Thread: post shaving skin woes

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

On my face this is a clue that I have a reaction to one of the products I used to shave with. The first shave seems fine but I get a micro rash without any red color.

Agreed. It is very possibly a reaction to a product rather than a shaving technique issue, which would obviously result in some form of redness.

My face is exactly the same way. I have never tried a straight razor however I have noticed with some double edge blades (derby, merkur, dorko and personnas) the shave will feel great at first but then upon closer inspection a few days later (like niftyshaving's 3-day rule which is ultimately true) the shave really wasn't so great.

I read about a Microrash earlier in this post. You may be onto something since the irritation is more noticeable after the follicles are activated and begin to shoot out whiskers.

I'd suggest become comfortable with one razor before trying to rotate. I tried rotation with two razors and about 5 blades and the results were horrible.

Find a DE razor that is mild, and stick with a blade for about a week. Don't shave more than 3x with the blade before you toss it. I have adopted the use of Gillette's yellow packs exclusively and it is rare that I have a poor experience.

Furthermore after about a year of using the same razor, I have found that 2.5 passes are sufficient; one with the grain and the second across the grain. The 1/2 of pass consists of when I'm being meticulous and trying to clean up any rough spots.

I noticed that Lenny does something similar to me. After splashing warm water on my face, I then lather up lightly with the brush, working the lather in, then washing it all off again with warm water and then lathering a second time followed by shaving it off.

I have not found that stretching every area of skin is useful either, sometimes when you slump your face down (like if you are trying to make your face appear fat) and then go across the grain (chin to ear) the neck quadrants of the face (chin and throat to your neck) have zero irritation.

I usually wait 2-3 days for stubble to accumulate so that my face is fully healed before shaving off a few layers of skin again. When I finish my shave I splash cold water on my face, as cold as possible until my face is literally numb. You get used to it after a while but it helps to close the pores on your face and from what I have read reduces any irritation.

I hope things are going better for your face.

I have been shaving DE for about a month now. I have sensitive skin and crave the BBS shave. I have had some lets say "brutal" shaves but following Mantic59 on youtube I have been trying new things.

I do 4 passes now....WTG, then XTG, then XTG the other way, then ATG. No pressure added to blade and ATG I tighten the skin like a SE. Alum bloc after etc.

I also put conditioner in the beard while I shower, that has helped a bunch.

It seems strange that the more passes the better the shave, but I tried WTG then ATG for less passes and I had a bloody mess going for the BBS shave. Gradual beard reduction is the key to a good shave for me even though it takes a little bit longer it is nice with the sweet products we get to use!