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