King of Pain?

M

Mr Foo

Messages
83
I have to tell you that after my second shave with the Muhle R89, I seriously thought of giving up ............

Hardware: Muhle R89 - Personna (Red) Blades - Proraso Soap (white) Nivea ASB (gallons of it) :lol:
Software: Proraso Soap (white) Nivea ASB

If you recall I promised to just go for a single pass?, well I didn't, I just kept going until it was too late, no cuts or nicks, just a very nasty rash.
Savlon cured the rash but my face was sore for a couple of days, my own stupid fault.

So onto shave number 3 .........

Hardware: Muhle R89 - Personna (Red) Blades
Software: TFT Soft Cream (white) Nivea ASB

Took lots of time lathering up well as per Mantic's instructions, but I could still feel the razor starting to drag in certain places, the alarm bells started to ring,
so I stopped and tried to work out why I was having these 'lack of glide' problems, the answer?

Gel

Plain and simple:

Drag = friction - friction = heat

And so I reached for a tube of King of Shaves Gel, the difference was unbelievable, no drag, no irritation, no problems.

I went for the full 3 pass routine with no problems at all, I put Nivea ASB on afterwards, but to be honest I didn't really need to.

So my question to you all is, do I just continue down the Gel route and give up on soap / cream or do I use the Gel as a base and apply soap / cream on top?
 
I wonder if the drag you are feeling is because your face is not wet enough,meaning your stubble is still hard. How long do you spend wetting the face before applying lather, and how long do you let the lather sit on your face before starting shaving?


Ainslie
 
I think it's more likely that your lather isn't up to scratch yet. I think you should work on that a bit more before giving up completely on soaps and creams. A good tip is if you rub the lather between your thumb and finger and don't feel any friction you are on to a winner.
 
Gingerpose:

Usually shower before applying hot water to face for a couple of minutes, then with lather on my face for a couple of minutes (not long enough perhaps?)

Yellow Jim:

Thanks for that tip, I will try that
 
You've not got your lather sorted yet, it takes a little while. Sounds like it's not hydrated enough.

If it's the same blade since shave 1 that might not help, I change a blade every 3 shaves (3 x 2 passes = 6 passes) so that I don't risk dragging.

Soap and brush are probably the most beneficial part of a traditional shave, if you bin that part you may as well bin the razor as well and pick up a Proglide or something else with 16 blades. Persevere sir!
 
Canuck:

I take your point, will take more time with the make up of the lather.

The blade (Personna) was the same blade from shave 2 - used a Derby for shave 1.

I have no intention of giving up on soap / cream (if only so I can try the Professor's Strawberry concoction :cool:
but I still wouldn't dismiss the 'glide' effect the Gel gave me, even if it is used as a 'base' for soap / cream.

Thank you all for the advice and encouragment.
 
I'm a gr8 believer in "What works, works" Foo. So, in your position I'd have no probs in continuing with the gel meantime whilst working on lathering & shaving technique. When you move onto the Prof's soap you may also want to consider, finance permitting, his pre shave oil. I wont even go on to mention the after shave balsaam ............ that would just make me an enabler, wouldn't it !

JohnnyO. \ :shave
 
Dear Mr Foo (that your first or last name may I ask?),

Well, you stumbled on a very good way to test the lather. For any doubts how effective the concoction is, use your old cartridge system for a few strokes and see how that feels. If it's not at least as smooth as it should be, you know it's gonna be worse when the DE is waltzing over your face.

Right now, one of the more important things is to develop the technique for using the razor, and poor lather will give you incorrect feedback. If the gel works ok, then maybe stay with that till your technique comes around. From there you can play around more with the lather/brush combo. In the meantime, your shaves may be more comfortable and nick free, which will give you more confidence that you're doing (some)things right.

Be patient and things will come together,

Martin
 
Canuck said:
Soap and brush are probably the most beneficial part of a traditional shave, if you bin that part you may as well bin the razor as well and pick up a Proglide or something else with 16 blades. Persevere sir!
Click to expand...

Hi there,

Just to show you another perspective on things, I'm of the opinion the brush/soap combo is the least important part of anything needed to learn DE shaving. Personally, I'm able to get surprisingly good shaves without using a brush, just as long as my prep and technique are right on the money. Of course it's important to be using a decent canned cream or gel for things to go smoothly.

Martin
 
dodgy said:
Canuck said:
Soap and brush are probably the most beneficial part of a traditional shave, if you bin that part you may as well bin the razor as well and pick up a Proglide or something else with 16 blades. Persevere sir!
Click to expand...

Hi there,

Just to show you another perspective on things, I'm of the opinion the brush/soap combo is the least important part of anything needed to learn DE shaving. Personally, I'm able to get surprisingly good shaves without using a brush, just as long as my prep and technique are right on the money. Of course it's important to be using a decent canned cream or gel for things to go smoothly.

Martin
Click to expand...

"Canned Cream Or Gel"....This is heresy surely....lol :D :D :D
 
whiterosegent said:
[

"Canned Cream Or Gel"....This is heresy surely....lol :D :D :D
Click to expand...

Hi there,

I know it sounds kinda odd, but I'm here to tell you that some canned stuff works ok. No, it may not perform quite like a good soap or cream, but it can be pretty close.

Years ago I tried an vintage (1950s) can of Old Spice as a sorta dare, fully expecting the performance to be awful. Turned out not to be the case, and no one was more surprised than me at the results. Slick was good, and so was the cushion (used just a thin layer). Even the post shave skin care was better than I expected. I'll still get that stuff outta the arsenal from time to time.

I've read that Barbasol is supposed to be one of the better canned products, although I've never tried it.

Pretty crazy eh?

Martin
 

Attachments

  • old spice set.jpg
    old spice set.jpg
    37.1 KB · Views: 64
When I first started using 'proper' shaving soap my lathers weren't up to scratch. It turned out that I was taking the advice just to add a little bit of water too literally and not adding enough water. Once I figured that out the lather I get now is much better than the King of Shaves gel that I used to use.
 
Hmm. If I've got this right, you've just started with the DE, after a month or so with cartridges or disposables, preceded by an electric shave routine: correct?

That being the case I think it's only fair that you have a modicum of teething trouble, maybe even the odd nick or two whilst you and your face get accustomed to the new regimen. So the main thrust of my advice is to go easy on yourself for the time being: try to use as little pressure as possible, shave approximately with the grain and don't go chasing the BBS or whatever the acronymophiles call it. That's the important bit.

Gel: I'm inclined to go along with JohnnyO, who as Father of the Forum has more experience than anyone else. If it works, fine. There is a caveat though, which is that whilst gel is slippery stuff, it provides little or no cushioning which is a major part of the protective action with a soap or cream lather. Put it this way, there is no way I'd ever consider taking a cut throat to my face using gel, and I'd rather not try it with a DE either. I'd advise you to persevere with lather making because there's room for a lot of improvement.
 
If I can venture some half-assed advice as a fellow new boy whose lather wasn't up to scratch:

First, watch this, forensically: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXVxXvv_8yk">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXVxXvv_8yk</a><!-- m -->

Then put aside an hour and whip up a few cups of lather, taking each one a few drops at a time to and then past the point you want. That gives you an idea of what it actually looks and feels like right!

I agree with dilbertz in that I was stopping too soon - when the air bubbles disappeared but before the lather blossomed and thickened and slicked up fully, which is another few drops and whip-up onwards.
 
Then put aside an hour and whip up a few cups of lather
Click to expand...

Yep, practice makes perfect lather.
I think it's not hydrated enough by the sounds of it, my earlier efforts (for quite a while) were a bit dry. Like whipped egg whites, stiff, whereas it needs to be more like whipped cream, i.e. forming peaks but soft and with a bit of a wet gloss to it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom