just don’t know which direction to go or what I’m doing wrong but the burning of my chin is just depressing.


People tell me to try a fatip grande or feather blades but if I’m getting this much irritation and burning with mild blades and a mild razor I’m just really really scared to try an aggressive razor or blade and really destroy my face...


Either way I appreciate any help to try and not quit this beautiful hobby.

These pictures you see is the result from 2 WTG passes but had to stop because already was feeling the burn on my face.

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What's the rest of your setup look like? Are you getting good lathers?
 
uacowboy said:
What's the rest of your setup look like? Are you getting good lathers?
Click to expand...

That was my first question as well, it would really help to know what you're shaving with (e.g. what razor? blade? soap? brush?) and how you're getting ready for a shave.

How do you prep for your shaves? Are you doing your first pass with the grain of your beard?

Right now it's too wide open for us to hone in on where you might be going wrong.
 
Sorry you’re having a rough time of it!

Good starting questions from these fellas. Knowing your gear and your prep/shave process would help.

We also have a metric ton of videos of us shaving in the video section if you want to see what we do.
 
Judging from my own issues of course whiskers and somewhat sensitive skin, my first thoughts are not enough hydration and poor lather. Knowing your full setup and prep as others have suggested will help a lot though.

For me, I need to shave right out of the shower, tallow soap, slick/wet lather, and a fresh blade.
If I don't shower first, I don't have enough hydration due to my skin and whiskers being naturally on the dry side. Hot towel won't cut it in my situation.
"Vegan" or non-tallow soaps dry out very rapidly on my face and do not provide any sort of glide or slickness. I do a complete 2 pass DE shave in under 5 minutes including lathering, and some won't make it through half a pass before drying out no matter how wet I make them.
Due to my skin being dryer, I need a wet lather. Also helps because I do use straight razors a lot.
I also can't use a DE blade for 20+ shaves like some gents and ladies can. 3 or 4 shaves is usually tops for me and I need a new one.

Let us know the rest of your setup and prep, and I'm sure we can get you steered in the right direction.
 
@Maximo77w 1st Welcome to the Cadre. Points above are all on point and Shawn was pretty clear with how to start an approach with good hydration and a slick lather. I would stick with 1 blade once you find one that works rather than continuing to experiment for now. Get some more Voskhod since they worked well for you. Let us know what soap and razor you are using also. Ensure the irritation is coming from the shave and not the soap also. I have had reactions from some soaps myself. You will get thru this and as you can see by the posts above, the Cadre will help !
 
Hello guys thank you so much for your reply’s.

Right now I’m using a Gillette Tech razor, Tabac Soap, and razorock synthetic brush. I don’t think it’s a reaction of the soap because I have been using this soap with the voskhod blade that was the only time it went well for me. I think the lather is quite good. I’ve worked really hard to get a slick lather practicing on my hand on Off shaving days. I also shave with cold water because I felt with the voskhod that it helped with the irritation on the chin.


Here is my routine:

PRE-SHAVE
• Put Brush in Mug with WARM Water
• Shower with WARM water
• Wash face with warm water in shower
• Don’t towel dry the face after shower
• Start Preparing your Lather (I use “another cut above vídeo lather)
https://youtu.be/ecoUdtWxQxo
• After the shower soak face with cold water
• Apply remaining's of lather soap on face with hands and gently scrub face with hands
• Apply REALLY COLD TOWEL on face and leave on for 1-2 min
o Take off lather with towel
• Apply Pre-shave Cream PREP Original
• Start 1st pass lather

LATHERING ROUTINE
• Take out brush from mug and shake water off to leave it damp but not dry
• Start swirling lightly the bristles on the dry soap for around 30 seconds to gather enough soap where it is sticky and pasty.
o NOTE: You NEED to dip the tip of the bristles in water once or twice depending on soap and brush while swirling
• Start lathering face BY PAINTING IT
• Dip tip of bristles and paint again
• NEED TO KEEP DOING THIS UNTIL LATHER IS BASICALLY WATERY AND YOU CAN SEE THROUGH LATHER YOUR FACE
• Start swirling your face and neck
o NOTE: You probably need to dip the tip of the bristles once or twice depending on soap and brush
• When soap looks like Yogurt and NOT Whip Cream, and it feels slick, then its ready to go.

POST-SHAVE ROUTINE
• Rinse Face with Warm Water
• Rinse Face with Cold Water
• Apply Alum Block with Cold Water
• After 1 min Rinse Off Alum block with Cold Water
• Dry Face gently with towel
• Apply The Cool Fox to help with irritation
• Apply Moisturize Balm Nivea sensitive skin
• Keep moisturizing between shaves as needed



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@Maximo77w Welcoem to the Cadre. Man we are going to get you fixed right up with better shaves brother. I can't say much on the topic right now but as we know more information about your shave I am sure we can get you going on a great shave. It seemed that Voskhod blades worked somewhat for you. i would stick with those for now as Dave above said. We will get you there man...And Welcome to TSC!
 
OK, so there's a lot going on here. I think your pre-shave and post shave sound quite excessive. Why warm water, then cold water? Ditch the cold water all together. Stick with warm only. To me, you have way too many variables goin on, and you should only be focused on the basics. Keep it simple.

Until you get it down, you should be changing little to nothing. This includes blades. Find a blade that works relatively well for you (like the Vohskod) and stick with it while you figure everything else out. Blades to me are the least important aspect. Blades are not more aggressive than other blades. Aggressiveness comes form the razor. Blades can be sharper or smoother though.

The tech is a very mild razor, and also very light. The goal of no pressure is good, but with a light razor like that, I find I do need to add a little, but more important than pressure is keep the angle right. It does not appear that you are even cutting anything on your chin, so your angle is not correct in that area. That just takes a long time to figure out. Took me about 6 months to build up the muscle memory to get good consistent shaves. I just addressed that in my most recent video. I'd highly recommend watching some of the Cadre members videos. Even if we aren't addressing a specific item, you can see how we shave and see if it's different from what you are doing.

I never liked Tabac soap. For me, it doesn't get a good lather for shaving. I'd highly recommend trying something else. You can't go wrong with Stirling to start out with. It's a very slick soap and should give you better results (and it's cheap). Tons of scents, so you should have no issues finding something you like.

One last consideration.... the Tech may possibly be too mild for you. I'd recommend getting a Rockwell 6C. It has 6 different plates, of varying aggressiveness. You can start mild and work your way up to see if that will help you out.
 
Other than that cold water thing, prep and lathering sounds real good. You might try a bit thicker or more lather in the rough patch. Also real small strokes there can help work your way through it.

But yeah, I think @Spider has nailed it. I love Techs, but they are mild (or better said really need you to be able to find the right angle without much blade feel.) but they are also rough. I just came off a weeks holiday where all I used was a tech, and I can totally see why you'd have issues mowing through a rough patch of beard with it as a relative newcomer.

If you're game, I think Spider's recommendation is spot on. If that razor is out of your budget, I'm sure we can recommend others, but no sense overwhelming you with choice right now.
 
Thanks guys. I did order the 6S but waiting till it arrives.

I decided to try cold water as another suggestion from the forum and since I started it with the voskhod blade, I thought that was helping as well. But now I just don’t know

Should I go back to the 34C? I was told here to try the tech because of my tick coarse hair

I’m out of ideas


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Maximo77w said:
Should I go back to the 34C? I was told here to try the tech because of my tick coarse hair
Click to expand...
I think the 34C would be better than the tech for you right now. The 34C is a bit heavier and will help with the pressure thing, since it has more weight on its own. It's a great all around razor and was my go to razor for several years.
 
I wouldn't change too much too fast. I do agree with KJ (spider) about you having a lot going on. Maybe just try simplifying your routine with what you are using to start. Shower then just make a lather on your wet face after the shower.
Eliminate all of the towel stuff.

One other thing if I'm reading it right, it doesn't seem you may be building a lather well. If you are only painting straight from loading the puck you may not be getting a good lather.

I believe handlebarberdave has a video on here about building a proper lather but I'm on my phone and its smarter than I am and cant find it at the moment.
 
Lots of good input there. In terms of your routine, I agree with Spider :eek: you can smiple it down a bit. Also, with a DE, pushing the lather to thin where you can see through it I, and I think most of us, would disagree with. That might hold true for shaving with a straight, but you can use some of that thick cushion. I agree the Tech is likely too mild to be learning with. It's somewhat counter intuitive with sensitive skin. You don't want something very aggressive because it could be tough on the skin. but too mild of a razor also means it could be less efficient. If you're not removing much hair with each stroke, there is a subconscious tendency to apply more pressure to get it to "work". As well as the need to go over an area more times which leads to razor burn. 6S is a great razor that will let you play around with aggressiveness. And yes, stick with one blade while you're trying out the different plate. I'd start with #3.
 
Well, the first thing you will learn is everyone has a different opinion and routine that works...that’s good because if we all thought the same we’d all be wrong (Gen.G Patton reference there).

I’ll be brief because you have already received some good/great starter info. I think cold water is great but it’s very appropriate to start with warm water and even warm lather and leave the cold water to rinsing between (that’s what I do, cold water rinses). It is possible to over-prep but I don’t think you are, I do think the pre-shave product should be left out OR applied in the shower and rinsed as you exit the shower. There is a very good chance your lather is far too thin (based on the description you gave and repeated dipping of tips into water. A damp brush will take Tabac very far, leaving you needing only to add a few drops of water (dripping from your fingers) to the brush (if you face lather) or to the bowl. If you bowl lather you should be adding the drops to the bowl not the brush. If you doubt whether to have a good bowl lather try squeezing all the lather from the brush back into the bowl, if you get a wet soup you either had too much water or added it too quickly. Try blooming the surface of the soap with a thin layer of water and loading with that thin layer still there.

I wouldn’t think your razor is the problem but it is possible that particular razor just doesn’t work for you. I agree with Spider, you need to apply just enough pressure to ensure that razor stays in positive contact with your skin. You can “ride the cap” to see if that reduces discomfort. Riding the cap is to place the top (rounded part) of the razor on your face then rotate down u til the blade just makes contact and is able to cut. Basically you are setting yourself up to have a more shallow cutting angle than you would if you didn’t try to keep that top as close to the face as possible.

I agree there are good, bad and better blades but none that you have strike me as being anything but good. In my experience blades change the way a shave feels but they are the difference between success and failure (unless you have a bad blade). I am not saying you should go changing blades all the time, just that you pick one and assume it will give you as good a shave as your technique will allow. If vokshod’s seem to work for you stick with them. (If you are running low on them speak up, I probably have some I can send you.)

My basic approach:
Wash skin to clean and hydrate
Load brush and lather on my face (if this is new to you I recommend lathering on your face then finishing in the bowl so you know your lather is good and will be consistent throughout the shave)
Apply razor to skin and stretch skin with other hand or by making all sorts of faces. Stretched skin reduces that drag feeling and really helps reduce razor burn. You do have to be careful not to apply too much pressure or stretch in a way that Che gets the angle he blade makes contact with your skin. Your chin for example, as you stretch and contort your Ching the angles change. Directly under your lip you might consider doing just an upward against the grain with very little stretching, as in DON’T curl you lip over your teeth, maybe just stick your tongue between your teeth and lip.

Well, that’s me being brief. Stick with it. Good razor, good angle, good lather, good stretch...the rest is somewhat trivial.

Shoot, one more thing. If you still have a cartridge razor handy you can try doing all that prep and lather then use the cartridge. You will probably notice an improved shave over the canned stuff but if your prep or lather are killing you shave the cartridge might still result in irritation.
 
Thanks for all your suggestions guys.

I actually hace never shaved with a cartridge razor before. These past 3 months have been actually the first time that I shaved. Before I used to just trim the beard with an electric razor





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Maximo77w said:
Thanks for all your suggestions guys.

I actually hace never shaved with a cartridge razor before. These past 3 months have been actually the first time that I shaved. Before I used to just trim the beard with an electric razor





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Click to expand...
Hazzah!!! I wonder if you're the only one to be a cart virgin around here.
 
So should I go back to the 34C and use a voskhod? A polsilver? A feather?

Or should I stick with the old tech and use a voskhod?




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I just want to reiterate keeping it simple. There are lots of advanced techniques and little tricks that people do to try to get the best shave they can, like the hot towel, or the cold water rinse, pre shave creams, etc.... these are nice, but not necessary. Some people try them and love them, some find they offer little value and aren't worth the time/money. Either way, these in my opinion, are things you should not be concerning yourself with as you are learning. You just need to be focusing on building the proper lather, and shaving with the best technique.

Here is my routine, and pretty much what I've been doing since day 1. I've experimented with various things over the last 9 years, but found nothing that gives me noticeably divergent results.

Shower, hot water, good bar soap to clean face.
Towel Dry
Immediately go into building lather, by loading off the puck, then face lathering. The less time inbetween shower and getting lather on your face the better to keep your face from drying inbetween.
Add water to brush as necessary, until lather feels right.
Shave, 3 passes. WTG, and 2 across the grain passes.
Rinse face with warm water, towel dry.
Apply Witch Hazel (optional)
Apply Aftershave splash (or balm)
Done. Simple.
 
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