Thread: Deep scars and shaving

I've been shaving with a straight for a few months now and I almost never cut myself annymore.
BUT I got kida big scar on my left cheack (something with a broken bottle) wic I keep nicking. I get it almost annytime.

Are there special tricks for that or a type of point that could help we with it?

You can try stretching the skin especially tight at that area and maybe avoid spikes but other than that just avoid that area. If its fully healed it shouldn't get nicked but I suspect there is an elevation issue there which is why the razor is hanging up in that spot.

Hi Basch!

I do not have any interesting facial/duelling scars on my face, yet. I do however have several moles which sprout hair growth in random directions. I usually slice one or two of the sods every shave. What I have found helps with them is stretching the surrounding skin until it is taut. Normally this takes at least three fingers & a thumb as well as gurning. Then use very short & light strokes. I'm not aiming for BBS, just reduction to the point of invisibility.

Might I suggest tackling the scar in short sections & relathering to prevent nicking & burn? Change your angle of attack too. It will be slow at first certainly. But as you learn your own face & its quirks, it should speed up. Do you have any beard growth from the scar itself?

Hope this helps

no growth from the scar itself.

It could also be that I'm right handed and maby I shoul;d learn to shave with left as well, if I strecht with mutiple fingers I can't see where I'm at annymore

Okay. No growth on the scar makes it like shaving around a nick or slice. How about this?

Try opening your mouth & jaw as wide as possible, then placing your left thumb & forefinger above the jawline & pulling down, It should tension your cheek up nicely, allowing you to shave right up to, but not onto, the scar. Learning to use your left hand would give you more angles at which to wield the blade.

In my opinion, I don't think the spike point will have any detrimental effect on the scar. As long as you follow the suggestions already made, mainly the stretching, you should not have any adverse effect from the spike. Regardless of where you are shaving, the only risk of the spike is putting it somewhere without paying attention to it. The scar should not be at any greater risk than any other part of your face--but your ears are another matter!

I do not know how the scar is laid out and is it new? Are you catching it when you hit it with the blade parallel to the scar? I had a scar that was not fully healed and found that if I went across it at 90 degrees it would not "catch". I took it lightly till it healed completely.


Take Care,
R

It's an old scar, had it for years, I'll try stretching it further

Another member here (I forget who) suggested blunting the very tip of the spike.

Originally Posted by Basch

It's an old scar, had it for years, I'll try stretching it further

Funny, since switching to a straight a few weeks back, I have the same issue with substantial scarring on the right side of my face from a bad car accident almost 30 years ago. This is after reconstructive and dermabrasion surgery and 30 years of shaving.

I had no issues with a DE, and got BBS shaves right over the scarred area. In my case, I'm so new, and am honestly such a frustratingly bad shaver with a straight, that I think it's a too much blade pressure and too little stretching issue.

I was such a fanatic about getting BBS shaves with a DE that I went to a dermatologist and had any moles removed from my face. The moles were never a problem with cartridge and electric shaving, because I never actually got a decent enough shave to bother them. But they really interfered with a BBS shave from a DE. I just got fed up, and had it fixed.

I'm hoping that this issue is a mixture of my lack of skill with the straight, and the ultra-close shaving potential of the straight. I wish I could get better more quickly, but this seems like it's going to be a much more difficult skill for me to grasp than switching from cartridges to DEs. Really frustrating.