Thread: Razor Burn

Anyone have any tips on how to prevent and deal with razor burn?

Originally Posted by georgej

Anyone have any tips on how to prevent and deal with razor burn?

yes
Less pressure please and shave ready blade.
Don't shave against grain.
hope this will help.
if your blade needs some pressure to cut hairs it needs to be sharpened., gl

Originally Posted by georgej

Anyone have any tips on how to prevent and deal with razor burn?

To get responses with adequate depth for your shaving situation you will need to provide information on wetshaving medium and shaving implement.

I have taken to using the traditional moist heat treatment of a towel/handtowel with hot water (wrung out to remove drippiness) as a pre-shave preparation. Skin cleansers are good, simply washing off the oils of the skin (the sebum that's all over your face) which allows the cream or soap to properly infuse into the hair, with the moisture. Pre-shave helps to prevent post-shave problems like razor burn.

Look into post-shave remedies to treat burn as it happens. The first time I used a straight edge (after a few months of reading here, of course) my skin got a slight burn, redness and tenderness. It threatened to turn on me for about two hours and then dissapated. No problem for the rest of the day. If post-shave remedies don't work (plenty of products out there and discussion on them) then definently investigate the world of pre-shave as the ultimate in prevention.

Good rules to follow for post-shave to prevent burn:

Immediately after shaving

1) cold rinse to close and tighten skin

2) alum block wiped over shaven area

3) witchhazel extract/skin-tonic astringent to further heal and cleanse skin

4) aftershave balm or cream if desired, especially medicinal ones, the plain aftershaves aren't as good as the kind designed to ameliorate razor burn phenomena.


I'm just learning how to deal with the post-shave effects of a straight edge the day after shaving.

Razor burn is essentially, irritation. Either by applying too much pressure, or using a dulled edge, poor technique, improper prep, etc... There are loads of factors that can cause this.

First thing you wanna do, is make sure your razor is properly honed, as this is the most common cause of shaving discomfort. You also want to make sure you use as little pressure as possible, and dont shave against the grain to start out with, until you have your technique down pat. You may also want to check your lather and prep procedures.

To fix razor burn, try using an alum block and some witch hazel. These will help the skin feel better, and aid in the healing process. Then, you'll want to take a few days off from shaving, to give your face ample time to recover.

Hope this helps

What does alum block do?

going over the same place over and over again and too much pressure will burn you. a razor with a truely shave ready edge requires allmost no inward pressure just enough to keep contact with the skin , the touch is the key to shaving with a straight razor if the touch is right and the face prep
shower lots of hot water on the face and a bÃt of cream rinse to soften the beard, lather strop your razor wash off the lather( hot water) and relather,
from there on the touch will be the key. witch hazel afterward and a good balm after that. go slow hope this helps

You have receive great tips on how to avoid razor burn but nothing on how to deal with it. If you get razor burn, try aloe vera, it is really good.

Originally Posted by georgej

Anyone have any tips on how to prevent and deal with razor burn?

It is an astringent, see this: Alum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Both witch hazel and alum are astringents of different strengths: Witch hazel (astringent) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by georgej

What does alum block do?

Al raz.

Originally Posted by georgej

What does alum block do?

An Alum Block is said to have several properties, whether they are true or not will depend on the end user, IMO.

IME, I have found that the Alum block helps my skin to heal. It is moderately powerful astringent, that helps to heal the skin, and clean out the pores.

kcarlise suggested to me that I use Doctor Tichenor's antiseptic mouth wash as an after shave. Believe it or not it works really well. I have been using witch hazel and Dr. Tichenor's on a regular basis and my razor burn is pretty much gone. Check out the thread http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ving-neck.html for some other information if you want. Hope this helps you out some.

Originally Posted by AxelH

To get responses with adequate depth for your shaving situation you will need to provide information on wetshaving medium and shaving implement.

I have taken to using the traditional moist heat treatment of a towel/handtowel with hot water (wrung out to remove drippiness) as a pre-shave preparation. Skin cleansers are good, simply washing off the oils of the skin (the sebum that's all over your face) which allows the cream or soap to properly infuse into the hair, with the moisture. Pre-shave helps to prevent post-shave problems like razor burn.

Look into post-shave remedies to treat burn as it happens. The first time I used a straight edge (after a few months of reading here, of course) my skin got a slight burn, redness and tenderness. It threatened to turn on me for about two hours and then dissapated. No problem for the rest of the day. If post-shave remedies don't work (plenty of products out there and discussion on them) then definently investigate the world of pre-shave as the ultimate in prevention.

Good rules to follow for post-shave to prevent burn:

Immediately after shaving

1) cold rinse to close and tighten skin

2) alum block wiped over shaven area

3) witchhazel extract/skin-tonic astringent to further heal and cleanse skin

4) aftershave balm or cream if desired, especially medicinal ones, the plain aftershaves aren't as good as the kind designed to ameliorate razor burn phenomena.


I'm just learning how to deal with the post-shave effects of a straight edge the day after shaving.

+++1 on that advice--Both pre and post-shave.

I use a cold water splash and an alum block after every shave, followed by an aftershave balm. No razor burn at all...