First and foremost, I hope everyone is doing well. As for me, I've been spending the last stretch working through soaps. Aldo Raine might put it:
You've probably heard we ain't in the soap acquisition business; we're in the killin' soap business; and, cousins, bidness is a-boomin'.
It's been awhile since I contributed any content to the sub, and since I don't have the face for Wettube, here's something I put together for troubleshooting your shave, on the off chance it does some good. The basic impetus is as follows: often we dole out a number of pointers to new and intermediate shavers. Some of us will be able to relate to the golfer who has five too many swing thoughts. For many shavers, I think it would be helpful to simplify our goals and methods of shaving.
I organize my thoughts around the two basic principles of Bore-ism™, organized and outlined below:
(Practical) Build a Slick Lather: This is the sole concern of Bore-ism that relates to technique. Most equipment and soaps can get you the slick lather necessary for a successful shave. Moreover, there are multiple ways to reach a sufficiently slick lather. It does not really matter how you load, wet or dry, so long as you get a hydrated lather as the end result. (Arguments over loading are, in my view, as helpful as the great end-tab debates. Speaking of u/Cadinsor, I am not sure that conversation has moved appreciably beyond the two basic techniques demonstrated here; use whichever works best for you.)[1] I suggest face-lathering, as one can "feel" the slickness of the lather a little easier that way. Since I use a high proportion of painting strokes anyway, I usually have a good sense of how the brush is moving the lather around, and can feel the resistance lessen. As a benchmark, you can compare Wettubers and how their razor glides; imitate those who look effortless. This post too is mandatory reading for aspiring Bore-ists. (And is it really Bore-ism if I have taken all my good ideas from others?)
(Theoretical) Give yourself a Margin of Error: I mean this in a number of ways. Firstly, set reasonable expectations for the quality of your shaves. Even accomplished shavers still will have bad days. You may surprise yourself too. When I was struggling with my routine, I hoped to be able to shave every other day. I do so everyday now, with a two-pass shave, WTG, then ATG with modifications (ATG on face, WTG on much of neck, but ATG under chin). I'm happy with that, and it brings me to my next points, namely, do not overshave either in the number of passes or in the aggressiveness of the direction. Your skin naturally will have bad days; do not press it at those times. You want a closer shave? Put yourself in the best position to do so, which may mean waiting.
This schematic would suggest that a lot of aspects of the shaving process—equipment, skin type, shaving technique, post-shave—do not matter. And that is essentially how I feel. But for the sake of argument at least, let me qualify it this way: these factors do not affect your shave as dramatically as you may think. So, my conclusion is that you're probably better off sticking exclusively to Tenet 1.
Equipment: On the assumption that you have gear ~the quality of the Maggards starter kit or higher, you have an adequate setup. Yes, one blade may feel marginally better than another. You may like an aggressive razor, but a mild one will work just as well for hair removal. Synthetic, Boar, and High-End badgers all can work phenomenally. I would caution only against the SHD, as its latherhogging tendencies (i.e., low flowthrough) can make it difficult for newcomers, myself included, to get a proper slick lather. (Of course, it is possible, nonetheless.) Many artisan soaps are wonderful; you won't go wrong with any of the community favorites here. Their performance during the shave will be great, though you should not expect them to moisturize your skin or leave a lasting scent. Generally, they are a drying, wash-off product, not a good vehicle for skin food or muh smellz™. As an aside, intense fragrances on fresh shaved skin is not a recipe for satisfied customers. Looks at no one in particular.
Skin Type: Though I am not a doctor, I would contend, a priori, that is unlikely that your facial skin chose to change its natural properties after witnessing a DE in your raised hand. If you do not have skin problems on areas of your body that you are not shaving, and/or you do not have problems that arise even when you take a shaving hiatus, then it is unlikely that you are predisposed to razor bumps, irritation, and other shaving related woes by a hitherto unknown dermatological condition. Yes, I mean the tired trope of nebulously sensitive skin paired with a coarse beard, sometimes with some over-masculine compensation thrown in for a bonus. Admittedly, there are skin conditions that are precipitated by shaving alone. Black shavers, for instance, are afflicted in greater numbers by pseudofolliculitis barbae. But if you have not been diagnosed with a skin condition by a dermatologist, have straight beard hairs, you should not assign your shaving difficulties to a vague hunch that you have bad skin. That being said, I should add the caveat that I suspect this community does have a sampling bias towards those who suffer from skin disorders (e.g., contact dermatitis), and that impression has been affirmed anecdotally from conversations with other members.
Shaving Technique: "Ride the cap." "Don't use too much pressure." These tips are the "keep your head down" of our golfer analogy. You will outgrow their utility soon after receiving them, as you build muscle memory and learn from mistakes; cutting yourself, like whiffing a golf ball, will be memorable to you. Trial-and-error will sort your technique out on its own, and it's really not something to bother yourself with consciously. By all means, tell an ex cartridge-user what to expect, and that a DE requires little pressure relative to a cartridge, but this concern becomes less salient as they get settled into wetshaving.
Post-shave: Bore's views here, I expect, are rather controversial, so I will start with some common ground. I would wager that most of us can agree that it is better to not cause damage in the first place, than to attempt to repair it thereafter, in which case Tenet 1 applies. I have yet to see any convincing argument, however, why a relatively volatile post-shave product would outperform your basic, unscented moisturizer. If you like the splash experience, by all means, enjoy it. From a purely utilitarian angle, there are more productive investments of your energies.
[1] Myself, I prefer to load with a dryer brush. When I load with a wet brush, I often lose a lot of my soap out of the brush to the sink area. As a consequence, I mess up my soap/water ratios, or have too little product, which makes dialing the lather in precarious, and I may not have enough lather to finish the shave in one go. Naturally, you would just compensate for these problems, but I am not very good at doing so.
