Shaving irritation

Why would some say that they encounter skin irritation when shaving against the grain even with a double edge razor.  Case in point, someone gave my dad a brand new merkur razor which he uses after showering at the sink.  His routine is that a couple of minutes after showering he uses lukewarm water to wet his face then lathers up.  After he lathers he begins shaving right away with the grain until its kind of baby smooth.  After the first pass he does a second pass and immediately starts shaving but he told me that his skin feels really irritated and he sometimes even bleeds after the second pass, what might he be doing wrong which is causing him some really bad irritated skin?  What does he need to do correctly so the second pass wont irritate his skin like big time?

Well, I’d say it was the Merkur razor. That was my first DE, can’t remember the model, but it really irritated me. I stopped using a DE for a while until my son started using it and shamed me into giving DE another go. I did some research on DE razors for rookies and settled on a EJ DE89 and things improved. It’s possibly your dad’s technique- maybe pushing too hard. Also, I didn’t progress to a two or three pass shave for a year or so. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to watch some of the Mantic59 videos on YouTube.

Certainly not the fault of the razor. (Unless damaged or not properly tightened). Too much pressure, improper angle, too many passes, insufficient prep can all contribute to irritation.

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I’d recommend not shaving against the grain at all. Try one pass with the grain and another across the grain. Be sure not to apply pressure. Practice makes perfect, you’ll get there with some patience.

Is he using a quality soap or cream? How is his lather technique?


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Why would some say that they encounter skin irritation when shaving against the grain even with a double edge razor.  Case in point, someone gave my dad a brand new merkur razor which he uses after showering at the sink.  His routine is that a couple of minutes after showering he uses lukewarm water to wet his face then lathers up.  After he lathers he begins shaving right away with the grain until its kind of baby smooth.  After the first pass he does a second pass and immediately starts shaving but he told me that his skin feels really irritated and he sometimes even bleeds after the second pass, what might he be doing wrong which is causing him some really bad irritated skin?  What does he need to do correctly so the second pass wont irritate his skin like big time?

I had similar Issues till I learned correctly and takes some time   

-right razor & baseplate gap
-right Blade for your skin (the key)
-prep and Good Quality Soap 

You are Set but again YMMV

Alan H

But hes had the same exact issue with a twin blade cartridge razor before he used the de razor!  Why would gillette cartridge razor with shave gel do the same before using this de razor which is first de razor?

Well, I’d say it was the Merkur razor. That was my first DE, can’t remember the model, but it really irritated me. I stopped using a DE for a while until my son started using it and shamed me into giving DE another go. I did some research on DE razors for rookies and settled on a EJ DE89 and things improved. It’s possibly your dad’s technique- maybe pushing too hard. Also, I didn’t progress to a two or three pass shave for a year or so. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to watch some of the Mantic59 videos on YouTube.

Mercur 34C gave me same issues when I started lol but as time go I learned quiet a lot and watching mantic59 did help a bit, (right blade for your skin plays a key role) in my view and opinion.. there is always room for improvements and try to achieve that BBS...

Alan H

Certainly not the fault of the razor. (Unless damaged or not properly tightened). Too much pressure, improper angle, too many passes, insufficient prep can all contribute to irritation.

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I agree - when I said it was the Merkur's fault it was because in my experience some razors are less forgiving of a beginner's poor technique than others and my beginner's experience was with a Merkur and I'll never forget it.  I'm sure if I found that razor and tried it now It would be just fine. 

I get no irritation with a feather.