Thread: Pre-shave oil and acne scarring

It may just be my imagination, I started shaving with pre-shave oil, a badger brush and shaving cream (not blue or green foam that makes face feel very cool upon application) and continued shaving with my Mach 3. I just got my first straight razor back from Lynn and will commence shaving on Sunday, am still waiting for other supplies.

Anyway, I had some acne scarring that since I began shaving in the traditional way as stated above (with the exception of the Mach 3) seems to have diminished. I noticed that the pre-shave oil, upon application softens the beard, yet also makes the face feel very supple and leathery….perhaps it is having some sort of side effect on the craters and valleys left by my teen acne some twelve years ago?

Well, it might be a combination of the oil softening your face and the razor cutting off the softened scar tissue. I have some pretty extreme scars the size of a nickel, as well as some smaller, normal-er scars and have looked into getting them removed, and the only thing that they can do is essentially cut away the scar, whether with a laser or what amounts to a medical grade dremel. You're probably doing essentially the same thing, considering the scars are raised above the rest of the skin.
I speculate that using preshave oil (or any other softening oil/agent) and then using a straight razor to take off that very small top layer of scar tissue (like microdermebrasion with a knife) is a good way to reduce the appearance of scars. When I get my straight razor in about a week i'll give it a shot. None of my scars will go away, but it would be nice to make them a little less noticeable.

Thoughts anyone?

Without carefully examining what is going on first hand, its hard to say for sure what effect the preshave oil might be doing. Its possible that it simply makes your skin more shiny and the scarring more easily seen. If your acne is still active, I can tell you that preshave oil will eventually start exacerbating it. However if your acne is long gone, then it won't be a problem.

As far as the suggestion that further trauma to the surface of the skin through laceration by a razor would improve the appearance of the skin, I would say this is a risky thing to gamble on, and its possible that such an unproven method might actually cause more scarring instead of improving the skin. The concern here would be that any undesired additional scarring produced in this way would be irreversible.

A safer route would be to use a more well established treatment verified by clinical trials in peer reviewed publications as being effective in improving acne scarring. These would include chemical peels, CO2 laser resurfacing, or dermabrasion.

Hope this helps,
Pete

Pre-shave Oil over time will improve your skin and make it healthier. That could diminish the look of the scars. Pre shave oil sometimes gets a bad rap but most cases I find people are using to much and looking for a instant difference. It will help your beard and skin over time.

I agree with you Don. I dont have acne or acne scars, fortunately, but I have been using the art of shaving pre shave oil, along with their shaving cream now for the past few weeks and I like it quite a bit.