Greetings everyone, I'm pretty new to DE shaving. Been doing it for only about a month. I've had pretty mediocre results at best and could use some guidance.
Here is what I've been using:
I have an Edwin Jagger DE89.
I have tried a number of blades----and am still trying new ones.
The Derby's that came with the razor were too dull and pulled.
Feather irritated my face and left it feeling absolutely raw. Like ground round.
Astra's did ok but I felt I could possibly find better.
Personna blue irritated my face. Haven't tried the Reds yet.
Iridium did ok. Not sure if there are better.
Today I tried a Gillette platinum; just ok.
I've tried two soaps so far, Henry Cavendish Himalaya, which did not agree with me for some reason; it makes my face burn---not tingle, but actually burn. And turn red. I've tried it three times, and each time my face and neck got royally irritated.
The second soap works fine; it is Italian Barber Primavera. It is pretty easy to generate a rich and stabile lather. I bloom the soap then lather in a porcelain bowl.
I'm using an Omega boar hair brush. It is still breaking in----it seems to keep getting softer. Initially it was so stiff it was uncomfortable. I basically just paint the lather on, because poking into my face with the bristles is still pretty uncomfortable.
Here is my routine:
Shower, and while showering, let the soap bloom and soak the brush and razor in a bowl of warm water.
Apply a homemade pre-shave oil (olive and castor mix) and proceed to create my lather.
Apply a coat of lather. Then reapply to build it up a little more.
Shave first pass WTG, rinsing the razor often. Extremely light touch. I apply pretty much no pressure. I am sure my angles are not perfect, but I'm also sure they aren't horrible---I have a lot of experience working with hand tools and having to freehand various angles and whatnot.
Now here is where things go awry. The first pass doesn't remove everything, but my face does not seem to appreciate a second pass. A second pass WTG irritates it the least but also still leaves some stubble. If the second pass is AGT, it will remove the remaining stubble, but it makes my face feel like hamburger. If the second pass is XTG, it doesn't seem to do much for removing stubble and still irritates my face, just not as much as ATG, but more than WTG....
After shaving I do a cold water rinse, followed by witch hazel, followed by Nivea post shave balm.
Since I've started DE shaving, shaving has been a mixture of razor burn and stubble that is visible in my skin, even though I just shaved. Post shave is damage control.
This needs to improve, or I will eventually go back to my old shave routine, which I bet would horrify a lot of people----cheap disposable grocery store razors and a can of Barbasol. What can I say, I never really enjoyed it, but it worked. I shaved that way for about 30 years.
I'm sorry this is kind of long. But what do you guys think? What would you do? I had never shaved ATG until a month ago. I don't think I have particularly sensitive skin, but my beard does not seem to like being shaved ATG. Have I simply not found the blade that makes ATG feasible for me? Or is there a different razor that might make a couple of WTG passes sufficient? A slant bar? A vintage adjustable?
As for soap, I don't have much to compare this Italian Barber soap to; but it really does produce a dense and lasting lather. It is just a bit of a dry lather, as nearly as I can judge----like it leaves behind no slickness at all. At all. It feels protective while you shave it off, but once removed, that skin is immediately stripped and not slick or conditioned at all. So maybe a better soap would help too?
Just looking for some guidance from guys who have been at this longer. And maybe who have been through similar trials. Thanks for any thoughts. They are much appreciated.
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New Guy Looking for Guidance
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