Thread: All's well until it starts to grow back...

I’ve been shaving with a straight razor for about 3 months now. The improvement is immense; however, I still have plenty of perfecting to do.

Things I know:

The razor IS sharp. I’m using a very light touch at 30 degrees. My prep is very extensive. I’ve read up on nearly all of the literature posted for download on the site, and scoured hundreds of previous posts.

My shaves have been getting better and better; and my skin irritation has gone down significantly (especially compared to the electric or mach3 I was using)… but it’s still there. And so are the in-grown hairs!

I first shave with the grain, then against – and I’m careful to note the changing directions of my hair, and I move accordingly… stretching the skin all the way. If I don't shave against the grain, I cannot get a close shave. I can’t get a perfect shave with a straight razor just yet, but can get most areas, and finish with a touch-up with a mach3. Once I’m done shaving, my face looks pretty good… doesn’t look too irritated; it’s only a few days later that it starts getting annoying – when the hair starts to grow back..

Under my lip and on my neck, I get little white-head pimples JUST while the hair is growing back after being shaved; and they go away 3-4 days after the shave. I think this has something to do with cutting the hair the wrong way, and having it grow back all mucked up. After this, I have tons of in-grown hairs.

I've been exfoliating everynight to remove dead skin, and moisturizing (because I have very dry skin), but it hasn't been taking care of it.

What should I do?

I’ve got sensitive skin and thick curly hair… forgive me!

Amen Brother. You just wrote my life story. I have accually started using a staight only on weekends. I use my remington electric through the week with no irritation. It is a far inferior shave for sure. The electric is uncomfortable and annoying but doesnt irritate my skin. I have been shaving with a straight for about 3 months. I know it is sharp, although it is about time to hire some help for honing. I regret going back to the electric but it is the only razor that doesnt cause irritation. I prep the same with the electric which has accually greatly improved the shave.
I feel like a traitor going back but my face is just tired of the ingrown hairs..

OK.. Im ready for all of the hate mail.
I am still fascinated with straights and look foward to the weekends when I have a chance to use them. There is just no history or talent involved in putting an electric razor to your skin. It reminds me of those electric turkey carving knives.

I've been str8 shaving for about the same time, so I know exactly what you mean.

I have fair straight hair, so ingrowns have never been a problem, but my skin is extemely sensitive, so irritation has. iwas a DE shaver for a long time before that, and I learned something that made a big differenc for me. In a three pass shave I do with, across and counter-grain. I treat the first 2 s set ups, not trying to get a close shave but only to get down to a light stubble. I do it with light , flowing strokes and not going back to any spots.

The third pass is the serious one and I use an even lighter touch than the other two. Now I'm trying to get close, but I still don't worry too much about the trouble spots. I still try not to go over spots, except for the ones I know I have to. This way I can finish the shave with little or no irritation and I can touchup the trouble spots without pain.

I still have a problem getting the sides of the neck below the jaw with a str8, and I clean up with a very aggressive DE, barely touching the skin. That area is definitely the most sensitive.

Originally Posted by Tchaikovsky

I’ve been shaving with a straight razor for about 3 months now. The improvement is immense; however, I still have plenty of perfecting to do.

Things I know:

The razor IS sharp. I’m using a very light touch at 30 degrees. My prep is very extensive. I’ve read up on nearly all of the literature posted for download on the site, and scoured hundreds of previous posts.

My shaves have been getting better and better; and my skin irritation has gone down significantly (especially compared to the electric or mach3 I was using)… but it’s still there. And so are the in-grown hairs!

I first shave with the grain, then against – and I’m careful to note the changing directions of my hair, and I move accordingly… stretching the skin all the way. If I don't shave against the grain, I cannot get a close shave. I can’t get a perfect shave with a straight razor just yet, but can get most areas, and finish with a touch-up with a mach3. Once I’m done shaving, my face looks pretty good… doesn’t look too irritated; it’s only a few days later that it starts getting annoying – when the hair starts to grow back..

Under my lip and on my neck, I get little white-head pimples JUST while the hair is growing back after being shaved; and they go away 3-4 days after the shave. I think this has something to do with cutting the hair the wrong way, and having it grow back all mucked up. After this, I have tons of in-grown hairs.

I've been exfoliating everynight to remove dead skin, and moisturizing (because I have very dry skin), but it hasn't been taking care of it.

What should I do?

I’ve got sensitive skin and thick curly hair… forgive me!

I have extremely sensitive skin and have never been able to use an electric without getting major irritation. My only solution has been wet shaving, only for about 3 months with a str8.

I don't have an ingrown problem, but I've been interested in it. From what I've learned, a str8 is the best shave for it. You may be able to avoid it with an electric, but only by not really shaving close. If you have a heavy, dark beard, that means that you never look neat.

I don't think ingrowns are really understood excepth that men with curly hair are more prone and there it's obvious why. The best explanation I've heard is that they're cause by a razor that not sharp enough. It pulls the hair before cutting it, so some of them end up being cut really short and are below the surface of the skin when they pop back. With a really sharp razor like a str8 that shouldn't happen. Using a sharp str8 or DE right, you also shouldn't get irritation.

Of course, you would minimize the problem by never cutting the whiskers short enough to grow into the skin, but then you're really talking about wearing a beard.

Originally Posted by D.J.

I regret going back to the electric but it is the only razor that doesnt cause irritation.

I dont get that many ingrown hairs, mostly just the little whiteheads on my chin that last for a day or so. You are right that I dont cut the hair to the surface with an electric razor. I love to shave with a straight. I think the razor may be getting dull. I bought the razor in a starter set from a member here. It came "shave ready" with a strop and a barbers stone. I have bought several razors from ebay and honed one p to nearly keen enough to shave with. I can shave with the grain with it but not against the growth. I'm just a bit nervous to try to hone my shaver. It is a "Revisor" 5/8ths, round point. I want to invest in a norton but it may be a while before I can.
I'm not going to give up on straights or anything, they truly are the best shave I have ever had.

I might suggest that something else could be contributing to the whiteheads. I have wrestled with acne my whole life and notice a number of factors which aggravate it: diet (greasey, fatty foods and refined sugars), Pollutants (smog and chemicals) and SOAP!

Because most soaps are quite aggressive, even the mild ones, the skin will overcompensate with extra oil production resulting in acne on the sensitive types. A close shave, removing the top dying skin cells will also leave some exposed cells, perhaps vulnerable to this effect.

I use a product called Spectro Gell to wash my face. It is a non soap cleanser that makes a difference for me. I also use a non lathering shave cream from Lush called Ambrosia. It's SUPER slick and actually moistens while I'm shaving. Switching to less abrasive products might also help with the irritation.

Just my two cents here,

For those with sensitive skin it would seem that a very sharp edge would be a distinct benefit.
Try using a paddle strop with the 0.5 micron and 0.25 micron abrasive pastes. 25-50 laps on the 0.5 and 20 laps on the 0.25 should help.

The one thing I have found is that when i take a shower I always use a very strong detergent type shampoo since my hair is very oily. This results in the oils being removed from my face and when I shaved afterward there was skin irritation. I now use a small amount of face cream, well rubbed in, just before applying the brush and everything is better.

X man may be on to something here and perhaps you might consider it.

The last point is one of pressure. Do not use a lot of pressure while you shave. That simply increases the irritation.

Hope this helps,

Well I must admit I do eat one too many hamburgers... yet I haven't experienced this problem with the pimpls until I started straight shaving; so I'm fairly convinced something is wrong with my technique and application. I have gotten several barber straight shaves and they went greatly - no ingrown hairs, no whiteheads. It was like a dream come true.

My razors split hairs, look beautiful under magnificatnion, and were were sharpened by the professionals of this message board.

Curley hair is curley hair; so I understand I am more prone to in-grown hairs, but I know (or hope) there is a way around this.

I'll put more conscious effort into lightening up on my touch. And as Joe Lerch mentioned, I'll try doing light 2 'with', and 'across', and then a light light 'against for the third. I've been having difficulty with going UP on my cheeks. Since the hair grows down and at an angle, and a with/against stroke does not get that close shave, i've been forced to hold the razor awkwardly and gently go up the cheek.

What I've been doing is holding the razor in textbook fashion, yet inverted. So if I'm shaving my right cheek, the tang will be on the side closest to my right ear. What do you guys think? Any better ways to pull this trick off?

As far as the ingrown hairs, over several days before my next shave, I do my best to tweeze all of the ingrowns out so they're free to be sliced by the razor. It's tedious, but well worth it.

My last thought, is that the damn Mach3 I'm using to do the touch-up is causing all of this trouble; and frankly, I wouldn't be surprised. I use it to go over VERY lightly once I've put the straight razor down. The problem areas, where the beard are thick like the chin and upper lip get the most of the mach3, and thats where most of the whiteheads pop up. Suspicious.

For the time being, should I try doing a touch-up with a DE? I know next to nothing about DE, and if you guys think this may be good for me, any info would be appreciated. Thanks

Ahhhhh... The Mach clean up! That could be it. Maybe try not using anything to clean up. It is something you get better at from practice. I rarely use my disposible anymore for clean up.

Anyway, I was getting some razor burn and irritation too. Straight razor shaving is like working on your golf swing, sometimes there are many thing you are doing wrong at the same time. SO you iron them out by elimination.

My first blade came from Lynn shave ready. Because of a bad stropping technique, it went dull quickly and I got all kinds of irritation. I bought some of the white Issard diamond stropping paste and started using that on my linen and then followed with the rough side of the strop then the smooth side. Success! Then I started stropping with the white paste too much and...razor burn. All this while practicing different pressures and directions of shave.

Then I stopped shaving against the grain. I make two passes. One with and one cross wise. On the second pass I just use a light touch on my neck with the grain.

I don't know if it is posted or not, but somebody sent me a video clip of Brian Donfrio shaving. I use a cross between the method that you see Lynn using and the one Brian uses. It seems to work pretty well. Remeber, other than the "Don't draw the blade parallel" rule, there are no hard fast rules here. What works for some, doesn't work for others. So do what works the best for you.

Some of this is genetics the rest is lifestyle and diet. Were you prone to ingrown hairs before? Sharp clean razors are most important. Tearing off hairs with a razor that is not keen will facilitate some of this. Skin is the bodies biggest organ,... drinking, smoking, and poor nutrition will show in your skin (just one instance of beauty coming from the inside out).

Also, do you have a habit of touching your face regularly? If you do, you should stop. Spend some time thinking about keeping your face clean -- avoid touching it with your dirty hands throughout the day.

You can irratate the skin by OVER-exfoliating it. I found that with straight razor shaving, exfoliating is not necessary but MAYBE once a week,... versus nightly.

Finally, I would recommend looking at the products you use on your face. Using high grade facial products will ensure that your skin is getting the best treatment and reflecting well. I am absolutely sold on Dr. Brandt skin care products. He's a dermotologist that invented the other use of Botox, but he's also very good with a complete line of skin care products. If you don't want that, there are many fine products at Sephora (found in many malls and shopping centers). By all means, if your problem continues, go to a Dermatologist. I remember having chronic skin irratation one time and going to a Dr. about it, it was fixed within three days and it wasn't my fault! I learned a lot just by going and talking to someone who's a professional.

Chris