Shaving irritation-Beginner help

Bash said:
Hi all,

I said in my intro thread that it wouldn't be long before I was asking annoying questions! I know it's difficult but can anyone advise how I can minimise the irritation shown below in the picture please?

It's my third DE shave using an EJ89 razor, Astra blades and TOBS cream. I'm just doing two passes WTG,obviously lathering for both. I rinse the cream off with warm water and then with cold at the end of my shave, and then use Body shop razor relief cream.

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It's a lot more sore than it looks so I'll have to have an electric shave in the morning :(
Thanks,
Andy
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I noticed I had more irritation after I shaved last night than I would have hoped for. I think I did probably apply more pressure than I should, so will make an effort to be a lot gentler next time. It's still early days so haven't perfected my technique yet but enjoying it a lot.

Paul
 
Also, as well as pressure, remember that your neck is a curved surface, so you will need to alter the angle of the razor so that the blade isn't at too steep an angle.

Ian
 
IanM said:
Also, as well as pressure, remember that your neck is a curved surface, so you will need to alter the angle of the razor so that the blade isn't at too steep an angle.

Ian
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Very good point - if the OP isn't sure as to how much adjustment is required, it would be an idea for him to follow Mantic's advice of dividing everything up into facets and shaving each facet in turn.
 
This is what happened to me this morning. The rest of my face is fine but my throat is very red. It was my second DE shave, and I think it was a combination of being too ambitious (3 passes - WTG XTG ATG) and way too much pressure.

My prep is okay I think - lots of very hot flannels after bath/shower, trumpet shaving cream and badger brush (although I suspect I could be making my lather thicker and richer). I have just been impatient having been used to three passes with the Mach 3.

Will leave it a couple of days till I try again, then just concentrate on no pressure, stick to WTG, not try and get the closest shave known to man, and work on an even better lather.
 
To help calm the irritation try some Witch Doctor skin treatment gel, comes in a tube and costs no more than £2.50 from most supermarkets, I know it's not the answer to getting your technique right, if I try a new blade and it irritates my skin a bit more than my usual blade, I always put a dab of this on and it helps keeps the rash away.
 
I have been having the same problem recently, with some redness on the lower neck area. The first thing to do is check the direction of hair growth. This can be done by running a finger along the hairs, and if they feel rough, that is against the grain. So with the grain is in the opposite direction.

What I then did was to shave the lower neck area sideways, which is along the grain, then the rest of the neck downwards, which is also along the grain.

It could be that neck hair grows like an arrowhead pattern. That is, down from chin to adam's apple. Then radiating outwards.

So one reason for neck redness could be in shaving in the same direction, downwards, which is with the grain but also across, or even possibly against the grain further down.
 
omikin said:
This is what happened to me this morning. The rest of my face is fine but my throat is very red. It was my second DE shave, and I think it was a combination of being too ambitious (3 passes - WTG XTG ATG) and way too much pressure.

My prep is okay I think - lots of very hot flannels after bath/shower, trumpet shaving cream and badger brush (although I suspect I could be making my lather thicker and richer). I have just been impatient having been used to three passes with the Mach 3.

Will leave it a couple of days till I try again, then just concentrate on no pressure, stick to WTG, not try and get the closest shave known to man, and work on an even better lather.
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Just to chime in on this I found that if the water is to hot it can help bring up irritation as I feel my skin dries out when using flannels. Just use nice hot water from the sink for a good splash.

Another thing to consider is how your lathering, I found when I used to face lather with my old EJ brush it would bring me up in red lumps on my neck due to the scratchiness. I ended up bowl lathering for a while and face painting it till I got a better brush.

One last alternative is to try and cold water shave. Some hate it but I love it.
 
I haven't been at it that long, but this is some of the knowledge I have gathered so far:

Everyone's skin is different and reacts differently, so you need to find what works best for YOU.

In any case, use as little pressure as possible and start with a WTG and maybe an XTG pass. Leave ATG until your technique has improved.

Come to grips with the direction of your beard growth, especially in sensitive areas such as the neck. You can use a beard map till you have it completely memorised.

Don't skimp on prep and use a quality post shave balm.

I would also try and rule out reaction to any products you are using by gradually changing one at the time. Irritants can include perfumes, lime, lanolin, menthol, and just about any chemical that can be present in shaving products. Some products cause irritation only when used in combination with another product. For example, my skin becomes blotchy and itchy when allum is followed by Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm!

If you end up with a poor/irritated shave, give your skin a couple days to recover before trying again.

Persevere and you'll achieve great results before long :)
 
Sound advice from everyone. It takes a while but once the ritual is correct you won't be sorry.

Really important for me was to hit on the right soap for my skin - I now exclusively use Proraso products as they suit me best. Also the blade choice was important; a good example for me were the ubiquitous Gillette Yellow's, superb blade but no matter what I did my neck looked like yours. After much experimentation I now only use Personna Labs and Perma-Sharp.

When you're experimenting only change one thing at a time. EG Same prep, same razor, same lather, different blade, next day different lather etc. That helped me to narrow down what my problem, other than technique, was.

All the best

Neil
 
So I'm now nearly two weeks since my first DE shave, and I think I have now had 10 of them, there or thereabouts.

My technique has changed quite a bit since watching Mantic's youtube videos. In one of them he talks about doing two downwards and two upwards passes with DE shaving, rather than WTG, XTG, ATG. I've been doing that and it's working fine.

In addition I've been applying a lot less pressure. I still have some way to go on this as the temptation to go for another stroke on the same area but a little harder is still there. Getting a really good brush (New Forest one) has been a major improvement too. My lathering is much better which I am sure is helping.

I am so glad I decided to give DE shaving a go. I had originally tried straight razor shaving 4 years ago, but I could never master the strop and the hone and my razors always got dull. I thought I was stuck in the world of Mach 3 but now I am free!

:)
 
I used to get the same rash if I tried to shave against the hair growth, also going back and forth between wet shaving and electric.

So my advice is to take it slowly, and maybe start with just shaving with the direction of growth and build up in steps to against the growth, when your face has gotten used to one thing at a time.
 
Hopefully you are getting there. Just a point that I found, I bought a Murker 38(c) purely from advice given by the man in the shop I visited in Dundee.

Most of my work colleagues bought Edwin Jagger 89's from Amazon.

I had to swap blades 7 or 8 times until I found the best blades for me, but have settled on Personna (TescoAsda) Personna Lab blue or Feathers.

Having found a consistent, comfortable shave routine, I started to experiment. I bought the Edwin in short handle form as I wanted a quality travel razor.

I found the Edwin to be too mild, too light and unable to give me a close shave using my usual technique.

I am in the minority by a long way, but I traded my Edwin as it's performance IN MY HANDS caused me to apply pressure in order to try and get a DFS shave.

As everyone has correctly mentioned, swapping soaps, balms, blades may help. This is equally the case for razor.

Obviously try everything else first as razors are generally the most expensive item but if you have a close by TSR member who could loan you a different razor, or for £20, buy a Murker or some other such alternative then it could be worth a try.

Try something with a longer handle and decent heft. It may just be the answer. I think that I may well have been in exactly your position if I had bought a Edwin or Muhle to start with.

You MAY be one of the minority who's face/ technique does not favour the DE89 geometry......

6 of my work colleagues have started DE shaving in the last 6 months. 2 of us use and like Merkur. 4 use and like Edwin.

I am the only one to try both and find that I only suit one.......

Just my thoughts, stopping rash/burn has to be better than treating it. Remember after shave routine is just as important as pre shave.

Think of after shave routine as the first part of your next shaves prep.......l

All the best and DON'T GIVE UP.
 
Really helpful guys!

In all of the other forums and threads, not one experienced shaver (not that I found one) ever mentioned the pressure applied with the razor.

It's amazing how much I am learning about traditional shaving and how easy the bug bit me!
 
Like everyone said before, less pressure, and make sure your shaving prep is good!
And then directly after shaving I apply Gladskin, the redness disappeares quikly, and makes my skin feel soft.
 
Looking at this guy I feel I must be doing something right as I am able to do a 3 pass shave after a month and have never experienced anything that looks like OP's results. I watched Mantic's vids and just let the EJ89 glide over my skin and think of the face as a diamond and try not to rush.
 
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