After years of cartridge shaving (with a couple of brief stints trying electric razors) I finally decided to get myself a DE razor. I settled on the Edwin Jagger DE89 as it had a lot of good reviews and when I saw it on sale at Shaverhut I pounced! Tuesday morning I was woken by a knock at the door where the nice Postman handed me a parcel containing an EJ DE89 Barley Chrome razor, a sampler pack of blades (Derby Extra, Wilkinson Sword, Shark Super Stainless, Astra Platinum, and Asco Super Stainless) and a Colonel Conk Styptic Pencil.
First shave: (Tuesday morning after showering.) I always shave after I shower, so my face was nice and clean and nicely hydrated. I soak my Omega 10065 brush while I shower. I popped one of the Derby blades that came with the razor in, making sure everything was lined up evenly. For this shave I used the Omega shaving cream (rebadged Proraso green if I am not mistaken) which I lathered up in the small bamboo bowl I picked up from IKEA. The first pass (WTG) was a shocker. I was too tentative, did not have a good angle and was probably too slow with my strokes. I took very little off and there was vast patches that were simply unshaven - one spot I did manage to get close (too close!) was on my neck and I am glad I ordered the styptic pencil! I rinsed of, re-lathered and tried again. Again I went WTG and had a slightly better angle but was still too tentative and slow. No nickels this pass however, so that was good. I rinsed off and lathered up for a third pass because there was still too much stubble. For the third pass I chickened out and reverted to my Gillette Fusion proglide with the multitude of blades, rotating ball thingy and vibrating motor attachment. (Does the vibration of those things actually achieve anything?) The clean up pass with the Gillette went well, but I felt like a fraud using it.
First Shave Verdict: I need a lot of practice! I had some razor burn on my lower neck and one nick plus a few teeny, tiny bleeders. Thank ghod I had the styptic!
Second Shave: (Wednesday morning after showering.) My second shave on Wednesday was a little bit better. I used some Nivea Sensitive Shaving Cream and built up a good lather in my bowl. All lathered up I started my shave, again with the Derby blade. This time I vowed to be a little less tentative, whilst being mindful of my pressure. I managed to get a better angle for this second shave and was not quite so slow with my strokes. All in all this was a better experience than the day before. I was careful when shaving the area I nicked the day before, but naturally I re-nicked the nick I nicked, but it wasn't too bad. After the first pass I rinsed my face and it felt very patchy, but nowhere near as bad as after the first pass on Tuesday. Things were improving!
I lathered up for a second pass (WTG - I am not going to risk XTG or ATG until I have a few shaves under my belt) and that went reasonably well too. The final result was still a bit rough so again I reached for my trusty Gillette Pro-Glide Fusion Powerball for a clean-up pass.
Second shave verdict: Practice, practice, practice! Man I'm gonna need some practice at this. I again felt ashamed at reverting to the Gillette for my clean-up, but I just didn't feel confident that I could get a socially acceptable shave with the DE only just yet, and I needed to look (mildly) presentable in public. I again felt some razor burn on my lower neck and there were a couple of little bleeders, but the styptic pencil to the rescue! (Maybe I shoulda bought a bulk pack of those little blighters?)
Okay, I cheated completely and used the Gilette on Thursday because I was short on time.
Friday I did not shave at all.
Third Shave: (Saturday morning) This morning I tried again with the EJ DE and Derby blade combo. I had done a bit of reading on here and other sites and felt more confident that I could find the right angle this time. Before I started I took a Dove Beauty Bar and applied a little to the sensitive areas of my neck as a kind of pre-shave. I lathered up using the Nivea and took an extra minute or so just looking at the razor head and my face and lining things up. When I felt I had a good-ish angle I started my strokes and immediately it felt different. Shaving WTG I could feel more of the stubble being cut that the previous two efforts and it just felt like a smoother process overall. When I reached my neck, I shaved up for the bottom part, following the grain of my hair and I am not sure if it was the better angle, he different direction or the Dove soap, but it was a smoother process and I felt less irritation.
After the first pass I rinsed and felt my face - there were definitely fewer whiskers left than after the first couple of attempts, so I am improving! My second pass went as well as the first and overall I think I did a reasonable job. I felt confident enough to do a bit of a clean-up pass on the rough spots and didn't need to break out the Gillette 17-blade Fusion Pro-Glide out at all.
Third shave verdict: I still have some minor irritation on my lower neck, but much less than the previous two efforts. I had one small nick and a couple of tiny bleeders, but overall not a bad job. There are still a couple of rough patches under my jawline, under my nose and on my top lip, but all-in-all I feel confident that I won't be pointed and stared at when I go outside today. Well, not for my shaving at any rate.
I will continue to work on getting my angles right, but I think I am on the right track here. Tomorrow I might try a different blade. Until I can get some proper pre-shave products I think I will keep using the Dove just to help with the troublesome areas on my neck. I definitely feel less irritation - whether that is a result of the Dove, a better angle or something else I don't really know, but using the Dove prolly won't hurt.
First three DE shaves
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