Ffff Gillette!

pjgh

pjgh

Messages
16,071
Location
Halifax, Republic of Yorkshire
Hi, guys!

I'm 40. I suffer from awful ingrowing hairs after every shave. I've been shaving with Gillette cassettes in one form or another for about 20 years. I swear it was nowhere near as bad with Bic Face Shredders I used back in the early '90s.

I've had enough ...

Every 6 weeks I have a serious flare up that takes days to get through.

I'm fed up ...

For good or for bad, I've ordered the following:

Merkur 23C
Merkur blades
Bluebeard's Revenge Cream
Bluebeard's Revenge Balm

... I have a pre-shave oil. Nivea, I think. I tend to use it post-shaving for relief.

Right, I've got the technique:

Shower ... hot water.
Oil
Cream and lather. I need to buy a good brush. Presently, a Wilko Sword.
Shave ... with the grain.
Wash ... cold water.
Balm.

Prior to this, I've finished with scolding water, then E45.

I'm pig sick of crap shaves ...

I hope my new routine is good ... it's gotta be better than before. I can perfect from here in and hope to read (and experience) more around blades, hone technique and perhaps understand better products.

Meanwhile, wish me well ...

I hate shaving, but I hate having a beard. Something has to give.

My obsessional hobby (other than, potentially, shaving) is fencing. You don't want a beard in a hot mask full of sweat!

Back in the day, Wilkinson Sword sponsored British Fencing ...

Just a link. Anyway, again, wisth me well ... I'm about at the end of a very painful face full of ingrowing hairs and all those goes with it. I'm going to grow a couple of mil and get a proper shave with a real razor.

Here goes ...
 
RE: Ffff Gilette!

Welcome to the forum. First of all, ditch those Merkur blades and get some Astras or Gillette 7O'Clocks. Second of all - no need for "scolding water", moderately warm will more than do.
Can't figure out how you lather your cream though - have you got a brush?
Otherwise you look pretty much sorted, from here on it's about practice.
 
RE: Ffff Gilette!

Thanks, pal.

Yeah , I've got a brush ... it's a Wilkinson Sword brush so can't vouch for quality. I'll grab a proper brush soon enough. Badger hair, right?

Okay, so change the blades. I didn't know better, so grabbed a set of blades the same as the razor. Germans don't mess about in my experience, so I went with them ... I gather blades are "a really personal thing" so would I be right in bagging a mixed set of blades, say, of eBay? 10-15 different blades from various places around the world? I've seen 7'oc's but shied away from Gilette given their present popular place in the market - Mach3 Pain & Misery Givers.

At the top, I said I have nasty ingrowing hairs. My skin may take some time to grow back through normally and naturally.

I hope my gear will be along soon enough ...

First shave will be careful, slow, steady and well prepared. I have read the 23C is forgiving ...
 
RE: Ffff Gilette!

Well, there, you know it all already :)

P.S. some vendors do "Selection packs" - Shaving Shack, Connaughts Shaving (?). You get a batch of mixed blade makes. Brush - yes, badger, although I would recommend a synthetic - much, much better value.
 
RE: Ffff Gilette!

Hello and welcome to TSR you've come to the right place :icon_razz:
A blade selection pack is available from one of our members here:
http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/forum/thread-18875.html
Take your time, watch the videos. Your first few shaves will probably be a bit under par but you will improve on them.
You thought you'd save money but in reality it will work out the opposite. So many shaving items you didn't know you needed until you saw them :blush:
 
RE: Ffff Gilette!

Re Merkur platinum blades: the first one i tried cut my face to bits and i was stupid enough to try 2 shaves with it. I swore I'd not use them again, I was visiting my brother who uses them so i popped a new merkur into his razor and it was fantastic. Came back home, new merkur blade and again fantastic... changed it yesterday and my 4th merkur was very average.
So far, 4 blades... 2 excellent, 1 average and one awful.
That said, I'm a noobie and quite liked the Derbys!
 
RE: Ffff Gilette!

Again, thank you guys for the welcome and the insight into what is, initially, a bewildering array of razors, products and technique. I've bagged a selection pack of blades, too, including 7 O'Clock.

Hando - Thank you for the link. I will certainly take my first shave very carefully and keep the angle just right. Lots of lather.

I tend to shave maybe once a week or up to 10 days since I hate doing it, but the longer I leave it, the worse the results because I have to really scrape to get the length down ... and so the vicious cycle begins. That's with a Gilette Mach3. I'm hoping I will be enjoying a more frequent shave because of this. Reading up, I'll start out with a few days of growth and make a single pass with the grain ... and leave it at that. Small steps.

Great forum, guys. I'm reading through just about everything I can.
 
RE: Ffff Gilette!

You should be able to do a couple of WTG passes to start, just take your time and use no pressure. Don't fret over the results either as you're getting used to learning several new skills, just follow the mantic guides in shaving help and you wont go far wrong.
 
RE: Ffff Gilette!

What kind of preparation were you using before - just from a can? If so, changing to a brush and lather with proper preparation beforehand should improve matters in itself. Depending on your beard growth shaving off 10 days would be a challenge for any razor so I'm not surprised you had problems. If it gets to that stage again, use a trimmer or scissors beforehand.

A big difference from your cartridge razor is the initial angle - your cartridge probably has a swivel head so when you first approach you face, the handle is almost parallel whereas a fixed head will need a much greater angle. Some people recommend starting with the head at 90 degrees and then dropping it until you feel the bite.

Best of luck.
 
RE: Ffff Gilette!

Gilette Gel. Shower first, sometimes an application of NuAge oil, gel applied the face and massaged in, then on with the job. More gel and a second shave with a fresh blade ... which becomes the blade used for the first shave next time. However gentle I do it, I always seemed to get ingrowers.

If my gear doesn't arrive before I want/need to shave, I'll try all the new ideas and techniques I've read about here with the last fresh cartridge blade and less growth. Less growth always seemed to go wrong for me, hence leaving it ... and then ending up in a mess anyway.

Yeah, I get the idea that I should have the handle horizontally away from my face and lower until I feel the blade bite. Gently draw with the grain using my whole arm, not wrist.

Blimey! I'm amazed how much there is to talk about with shaving ...

... that said, one of my other hobbies is car detailing. We have the same bewildering array of polishes, glazes, sealants, waxes, pads, cloths, buffers and curious collections of all those, so I'm under no illusion that I won't end up with a similar assemblage of shaving paraphernalia. Tip of the hat to 782sirbrian for comment above.

I'm already eyeing up an open comb and a slant ... you know ... just to see :D
 
RE: Ffff Gilette!

pjgh said:
Hando - Thank you for the link. I will certainly take my first shave very carefully and keep the angle just right. Lots of lather.
Click to expand...

just a quick reply that time but my advice to anyone new is to start with the brush and soap\cream first
learn how to make quality lather consistantly first
get your prep right, it'll make all the difference
it's ok to stick with a decent disposable or multi blade for now
before i switched to DE i used a Gillette Sensor but always with a brush and soap

slowly slowly catchie monkey
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom