Thread: Skin irritation and afternmath

So I'm admittedly new but I think I have a decent technique but much to learn.
I do the prep, hot shower, hot towel, lather up with shave soap let it sit, hot towel again and re lather.
When I'm done, pretty red, breakout wherever I go up and can't shave for a few days till it calms down mostly my problem areas...chin, neck and cheeks. The side of the face if not an issue at all.
What else can I try? Is it technique or just my skin? I do get that whenever the barber does my neck too and whenever they use an electric razor on my head to tape it down, my back of the head and side still breaks out a few days so I'm leaning towards sensitize skin.
I just recently read try aloe with glycolic acid cream...will try that next time I shave unless any other ideas.

A few things, technique takes time before you are shaving without scraping, 2. Razor edge. Most guys are buying razors nowadays that are not ready to shave with. 3. If it was ready then your stropping could be bad too. 4. Maybe the soap your using is causing irritation, try a different soap.

So this is just a few, most new guys go through this, it takes time, after 100 or so shaves and learning to strop well, you can get irritation free shaves even with a razor that's not quite there.

Try starting out only doing your cheeks till you get comfortable using the blade and your using light pressure, pressure is your enemy right now. Which is part of the problem with your technique.

Try watching Lynn Abrams video on starting out shaving. Tc

For me the whole hot shower & towel routine softened my skin to much. Now I soak my brush & soap in hot water from the tap. Load the brush splash some hot water on my face and then face lather. It ends being a neutral shave not hot or cold. Been doing that for 6 years. But yes if you're new to this the variables are almost endless.

Red skin might be a sign of too much pressure. Shave the lather not your whiskers. Skin stretching is an important issue for me. The previous two posts have good information too. Some find they get more with less. There are a few here that promote no prep cold water shaves. I am fairly minimalist but not minimal, and I do use Noxema as a pre shave.

I have sensitive skin, too, and had the problem you're having, but on my neck. Pressure and a "dull" razor are the two most likely culprits. It definitely takes some time to get the hang of pressure.

Have you made a face map? If you're making your first pass against the grain of your hair, that could cause extra irritation, as well.

Maybe all that prepping with hot towels is making your face more sensitive too. You could try shaving with cool/cold water without that prepping.

I think TC covered most points. I'd add that even if the soap is not irritating your face a poor lather will definitely degrade the shave making irritation more likely.

Bob

1: Dull blade. You might not realize it, but if it's dull your blade can irritate the crap out of you. I re-learned that lesson today. The night before I tried desperately to force a shave from a Wedge I just honed. My neck didn't appreciate it, and let me know as soon as I broke a sweat at work today. There's no razor burn quite like surprise delayed razor burn...

2: Pressure. Already been touched on, but less is more.

3: Angle. 1-2 spine widths away from your face. But on concave areas (neck), the game can change a bit. If you think about the angle the blade is contacting concave skin, keeping the spine a width or two away more than likely puts the angle of attack over 30 degrees. That's scraping, not shaving. To get my neck comfortably, the spine has to ride skin on the concave areas while I try to pull the edge away from the skin. YMMV.

4: Temperature of water. I know when I go for a hot shave, that I am setting myself up for razor burn. For me there's no hot towels, preshave yadda yadda. Splash with cool water, lather, and shave. Shower optional. Cold water tightens and seems to de-sensitize the skin. Every once in a while I treat myself to a hot water shave, but for an irritation free every-day shave cold/room temp water is the go-to.

5: Stretch the skin. Tighter is better. I still forget this...

6: Too many passes. Get as clean as you can, 1 pass with the grain. Try again the following day. That first shave may not be the closest, but it'll be closer the next day. And with less irritation. Once you can do 1 pass shaves with no irritation, add a second pass going across the grain where applicable. Most days I do 1 pass with touch ups where needed, and get a close clean and comfortable shave. If I pay attention to technique I can do 2 no problem. 3 passes may forever be asking for trouble, skin's just too sensitive.

What ResDog said. That blade doesn't need much help to cut whiskers. "Encouraging" it with too much pressure will leave something to remember it by. Finish with some witch hazel after a good cold rinse.

Originally Posted by bills2345

mostly my problem areas...chin, neck and cheeks. The side of the face if not an issue at all.
What else can I try?
.

Chin, necks, and cheeks.

On my face these are curved/round.

Your hand has to change angles to keep the same blade angle to your skin.

I agree with the cold water prep and shave. Keep blade flat as possible and still cuts whisker. No significant pressure is to be used just blade contact. Choose your soap wisely good tip. I feel for you but I am the opposite of you I have a face that usually doesn't react to any thing save a few spots around the corners of my mouth. Also skin gets used to the straight razor and will adapt to it to a certain degree so things may just get better. Maybe try alum afterwards I find that stuff soothing. I think you'll get there after you find what doesn't bother your skin. One thing I'd like to add is make sure that your razor has got an good edge. Many edges cut but may be either unrefined or toothy. Those edges can be like shaving with a hacksaw blade. Sometimes when a blade is finished with too much chromium oxide that can give a very bitey prickly edge some folks react to. Maybe try to get a natural stone edge done for you right and maybe this would help., Coticules or escher edges are very skin friendly. I'm just chucking ideas at you. You may already be doing this .