Looks like I haven't shaved

[actuary32174]

I have been wet shaving now for a couple of months. The shaves that I have been getting are closer than I had ever gotten with my "4 blade" and with fewer cuts and irritation. I shaved this morning and , as usual, got a very close shave. I felt no stubble at all. My wife takes a look at me and asks if I had shaved yet. When I told her I had, she said it looked like I hadn't. My face still had the dark stubble look without the stubble. Is this just a matter of the type of skin I have or is there something someone can recommend. Here is how I shaved:

1. Took a shower while my badger brush was soaking in a cup of hot water.
2. I took a small amount of Corn Huskers lotion and rubbed it on my face.
3. I mixed up a batch of Trumper Limes with a squirt of Kiss My Face in a cup and got, what appeared to be, a great lather.
4. I shaved N to S.
5. I shaved S to N
6. I put on some more Huskers lotion.
7. I finally shaved across the grain.
8. Reshaved a couple of spots under my chin where the hair must grow in
some crazy direction until smooth.
9. Rinsed with warm water.
10. Rubbed my face with an Alum bar.
11. Rinsed my face with cold water.
12. Finally, put on a little Proraso After Shave Balm.

This is my standard approach. A good shave should not only feel smooth, but, look smooth. I seem to have a problem with the looking smooth part.

Anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions?

Rick

[Lyrt]

Take your right hand with your left and faceturbate against the grain. If you feel something, this is stubble. If you feel nothing, this is beard shadow and there’s nothing you can do.

[jbc]

The only advice that I can give is that different razors and different blades do better on different people. This is the simple reason the some people get acquisition disorder and the LetterK sampler pack exists. You may need to experiment with different blades and different razors to see which does the best on you.

Another thing that worked well on me is that I copied my pop on the saving ritual. He used the same brand and type of razor as well as the same brand of brush and mug that I do. Although I use an older model of the same razor. Take a look at what your pop does chance are that he may have the solution. The only difference between my pop and I is that he uses old spice soap, I can't figure out where he is getting it but I use williams. Other than that there is no difference.

[StGeorge]

If it feels smooth, you are clean shaven. How it looks depends on your beard colour and skin colour. I always look dark around the beard area no matter how clean shaven I am but I'm not bothered, its the feel and condition of my skin that matters. If you are trying to look like the cover of mens health, there is another technique, its called airbrushing

[woofwie]

Something that was mentioned in another thread but not here - When shaving with a Mach 3, Fusion or other cartridge, the hair is often cut below the skin surface. This is what often leads to some of us to develop ingrown hairs. However, a positive side effect of cutting below the skin is that there is no beard shadow. If you have fair/pale skin and heavy dark facial hair, a DE will give you a BBS shave, but beard shadow can be an issue. It's basically a trade off - DE for BBS and no ingrown hairs with a bit of beard shadow, vs. Fusion for no beard shadow but red bumps from ingrown hairs.