Thread: Ingrown Hairs from Straight Shaving?

I am a relatively new Straight razor shaver with about 8 shaves to date. I have been DE shaving for about two years. Prior to DE shaving, I always had ingrown hairs on my neck due to a heavy curly beard. DE shaving seems to have cured the ingrown problem. Unfortunately, some hairs on my neck have become ingrown following a couple straight shaves. Is it likely I am stretching my skin too tight, thus causing the cut hair to recede beneath the skin line? Please make suggestions so I can get past this.

Hi there! I had exactly the same problem as you (only one ingronwned hair on the neck, though) and it hasn't been seen in many years now, once you get the technique down. I don't think it's to much stretching though, maybe more about how light (or rather how hard) you use the razor, you really need a lighter touch than you had when DE shaving, I think. Good luck!

Thank you Mikael! I will give it a go this Sunday, and will use a lighter touch!

Hello Sir,

I had this problem too but resolved it with these procedures:

-use Proraso pre/post(before and after the shave. Put some after shower everyday even if I not shaving)
-I dont shave everyday, so when taking shower between the shaves, I always lather up and exfoliate with shaving brush in shower.

cheers
Dominic

I was getting irritation and an ingrown whisker, but have now been using a very light touch, and no razor burn or anything. A light touch seems to be the key. Eureka!

Originally Posted by davemillard

I was getting irritation and an ingrown whisker, but have now been using a very light touch, and no razor burn or anything. A light touch seems to be the key. Eureka!

I am really going to have to try a light touch!

Originally Posted by DOOM

-I dont shave everyday, so when taking shower between the shaves, I always lather up and exfoliate with shaving brush in shower.

This is a good suggestion. Use the shower to enhance the pre-shave phase. The steam of the water and the exfoliation the brush provides will definitely prepare your face for a better shave.

When I started I did have some ingrown hair problems. If you are heavy handed it is possible to cut a hair that is below the normal skin line but there is also the issue that it takes a while for your skin and beard to become accustomed to a new way of shaving. For me, it was a matter of degrees. After I started using a straight my skin was almost instantly better with very few ingrown hairs but I still had some. This all depends on your beard and skin type but you should see a dramatic improvement fairly quickly.


Take care,
Richard

i at first also had this problem, which i had never had before and have been DE shaving for 15-20 yrs. made my own preshave oil with almond oil/olive oil, 50/50, and really started to shave with the grain of my hair with a lighter touch. bam. no ingrown hairs.