One year into DE shaving - help!

If there was a time when you didn't get such a reaction would it not be worthy reverting to whatever you did back then? Have you tried electric shaving? Some of the wet and dry shavers are very good to be honest.

I've actually never tried an electric shaver. They seem to get a bad rep for leaving the skin red and dry. I've learned quite a bit since starting DE shaving, and the key for MY skin seems to be not overdoing it in terms of passes and touch up. I'm mixing it up a little with carts & DE right now and am quite happy. I'd rather get a DFS and feel ok than push for a BBS and feel sore and irritated all day
 
I've actually never tried an electric shaver. They seem to get a bad rep for leaving the skin red and dry. I've learned quite a bit since starting DE shaving, and the key for MY skin seems to be not overdoing it in terms of passes and touch up. I'm mixing it up a little with carts & DE right now and am quite happy. I'd rather get a DFS and feel ok than push for a BBS and feel sore and irritated all day
Given what you have said and the pictures I would advise you to give electric a chance. I have a thick/coarse beard and used electric for years without any issues. Recently I have been getting slight beard alopecia which is I suspect due to stress. However, I thought would use this as an opportunity to try DE shaving, both for something new and to see if it makes any difference.
 
Just on the offchance, I have come across confusion WRT blade angle, as, of course the blade lies at 90 degrees to the axis of the razor handle. Many people (including some online shaving 'experts') use a very steep blade angle, by which I mean that the razor handle is around 30 degrees to their face (fairly close to parallel, like the photo below):
safety-shave.png


This means that the blade itself is making contact at something around 70 degrees to the skin, and is therefore scraping rather than slicing cleanly. Though this would usually manifest in razor burn, it can force hairs under the surface, causing ingrowns and infected follicles similar to your photos. When trying a new razor, I always work from the handle at 90 degrees to my face and angle the handle down until I feel the blade making contact, resulting in the razor being much closer to this:
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Used this way, the blade slices the hairs cleanly at the surface as opposed to pulling them, thereby reducing ingrowns. Not saying you haven't worked this out for yourself already, but the "30 degrees" advice can be confusing as it isn't always mentioned that this is the angle at which the blade touches the skin rather than the angle at which the razor handle is held to the skin.
Interesting post, I have never seen anyone shave like this tbh in all the various videos I have seen on YouTube. Nonetheless I will give it a try and see how I get on with it.
 
Interesting post, I have never seen anyone shave like this tbh in all the various videos I have seen on YouTube. Nonetheless I will give it a try and see how I get on with it.

Yes I think that was Chris's point , I am a new DE shaver myself but since changing angles to what was recommended in Chris's post I am getting much better and more comfortable results , if you look at how the Razor wants to sit it seems to make sense. As I say I am a beginner myself so maybe one of the more experienced people can comment , but it really was a very helpful post from Chris.
 
Have you ever tried mapping your beard? It's possible you're going against the grain without realising it. I occasionally have a similar reaction on my neck after shaving and I find that I have to leave my face alone for a week or so before it clears up and I can shave again. But I might try mapping my beard myself to see if it helps.
 
Have you ever tried mapping your beard? It's possible you're going against the grain without realising it. I occasionally have a similar reaction on my neck after shaving and I find that I have to leave my face alone for a week or so before it clears up and I can shave again. But I might try mapping my beard myself to see if it helps.

Thanks, but yes, beard mapping was one of the first things I did after joining this site. I've found learning in what direction the grain grows to help, whatever the format of the shave.

I have done a year plus of DE shaving, so have given it a fair crack. Quite honestly I still find it somewhat mind boggling, finding the right razor, blade, cream/soap, pre & post gear, number & types of passes etc, all to find what works and doesn't. I've read countless articles and tried shaving daily, every other day, every 3rd day, tried single pass, double pass, three pass, extra touch up, no touch up, shallow angle, steep angle, inbetween angle, you name it. I cant honestly say that my shaves have been mind blowing. I get irritation with DE no matter what I do, so for now figure I might as well go at it with a cartridge and canned gel daily as I did for many years anyway; simply shower and shave, get out the bathroom and not obsess over it all.

I'm quite happy after a week of cartridges and my face feels a lot better. If this continues then I'll consider throwing the towel in with DE. One thing I will try though is going back to applying cream with a brush and then using a cart, but I'm really not convinced that the arguments against ‘canned goo' are that valid. I used the same Nivea Sensitive cooling gel (white can) for years and my face always felt fine after using it. I can't scrub a brush around my face as it irritates me, I tend to paint it on anyway. Which makes me think, why not just massage in the canned gel using my hands as I did for years, and save the bother of messing about with a brush.

I don't really see that carts are as bad as people make out. Yes they can be expensive but so can forking out on a shelf full of nice razors, soaps etc. Each to his own, but I find it quite incredible that people will spend hundreds of pounds on a razor or even a brush. Perhaps I've found a good place, where I've taken the skills from DE shaving and applied them to cart shaving, as my skin feels better than it has for some time.

As laughable it seems considering I came here after using Fusion carts, and wanting advice, I bought some the other day (Proglides, half price 8 pack in Tesco) and they feel fine and give a close enough shave minus the irritation I've got from DE. All I can think is that previously when using them my technique wasn't great and/or perhaps I just overdid it with the battery powered handle and went over areas too much. Now I'm doing a pass or two daily with the manual handle with no touch up. Just gel up, shave and walk away with no messing about. I do have some Mach 3 and Wilkinson Sword Protector 3 carts as well so I can have some variety, but for now I'm quite happy not deliberating over blades, setup etc
 
Those of us with sensitive skin just need to do what works. If cartridges worked for me I'd be using them. Safety razors are just noticeably better for me as long as I'm only shaving once or twice a week. I'm also a sucker. I Iike nice things, and DE shaving turns a necessity into a hobby I could probably do without.

Best of luck!
 
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