Sensitive skin issues.

I am new to straight razor shaving. Only shaved maybe 7 or eight times and have been getting reactions badly about 5 mins after finishing and applying lotion. I have always had sensitive skin but am not allergic to anything. My shaves feel like they are getting closer and closer and have had little to no discomfort WHILE shaving but develop BAD red reactions after. Im not allergic to the aftershave(been using it for a while) or the shave soap(applied it to my underarms with the brush to see). SO my question is, has anyone ever had, or heard of, anyone having TOO sensitive of skin to shave with a straight razor? Here is what i am experiencing. Any help/suggestions are apprectiated, Thanks K.S. Attachment 166577

Based on what you have written I'd surmise at this point that you might be using too much pressure as you shave. I am a sensitive skin sufferer and have solved my problems by being overly conscious of blade pressure as a start. Also can't handle menthol or eucalyptus of large amounts in some soaps/creams. If you are using an alum block face rub/rinse after shaving try no doing that for a few shaves and see if that helps. I now use a styptic pencil for those lapses of concentration that create nicks, weepers and the like. Have dropped almost all AS balms in favor of Nivea for Sensitive Skin.

My thoughts (worth about a half a cent, but you never know.

Dude you got it bad - says captain obvious!!

When I started wet shaving, I went from DE to Straight. When I took that DE to my face that first week, I got it bad too. Though maybe not as bad as you. I posted about it, and was told to lighten up on the pressure. You are going to hear that here a lot me thinks.

Anyway, as time went on - a week or two, my face got used to the DE and Bob was as they say, my uncle.

When I got to using my straight my face lit up!! Maybe as bad as you. Again I was told to lighten up. I was convinced it was going to be just like my DE where I just needed to condition my face to the blade. That and learn to hone better.

Time went by and it did settle down. But it took longer to get my face used to the straight vs the DE.

So having said that, I bet you think I'll say let your face get used to it. Nope lol! I'll tell you what everyone told me - lighten up!

Its just huge and in retrospect, my face wasn't getting used to the blade, I really was simply relaxing a bit and lightening up.

I notice that now I use such light pressure on my shaves, one could wonder how it could possibly be effective - but I know that this is about reducing on each pass, and three crazy light passes gives me great and smooth shaves with absolutely no burn.

Trust the reduction method! Three really light passes is way more comfortable than two with moderate pressure.

Light... Very light passes is key! Your not going to drop your razor. That's my $0.03.

Some solid advice above.

I am also going to ask due to the pattern I can see on the redness, are you making repeated strokes over the same area not repeated passes but actual strokes on the same pass?

Do not get hung on removing all of the hair on the first pass, as earcutter said it is a reduction process,
if there is no lather there a blade has no business being there either.

I had a veeeeery similar reaction at the beginning - my problem was using a razor that was not honed adequately and required excessive pressure. Felt OK during the shave at the time (Looking back, I should have realised that the razor should glide through the hair easily) but an hour or so afterwards I got redness that felt tender. I also recall that going to the gym and sweating caused a very unpleasant stinging sensation which was another clue that something was wrong.

Is the shave very smooth and effortless?

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Originally Posted by Christel

I had a veeeeery similar reaction at the beginning - my problem was using a razor that was not honed adequately and required excessive pressure. Felt OK during the shave at the time (Looking back, I should have realised that the razor should glide through the hair easily) but an hour or so afterwards I got redness that felt tender. I also recall that going to the gym and sweating caused a very unpleasant stinging sensation which was another clue that something was wrong.

Is the shave very smooth and effortless?

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I don't know if that's as obvious as it should be either :)??

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Originally Posted by earcutter

I don't know if that's as obvious as it should be either :)??

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You might think so - but I got so hung up on shaving with a straight razor, I did manage to broaden the definition of 'gliding' considerably. I blame learning to hone and shave at the same time, it was one of the more silly things I've done to date!

I wouldn't say effortless... But its not a ton of effort either. I would say it felt better today because i stropped with less pressure(the weight of the razor) and i think there for had a better edge. i think i was stropping with too much pressure before. But I would say while im shaving i feel like its going good. then after shave balm(equal parts raw shea butter, and coconut oil) two things im NOT allergic to so its not that like I said before. then BAM 5 or 10 minutes later i look like that. and if you look at the pick even above on my cheek area where the razor doesnt contact even reddens up a bit. But i guess ill keep on lightening up until i get the muscle memory and finesse. Ill keep updating this as i get better(Hopefully)

Try applying skin lotion or Nivea balm several times each day until you get the razor burn under control. While you may not be sensitive to the shave soap it may your skin is drying excessively. You need to keep your face well hydrated during your learning curve.


Good luck

Dave

Swanny21, you say you are not allergic to shea butter. As in life, so goes the state of our immune systems. Allergic to a lot one decade, or what ever time lapse, not allergic for next "x" period of time. Try no shea butter for a while and see what the results are. I have allergic reactions to a lot of the standard additives in the various soaps/creams. But have found that if they are of minute amounts, then no reaction. Ya gotta try many combinations to find what works for you. And before I forget again, get some pure aloe gel to use after you rinse your face. Your face will send you thank you cards.

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.