nosedog
Member
I've been trying out my straight razor since Saturday. Good start, but gave myself a nice cut (yesterday) and a bit of burn (day before). Then my slim arrived today. What was I to do? Just got back from Cold Chisel (yay!) and needed a shower and shave.
The sensible thng would have been to use tried and tested gentle tools: R89, any decent blade, Speick stick, one pass WTG. But no, I used the slim, a bloody Derby, MWF, and four passes WTG, WTG, XTG, XTG/ATG. A slightly uneasy feeling emerged after the third pass, but I kept going.
The alum burn after the fourth pass was incredible. I didn't believe such burn would be possible. Witch hazel was OK, then the Speick ASB, normally so soothing and nourishing, was painful to apply as well. Two thirds of my shaving area is reddish, and there may even be signs of a rash. (Oddly, the neck area under the chin is the exception, probably because I don't dare go ATG there.) I seriously now have to apply discipline and not shave again until the weekend.
So what is the culprit?
* Was it shaving too much with a recent experience of (mild) razor burn?
* Was it the razor?
* Was it the blade?
* Was it the soap?
I don't think the razor is to blame. The slim was dialled to 5 for the first pass and 3 for the rest. Besides, it's just a bloody razor. There's a remote possibility it's unhygenic, being second-hand, but I think the seller does a bit of selling so he probably disinfected it. (I know, I should do it myself, but I'm too damn lazy.)
The blade? Derby's not too flash, but I think of it as too smooth (not sharp enough), which isn't the kind of thing that punishes you like this. Could be a one-off bad blade, but nothing felt wrong with it for the first 2-3 passes. It shaved effectively.
Soap? I'm afraid there could be an issue here. I've only used my MWF a handful of times, and I love it, but I've heard some people react badly to the lanolin. I've experienced a mild itch once before when using it, and tonight I felt a considerable itch. I'd hate to find out it's not suited to me; I'd much rather my technique be to blame. I just don't know enough about this supposed bad reaction some people have. Is it constant or variable? Because if it applies to me, it's very variable: no problem most times, mild problem once and major problem once.
I didn't shave with undue pressure. Maybe a tiny bit, enough to cause some alum sting that goes away in ten seconds.
Soap aside (hopefully), I guess that leaves the first option, I've shaved four days in a row (nothing unusual about that). Two days ago I experienced significant irritation or mild razor burn that went away overnight. This was caused by inexperience in using and stropping a straight razor. The face felt good enough for a shave last night (mixture straight/DE), when no real irritation was felt. I probably would have gotten away with a simple shave tonight, but pushed it too far. But even if this is the cause, the punishment far exceeds the crime. This is at least 2-3 times worse than any razor burn I've experienced before, including after using blunt cartridges becuase I was going to a wedding and had run out of fresh ones and so had to make do with the ones I was about to throw away.
Any ideas?
The sensible thng would have been to use tried and tested gentle tools: R89, any decent blade, Speick stick, one pass WTG. But no, I used the slim, a bloody Derby, MWF, and four passes WTG, WTG, XTG, XTG/ATG. A slightly uneasy feeling emerged after the third pass, but I kept going.
The alum burn after the fourth pass was incredible. I didn't believe such burn would be possible. Witch hazel was OK, then the Speick ASB, normally so soothing and nourishing, was painful to apply as well. Two thirds of my shaving area is reddish, and there may even be signs of a rash. (Oddly, the neck area under the chin is the exception, probably because I don't dare go ATG there.) I seriously now have to apply discipline and not shave again until the weekend.
So what is the culprit?
* Was it shaving too much with a recent experience of (mild) razor burn?
* Was it the razor?
* Was it the blade?
* Was it the soap?
I don't think the razor is to blame. The slim was dialled to 5 for the first pass and 3 for the rest. Besides, it's just a bloody razor. There's a remote possibility it's unhygenic, being second-hand, but I think the seller does a bit of selling so he probably disinfected it. (I know, I should do it myself, but I'm too damn lazy.)
The blade? Derby's not too flash, but I think of it as too smooth (not sharp enough), which isn't the kind of thing that punishes you like this. Could be a one-off bad blade, but nothing felt wrong with it for the first 2-3 passes. It shaved effectively.
Soap? I'm afraid there could be an issue here. I've only used my MWF a handful of times, and I love it, but I've heard some people react badly to the lanolin. I've experienced a mild itch once before when using it, and tonight I felt a considerable itch. I'd hate to find out it's not suited to me; I'd much rather my technique be to blame. I just don't know enough about this supposed bad reaction some people have. Is it constant or variable? Because if it applies to me, it's very variable: no problem most times, mild problem once and major problem once.
I didn't shave with undue pressure. Maybe a tiny bit, enough to cause some alum sting that goes away in ten seconds.
Soap aside (hopefully), I guess that leaves the first option, I've shaved four days in a row (nothing unusual about that). Two days ago I experienced significant irritation or mild razor burn that went away overnight. This was caused by inexperience in using and stropping a straight razor. The face felt good enough for a shave last night (mixture straight/DE), when no real irritation was felt. I probably would have gotten away with a simple shave tonight, but pushed it too far. But even if this is the cause, the punishment far exceeds the crime. This is at least 2-3 times worse than any razor burn I've experienced before, including after using blunt cartridges becuase I was going to a wedding and had run out of fresh ones and so had to make do with the ones I was about to throw away.
Any ideas?
Can't say I agree with not taking any preventative measures with the razor. Hepatitis is no joke even if the risk is very low.
