Thread: Healing the wreckage of my shave.

After my first SR shave, I pretty much destroyed my face. Either my angle was off, the blade wasn't sharp enough, my prep was bad, or any combination of the three. Horrible razor burn, razor bumps, some small nicks, and an uneven shave. I've decided to let my beard grow in a little while my face heals up. Any tips on how to take the best care of my skin so it heals faster? Also, I have an ingrown hair that does not seem to want to quit. I'm just about ready to carve it out of my face with a scalpel.

Greetings...razor burn is the result of too much pressure on the blade. You're applying so much pressure, that you're removing a layer of skin. Don't apply any extra pressure with your hand, let the weight of the blade take care of that. Your hand is there simply to guide it. Nicks are part of straight shaving, especially when you're first learning. An uneven shave is likely the result of not maintaining a good angle. Rule of thumb: 30 degrees for WTG, 15 for XTG, and 5 for ATG. As for the razor bumps, pay close attention to your pre shave prep, as I recall you mentioning in a previous post that you have a coarse beard.

One of the best fixes for razor burn (and nicks for that matter) is the application of an antibiotic ointment (e.g. Neosporin) a couple of times a day. Letting you beard grow while your face heals up is a good move. It will also allow you to map the growth patterns of you beard.

Originally Posted by MisterSensitive

Any tips on how to take the best care of my skin so it heals faster?

Don't shave, especially with a straight razor, until it heals is probably the best advice. It almost seems as if you don't have much patience, which is a recipe for pain when it comes to using any kind of sharp tool. For your first few shaves, concentrate on the easy to shave areas like the sideburns, and finish with your usual shaving method. This website is a mine of information with regard to shave preparation and so on, but the most important thing is to use some finesse and care.

Like welsh said, definitely wait for your face to heal before trying again and go slow. Stay with the grain, and by that we mean actually map your whiskers and follow the growth pattern as opposed to just going N-S entirely.

These problems are usually indicative of learning the technique and angle.

While you're waiting for it to heal, think about your preparation. I wouldn't mind betting that you rushed it to get to the "good stuff". Make sure you're using something better than "suds-in-a-can" and take your time getting you skin lubricated, even if you have to apply lather, let it soak in then wash it off and apply fresh stuff when you're about the shave. No matter if you're using a straight or a cartridge, poor preparation can turn a decent shave into a blood bath.

Well, you didn't really destroy your face. It is self repairing. Just wait for that to happen. Then instead of trying to shave your entire face just do a few easy strokes until you get the hang of it. Finish with a DE or whatever else you have. Slowly expand the shave territory as your skill increases.

Good advice from thebigspendur; be patient and let your face recover, then take it slow, just start on the sideburns/cheeks until you get a better feel, when it comes to pressure, think you are trying to remove your lather without touching the razor to your your face!

Originally Posted by LAsoxfan

...razor burn is the result of too much pressure on the blade. You're applying so much pressure, that you're removing a layer of skin. Don't apply any extra pressure with your hand, let the weight of the blade take care of that. Your hand is there simply to guide it. Nicks are part of straight shaving, especially when you're first learning...

I'm very new to this, so take my comments with a 'pinch of salt', but I use pretty much no discernible pressure at all...

Originally Posted by MisterSensitive

After my first SR shave, I pretty much destroyed my face. Either my angle was off, the blade wasn't sharp enough, my prep was bad, or any combination of the three. Horrible razor burn, razor bumps, some small nicks, and an uneven shave. I've decided to let my beard grow in a little while my face heals up. Any tips on how to take the best care of my skin so it heals faster? Also, I have an ingrown hair that does not seem to want to quit. I'm just about ready to carve it out of my face with a scalpel.

Guess what, most of us did the same thing when we started, I know I did. Some may say they never had any trouble, but they probably aren't telling the truth. The neosporin idea isn't bad, but something that I did is apply aloe vera with lidocane (same stuff for sunburn relief). It's good stuff to have around the house. On my ingrown hairs, I pluck them. I'll take a sewing needle and lift the hair to where I can get to it with the tweezers. When I started out, I would shave every other day and sometimes even the third day. Our face changes and adapts to the abuse we put it thru and it usually takes about 30 days for us to adapt. Part of that is our shaving skills and part of it is our body...take your time and enjoy the shave. My average shave still takes me about 20 minutes.