skin rest

Ive been SR Shaving for a couple of months now. Im doing pretty fine, pleasent and close shave.

When I was living in the darknes of gillete I use to not shave on the weekends but now, because I love SR shaving I shave every sigle day.

My skin is already complaining and of course I know the solution, do not shave at least once a week, let my skin rest a little bit.

I only want to share this experience and see what you guys have to say about this or have some advices and experience you have bout this issue.

My skin is a PITA. I shave every other day usually, sometimes more, sometimes less. If i do shave every day, i get ingrowns after a few days at it. Every other works best for me. When i've got a new blade i get a bit excited & shave more frequently though!
As you said, the best thing is probably to give yourself a break from it once a week.

Its great that you are enthusiastic about shaving!
As for the skin, as time passes your technique will improve and your skin will get used to the closer shaves. You will be able to shave as often as you want to. Keeping your blade sharp helps too.
I still rest for a day on weekends once and a while. I like the shave through two day's growth.

I can't do more than two passes without getting subsequent irritation. OTOH I am fortunate in needing no more than the two passes to be bbs. Maybe a touch up on either side of the windpipe and I am golden.

I have never had an ingrown hair so when I see people make reference to that or to the shaving bumps I have no point of reference.

I do feel that if I shaved every other day it would be more friendly to my skin and with the job I have I could get away with it.

I too love shaving so much that I hate to miss a day. Sometimes I wish I could shave more than once a day so that I can test a razor that I am honing and don't have to wait for tomorrow.

High class problem. :)

I get razor burn from time to time because my skin is quite sensitive.

My solution? Vitamin E; commonly found in extra virgin Olive Oil.

It reduces down time significantly.

I usually apply the oil when my skin is still wet from rinsing. I apply a very small amount.

Hope this helps!

You're right there. Vitamin e is amazing stuff. I use vitamin e oil often & find if i do have any irritation, it's instantly gone.

The more I shave, the more irritated my skin gets, red bumps etc.
I find that every other day works very well but concur that missing a shaveday seems like not eating breakfast in the am.

I still use AS balm even on days I don't shave to keep the skin happy as well.

Sometimes I think I am gonna look like one of those plastic surgery addicted menaces that walk the streets in beverly hills, just red bumps and lacerations all over my face but still shaving...I know I am ok as long as no kids jump out of the way when I see them :rolleyes:

andy

As I've gotten more adept with the straight, I can shave every day without a problem. In the beginning I had to wait a day between shaves quite a bit. Proraso Man is right though. Any longer than that caused me worse problems.

I dont know if my skin is tougher than others or what...but ive been straight shaving for 2 months or so. I had irritation, or i guess i would call it razor burn my first 2 shaves. Ever since then my skin might be a bit tender after the shave, but the AC in my car soothes it by time i get to work.

I think giving your face a rest for a day would do you some good now and then. I shave every day except once on the weekend.

i can shave everyday without any problems. i did also make my on shaving soap that i use, it has olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil and i think that may also help me with any skin issues, as my skin stays soft and the different oils help with irritation.

I also have a similar issue. I love shaving so I try to shave everyday. If I do this, I get red patches here and there plus some irritation. If the irritation is too much then i take 2-3 days off. The next couple of shaves are great and usually for 2-3 shaves I don't get irritation, but I get an occasional shave that is just bad.


I say try a day or two off...

Sunday is my day of facial rest.

I shave daily and have not had a problem regardless of the method I have used. I only shave WTG and XTG and am able to get a very close shave. I have never felt that I had to go ATG and this may account for the lack of irritation. I do spend a lot of time making sure that my blades are clean and very sharp. Additionally, I spend a fair amount of time in preparation. On those mornings when I am at all rushed I use my Gillette Fatboy with Feather blades. Likewise I only use two passes, WTG and XTG. I feel fortunate in that I love to shave with my straight razors and look forward to "my time" each morning.

Lewis

Usually, I shave every third or fourth day! Even every other day can be rough on my face -- redness, bumps, irritation, rash. I like to get real close, though, so only by the third day is it significant growth, most times.

I am new to sr shaving and love it so much that I shave everyday, I always try to shave in the evening because, 1 I dont trust myself with a SR first thing in the morning! and 2 My face is rather "Puffy" first thing.
I do however often have a quick once over with the Razor before work, esp if i shaved early the night before, I use an alum block after shaving and my skin is soft and rash free, the alum also has the benefit of making me VERY AWAKE after its applied, and I find that once I remove my testicles from under my chin, stop dancing around the bathroom like a banshee, and uncross my eyes, I can go about my daily business without any worries! haha

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bromion

Usually, I shave every third or fourth day! Even every other day can be rough on my face -- redness, bumps, irritation, rash. I like to get real close, though, so only by the third day is it significant growth, most times.

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Something wrong in your shaving. May be pressure ,dull blade,not good preparation etc.
you need find out. Let us know whole process then someone figure out what is wrong.

In my dark days of disposables I shaved every other day, and never on weekends if I could help it. I suffered from irritation, bumps, rash and ingrown hairs. Since I've been SR for the last two months, I shave every day with no ill effects at all. Maybe my skin is hardened by the years of mowing with a Chinese throwaway? I don't know, but with SR my face looks and feels great, and I am very saddened if a day goes by when I can't shave.

I agree with others, maybe your razor isn't sharp enough, or maybe technique needs improvement, or maybe more beard prep. It took me a few shaves before I got the hang of it, but now it's a pleasant experience that I look forward to.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

Something wrong in your shaving. May be pressure ,dull blade,not good preparation etc.
you need find out. Let us know whole process then someone figure out what is wrong.

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I don't know... even with a professionally honed razor, I have problems shaving too frequently. If I wait a few days, I can get a super close shave with no irritation, etc.

Here's my process:
1) Wash face in shower.
2) Apply pre-shave oil (AOS)
3) Lather face; I use shaving soap from TGQ
4) Strop 50 passes
5) Shave down
6) Lather, shave up
7) Lather, shave cross
8) Rinse with cold water
9) Alum block in some places
10) AOS balm for sensitive skin

I've recently added Body Shop face protector and switched to Mitchell's Wool Fat soap at the advice of some others.

Thoughts?

Oh yeah, I have been straight razor shaving for about 2 years now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bromion

I don't know... even with a professionally honed razor, I have problems shaving too frequently. If I wait a few days, I can get a super close shave with no irritation, etc.

Here's my process:
1) Wash face in shower.
2) Apply pre-shave oil (AOS)
3) Lather face; I use shaving soap from TGQ
4) Strop 50 passes
5) Shave down
6) Lather, shave up
7) Lather, shave cross
8) Rinse with cold water
9) Alum block in some places
10) AOS balm for sensitive skin

I've recently added Body Shop face protector and switched to Mitchell's Wool Fat soap at the advice of some others.

Thoughts?

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Are you doing three passes every shave? I would cut down on the number of passes. I would try a 3/2 every other day - thats 3 pass shave - skip a day - 2 pass shave - skip a day (repeat)

I also might think that you have some micro chips on the blade that may be causing you some irritation - any chance of running it over an 8000 and crOx before stropping or something to do a finish polish?

just a few thoughts.

andy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 44Whiskas

Are you doing three passes every shave? I would cut down on the number of passes. I would try a 3/2 every other day - thats 3 pass shave - skip a day - 2 pass shave - skip a day (repeat)

I also might think that you have some micro chips on the blade that may be causing you some irritation - any chance of running it over an 8000 and crOx before stropping or something to do a finish polish?

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I'll try cutting down passes. Thing is, if I do frequent shaving, I get irritated starting by the first pass. Though I guess that's damage due to the prior shave.

When I hone, I inspect my blade with a microscope. Last time I honed, it looked real smooth... no little chips at 100x. The tools I have are Norton 4k/8k, Spyderco Ultra-fine, and pasted paddle strops (1 and 1/2 micron). I will occasionally use the paddle strops to get more out of the razor before re-honing. I have a tough beard so the razor dulls fairly quickly (month or so).

I shave every day during the week, with rest on Saturday.
When you learn the right pressure and get to know your razor better , you will get past the skin irritation.

thank you all. My skin was probably tired about the learnig courve. I keept shaving every single day and my skind is quite nice now. In the beginig i was using a not very good razor honed by me, but after start to use a profesionaly honed nos filarmonica the problems went away. Anyway I still think one day rest per week can be good even when i cant do it.

After first shave I waited 3 days to shave but it's every 4 days. But facial hair usually comes full force after couple days.

I do WTG and XTG. ATG is only executed on neck and sides as I'm not yet proficient and comfortable doing on chin.

With haircut it used to be 2-3 days but now I'm trying out 4 days as well. We'll see how it turns out.

:BeeR: