Prone to cuts

[AiKz]

Hi all,

I have been DE shaving since the start of 2015 and would never go back to cartridge razors. Shaving went from a necessity to a hobby almost overnight!

I made the change because I have both sensitive skin and very coarse hair. Razor bumps and burn plagued my time using cartridge razors.

But even with all the improvements (ingrowing hairs & bumps are minimal now) I have still never mastered shaving under my bottom lip without several nicks appearing.

I can quite often get a WTG pass cleanly, but XTG or ATG will usually leave me looking Vampire-ish!

I am currently using:

Kent BK8 brush
EJ DE89L
TOBS Jermyn St Cream
Glyce pre shave soap
Astra Superior Platinum blades


Post shave
Osma Alum Bloc
Thayers Witch Hazel

I have only tried 3 DE blades (Feather, Derby, Astra) and I have stuck with Astra as it is the best of the 3. But I have ordered some different blades this week!

If anybody has experienced similar or has any suggestions it would be much appreciated!

Cheers

Daniel

 

[seveneighth]

Concentrate on keeping the angle and lightness of pressure with your hand and move your head to make the stroke.

 

[AiKz]

Concentrate on keeping the angle and lightness of pressure with your hand and move your head to make the stroke.

Thanks! I will try this out and see how I get on

 

[buddha]

I found Astras to be unusable in my DE89, very tuggy and wouldn't cut for me.

 

[AiKz]

I found Astras to be unusable in my DE89, very tuggy and wouldn't cut for me.

I can only compare them with the Feather and Derby blades that I've used previously. I think I may have 'settled' too soon initially.

What do you have best success with in your DE89?

 

[seveneighth]

I found Astras to be unusable in my DE89, very tuggy and wouldn't cut for me.

Good point - and reminds of another factor. If you haven't reduced enough hair with your WTG pass your XTG/ATG might be tugging resulting in a cut. Try adding a second WTG pass before XTG and see if that helps.

If so, increase your prep. Things to try:

1) Wash well with a glycerine soap to remove the protein coating on the hairs in combination with the following:
2) Hot flannel or towel
3) Soak with Proraso preshave and lift with a hot towel/ flannel
Or
Use lather as a presoak - lather, leave to soak, lift with hot towel, flannel or hot shower

Then proceed as normal.

Aim is to soften enough to remove more hair in the WTG pass. Personally I don't find glycerine enough on its own but as an agent to break down the proteins very good.

 

[Benz3ne]

Poke your tongue under your bottom lip to protrude it. If you're anything like me, you'll have a slight divot under the centre of your lower lip which would be difficult to shave. Sticking your tongue under there gives a far flatter, more uniform surface.

 

[buddha]

I can only compare them with the Feather and Derby blades that I've used previously. I think I may have 'settled' too soon initially.

What do you have best success with in your DE89?

I'm only into my 2nd month of DE and haven't tried a lot of blades, but my favourite all-rounder are the Personna Lab Blues, though I also bought 100 Polsilvers but definitely get more nicks with them.

 

[AiKz]

Good point - and reminds of another factor. If you haven't reduced enough hair with your WTG pass your XTG/ATG might be tugging resulting in a cut. Try adding a second WTG pass before XTG and see if that helps.

If so, increase your prep. Things to try:

1) Wash well with a glycerine soap to remove the protein coating on the hairs in combination with the following:
2) Hot flannel or towel
3) Soak with Proraso preshave and lift with a hot towel/ flannel
Or
Use lather as a presoak - lather, leave to soak, lift with hot towel, flannel or hot shower

Then proceed as normal.

Aim is to soften enough to remove more hair in the WTG pass. Personally I don't find glycerine enough on its own but as an agent to break down the proteins very good.

Cheers mate! I try to shave after showering and use a glycerine soap pre shave anyhow. So I will do that and add the hot flannel step into the routine. See how that helps

 

[AiKz]

I'm only into my 2nd month of DE and haven't tried a lot of blades, but my favourite all-rounder are the Personna Lab Blues, though I also bought 100 Polsilvers but definitely get more nicks with them.

I bought some Polsilvers, Personna platinums, Voskhod & Rapira swedish supersteels a couple days back. Hopefully with these + the recommendations above, I'll notice a nice improvement.

Also - where did you get the Lab Blues from mate?

 

[Benz3ne]

Further to my above comment, have you tried stretching the skin as you shave? It's important with straight razors, imperative with shavettes and very worthwhile with DE's in my experience. Doesn't have to be much, just enough to reduce the skin bowing and flexing as you pass over it.

 

[buddha]

I bought some Polsilvers, Personna platinums, Voskhod & Rapira swedish supersteels a couple days back. Hopefully with these + the recommendations above, I'll notice a nice improvement.

Also - where did you get the Lab Blues from mate?

I couldn't really find them in the UK/EU at a reasonable price so ordered from Amazon US. They were £12ish delivered to my door for 100.

 

[SeanC]

Sound advice regarding blades and skin stretching. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that your hairs grow in a different direction there, so what you think is WTG may not really be. Face mapping with a bit of growth in place will answer definitively

 

[Benz3ne]

Sound advice regarding blades and skin stretching. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that your hairs grow in a different direction there, so what you think is WTG may not really be. Face mapping with a bit of growth in place will answer definitively

+1 for this sound piece of advice. Makes a world of difference to many.

 

[AiKz]

Thanks all!

I do stretch the skin and I have mapped out my hair growth. My neck hair seems like it almost grows in circles! haha

I have never tried two WTG passes before though. So that's definitely something I'll try! Would I then do XTG and ATG as normal? Or would 4 passes likely turn my face to a raspberry?

 

[seveneighth]

Thanks all!

I do stretch the skin and I have mapped out my hair growth. My neck hair seems like it almost grows in circles! haha

I have never tried two WTG passes before though. So that's definitely something I'll try! Would I then do XTG and ATG as normal? Or would 4 passes likely turn my face to a raspberry?

Just as an experiment to understand if it's hair length that is tripping you up.

I find good prep cuts down passes by 1 pass.

Your alternative is to try a more aggressive razor - e.g. a Fatip Piccolo, if only for the WTG pass.

If it isn't hair length it is probably angle. My rule of thumb is - solid bar : ride the cap, open comb : ride the guard. This probably isn't a universal rule though.

As ever - different things work for different people.

I guess the only constancies are:

Prep
Angle
Lightness of touch

What eventually works for you might be different for what works for me.