Newbie in San Diego

Hi all!

I've just started giving wet shaving a go, as of about the last 3 months or so. This forum has been a huge source of info while researching wet shaving stuff, so I decided to join in order to say thanks, and in case I have questions.

I'm late 30's. Started shaving in the early 1990's using disposables and foaming gel, switched to electrics (the sort with the 3 rotary heads) during the early 00's. I've always had issues with skin irritation from shaving, both with blades and electrics, with a strong tendency towards pimples/bumps in the under-the chin area, which lead me to adopt an every-other-day shaving regimen instead of daily shaving. For the last couple years I've been using a trimmer with the guard off instead, as that allows me to "shave" every day with no irritation, but at the cost of always looking like I've got a 1 day growth instead of being proper clean shaven.

Never been happy with how this looks, but given a choice between stubble or burning rash + breakouts, I have to go with the former. I decided to try wet shaving in the hope that this would help me reduce/control the irritation issues to where I can afford to be proper clean shaven again.

Started with: Ikon Shavecraft Tech head and Maggard MR3 handle, Omega 10066 boar brush, Haslinger Schafmilch soap, Ozma alum block. For aftershave I'm using Target brand witch hazel followed by a couple drops of oil (95% jojoba, 5% tea tree, both from Trader Joe's).

Have not been successful thus far. I can get a good shave on my cheeks: less irritation than I got with disposables, and pretty BBS. The under the chin area still vexes me rather badly, to the point where I can only shave that area once or twice a week. I'm hoping that's a skill thing, or a matter of finding the right razor & blades.

I'd though I wanted an aggressive razor, as my experience with past methods was that repeated passes are what really kill my skin, so I wanted something super-efficient. That's been a bit mixed in practice. The Ikon tech was very educational, but not safe for frequent use. It cut efficiently, but not close, so I still had to make multiple passes to get a decent shave, which was not good for my skin at all. So I went to the opposite extreme, and got a Phoenix DOC.

The DOC is very easy on my skin, but doesn't cut very efficiently or close. I can do more passes and lots of buffing before it hurts my skin (on my face, at least: under the chin is still one-light-pass-only territory), but it still doesn't get me an even close shave. Much better for frequent use than the Ikon tech, but still not satisfying.

I should clarify I'm not aiming for BBS, just trying to get sort-of flush (maybe a bit sandpapery to the touch, but visually clean).

I've tried 3 blade makes/brands so far: Gillette 7 O'Clock SS, Feather SS, and Voskhod teflon. Voskhods were the easiest on my skin, but Feathers had the best cutting and least tugging by a wide margin. The Gillettes were terrible: lots of tugging and skin abrasion. Still have an assortment of others to try.

Also tried a shavette. The one I got wasn't the best fit for me, but still interesting, and I'd love to try another type.

But I'm entirely willing to bet this a matter of practice. I'm brand new to DE shaving, and I haven't shaved with a manual blade of any sort in around 15 years, so I'm pretty dang green.

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Newbie in San Diego