DE Suggestions Please

D

digitalvibe

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7
Quick background - have shaved with cartridge razors most of my life but not so much out of choice. In my youth I tried to use a DE but it always cut me to ribbons. After letting some years pass I picked up a DE again and sadly, same result. I'm not giving up however and have been reading and watching tons of tutorials so am preparing to give it all another try. Most recently, my setup was simply this - Silvertip Badger hair brush, Merkur 34c, Merkur blades & various shaving soaps. Two things have happened when using this combination. First, any soap I use results in my skin breaking out in a mild rash. Something about either the soap or the brush doesn't work for me. Second, lots of cuts.

So, I've still got the Merkur 34c, have some Derby Extras I want to try & have picked up some Proraso (Sensitive) Shaving Cream. I'm now thinking about picking up a synthetic brush just to see if that might also address some of the issues but am wondering if anyone here can suggest another DE besides the Merkur that might be a good starter for someone who is clearly "challenged" when it comes to using a DE.

Appreciate your thoughts. Thanks
 
Fatip Testina Gentile?

Try a different blades. Take some sample pack and try it.

And allways - no preasure, no preasure, no preasure...

[emoji6]

Poslano sa mog EVA-L19 koristeći Tapatalk
 
I think this maybe down to technique. Are you getting a good lather with the soap? Have you considered a cream?
When you shave do you follow the direction of the hair, (allow a few days growth so you can see the direction the hair grows in). Apply no pressure and let the razor do the work. Only shave about an inch each side then rinse the blade. Most importantly take your time, you cannot rush with a DE.
 
The 34c is a great razor, I would try various other blades - Gillette Rubie, Nacet, Green 7 o'clock, Voskhod, Astra are among my favourites. Merkur blades are rubbish, the worst I've used and Derby are not my top blades either.
I suspect some skin irritation with the soap you were using or poor technique - possibly a bit of both, you should alright with Proraso cream. If you PM me your postal details, I can send you a few blades to try
 
The trusty EJ or Muhle R89 are what I'd describe as 'kind' razors on the skin, whilst also being very effective. After a lot of skin problems things took a distinct turn for the better for me when I discovered glycerine shaving soaps ( though not Colonel Conk ). Maybe also consider an unscented soap at some point ? Just always chant to yourself, " I'm shaving the lather, not my skin, No Pressure ! ".
Hope things get better for you Vibester.

JohnnyO. o/
 
pj3r said:
Fatip Testina Gentile?

Try a different blades. Take some sample pack and try it.

And allways - no preasure, no preasure, no preasure...

[emoji6]

Poslano sa mog EVA-L19 koristeći Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion and yes, I'll remember to let the weight of the razor do the work ;)
 
JohnnyO said:
The trusty EJ or Muhle R89 are what I'd describe as 'kind' razors on the skin, whilst also being very effective. After a lot of skin problems things took a distinct turn for the better for me when I discovered glycerine shaving soaps ( though not Colonel Conk ). Maybe also consider an unscented soap at some point ? Just always chant to yourself, " I'm shaving the lather, not my skin, No Pressure ! ".
Hope things get better for you Vibester.

JohnnyO. o/
Click to expand...
Thanks. Was just looking at a EJ Long as I thought it might be interesting to see how a longer handle felt in the hand.
 
Driftwood said:
The 34c is a great razor, I would try various other blades - Gillette Rubie, Nacet, Green 7 o'clock, Voskhod, Astra are among my favourites. Merkur blades are rubbish, the worst I've used and Derby are not my top blades either.
I suspect some skin irritation with the soap you were using or poor technique - possibly a bit of both, you should alright with Proraso cream. If you PM me your postal details, I can send you a few blades to try
Click to expand...
That's incredibly kind of you to offer. Got a couple others coming so hopefully will find the brand that works best for me. I had chosen Derby initially because I'd read in several places that they're a good comfortable blade but suppose it's much down to the individual's skin/facial contours?
 
I would try some different blades and also stick with one soap, suggest palmolive stick as its cheap & works well.
The razor you have is fine, I would try to minimise the variables.
The 34c will work for anyone once a decent technique is established.
I would look at prep and then make sure you have a decent lather.
I wouldn't spend any more money, perhaps you can detail your typical routine, actually the razor doesn't have a huge influence.

Re-read & you have proraso sensitive, it's as good as any, stick with that for now.
 
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digitalvibe said:
Quick background - have shaved with cartridge razors most of my life but not so much out of choice. In my youth I tried to use a DE but it always cut me to ribbons. After letting some years pass I picked up a DE again and sadly, same result. I'm not giving up however and have been reading and watching tons of tutorials so am preparing to give it all another try. Most recently, my setup was simply this - Silvertip Badger hair brush, Merkur 34c, Merkur blades & various shaving soaps. Two things have happened when using this combination. First, any soap I use results in my skin breaking out in a mild rash. Something about either the soap or the brush doesn't work for me. Second, lots of cuts.

So, I've still got the Merkur 34c, have some Derby Extras I want to try & have picked up some Proraso (Sensitive) Shaving Cream. I'm now thinking about picking up a synthetic brush just to see if that might also address some of the issues but am wondering if anyone here can suggest another DE besides the Merkur that might be a good starter for someone who is clearly "challenged" when it comes to using a DE.

Appreciate your thoughts. Thanks
Click to expand...

Not much to add to the advice from the other replies on this thread but one thing I found that helped me when I started DE shaving was not to try for the full 3 pass WTG, XTG and ATG that I do now, but just to go with a single WTG pass at first and then build up e.g shave just with WTG, then maybe after you find your skin still feels comfortable post shave then try 2 x WTG or a WTG + XTG and build up from there if you see what I mean.

(Just think if we all started shaving with DE or a straight as an adolescent we probably would not have had much to shave at first so a simple WTG would I imagine have been all that most of us needed, so by the time we all had a proper beard growth to deal with we would be used to a DE or straight with multiple passes in whatever direction our elders taught us to do - well that's my theory from someone who started shaving with an electric shaver in my teens)

Using an after shave balm and/or aloe vera can also help your skin calm down and recover. Some of the easily available and cheap products such as Nivea, Dove and Bulldog etc. are worth a try.

Suggestion for a synthetic brush, grab one from the Body Shop, you may even be able to pick one up cheap in their regular sales, they are only about £7 normally and make great travel brushes especially when you can often pick them up at half price. If you lose it when travelling you won't be worrying at that price, and they are actually quite good brushes.
 
Bizzyberry said:
Not much to add to the advice from the other replies on this thread but one thing I found that helped me when I started DE shaving was not to try for the full 3 pass WTG, XTG and ATG that I do now, but just to go with a single WTG pass at first and then build up e.g shave just with WTG, then maybe after you find your skin still feels comfortable post shave then try 2 x WTG or a WTG + XTG and build up from there if you see what I mean.

(Just think if we all started shaving with DE or a straight as an adolescent we probably would not have had much to shave at first so a simple WTG would I imagine have been all that most of us needed, so by the time we all had a proper beard growth to deal with we would be used to a DE or straight with multiple passes in whatever direction our elders taught us to do - well that's my theory from someone who started shaving with an electric shaver in my teens)

Using an after shave balm and/or aloe vera can also help your skin calm down and recover. Some of the easily available and cheap products such as Nivea, Dove and Bulldog etc. are worth a try.

Suggestion for a synthetic brush, grab one from the Body Shop, you may even be able to pick one up cheap in their regular sales, they are only about £7 normally and make great travel brushes especially when you can often pick them up at half price. If you lose it when travelling you won't be worrying at that price, and they are actually quite good brushes.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insights - all make sense. I've since picked up a Kent Infinity Silvertex synthetic brush as it was cheap on Amazon and also have some Proraso Aloe and Vitamin E After Shave Balm coming so for now, think I've got what I need to take another crack at all this. Appreciate all the suggestions. Will probably come back for more at some point :)
 
Bizzyberry has it right about not trying a 3 pass shave yet (but do you really need to anyway?).
I've wet shaved for 50 years and never bothered.
One pass and I'm done. Good enough for me. Good enough for when I was in the NZ Army too.
I'm not into marathon shaving events. I'm clean, I'm tidy, I'm out the door...got a job to go to!
One thing though that can cause your rash is going over the same place time and again as you shave.
A 'not so good' blade can cause you to keep going over the same spot to get that nice close shave, and then you get a rash.
Guilty myself when I started. Just make sure you aren't hacking away at the same area 3 or 4 times as you shave.
Yes to the Proraso too. I use all their shave creams (red, green, white).
Hey, be bold. Try a Feather. Go on, you know you want to!
 
Hopefully things will improve. Patience is the key. It took me several months of daily shaving before my skin acclimatised to DE shaving; after that my skin just felt better and better :)
Stick with the same razor, ditch the Murker and Derby blades. Try using your synthetic brush (you might be reacting to natural bristles) and stick with an easy and safe cream, like Palmolive. Don't be mean with the cream. Use more than you think at first, it's cheap and you can always reduce when you're more familiar.
Use no pressure.
Happy shaving 2017
 
A little update on how I got on with things. For my first shave I used the following:

Merkur 34c
Derby Extra Blade
Vulfix Super Badger Brush
Proraso Sensitive Cream
Proraso Aloe & Vitam E Balm

I had two days of growth.

First thing I know I need to improve is my technique for lathering. I suspect more water is needed. While I was able to work up a lather it wasn't as much as I'd have expected and by the time I was half way through my first pass, the other side of my face was “flaking”. So, I'll do better on that next time.

I was pleasantly surprised at the results of the first pass. No nicks and was looking ok though there was still quite a bit of hair left and while I was advised here to leave it at one pass for my first attempt, I'd have looked absurd with the results.

So, re-lathered and for the second pass went across (ear-to-nose direction). The second pass helped with how things looked but I did end up with quite a few nicks on my neck. Nothing horrific but not nice.

Rather than push my luck with a third pass, I left things as they were. In terms of appearance, not bad at all but hardly BBS. I must confess I get a much closer shave with a cartridge but I know this is only because I'm just learning how to shave properly with a DE after all these years.

In summary - need to work on lathering, need to improve my “cross pass” technique or perhaps even do a second pass but with the grain rather than across. I'm encouraged by the experience as it wasn't nearly as bad as when I tried many years ago. More practice on the horizon and hopefully I'll finally “get it”.
 
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