Thread: Sensitive skin issues.

Yeah the aloe is the ingredient i'm waiting for, ordered some online. guess ill try making it in different ratios then see if it helps.

I wouldn't rule out your aftershave as the guilty party. I had a really bad reaction to my aftershave after my 4th straight shave (before that I used nivia balsm), I came out all blotchey and red. I have been using this particular aftershave for years without any issues at all. The only thing I can think of as to why it happened is, a straight shave seems to take more skin off during the process (I'm still new to the game and probably still using too much pressure but it is getting better) and the fresh new exposed skin is much more delicate. It is purely a guess but I've not used aftershave again and I've not had the reaction again.

Ouch...it may take a few weeks for your face to adjust to a straight, just like an electric razor, but I'd ease up on the handle and let the blade glide through the beard. Some good cucumbers post shaving may also help to cool the skin irritation. Stay with it.

Pressure and angle

Finish with Nivea for sensitive skin

Pressure is a big deal. I still catch myself from time to time.

I also had lots of irritation during the first couple of weeks of straight razor shaving. It was more like red, irritated areas around the face and didn't appear after every shave but more or less randomly. In my case the irritation appeared after the shave, too, but I didn't find any special pattern or specific delay there.

I still get irritation sometimes even on such easy-to-shave areas like my cheeks if any of these go wrong:

- Badly honed razor (HHT must pass at level 3 or 4 or I will not even bother)
- Inadequate lathering (mainly one of the following: weak lather, not moist skin enough, too hot water; there are actually quite many variables here that can influence the lathering process, drying of the lather, etc.)
- Too much pressure (I only lately found out that keeping the angle below 30 degrees helps a lot to decrease the pressure; I still tend to have too big angle when shaving my cheeks)

And yeah, I don't use and haven't used any pre- or aftershaves, only warm water before the shave, cold water after the shave, and Tabac soap for the lather.