Technique Problem?

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wrath186
Posts: 375
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:18 pm

Technique Problem?

Post by wrath186 »

Hello Everyone,

I've been wet shaving with adjustable Gillettes for about a year now, maybe a bit more and I'm still having a problem with razor burn. Before I start I will say that I used a Gillette thin handle set on two. The blade is a Derby and has only one shave on it so far. The lather was from Trumpers Rose and I used my SMF II brush.

I shaved this morning and had a pretty good shave, but there were some problems. First, I had a few nicks. I had the razor set on two and my first pass, with the grain went well, but my neck wasn't smooth. Loaded up my face again, and made a pass against the grain, but this time I had some drag and finished with some noticable irritation.

I'm wondering if I was one, too aggressive with the razor to get that baby smooth finish and two if having the razor set on two was just too much for my face.

Also, there was a thread on this board a few days ago about shaving the neck area. How smooth does everyone here go? Do you go for the baby smooth finish or shave just to get rid of appearing stubble?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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ScottS
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Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2005 10:39 am

Post by ScottS »

Try going across the grain instead of against in places where you get irritation. As always, double check the pressure and angle you're using.

Also, with a year of experience, you might want to mess around with some different blades. Be sure to revisit some of the more reputable blades that you might have tried and dismissed when you were low on your learning curve.
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rustyblade
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Location: Ontario

Post by rustyblade »

Wrath, I will risk repeating myself, but a lot of my problems (nicks, redness on my neck) cleared up when I started making a stronger, thicker lather. Yes, technique is important, but the quality of your lather is equally important.
Richard
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dasein_geist
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Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:35 pm

Post by dasein_geist »

Wrath,

Was this a "one time" incident, or is this reoccurring?

In addition to the excellent advice already given...

If it was a one time incident, it could be you got a bad blade (it happens...).

If this is reoccurring, you may want to try a different type of blade. I, personally, tried all of the blades in LetterK's sample pack, found one I liked, a couple of months later ran into problems, and returned to a blade type I had previously rejected.

Finally, I don't know where you live, but I typically have more problems in the drier months in the US. I find using a moisturizer at night has helped alleviate some of my "burn" associated with shaving dry skin.

To directly answer your question, it really depends on individual skin, the weather, technique, etc. When all the stars are aligned, I can get a BBS shave on my neck area. When they are not, I cannot. There are some on this board who get a BBS shave on their neck area on every shave. One the other hand, there are more than a few experienced shaves who have never been able to get a BBS shave on this area...YMMV...

Best of luck to you,
- Sean -

"What am I afraid of? I'll tell you: a feather. that's right, a feather...did I say it was a poison feather?"
-- Jack Handey [Deep Thoughts]
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wrath186
Posts: 375
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:18 pm

Post by wrath186 »

Thanks for the help.

It's been a recurring problem. I had been shaving every day, but I can't get that baby smooth neck area w/o irritation. If I only shave once a week it isn't too bad, but every day is too much. When I shave with the razor on it's lowest setting and go with the grain the shave is comfortable, but not so smooth.

I'll have to wait a couple of days for my skin to heal up, but I will try a thicker lather and concentrate on technique.

As for blades, I thought the Derby blades were pretty good. I have some Merkurs that I can switch to to see if that helps.
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ScottS
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Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2005 10:39 am

Post by ScottS »

I'd go along with Sean's comment from another thread. When you find yourself not getting the right closeness/comfort ratio on a certain part of your face, skin stretching is often the answer.
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wrath186
Posts: 375
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:18 pm

Post by wrath186 »

I have tried the skin stretching. It does improve the shave in that area. Will try a thicker lather and less agressive setting on the razor. That may help.
Leisureguy

Post by Leisureguy »

Have you tried different blades? Blades make an enormous difference. If you haven't tried the sampler pack, give it a go.
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