Big Ingrown-Hair Problem?

The other day I was awaiting the fulfillment of a family member's prescription at my local drug store. Having a few minutes to kill, I was browsing the shaving supplies, and, long story short, ended up having a conversation with another local guy who had a problem with ingrown hairs after shaving.

I gave him my business card and left. As a day or two went by, I ruminated on his problem and came up with what I think is a solution. I thought it was so good that I was prepared to loan him a sanitized razor and provide some (new, unused -- obviously) blades to try.

But he hasn't called. And I'm disappointed because I thought I had both an excellent solution as well as one that was ecologically responsible and economical to boot! I had initially thought of the three-piece Merkur 33C classic as an option for him, but because of the severity of his problem and his focus on an ingrown-free shave rather than a close shave, it became clear that I had a better suggestion.

My solution was the Weishi 9306-F razor. This particular model is the mildest double-edge razor that I have used. It has both a negative blade exposure (the blade edge lies below the shave plane formed by the top cap and the safety bar) and a very small blade-bar span (the distance between the blade edge and the safety bar). With a very light touch and a reasonably-sharp blade, this razor may be one of his best options.

The Weishi 9306-F is visually identical with some other razors including the Dorco Prime, the Van Der Hagen, and the Microtouch One, but is likely the mildest shaver of the bunch.  It's a high-quality Chinese version of a Superspeed.

I would have provided a couple of Dorco ST-301 blades, which I think are nice, sharp, durable, and very-reasonably-priced blades. I might have also included a couple of Derby Extra blades, which I, personally, don't like much, but who knows -- maybe they would have been a good option for him.

With a blade exposure that is just slightly negative and a small blade-bar span,
the Weishi 9306-F is a very well-behaved instrument.

So I'm writing this article for your information, but also for his if he happens to give this blog site a look. If he's reading, contact me and I'll be happy to let you try out my suggestion.

Happy ingrown-free shaving!