Thread: Can't avoid the irritation

That sounds like my cartridge experience.
Some skin likes a hot shave, others a cold shave.
I find Noxema as a preshave cream is very good.
Skin stretching and holding is a big one for me as is a feather light touch. Shave the lather not the whiskers, was what helped me with the pressure.
Different soaps can be problems for many. Perhaps you should try only tallow, or only glycerin or only vegan.

I have the same problem with one particular area of my neck. To minimize the bumps,
I do the following:

1) Shave immediately after a shower or a good wash (don't even towel off your face)
2) apply a pre-shave lotion (I use Proraso for Sensitive Skin...White Label),
3) Use a really sharp blade (a well-honed, well-stropped straight or a new DE blade)
4) Shave WTG or XTG...never ATG!
5) Use a low angle of attack and as little pressure as possible.
6) If one WTG and one XTG pass doesn't get it, then forget it and leave it alone!
6) Rinse your face thoroughly with cold water and apply witch hazel.
7) Apply antibiotic ointment to the sensitive area, whether you think you need it or not!
8) Avoid alcohol based aftershaves.
9) Don't rub your face...it only makes it worse.

The whole idea is to avoid irritation as much as possible. And as Bouschie says,
make sure that you're not allergic to your shave soap/cream. I prefer tallow based
soaps/creams with shea butter in the mix.

All that is a lot of trouble, but it works for me. Just go lightly and don't rush your shave.

Good luck!

You all are awesome, thank you so much for the great advice

It's definitely razor bumps that are plaguing my skin (upon googling as BobH recommended), and they are very painful, unsightly, and keep me from shaving for days. I also do suffer from copious ingrown hairs as a result of said bumps.

I don't think it's a reaction to something in the soap as it happens with no matter what I use but soaps that are on the drier side only make things worse. I'll look in to improving my preshave routine as well as trying some shave oil in my lather.

Attempts at getting a BBS shave is probably when it happens the worst so I think that will be out of the question for me as some of you have eluded to. I'll stick WTG and XTG from now on and limit the passes in general.

My technique could also probably use some work, I shall keep an eye on this as well as the pressure and angle of attack.

@outback, this is something I've been thinking about. Does skin get tougher the more one shaves? I shave about once a week because of this issue but I'm curious if shaving more often (and with correct technique of course) will somehow make skin more robust and less likely to suffer from razor bumps and such.

Not sure if it toughens the skin, but maybe it learns to regenerate quicker, from the constant micro abrasions.

I too, started with only doing a WTG pass, and it helped tremendously.

Once I learned to hone a proper edge, and get my technique dialed in, along with pressure, its been a total bliss.

Mapping my beard was a big key to shaving ATG. But now with over 30 years with a straight, its like breathing air, or riding a bike.

As your edges and technique improves BBS will come.

Always shave for comfort first, a comfortable shave with some stubble left and a good skin feel is much better than a BBS shave with painful skin that takes a while to heal.


I can't stand a DE shave tbh, I strongly dislike the blades.


What helped for me was not to lather up my entire face and proceed to shave. I would lather up half my face and take my time shaving that, taking my time to stretch well adjust my shaving angle and shaving stroke. Take the time to feel how it shaves and adjust the angle and pressure where needed, try different thing see what works best, I like a very shallow shaving angle.
Don't apply too much pressure.
I like focusing on shaving smaller patches per time. I also lather up in "areas", first the right side of my face, then the left, then the middle. It's also convenient for skin stretching to not be all lathered up (although alum rocks for this)


I have a small part on my neck that gets razor bumps if I don't shave it right. It's very peculiar about how I shave it, but sadly there's only one way to find out what will and will not cause them: shave it in a few different ways. Stretch up or down, shave from N-S or S-N or E-W, W-E, etc; it can all matter.

A certainly honed edge can also limit razor bumps IME, but it's mostly about technique and figuring out how to shave your face best

and don't shave with dried out lather (:

Now that's some golden advice, all of the above.
I like getting the reminders of the things that I often forget.
Great replies!

A post shave toner spray feels quite nice and helps soothe and restore skin. I like it because I can spray it on and not touch my face, and do that several times over the next 48hrs.
Skin definitely toughens up.
I'm up to twice a week, so my skin is getting "conditioned" to more frequent shaving after a long term beard.

I think the face gets used to the feel of a straight. Not really toughen up. JMO. I used to get an odd feeling after a shave and my skin felt sensitive after a shave. I found it was my edge not being sharp enough. The idea that the hairs were cut off at an angle. Not straight across the hairs. After learning to put a keener edge on my razors ive not had this happen again.

Glad you are figuring out what is going on. One step in the right direction at a time and soon the DE will find a dusty drawer to sit in.

Originally Posted by outback

Not sure if it toughens the skin, but maybe it learns to regenerate quicker, from the constant micro abrasions.

I too, started with only doing a WTG pass, and it helped tremendously.

Once I learned to hone a proper edge, and get my technique dialed in, along with pressure, its been a total bliss.

Mapping my beard was a big key to shaving ATG. But now with over 30 years with a straight, its like breathing air, or riding a bike.

I definitely need to map my beard. For the most part my face is easy, it's the neck that's horrible and is the source of most irritation as the hair grows in different directions.

Originally Posted by TristanLudlow

As your edges and technique improves BBS will come.

Always shave for comfort first, a comfortable shave with some stubble left and a good skin feel is much better than a BBS shave with painful skin that takes a while to heal.

I can't stand a DE shave tbh, I strongly dislike the blades.

What helped for me was not to lather up my entire face and proceed to shave. I would lather up half my face and take my time shaving that, taking my time to stretch well adjust my shaving angle and shaving stroke. Take the time to feel how it shaves and adjust the angle and pressure where needed, try different thing see what works best, I like a very shallow shaving angle.
Don't apply too much pressure.

I like focusing on shaving smaller patches per time. I also lather up in "areas", first the right side of my face, then the left, then the middle. It's also convenient for skin stretching to not be all lathered up (although alum rocks for this)

I have a small part on my neck that gets razor bumps if I don't shave it right. It's very peculiar about how I shave it, but sadly there's only one way to find out what will and will not cause them: shave it in a few different ways. Stretch up or down, shave from N-S or S-N or E-W, W-E, etc; it can all matter.

A certainly honed edge can also limit razor bumps IME, but it's mostly about technique and figuring out how to shave your face best

and don't shave with dried out lather (:

This is some excellent stuff, thanks Tristan. What you said about shaving for comfort and what RezDog said above about shaving the lather and not the whiskers is something that I had never really thought about, BBS shave was always the primary focus, much to the detriment of my skin.

Also shaving a portion/area of my face at a time, definitely something I will try as I focus on improving technique rather than attacking the whole face at once.

As you learn to shave more efficiently, your speed in shaving will increase. At the start, slow it down and make sure the lather is still wet and slick on the part of your face you are shaving.

That’s why shaving your face in sections is a great suggestion: lather the section you are about to shave after you have lathered your whole face. If you do that, the lather on that section will be fresh and will provide better lubrication. Don’t be afraid to lather several times if necessary. Soap is cheap compared to skin!

It sounds like you getting razor bumps or in-grown hairs from shaving your face to closely. If you shave such that the hair folicules are cut off below skin level, they can turn and start burrowing into your skin with painful results. Due to the bumps, let your beard row out for four days before the next shave. Because you anticipate it will be four days before you shave again, you once again shave too closely.

I would suggest you shave more frequent, perhaps even daily, but do not try to get a BBS shave. Perhaps only shave a single pass WTG and leave it at that. Do not be concerned with getting a close shave, for now a socially acceptable shave will do. Use the least aggressive razor equipped with the least aggressive blade that will achieve that result. If doing a single pass WTG eliminates the issue, after a few weeks, you might try adding a second XTG to see if you can get a little closer. Avoid ATG passes and buffing as that is likely to be the trigger for your problems.