Thread: Every day shave irritation

I know this thread is over a month out, but I had the same problem when I started out. A couple things I do with good success is first, I use beard oil as a pre-shave. I use just enough to get a little lubrication to my skin. Not enough to be greasy, just enough to get rid of the squeaky clean fresh shower feeling. Let that sit for a few minutes. Second, most soaps don't cut it for me. I've found that thick creams work a lot better. Soaps take too much oil out of my skin for shaving and will leave me irritated every time. Also, some of the newer creams with caffeine in them leave a good feeling for some reason. YMMV on the caffeine but definitely try a heavy cream. If your skin feels dry at all after shaving, put a little more beard oil back on your skin to moisturize. Keeping your skin from drying out is key. I wore a full beard for years before getting into shaving on a regular basis and what I noticed was that my skin was a lot drier than it ever was when I was using beard oil every day, so I put that back into my routine and problem solved. I never use after shave. Just beard oil very lightly. Definitely nothing with alcohol. Once I started doing this, it no longer mattered what direction I shaved or how many passes. Hope this helps.

It is like anything, if you are not taught correctly then how do you know you are fluffing it, this website is invaluable for that sort of info. I have sensitive skin on the neck and wet shaving seemed to be the answer, however not knowing how to prep, post shave and maintain was a issue (the first few shaves were a tragedy). Thick hair is also a problem, so it was critical to have a clean edge and I am still OCD on edge maintenance, take it easy on maintenance. Practice slowly and ensure your edge does not get mucked up, remember lighter is better until you get a feel for it. Don't do numerous passes if you don't have to, by lathering in sections one pass at a time I can lightly clean up stubble after lathering both the next pass and the freshly shaven pass. Beyond that stretching was foreign to me and learning where my pass missed some stubble and how to get to it was another step. I kind of miss being new at the shave because all the fun discovering what works for me is done and now it is more a relaxing experience with some alone time. Try shaving a balloon, it's a good technique to getting pressure and feel for angle down which can be part of the problem, it will also teach you how light your touch should be on the edge.

You've been told pretty much every alternative technique to try and I like all of the advice, so my advice is just keep trying different things and sometimes different "approaches" on different parts of your face/beard.

For instance, there are parts of my face where across the grain works better as my first pass. For me that is my neck. Also, on my neck I can never go against the grain...period, with any type of razor for the last 55+ years. It is too hard on my skin, AND I don't need to get that close a shave....period.

Everyone's face and beard is different. Try different things until you eliminate your problem. You'll find the right combination!!

All great advice given above, I'm sure it will solve most of the problem.

A dermatologist told me that the skin takes time to adjust. So give it time, and use the techniques described.
I cannot shave everyday. For about 20yrs I too simply used a beard trimmer. My skin was very sensitive and the "surface" of my skin was not conditioned to having a blade glide across it. So it was once a week for a while when I started SR shaving.

The other thing that helped immensely was using a spray on skin toner with witch hazel and vitamins and a bunch of good stuff.. it is formulated to heal and PH balance the skin. And then I'd gently pat it in.
That helped the "conditioning period" until my skin was ready for more frequent shaves, and some of the more traditional aftershaves that I now enjoy.

What you are experiencing is not unusual for any form of wet shaving.
Good luck!

I am in the same boat. No matter what I try, there is always skin irritation below the jawline when I shave every day. Always felt it was a sharpness issue but have now arrived at edges so sharp (using Jnats as final polishers) that I can do a one-pass shave without pressure and still get skin irritation no matter how comfortable the shave itself. Skin irritation will typically kick in 15-30 minutes after a very comfortable shave. It still surprises me that I can have a very comfortable feel after shaving and end up with an irritated skin that looks terribly inflamed.

Shave the lather and not your face is the first thing. Also, when shaving the lower part of my neck, I slow down, focus on a light touch and proper angle.

The other thing is proper pre-shave preparation.

Here are are couple of blog posts:

https://hendrixclassics.com/blogs/bl...-a-great-shave

https://hendrixclassics.com/blogs/bl...l-whisker-prep

try soaking your face longer, and get a nice lather with peaks so that going over the same spot a few times without re-lathering will be a little more forgiving when it comes to irritation, and with your skin starts to feel irritated, or just for fun, take a pass, re apply the lather, then in theoery won't have the blade directly on your skin, so you would not get irritation.

There are so many variables, most of which have been touched on in the thread, that now maybe you just need to try changing only one thing at a time and judge change in your skin condition. Hang in...you’ll figure it out, or grow a beard trying!

Originally Posted by Haroldg48

There are so many variables, most of which have been touched on in the thread, that now maybe you just need to try changing only one thing at a time and judge change in your skin condition. Hang in...you’ll figure it out, or grow a beard trying!

yep there are so many variables that have been thrown out there, that it may take a year or two just to test them all properly.