• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

Shaving

Oom

Your time is gonna come.
Joined
Mar 29, 2009
Messages
510
MBTI Type
IsfP
Enneagram
5w4
I've been having some issues with shaving. (I'm a man so I don't shave anything other than my face, I try to maintain my manliness.) As I have been growing facial hair, I've noticed that my face just doesn't like the natural cutting edge of the razor like it should. It gets irritated and red and also retaliates with my bane, ingrown hairs!

I don't know if my skin is just too sensitive or whether it's my shaving technique that has my face going against me. I have been shaving down with the grain to reduce irritation, but it doesn't give a close shave.

Do any of you men (and women) have tips to share of how you shave and keep a clean complexion in the process? Even if you only shave other body parts, you still have very valuable input.:)
 

kyuuei

Emperor/Dictator
Joined
Aug 28, 2008
Messages
13,964
MBTI Type
enfp
Enneagram
8
Ensure you shave after or while in the shower. The hot water opens up the pores and softens both the skin and hair.

You say you're already shaving with the grain, which is good. Keep using sharp, clean razors and change them frequently to help cope with the lack of close-up shave.

Ensure you exfoliate your skin (I even sometimes shave with the exfoliant in my shave gel. Tis a bit hard on the razor, but it works well.) to help prevent ingrown hairs.

They have several varieties of shave gels specified for guarding against redness and irritation, I went to using bikini-line shave gels for everything just because it's made for sensitive skin.

Moisturize your skin. If you're still having lots of problems after that.. I dunno how to help you.
 

Athenian200

Protocol Droid
Joined
Jul 1, 2007
Messages
8,828
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
4w5
1. Make sure your face is completely saturated with warm water.

2. Only press lightly while shaving against the grain. Shave WITH the grain first if you've let the hairs grow out past a centimeter in length, and THEN shave against the grain to get whatever's left.

3. If your face gets irritated enough for bumps or blood to appear, refrain from shaving until the bumps/irritation subside, or you'll just keep inflaming it. It's best to avoid shaving daily if possible, once every two or three days is ideal to avoid swelling.

4. Allow your face time to get used to the shaving method. It doesn't always happen in weeks, it can take months.

5. Take lots of Vitamin E suppliments, and rub Vitamin E Skin Care cream on your face after every shave in order to help heal the inevitable damage as quickly as possible.

Here's hoping you can save up for laser hair removal or something soon, if your skin is anything like mine. Shaving the face is awful, and I'm never going to be comfortable in my own skin as long as the roots are intact. My skin is so transparent you can see the roots anyway, so I don't benefit much from shaving. Sometimes I tweeze the darkest hairs before shaving when I want to look as presentable as possible.
 

Halla74

Artisan Conquerer
Joined
Jan 20, 2009
Messages
6,898
MBTI Type
ESTP
Enneagram
7w8
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
I've been having some issues with shaving. (I'm a man so I don't shave anything other than my face...

I'm a man, and the only thing I don't shave are my pubes. :cheese:

...I try to maintain my manliness.) As I have been growing facial hair, I've noticed that my face just doesn't like the natural cutting edge of the razor like it should. It gets irritated and red and also retaliates with my bane, ingrown hairs!

OK, I have 20 years experience fighting razor burn...just like yours.

I don't know if my skin is just too sensitive or whether it's my shaving technique that has my face going against me. I have been shaving down with the grain to reduce irritation, but it doesn't give a close shave.

It's most likely your skin. If I shave my whole face against the grain I will look like a truck ran over my face and neck 24 hours later.

This can be genetic. My Dad used to get exemptions from adhering to U.S. military shaving protocols in the 60's-80's bhecause he has the same problem.

Do any of you men (and women) have tips to share of how you shave and keep a clean complexion in the process? Even if you only shave other body parts, you still have very valuable input.:)

Yes.

(1) First of all Kyuuei is right about shaving after a hot shower, open pores are easier to deal with.

(2) You might have rosacea. Some souirces say that between 1/4 to 1/3 of the population have it to some degree. If this is the case, the mechanical irritation of the razor blade AND the hot water used at ther end of the shave are both irritants and can cause an outbreak.

(3) Use cold water at the end of your shave and see what happens. This alleviates my sensitivity a little bit.

(4) Slather your neck/problem areas with hydrocortisone cream immediately after your shave. That will calm it down by inhibiting the eruption by suppressing the ability of your epidermis to express a histamine response/ increased blood flow.

(5) If you can later, use some type of antibacterial cream (not ointment or you will look greasy) as prescription rosacea meds are essentially antibiotics.

(6) Don't put too much pressure on the razor!

(7) Don't use alcohol based after shave products.

(8) Consider use of an electric razor in addition to a blade. Alternating between the two significantly reduces the overall razor burn as your skin is not getting hammered with the same stimuilli all the time. BRAUN makes a great one for about $130. I use it all the time, and use a blad only about once or twice a week.

:happy:
 

Biaxident

Charting a course
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Messages
3,617
MBTI Type
INFP
Don't shave over the same spot more than a couple of times. Once most of the hair is gone you start taking off skin.
 

Athenian200

Protocol Droid
Joined
Jul 1, 2007
Messages
8,828
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
4w5
Don't shave over the same spot more than a couple of times. Once most of the hair is gone you start taking off skin.

This is good advice, if you're not overly concerned about a close shave, and for minimizing the impact of daily shaving if it proves necessary despite existing irritation.

If you do want it to be as close as possible, it's better to be very careful and line the razor up to remove the most hair, and limit yourself to 3 or 4 strokes, rather than 2. 2 strokes will not usually give you a clean shave.
 

Stanton Moore

morose bourgeoisie
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
3,900
MBTI Type
INFP
#1 use a sharo razor. so you don't #3
#2 wash your face with very warm water* (this will make or break the experience, so do it.)
#3 don't press hard. see Biaxident's post above!
 

Halla74

Artisan Conquerer
Joined
Jan 20, 2009
Messages
6,898
MBTI Type
ESTP
Enneagram
7w8
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Oh final thought, if you do get razor burn "bumps", regardless of source (rosacea, ingrown hair, razor burn, etc.) a good way tio dry it out is to use Retin-A cream or gel. Dehydrate it, and it can't turn into a huge horrible bump...
 

Stanton Moore

morose bourgeoisie
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
3,900
MBTI Type
INFP
Oh final thought, if you do get razor burn "bumps", regardless of source (rosacea, ingrown hair, razor burn, etc.) a good way tio dry it out is to use Retin-A cream or gel. Dehydrate it, and it can't turn into a huge horrible bump...

Listen to Halla! He's got skills! I just shave over the bumps and try to staunch the bleeding after the fact.
 

Fidelia

Iron Maiden
Staff member
Joined
May 31, 2009
Messages
14,497
MBTI Type
INFJ
Hey Halla, is there a way to get Retin-A without having to go to a doctor? Here, it's almost impossible to see a doctor even for emergency issues, so going for Retin-A is unlikely. They're just too busy.
 

Stanton Moore

morose bourgeoisie
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
3,900
MBTI Type
INFP
Nah...the women and Halla have it well in hand...I don't need to do anything...

P.S. You don't call, you never write...She put you in a coma or something? :D

She's the bomb. So far, the best relationship I've had...

But I'm shit at staying in touch. (did I tell you I'm infp-ish? lol).

As I recall, you have my # too. Kettle!:yes:
 

avolkiteshvara

New member
Joined
Apr 27, 2009
Messages
893
MBTI Type
YaYa
Everyone is different.

The whole shower thing never worked for me. I'd always cut myself up or get razor burn.

Had to switch to electric razor. I still can't shave everyday. No way to avoid razor burn. I'm a lazy ass anyway so I wouldn't want to shave everyday.

Experiment. See what works for you.
 

Biaxident

Charting a course
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Messages
3,617
MBTI Type
INFP
She's the bomb. So far, the best relationship I've had...

But I'm shit at staying in touch. (did I tell you I'm infp-ish? lol).

As I recall, you have my # too. Kettle!:yes:

I believe I called last time...Pot!

And Yes you do suck at keeping in touch...almost as much as I do... :D
 

d@v3

Perfect Gentleman! =D
Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
2,830
MBTI Type
ISTJ
I used to have terrible razor burn..... (and still do) However, to combat this I have two things:

1) Electric Razor
2)Aftershave cooling gel

With these two things, razor burn is at a minimum, I still get it but it doesn't hurt nearly as much. Also, I'll admit the electric razor doesn't get as close as a straight blade, but definitely close enough! Good luck! :cheers:
 

Oom

Your time is gonna come.
Joined
Mar 29, 2009
Messages
510
MBTI Type
IsfP
Enneagram
5w4
Nice advice guys! I knew I'd get some good feedback!

4. Allow your face time to get used to the shaving method. It doesn't always happen in weeks, it can take months.

5. Take lots of Vitamin E suppliments, and rub Vitamin E Skin Care cream on your face after every shave in order to help heal the inevitable damage as quickly as possible.

Here's hoping you can save up for laser hair removal or something soon, if your skin is anything like mine. Shaving the face is awful, and I'm never going to be comfortable in my own skin as long as the roots are intact. My skin is so transparent you can see the roots anyway, so I don't benefit much from shaving. Sometimes I tweeze the darkest hairs before shaving when I want to look as presentable as possible.

Haha, I wouldn't want to get my facial hair permanently removed. That would be horrible. What if I get a big scar later in life that I want to cover up?;) I do hope that my face will get used to it though. I've been spot drying my face with a towel after I run the razor over a portion. This seems to keep the hot water from irritating my skin after the razor scrapes.

I'm a man, and the only thing I don't shave are my pubes. :cheese:



OK, I have 20 years experience fighting razor burn...just like yours.



It's most likely your skin. If I shave my whole face against the grain I will look like a truck ran over my face and neck 24 hours later.

This can be genetic. My Dad used to get exemptions from adhering to U.S. military shaving protocols in the 60's-80's bhecause he has the same problem.



Yes.

(1) First of all Kyuuei is right about shaving after a hot shower, open pores are easier to deal with.

(2) You might have rosacea. Some souirces say that between 1/4 to 1/3 of the population have it to some degree. If this is the case, the mechanical irritation of the razor blade AND the hot water used at ther end of the shave are both irritants and can cause an outbreak.

(3) Use cold water at the end of your shave and see what happens. This alleviates my sensitivity a little bit.

(4) Slather your neck/problem areas with hydrocortisone cream immediately after your shave. That will calm it down by inhibiting the eruption by suppressing the ability of your epidermis to express a histamine response/ increased blood flow.

(5) If you can later, use some type of antibacterial cream (not ointment or you will look greasy) as prescription rosacea meds are essentially antibiotics.

(6) Don't put too much pressure on the razor!

(7) Don't use alcohol based after shave products.

(8) Consider use of an electric razor in addition to a blade. Alternating between the two significantly reduces the overall razor burn as your skin is not getting hammered with the same stimuilli all the time. BRAUN makes a great one for about $130. I use it all the time, and use a blad only about once or twice a week.

:happy:

I do shave after I've moistened my face for a while. It makes the whole ordeal much more manageable. This rosacea thing you talked about sounds like what happens to me. I shave and the hot water makes my skin itch as if I were being bitten by thousands of mosquitoes! Cold water does better but as I said above, spot drying my face is the best way I've found so far.

Haha, I like how you mentioned hydrocortisone cream.:D I've tried that and it does wonders for my neck. (The hair grows to the right so whenever I turn my head they brush against the grain...ugh :frown:)
 
Top