Thread: Razor Burn???

I have had several shaves with my straight but this morning I got terrible razor burn. I heated up some water on the stove soaked my brush, stroped my razor 30 times on the cloth and 30 on the leather. Had a great lather and shaved after my shower. I applied Jason's Aloe Vera let it dry and then some Proraso after shave balm. Didnt matter I still had some bad razor burn. What can I do or what can I use (after shave?) to prevent this in the future? Other then the razor burn the shave went really well very smooth.

canman,

Razor burn is a result of your technique, and in my experience it's hard to cover it up once you have it. (I still suffer mild razor burn, even though I've been doing this for a while. I'm learning how to avoid it.)

Possible causes include too much pressure, too steep an angle, a dull blade, bad stropping, poor lather... There's probably a few more that I'm missing. Basically it's a sign that something's not quite right, and you need to figure out exactly what.

For me, the culprit is too much pressure. I'm trying to figure out how to lighten up on the pressure. With my particular beard, that's a challenge.

Good luck,
Josh

The blade may need a touchup on a fine polishing surface like 0.5 micron chromium oxide or a finishing hone. However, I believe Josh is closer to the mark. I have had so much practice that I don't even consider shaving technique as a variable, so at times I forget that it may be the case for some people.

How about applying some foundation, and then follow up with...

just kidding!

Seriously: Josh and Ilija have you covered

Best of luck
Ivo

Sometimes I think razor burn is a build up thing ---if I shave everyday 5 to 6 days straight, the 5th or 6th day I will have razor burn. Just the result of removing too much skin with out letting it recover.

Justin

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

Sometimes I think razor burn is a build up thing ---if I shave everyday 5 to 6 days straight, the 5th or 6th day I will have razor burn. Just the result of removing too much skin with out letting it recover.

Justin

Yeah, that happened to me a bit when I first started shaving everyday with the straight. For me it was like the others said - make sure the razor is sharp, go light with the touch, and apply foundation (they're quite good nowadays - skin tone matching is a breeze!)

Seriously on the first two...

James.

One of the things you have to bear in mind is that, with the straight razor shave, you should not be applying any pressure to the blade. Most razor burn comes from pressing too hard or going over the same spots too many times.

Also, make sure your lather is completely slick at all times. You can do this by refreshing the lather over the area to be shaved just before you shave it. You can add some extra protection by applying a coat of hypoallergenic moisturizing lotion or pre-shave product before applying the lather.

I think the guys have you covered here but just to say that there are many things that can contribute in part or as a whole. I would review my entire shaving routine from prep to technique to the razor itself and see where the weak link is.

Or the super-heated water from the stove? Possible...