Shaving

joeboo_sl said:

And I personally avoid the against the grain passes, they still irritate my neck too much even with a DE razor. I generally go with the grain, then the 2 across, in opposite directions for my 3 passes. Doesn't leave my face as smooth as a babys butt, but it looks smooth, and I don't end up looking like a 15 year old with acne all over my neck afterwards. Having sensitive skin blows.

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Do you shave in the shower?

joeboo_sl said:

And I personally avoid the against the grain passes, they still irritate my neck too much even with a DE razor. I generally go with the grain, then the 2 across, in opposite directions for my 3 passes. Doesn't leave my face as smooth as a babys butt, but it looks smooth, and I don't end up looking like a 15 year old with acne all over my neck afterwards. Having sensitive skin blows.

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I'm in the same boat as your, I do the traditional 3 passes everywhere except my neck, where I do 2 across instead of 1 across and 1 against. I get bad ingrown hairs on my neck if I go against, giving that acne look. Looks smooth, has a gritty feel, but its better than red and bumpy!

Having been down the road of the acne/shave bump neck before, all I can say is that if you shave in a hot shower and use a quality cream/blade and go against the grain on a 3rd pass, I guarantee that you can achieve a baby smooth neck without the zits. If you really want to ensure 100% zero chance of bumps, buy some pre-shave oil like the one made by Proraso and rub some on 5 minutes before shaving, it will turn your beard to butter. Oh yeah, a really good alcohol free after-shave balm like the one sold by Kiehl's also really helps.

Yeah I do shave in the shower, that definitely helped, as I would still get a little irritation just going across the grain(much less against) before I started shaving in a steamy shower. Really like the shaving mirror that was linked either earlier in this thread or maybe back on FOH

http://www.amazon.com/Squeegee-Toile.../dp/B003BQ6QXK

joeboo_sl said:

Yeah I do shave in the shower, that definitely helped, as I would still get a little irritation just going across the grain(much less against) before I started shaving in a steamy shower. Really like the shaving mirror that was linked either earlier in this thread or maybe back on FOH

http://www.amazon.com/Squeegee-Toile.../dp/B003BQ6QXK

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Yep, that's the one I linked , it's awesome. First fogless shower mirror that ever worked and didn't fall off the wall after two weeks. I've had mine for two years and it's still going strong. Only problem is that the gear that allows you to adjust the mirror angle has worn out, so it kinda leans downwards but is still perfectly usable.

McCheese_sl said:

I did my first shave with the stuff I ordered a few posts up. I wish I had switched to wet shaving sooner; this was by far the closest and most comfortable shave I've ever had and for the first time in my life I didn't immediately feel irritation after. It was an enjoyable experience from start to finish with the brush, the warm lather, the scent of the soap, and the warmth of the merkur razor as it heated up from the water. So much better than my previous cartridge + shaving cream.

I cut the hell out of half of my face, though. I guess I was too used to cartridges and pressed down too firmly. When I saw how I had butchered that side, I lightened up on the pressure and the other side came out flawlessly.

I just used the default blade that came with the Merkur razor, so I look forward to trying the other 15 I got in my sample pack.

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Can you give reviews? I just ordered your same pack, and curious about it.

Also, what do you do with the blades after you get done with them? Just dry them off and leave them in the razor or?

Shake the water off and leave it like you would any other razor. Replace the blade every few shaves.

wizarddeath_sl said:

Can you give reviews? I just ordered your same pack, and curious about it.

Also, what do you do with the blades after you get done with them? Just dry them off and leave them in the razor or?

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I couldn't be happier so far. I'm really enjoying trying the different blades in the 16-pack that I got. I also really like the soap that came with the pack; it's got a nice, subtle scent to it that is pleasant while shaving but dissipates pretty quickly so you're not stuck with it all morning. I look forward to trying some other soaps once I get through this one (although I think that will be a while because after 2ish weeks it hardly looks like this soap has been used up at all).

Someone above commented about the weight of the Merkur razor and that is something I definitely noticed, but you get used to it. Because it's so heavy you don't really have to apply any pressure during the shave because it naturally pushes against your skin slightly due to the weight.

When I was using cartridges I was shaving 2 - 3 times a week because it was such an uncomfortable experience. Now I'm shaving daily and not only am I enjoying the experience, but I have zero irritation on my neck and my shave is closer than it ever was before.

How much time/shaving do you guys use your set of blades ?

I use each blade 5 times or so but my facial hair is not very thick. I'd say just go until you notice any small amount of tugging instead of slicing through the hair like butter.

I use a new razor every other day because my hair is thicker than tree stumps.

Azeth_sl said:

i think you're directing this to the safety blade users, but with my schick hydro I shave approx 5 times with 1 in a steaming hot shower with very high quality cream - Jack Black's Beard Lube

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I also use Jack Black's Bear Lube and shave in a hot shower, but with a DE safety razor. I use my blade(Feathers) probably 5 times, but that ends up being 2 blades per week that I go through because I shave my face every day, but I also shave my head 2 or 3 times a week.

Honestly, I find that time is almost worse than uses when it comes to a DE razor getting dull. If I shave once with a blade and then let it sit in the shower for the rest of the week, it's just as dull as if I had shaved every day with it in-between. Water/humidity + razor blades = short lifespan, it's worse on them than actually cutting facial hair. So basically, I change my blade out twice a week whether I only used it once, or used it 10 times.

Eorkern_sl said:

How much time/shaving do you guys use your set of blades ?

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I use a new blade every week (usually switch them out on sundays). 3 on the first side, 3 on the other side, no shaving saturday, mostly.

I started off using Taylor of Old Bond Street shave cream with a brush when I bought my first DE razor. I recently bough a tube of Jack Black beard lube because of some recommendations in this thread, for ease of use and not having to hassle with the brush.

Everything was going fine for a few weeks until I went back and used the shave cream with the brush again. I noticed the difference in the quality of shave is remarkable. The beard lube just doesn't stand up to the shave cream and brush for me. Maybe it's just me, because my hair is a little coarse. With the beard lube, I would find myself leaving areas unshaven entirely, and the overall closeness of the shave just doesn't even match up when I use the cream and brush.

Started shaving with my straight razor exclusively. Not the cleanest shave, but I get a burn free shave everytime. Even with a safety razor, I still feel some burn. My face is too damn sensitive. I might buy a better DE razor to try out some time down the road though. The Edwin Jagger 89EL is definitely not very good imo.

EDIT: Just sawthis dealat my go to website for shaving products. The RazoRock razors get really good reviews and the Italianbarber sell them at barely any margin. Pick up a cheap Omega Pro series brush, RazoRock soap (or 2) and an alum (or 2) block and you're good for two years.

I can't use Derby Extra. I cut my face up like crazy.

Yeah I get a bit bloody when using feathers, face can't handle it, but Derbys seem too dull, a lot of tugging. Astra's seem to be a happy medium for me and cost less than feathers. Only get like 4 shaves out of a blade tho.