Thread: Recently experiencing redness and razor burn

Hello everyone,

I have been shaving with a double edge razor for over a year now on and off. I just recently started getting really good shaves with it. However yesterday and today I began experiencing redness and what I would call razor burn (my face felt really hot and hot to the touch). I am not sure why this is. Today I got some Musgo Glycerin lime oil soap and I thought it was great my shave was going smooth until I got to my 4th pass which is ATG. I started to see some redness, but finished my shave anyway. It came out really really smooth, but with redness and razor burn. I was wondering if anybody could help me out with this. I have not changed my technique or products at all and this is the first time since I started shaving that I have gotten redness or even razor burn.

For shaving I hold the razor near the bottom with three fingers and do not use pressure. I used TOOBS Lavender Cream today with Musgo Glycerine soap as a pre-shave. Today was my first time using the soap, but I had gotten redness and razor burn yesterday so I am sure it is not the soap.

Thanks for the help,
KWood34

That is a good question. First off I would skip shaving for a few days to let your skin settle down. It may be an allergic reaction to something not shave related that is being amplified with your shave. Were you out in the sun more than usual? It may be a mild sunburn that got worse with the shave. Pressure and angle would be my first guess but you already have that covered. When you shave in a few days be sure to sue a new blade and not any other shave stuff newer to you than a week. If all goes well just add one of the newer items every few days. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I will hold off shaving for a couple of days. I havent been getting any sun lol it's been the exact opposite its been really cold and snowing outside. I thought it may have been the razor too so today when I shave I used a new razor, but that didn't help either. Let's see what happens in a couple of days.

Thanks again,
KWood

I'm also thinking it's an allergic reaction. Razor burn is caused by excess pressure, resulting in taking too much skin off the face, kind of like scraping an elbow or knee. Since you've addressed the pressure issue, I would definitely go with the allergy. The question now becomes what is it you're allergic to?

If it's unusually cold and snowing and your face is exposed to that you can get burn very easily. I would do the rest thing and then try again and see what happens. In the meantime maybe some light skin treatment like moisturizer or Vitamin A oil might help.

I have no idea what I could be allergic to. I have used the same shaving cream, brush, razor, blades, aftershave, etc. for the last week because I am on vacation and that I only brought one of kind of each of these. strange...

Originally Posted by KerryWood34

I have no idea what I could be allergic to. I have used the same shaving cream, brush, razor, blades, aftershave, etc. for the last week because I am on vacation and that I only brought one of kind of each of these. strange...

Therein may lie your problem. If your brush is not having a chance to fully dry between shaves, you could have a mild case of bacteria buildup that would cause increased sensativity (allergy/razor burn looking) reaction.

That does seem to be the one variable from your normal routine (though there may be more, including chemicals in the water that your freshly shaven skin does not appreciate/isn't used to).

I had a similar problem happen to me on vacation with a tooth brush.

There are many, many factors that can can lead to irritation. If YOU ARE SURE it is not a reaction to the soap or too much pressure that leaves:

-Too steep an angle (yes, angle is important too, just like straight razor shaving)
-Dull razor blade
-Too many passes; you did mention you are doing 4 passes including ATG. This may be excessive for your skin so you may want to adjust your routine to incorporate less passes
-Inadequate pre shave prep
-Lather problems

Hey, no one said it's easy.....

Thank you all for the advice and the help. I think you might be right about the shaving angle and maybe the lather. I'm not sure right now, but I may have changed the angle at some points during my shave. This could definitely be the culprit.

As for lather, I can't seem to find the right way to do it. I am using a Silvertip Badger brush with Taylor of Old Bond Street Lavender or Sandalwood depending on what I feel like that day lol. I have followed all the videos and tips I have found, but I don't think I can make my lather look like theirs. Just when I think I have the "peaks of lather" on my brush and in my bowl, they are apparently too dry because halfway through my shave the lather starts to puff off my face. I usually just add more water and it really helps, but it doesnt last either. I am thinking of making a video of me making lather so that others can help me. I just have to find a way of mounting my Droid X phone at a good angle to shoot the video.

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. I have gotten some really good shaves using my DE and can't wait until I get consistently great shaves so I can enjoy shaving the way I want to.

Thank you again for all your help and please keep it coming

KWood34

My guess would be too many passes. You may be allergic to something, but I would say it's unlikely as you have probably been exposed to most of the ingredients in shaving creams/soaps/aftershaves sometime before now. You mentioned it's really cold where you're from so your skin might just be chapped from the lack of humidity. Try using a moisturizer and cutting back to a WTG and XTG pass. Also, skipping any alcohol-based aftershaves might be a good idea too, since alcohol can dry out the skin.

Cheers!