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Steve's Journal: The Saga Continues....

Journal Entry #20


Pre Shave: Hot shower, shampoo'd beard area

Shave: Stirling DE3P6/Kai, Kingsley pure badger, Razorock Mudder Focker soap

Post Shave: Cold rinse, alum, Cold rinse, witch hazel, Stirling Barbershop AS

Another quality shave today. Also, another morning shave which is not my usual routine.

I dialed it down to 2 passes today. 1 hybrid WTG/XTG pass and 1 hybrid ATG/XTG pass.

The end result was either a really good CCS or a low end DFS. The closeness was just a little less than the 3 passes I did yesterday.

The irritation was minimal, no sticky red stuff on the outside, very little in the way of burn/bumps. Just a bit on the neck, but less than yesterday.

So overall, the low level of irritation and average closeness of the shave is a win in my book. I'd like to get it just a bit closer, bit that will come with time I'm sure.

I'll also add that this combo of razor/blade/soap is the combo I was previously getting the best results with. If I'm not mistaken, it may be the only combo I've gotten BBS with. So this is my setup for the remainder of the week. Hopefully I can duplicate the results!

In other news, mother's day was a success. My father, father-in-law, step son and myself took out my mother, mother-in-law, wife, and sister-in-law (that was a mouth full!) out to dinner. Good quality time with the family.
 
Great shave Steve, sounds like the reduced amount of passes is paying off with some comfortable shaves!
 
Just depends on the balance of outcome vs irritation you want while you refine your technique. I trying a 2 pass shave a couple of times. But even including a ATG pass I couldn't get BBS even on my cheeks. I can tolerate DFS on my neck because sometimes the irritation isn't worth it when I'm trying to learn new skills, but the cheeks are easy to get BBS so I can't deal with any roughness there.
 
Journal Entry #21

Same set up for pre shave, shave, and post shave.

Very good results. I ended up going 3 passes above the jaw and 2 on the neck with no touch ups. No irritation. None. DFS+ above the jaw and CCS on the neck. All in all a pretty good shave.

I think tonight I might go for the same amount of passes but do some touch ups on the neck as well.

Pretty happy that I'm getting some consistent results finally!
 
Caught up on some great shaves, Steve. I can attest that plain Noxzema makes a great preshave under the lather. Use just a small amount with lots of water for a very slick coating.
 
Journal Entry # 22

Same set up for the last 2 shaves. Still getting pretty good results, although I've noticed the irritation got a bit worse last night, and stayed about the same tonight.

I've also noticed that tonight the closeness factor dropped a notch.

So here's what's different. Last night the shave was unchanged, but tonight I went 3 passes on face and neck. I did 1 pass WTG/XTG and 2 ATG/XTG in opposite XTG directions. I assume the extra pass on the neck and the fact that I did 2 ATG passes accounts for the bump in irritation. Not sure why the closeness dropped though.

Tonight was the 4th shave on the Kai blade, so it's possible the blade has run its course.

It's also the 4th night in a row shaving, so it's possible I just need a day off.

I'm open to suggestions, but I'm thinking a day off and a fresh blade will probably be the solution.

In other news, I had my first real estate deal fall apart. Definitely a bummer, but a good learning experience. It wasn't anything that anyone did wrong (aside from some hesitation on my client's part maybe), just one of those things that happens.
Can't win them all I guess, but being as the client is a friend he hasn't fired me yet. So that's a plus lol!
 
I haven’t used that blade before, but a day off and a blade refresh couldn’t hurt.

Good luck on the next sale.
 
Like Tim, I can't speak to the longevity of those blades, but it very well could have been that the blade had begun to degrade after four shaves. Taking a day off to let the irritation heal up is probably a good thing as well.
 
I scrolled back to look at your set-up. Yes, sometimes the skin just needs time to heal, and yes the blade could be ready to be replaced (My rule is 3 and out with DE so I never experience the backside of blade life). I did notice you don't have a moisturizer in your post-shave routine. Funny to hear myself think that. My how this hobby changes us. But maybe that would be helpful. Especially with a daily shaving routine. Gotta be nice and soft to feel like a baby's butt.
 
Catching up Steve. Ups and downs and injury is all a part of honing your shave technique and taking a day or three off to let the skin heal is a good thing. It will become more second nature and the shaves will become stellar over time
 
You have had a really good run. Keep experimenting and take a day off if you need one. You are definitely improving.
 
NurseDave said:
I scrolled back to look at your set-up. Yes, sometimes the skin just needs time to heal, and yes the blade could be ready to be replaced (My rule is 3 and out with DE so I never experience the backside of blade life). I did notice you don't have a moisturizer in your post-shave routine. Funny to hear myself think that. My how this hobby changes us. But maybe that would be helpful. Especially with a daily shaving routine. Gotta be nice and soft to feel like a baby's butt.
Click to expand...

I was recommended 3-4 shaves per blade by a friend. He said that should keep off of getting any negative effects from a dull blade. And even if I'm getting rid of them early, they're cheap enough so it's not really that much of a waste.

As for the moisturizer, I was using a Stirling AS balm but the scent doesn't really go with any of the soaps or AS that I currently have.
I've been meaning to pick up some Nivea, but haven't gotten around to it.

Xenostr8shaver said:
Catching up Steve. Ups and downs and injury is all a part of honing your shave technique and taking a day or three off to let the skin heal is a good thing. It will become more second nature and the shaves will become stellar over time
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave! I'm finally starting to feel like things are beginning to click!

dkeester said:
You have had a really good run. Keep experimenting and take a day off if you need one. You are definitely improving.
Click to expand...

Trying to keep the streak going Doug!
 
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