I have a very heavy beard.
I also use a Fusion power, what a great razor.
What I would like to add is different shave creams give different results. The Fusion shave gel is a very good every day shave cream. But if I want that baby’s butt feel for a special occasion, I go with some Aramis Maximum Comfort shave cream.
I do two passes, the first with the grain, rinse and reapply a thin coat of Aramis then the second pass against the grain.
I don’t know about your beard, but the grain on my face does not all run the same direction. On one side of my neck, the grain points down, on the other it points over my shoulder. Knowing which way the grain runs will go far in helping you get the closest shave.
Not Cecil, but Dex.
formermarineguy has it exactly right. Warming the face and letting soap soften the hairs is the ultimate shave if you have the time.
Shaving against the grain, as already suggested, will work; but for the love of Og: shave with the grain first. Then go back over it.
A second option is to shave with a razor, then give it a second pass with an electric. The electric works differently, and seems to really whittle down follicles that are already short.
Then again… why? I rather like the way I look with a 5am shadow (night person), and never go to great lengths to shave too close.
Use Noxzema instead of shaving cream, and use any good multi-blade razor that has a lubricating strip. On my mother’s soul, I swear there is nothing better.
I like Noxzema afterward… love the menthol. But as shaving cream?! I’ll have to try it. Who do I sue if I cut my cheek off? I need a contact for my lawyer.
I shave against the grain myself partly but I think that advice is too vague and doesnt really tell the ideal technique. The OP’s lack of knowledge about the grain may indicate the whole problem (or maybe not). Every face is different but most men have complex growth patterns to their beard that dictate that shaving in one direction only is not going to produce good results. I have a fairly heavy beard yet I can shave my entire face and neck in less than 90 seconds with nothing but hand soap and a cheap disposable razor.
However, I have been doing this for quite a while and have the technique down perfectly. From the sideburns, all the way down my face, I shave down only and it works great. On my entire neck, jaws, and the bottom of my chin, I shave upward. Under the nose and the mustache area, I shave down again. The chin area has some complicated patterns and I know I shave it in some complicated way but I can’t really describe it. The point there is to figure out the grain of your beard and experiment with what works in each area.
Buy this . Or any of their shaving products. It will seem expensive, but it lasts forever. It changed my life. Well, my shaving life, anyway.
P.S. I have a tough, Sicilian beard.
Go to Turkey.
Find a barber shop with a big hairy armed Turk armed with hot towels and a cut throat razor.
Hand over about £2 and get the closest shave imaginable in about 30 seconds.
You won’t need another shave for at least 3 days.
The above also includes a haircut I might add
Maintaining a decent straight razor is child’s play. Shaving with a straight razor takes some practice, especially if you’re using a Boker King Cutter with a 3" blade like I do.
But if you want to learn, and you’re interested in picking up a straight razor, check out straight razor place. Several years ago when these guys were still a yahoo group I used to post and read regularly.
All right, thanks for all the tips and info. I spent a week trying all those, but…
Well, it just doesn’t seem to work.
I washed myself with warm water. I tried lathering the whiskers for a minute, as suggested (btw does lathering mean I just spread the cream and leave it there, or do I keep rubbing them in?) Washed my face ad neck with facial cream too.
I have tried shaving with the grain, then across the grain, but I just can’t get the stubble out.
The problem area is my neck. First, I would shave downwards, with the razor starting at the chin, then sliding dowards. Then I would go from left to right (for the left side of the neck), then from the right to left (that’s the right side) – I guess those are with the grain. Then I go again in the opposite direction for against the grain.
I couldn’t find the fancy shaving gel/creams that many has suggested (I have no idea where to get them in Singapore. Supermarkets don’t have them, so I may have to go downtown)
I’m sure I am getting a cut, for when I run my hand across the neck, it hurts (even after applying aftershave). The problem is when I run my hand across after the shave, it feels clean. Then I take a look in the mirror more closely and there’s like a lot of areas I never touched (I remember last time my Warrant Officer demanded why I never shaved. and I had to go back and literally scraped my neck red before he is convinced that I at least did attempt)
Does it takes some time for the whiskers to get accustomed to the shaving patterns or something?
A few suggestions:
We don’t want you to gently wash your face with warm water. We want you to take a shower, then stand there and apply shaving cream to your sopping wet face. Or you can soak a flannel in hot water then slap that on your face for a minute like they do at the barber shop. The idea is to saturate the whiskers.
Don’t try to grind the razor into your face. Pushing harder doesn’t give you a closer shave.
Split your face into sectors. Start with your throat and go down, then go from your chin to your throat, etc… If you want to shave cross-grain after this (which I don’t recommend…) then apply more shaving cream.
Use smooth strokes that overlap slightly.
It is possible that you’re one of the unlucky few that has very dark hair and light skin, in which case you’ll always look like you have stubble because the follicles show through. In that case, I suggest you apply self-tanning cream to your face 
There are pre-shaving brushes you can use on your face (stiff bristle brush which is painfull to use). Sounds like you’re doing it right. You can experiment with the shaving cream by thinning it with water. I usually do this on the 2nd go. I have patches on my face that don’t seem shaved at all on the 1st pass.
All that aside, it almost sounds like you’re describing my experience after going a day without shaving. If it feels like you’re shredding your face then you might go to 2 shaves a day.
A shave AND a haircut? How much did it cost?
While I certainly cannot speak authoritatively as to the prevailing market trends vis-a-vis personal grooming service providers in Turkey, I would wager that the going rate is likely somewhere in the vicinity of 37 kurus (or 25 cents American, at current conversion rates).
Two bits, then?
A shave AND a haircut in 90 seconds? By an armed Turkish barber?
Ummm…
Think I’ll pass on that. :o