Thread: Merkurs aren't for people of color?

That sounds about right. I can't go for BBS. It's just not worth it when i have to dig the damn things out for two weeks after. I go pretty close, but you can feel the scratchiness ATG.

Merkur DE blades I have found to be horribly rough feeling when shaving with them. I would not recommend them to anyone, of any color!

I'm not overly fond of their blades either. I tend to stick to the feathers. Not that it gets used much these days.

A good friend of mine is black and he always complained of this. I think he just used a regular razor.

I think the problem that is being overlooked here is the wireyness and tight curl of the hair that a black man has. I would think and I do not know that the tight curl of the hair is a real problem in ingrown hairs as the hair is already doubling back on itself.

I would agree with the advice of WTG only and no pressure and the use of a Schick or straight. A Rolls may be better.

FWIW

I'm not a PoC, but I have very thick hair.

Cartridge gave me bad razor burn. When I switched to a DE, I stopped getting the razor burn, but definitely had more problems with ingrowns (which is the bumps). I imagine that if my hair was thicker, then razor burn would've been preferable. So there definitely is some legitimacy to the idea. Straights give me fewer ingrowns, but I still get them on occasion.

There are bump guard and bump control razors (marketed to PoC) which keep the razor off the skin, so, yeah, there's definitely something to what your friend said.

It's not the razor, bumps effect everyone from time to time. Generally speaking it's said that most Black men experience ingrown hairs after shaving which leads to razor bumps. Bumps are a consequence of the curly hair growing back and stabbing the skin causing minor infection and skin irritation. The key to avoid razor bumps is to shave with the grain not against it. Good idea to shower before shaving that way the skin is very soft and open for a close easy shave. Afterwards use cool water to rinse and close the pores in your face. A nice skin tightening and moisturizing after shave also helps. I hear using products with shea butter (like Pre De Provence) are really good because shea butter holds skin healing properties in it

ignatz

"His advice to me (and for others who suffer these problems) is to try NOT to shave terribly close to the skin, but rather to go for the slightly rough 'Don Johnson look' (Ã la Miami Vice)."

Funny!

Originally Posted by inquisitive

Today, I was talking to one of my buddies. After I told him that I wanted to purchase a Merkur, he went on to tell me that those type of razors aren't for black folks because we would get bumps.

Does he have a point?


I told him that they don't sell razors according to race. We use the same over the counter razors without getting bumps.


Any thoughts?

I was extremely prone to pseudofolliculitis barbae when I was in the Army and I shaved with a two blade disposable. This was when they first came out. I have scars on both sides of my neck from it. I started shaving with a straight razor and never had the problem again until I got really smart and went backwards and tried a triple blade disposable razor. So - back to the straight razor again - once again, no recurrence of the problem.

The explanation is simple and actually advertised by Gillette. The first blade cuts off the hair after pulling it out. Then comes the second blade and cuts it even shorter after pulling it out even further and cuts it at a more acute angle. If you are using a triple blade disposable the process just continues with the third blade pulling it out even further and cutting it an even more acute angle. After all the blades have passed sometimes you end up with a very pointed little hair that snaps back into the follicle. When it starts to grow it curls up under the skin and becomes infected. Like I said I have never had this problem when shaving with a straight razor because the straight razor cuts it off flush with the skin after only pulling it out a little.

People like myself who have fairly sensitive skin and a beard like the hair on a baby elephant are very prone to this problem. Even a double edge razor is an improvement in avoiding this problem - but a straight razor rules!

they do make special shaving creams and powders for black people, i dunno if razor style makes any difference, but there skin is different.

I'm wiating for inquisitive to report back and tell us how it goes. I know that it is night and day for me with irritation between the multi blade and the straight, and no noticeable smoothness difference. in fact, the smoothness of my upper lip the last two days has me fascinated, I think I'm developing a bad habit of rubbing my lip with the back of my finger now just to enjoy the smoothness.

Red