Thread: Razor burn help needed

What Siguy said...

Also I read "can not remember what context or where" that some people use cold water instead of hot on the pre-shave to eliminate the razor burn. In fact the thread had a bunch of people posting how they were converts to cold water pre-shave and during shave ect.

I have not tried this but I do sometimes get razor burn on my neck and will be giving this a try to see the results myself.

Originally Posted by Siguy

Give cold water a try.

Splash on generously and frequesntly As I've heard it hear, it's called wet shaving for a reason. Also, pressure and angle as mentioned before.

I pretty much cold shave all the time, love it...been a convert for quite awhile....

A couple easy things to try from a fellow former severe razor burn sufferer:

- Use a small amount of almond oil pre-shave to lubricate your whiskers/face. It makes a huge difference. The less time the blade spends on the face, the less chance of razor burn.
- A coticule honed razor. Sounds strange, but I find these hones to be a more comfortable edge than Jnats or other artificial stones.
- Find an after shave that is high in alcohol/antiseptic. You are taking the acid layer off your face every time you shave. You need to kill any germs on your face causing razor burn. I use Lilac Vegetal. I also like the classic Aqua Velva.

Good luck!

Use more soap to get creamier lather.
Use a flatter angle, and more passes rather than a steep angle.
Use less pressure.
Keep the toe-heel line angled (non-perpendicular) to the path you are shaving.
Do not stretch the skin too much - just taught enough to be flat.
Use a hot water rinse, cold water rinse, & non greasy shaving balm.

Similarly, my preshave routine is as follows:

-shower(in shower is some nutregena crap on face and rub into beard)
-pat dry face and put on Thayer's SuperHazel while I dry the rest.
-wet face and put on shave oil from shavesecret from Walmart(cheap stuff I found helpful)
-lather up
-massage lather into beard
-wet a little with cold and re-lather and start the shave
-I wet blade with cold water frequently and apply it and extra lather to my face in areas I feel I need to go over again.
-Wet w/ cold water.
-Lather and continue in the same fashion with XTG and ATG passes.

I'm coming to understand that the beard is an unweildy monster with one man's going this way and another's going that way.

One man's ATG is another XTG in the same spot.

-I finish up with a wet rinse.
-pat dry and allow Thayer's Superhazel to dry on my beard.

I also cold water shave.

I'm a big fan of keeping it simple and not adding a lot of extra steps to my shaving routine. A lot of the older shaving articles written at the height of straight razor shaving like "Shaving made easy" written in 1905 discuss the importance of proper lathering which draws the oils out of the whiskers making them stiff and brittle and easier for a straight razor to cut. I don't add pre-shave oils, hot towels or hot water, which in my case soften the whiskers making the razor slide over the whiskers not properly cutting them. Find what works for you.

My shaving routine is as follows:

1. 10-15 strokes on the felt or linen, 25-30 strokes on the leather. (X pattern on a 2" strop)
2. Cold water face lathering, making a creamy lather and really work the lather into the whiskers.
3. Straight razor shave with a sharp razor concentrating on good technique.
4. Cold water rinse.
5. Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 if needed.
6. Followed by Witch Hazel or aftershave.

http://archive.org/details/shavingmadeeasyw0020th

I feel for ya! Been there myself but fixed it with a combination of things - most all talked about earlier - but - our faces and beards are like fingerprints, so your solution will vary from others. When I start to get burned or rashes here's what I revert to:

- Prep well including heat and oil

- Make sure the blade edge is "smooth sharp" - my term for a clean straight edge as opposed to nicks and raggedness you might see under magnification. A few folks have addressed that here above.

- Slow and careful strokes. I find that when I start to get mystery nicks on my face a rash tends to follow. Also, it's odd but ATG, WTG, and other strokes don't seem to make any difference on my face regarding irritation.

- Use soap or cream high in lanolin. MWF for me.

- Rinse off with COLD water (close the pores) and nothing but witch hazel afterward. The scented stuff will irritate sometimes.

After a few days of that process my skin reverts to normal and I don't see any irritation for almost a year.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Pressure and angle

Once you have the prep, lather, & razor down then it is all about pressure and angle get really light on pressure,, even after 30+ years with a SR I still have to remind myself to back off on the pressure.. I too have a sensitive side ok a sensitive face, and if I don't remind myself to ease up I will end up red faced.. It is just so counter-intuitive but I swear it works, just skim the face with a good sharp edge and your skin will thank you...

Originally Posted by Fort

What Siguy said...

Also I read "can not remember what context or where" that some people use cold water instead of hot on the pre-shave to eliminate the razor burn. In fact the thread had a bunch of people posting how they were converts to cold water pre-shave and during shave ect.

I have not tried this but I do sometimes get razor burn on my neck and will be giving this a try to see the results myself.

Originally Posted by Phrank

I pretty much cold shave all the time, love it...been a convert for quite awhile....

As Glen said and you noticed after less preasure it can make a huge difference. The quote that helped me was don't shave just wipe off the lather. You just keep the razor against the skin and remove the lather and hey presto.

Cold water shaving is also great as it keeps the skin tight and the pores closed. I use no hot water at all at any stage.

A good prep is to lather up and rub the lather in then rinse off, lather again and then shave. Comes from an old article on shaving.

Originally Posted by eddy79

As Glen said and you noticed after less preasure it can make a huge difference. The quote that helped me was don't shave just wipe off the lather. You just keep the razor against the skin and remove the lather and hey presto.

Cold water shaving is also great as it keeps the skin tight and the pores closed. I use no hot water at all at any stage.

A good prep is to lather up and rub the lather in then rinse off, lather again and then shave. Comes from an old article on shaving.

Yes, I read that booklet many months ago...very true....I always thoroughly rub the lather into my beard with my fingers (as the article states), then re-apply lather and I'm ready to go.

Cold shave works for many, but as my barber and many member say here, it doesn't work for all. I always thought I had a tough beard, but my barber told me months ago that in his experience, my beard isn't that tough at all, and that he's had many clients who's beard would literally have to be ripped out if he didn't hot shave them.

As many members here, use what works best for you, cold shave works well for me, but do enjoy a nice hot shave from time to time...

Did a total cold water shave last night and the results were very good.

1. Soaked brush in cold water then took shower and washed face with pre-shave face scrub.
2. Strop razor while my face air dries
3. Wet face with cold water and apply lather
4. Shave WTG and rinse with cold water
5. Apply lather and shave WTG again
6. Rinse with cold water
7. Apply lather and shave ATG then rinse with cold water.


Absolutely no burn or red patches. So I'll keep using this method and checking the results. The cold water was actually refreshing too.