eh, i still shave twice to lessen the chances of cutting myself. i've read 3 times is actually ideal to get the absolute best shave--one with grain, one perpendicular to it (or with it for again for some people) and then against it (or perpendicular to, just depends on your preference/skin)

i've never really timed it since I usually just shave on friday nights or something before i go out.. i only have to shave like once a week at most so it's not really a concern for me

3/30/2009 3:23:22 PM

this is a guess, but i'd say 4-5 minutes if i ONLY go one way which, for me, means that the remaining stubble where my mustache and goatee would be is still pretty dark and noticeable...i'll usually do that area again against the grain to make it look better, but i'm more careful against the grain because that's when i cut myself the most

i budget 10 minutes to shave and clean up, but it usually takes less...shaving with a mach3 or something usually takes less than 5 (but then there's hell to pay with irritated skin)

^ yeah, the MOST often i shave is every other day, but i usually just do it twice a week

[Edited on March 30, 2009 at 3:27 PM. Reason : .]

3/30/2009 3:24:23 PM

yeah exactly. my current shaving routine is at the end of a shower, but i dont want to waste water. I'll probably shave at night just so i have plenty of time until i get used to it.

3/30/2009 3:40:52 PM

electrics work for cutting (some) hair and not making bumps. they will never get as close, but close is often the root of the problem. a good close shave cuts the hair below the surface of the skin, causing future in grown hairs and bumps. I've learned to live with the perma-5-o-clock shadow look

3/30/2009 7:05:39 PM

I've found that just the opposite is true for me. If I do anything other than a clean shave with a blade, I'm almost guaranteed to get a breakout. If I go completely clean shaven @ the right angle, it results in few to no breakouts.

3/30/2009 10:29:41 PM

Quote :

"I've learned to live with the perma-5-o-clock shadow look"

that's what i'm thinking i'm going to do. i have red hair so i don't think it'd be that bad, since it's kindof hard to see anyway.

3/30/2009 10:41:33 PM

shaved for the first time with a DE razor. WOW. It's amazing, no irritation, surprisingly no cuts! Hopefully this preceded by growing out the beard for a week and some bump patrol will finish off this PB once and for all.

4/3/2009 7:09:35 PM

what's a DE razor?

4/4/2009 8:50:47 PM

double edge


[Edited on April 4, 2009 at 8:51 PM. Reason : asfd]

4/4/2009 8:51:23 PM

oic, I might have to try that

4/4/2009 8:52:05 PM

yeahhh it's really awesome, you'll probably like it

4/4/2009 8:53:12 PM

After having read this thread and doing some more research, I'd like to offer up something different that might be affecting some of you. It's either this

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/medical/trichostasis_spinulosa.htm

or this

http://www.medicinenet.com/keratosis_pilaris/page3.htm


or something related. I landed on the trichostatsis_spinulosa thing from this link

http://www.topix.com/forum/med/dermatology/T2966QF431OFQNCQG

from like page 3 or so.

Basically, I get nasty bumps/ingrowns but my hair isn't really curly on my face. However, I did notice I am getting these ultra fine nearly colorless hairs that plucked out very easily (couldn't feel them come out) and I am also getting what I thought were really bizarre hairs that were split in 4 or more at the tip. It turns out this isn't a split hair but it's actually a clump of the ultra fine hairs that end up getting coated with keratin and becoming hardened and bigger than the opening for the pore, causing them to be trapped leading to bumps. Or is some cases the keratin itself is plugging the pore.

There is no known cause though it is speculated that excessively dry skin could be a culprit in causing the overdrive of keratin production. Here is the kicker, I've had 2 rounds of accutane in my life (at 13 and at 16/17, I'm 29) and I'd rate my skin as a long way from oily these days. For the past few years I've avoided putting any sort of lotion on my face because I'd always assumed it would cause pores to block leading to the bumps. I've been reading up on this more recently because I've had a couple of particularly disgusting looking bumps on my neck that have been hanging around for a couple months now, with one of them getting worse. After reading all this I decided to really heat my face up in the shower and then put some lotion on it after I got out, no shaving though. I woke up the next morning and those two bumps plus some other smaller ones I had coming up or hanging around improved more than I have ever seen them in such a short amount of time. I was blown away. I've kept lotion on them (and it isn't even good stuff meant for your face) for the past couple days and they are literally disappearing like I've never seen them do. To add more credence to the "dry face" idea, a couple years ago I tried an exfoliant acne face wash, again, thinking it was clogged pores causing the problem and noticed within a day or so the problem seems to be worse. I tried it again a couple weeks ago and had the same sort of reaction. So it really seems something as simple as lotion is doing a ton for clearing my face up.

I doubt that any of you have this, but maybe if you've had accutane treatments and have fairly dry skin, this could be something you're dealing with rather than PB. The sad thing is, I went to a dermatologist who didn't even check my face to see if I really had curly hairs getting stuck or maybe something else.

[Edited on April 19, 2009 at 10:10 AM. Reason : .]

4/19/2009 10:07:07 AM

So for those of you that have been doing this, what is a "Barber's Comb" head? I've searched Google but I just keep getting links to buy razors with it rather than an actual explanation as to what it's for. I see it looks different but don't know what the purpose is.

As for brushes, what have you found the REAL differences to be? I checked while I was at Wal-mart tonight and they have a kit that has the brush & soap for like $8. Online I see them going for up to $200. Real life examples of the differences between synthetic, boar, & badger? Any reason I shouldn't start with the cheapy brush from Wal-mart to see if this helps me?

I've got an extremely thick beard (some hairs are actually 1/32" thick!) and I've been thinking about trying these for a while now. Electrics are pointless as they never get close enough. Mach 3 & Gillette Quatro are decent but I end up with a lot of ingrown hairs and I'm tired of spending $15+ a month on blades that don't give me that close of a shave.

4/23/2009 10:44:40 PM

dave the best place I can tell you to go is http://www.badgerandblade.com

I've been spending a lot of time there myself lately as i've been shaving with a DE razor for just under a month now. So far it's been great.

The great thing about that forum, which after spending years on here is mindblowing, is how friendly they are to new users and answering basic questions.

From what i've found thus far, there really isn't a real need to spend a ton of money on a brush and accessories to get the benefit of the shave. Most of the guys on that site use shaving as a serious hobby so they have all the gadgets and toys. I bought a razor (originally the parker, but it sucks so i got a Merkur) and some blades. already had a brush and bowl. One thing i found easier was using a cream (not a canned cream) but in a tube. I got this stuff called CO Bigelow at Bath & Body works for 10 bucks, it's in a big green tube and it's mentholated. Feels great on the skin before and after the shave and is real easy to lather. If you have any other questions post em here or pm me.

4/24/2009 10:50:26 AM

^^ i've only used a synthetic brush, and it seems to work fine...at least, it doesn't leave anything to be desired, so i can't imagine what advantage a badger brush would offer (though i've heard boar is pretty rough and stiff comparatively)

the bowl i use is a ceramic ramekin that i bought from walmart for about $1.50...it fits perfectly the shaving soap that i also bought at walmart (all of $1.50 itself)

everything i have works great...i, personally, like the parker, but perhaps a merkur would offer some amazing experience i can't imagine (it had better, for being 3 times the price of a parker)...my personal experience is that the blade matters most, and it's dependent on your face, skin, and shaving style (which is where the difference in the razors probably comes in)

4/24/2009 12:39:26 PM

^just to add, the Merkur i got was only 30 bucks, just over the Parker. The Parker i received had an uneven head when it was closed tight and it made the blade have a slight cresent angle.

The Merkur (Classic as its called) is a 3 piece not a twist open so it holds the blade tight with no chance for movement. The Parker 22r rocks visually, but i just wasn't a fan of the shave.

4/24/2009 1:20:23 PM

bump

12/29/2010 6:18:06 PM

^ razor bump?

12/29/2010 6:39:33 PM

So I made two posts in this thread as Fail Boat the first time around. I've solved the cause of the bumps I had been getting for years and years. I still believe the condition was what I posted on this page, but the answer was right in that post

Quote :

"To add more credence to the "dry face" idea, a couple years ago I tried an exfoliant acne face wash, again, thinking it was clogged pores causing the problem and noticed within a day or so the problem seems to be worse."

Back in Jan/Feb I had the odd idea to just stop washing my face out of pure curiosity to see what would happen and my problems were solved. I very rarely get these bumps now and when I do they go away pretty quickly. I can also now shave without cream/foam and I can use a razor LONG after it is dull and still not have any problems. For nearly 10 years I suffered with this shit and all it took was just stopping putting soap on my face.

12/29/2010 6:54:06 PM

so you just use water and a washcloth and that did the trick?

no shit

12/29/2010 7:02:55 PM

I've had this before and went to see a dermatologist about it. See my post in "Shaving Like a Man" thread. http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=574643&page=9

I've seen a lot of mention of 'razor burn' in this thread, and what jeepin has/had is not your average razor burn. Pseudofolliculitis is caused by a staph infection, and his hair follicles are actually infected. This can last weeks or months. It is incredibly painful. I remember having about 20-30 ingrown hairs every shave....and I'd pluck them and they'd ooze out puss. This was every single time I shaved. It hurt and itched like hell and was just a miserable experience. I tried different aftershaves, nothing changed. I also noticed it got worse and worse every time I shaved....I actually quit shaving for awhile (I'm guessing the staph was spreading?)

DO NOT USE MULTI BLADED RAZORS. Dermatologist first question was "What type of razor do you use". I said Mach 3, and he said that was 85% of it. I used single blade disposables shortly thereafter and it cleared up no problem.

Things he told me:
1) Use single blade only! No more than 1 blade.
2) Use a face moisturizer (I used some Neutrogena "face moisturizer" product in a small tube, he specifically said theirs were excellent)
3) Shave EVERY DAY OR EVERY 2 DAYS. I used to go 3-4 days without shaving. He said I wasn't doing it enough to keep the hair follicle short enough to keep from becoming ingrown.

I did this with no prescription face wash/medication and it cleared up within 2 weeks. Don't go back to your old ways, though, the staph will still be there, you just won't have the infection problems. According to him, the staph comes and goes on people and about half of the population carries this form of staph at any one time. Most just don't get infections from it.

I second the DE razors. Best and least irritating shave I've ever had. I bought the Merkur 34c and highly recommend it. If you go with a razor like that, shaving every other day will be fine becuase of the quality of shave.

I also realize that most of this has been covered here, just recounting my experience



[Edited on December 29, 2010 at 7:31 PM. Reason : words words words]

12/29/2010 7:13:19 PM

Quote :

"so you just use water and a washcloth and that did the trick? no shit"

This will probably disgust some people that are just used to using soap all over and being germaphobes, but I'd say 50% of the time I take a shower I don't actually "wash" my face with any sort of agitation from either a washcloth or my bare hands. I imagine I'm in a very small minority of people that has a better complexion by not washing, but then again, Accutane is some high powered shit (I speculate the reason for my weird face skin) and not everyone has been on it.

12/29/2010 8:30:33 PM

^ When I used to take acne medication in the 16-18 year range, I took some type of pill (Don't remember the name, not accutane) that would kill my skin if I washed it with any type of soap that wasn't dove (Or highly moisturizing). I'd also use my bare hands only.

I also distinctly remember it allowing me to get massively sunburned on my face after like 30 mins outside.

You're more than likely right that's whats causing odd skin characteristics on your face... it did to me

[Edited on December 29, 2010 at 9:22 PM. Reason : ]

12/29/2010 9:21:10 PM

I'm not on Accutane now, I had it as a 9th and 10th grader.

I started wearing contacts in the 7th grade and could sleep in them for a week, take them out one night, and sleep in them for another week and toss them. Around the time I went on Accutane, I couldn't nap more than 30 minutes in them without waking up and feeling like someone had poured sand in my eyes they were so dry. It's like that today as well. Accutane done gone and changed my damn dna.

12/29/2010 9:35:00 PM

Ah, I gotcha.

I don't have any lingering effects of my medication, but like I said, it wasn't Accutane.

Sounds kinda strange. You might just have some really weird skin

12/29/2010 9:39:06 PM

I used Accutane in high school as well, but I don't think I have any lingering side effects.

12/30/2010 8:53:52 AM