Razor burn. How long?

Hello All,

Since I ditched the disposables and started Straight Razor / DE shaving I have had what I would consider zero razor burn. I never got it with the disposables but then again I was going for a shave not a close shave.

I had preped my beard and had done a pass with my straight, I did a second clean up pass with my DE. I splashed on some witch hazel and then put on a bit of Nivia balm. Everything was great.

About an hour later I finish breakfast and while brushing my teeth I notice at the base of neck on either side of my adams apple are 2 areas where the hair grows sideways... and there is still some stubble there!

Thinking that this will not do I grabbed my DE and did a nice firm against the grain swipe on each of the 2 areas. This felt bad. As I pulled the DE away from my neck I could see little points of blood starting to rise up from the previously stubbly area.

Holly crap! That's not good. I hit it with some witch hazel and some styptic and the bleeding stops. I even sprayed some neosporin on it.

This morning it's still red and irritated enough that I skipped shaving but now the question is how long will this last? I want to shave again!

Thank you,
--Shoki

that may need 3 days for full recovery
but you wont find out before the end of your next shave

my beginning razor burns lasted for 2 to three days. lots of moisturizer and low collared shirts! and a few beers at night to take your mind off it.

Razor burn was mostly gone by day 3. Then I gave myself a nice little slice :) Think I'll only have to skip 1 day.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shoki

Razor burn was mostly gone by day 3. Then I gave myself a nice little slice :) Think I'll only have to skip 1 day.

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Shoki,

The next time you notice some stubble that you missed either: a) leave it be for the next shave; or b) apply some water and a bit of soap/cream to the area before "touching up." Either approach will help you avoid razor burn.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jhenry

Shoki,

The next time you notice some stubble that you missed either: a) leave it be for the next shave; or b) apply some water and a bit of soap/cream to the area before "touching up." Either approach will help you avoid razor burn.

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Shoki,
Monroe is absolutely right. Never go over those areas without the lubrication that creme/soap provides.

On a different note, experiment with some of the post shave products (moisturizers, AS balms, etc...). Some will leave your skin more irritated than others. This, unfortunately is something you will have to find out for yourself as every skin reacts different to products.

For me, I had to stay away from alcohol containing aftershaves in the beginning, as they would really irritate my skin (red as blood and itchy spots). Even Trumper's moisturizer was irritating...this eventually subsided. But, it took a few weeks for my skin to "toughen" up to the technique etc. Now, I don't get much irritation from anything.

So, my advice is to take mental notes of everything that irritates your skin and stay off of them for awhile. You can always re-incorporate them in your routine later. The simpler the post-shave, the happier your face will be.

Yeah I was actually shocked when I saw the all the little points of blood. It hurt but it almost looked "cool". Later the redness and irritation set in and it wasn't so cool any more. I was really annoyed because I wanted to shave the next day and couldn't.

This was a clear lesson I don't think I will be repeating this mistake for a long while.