Thread: Avoiding Nicks and Cuts

An old barber told me to hold the razor securely but lightly enough so that is if it pulls the razor will flex in your fingers and be less likely to nick. He also told me to never force it if it does pull. Following that advice I have rarely gotten a nick.

I've decided to open this closed thread for discussion. I thought about it and it occurred to me that the old barber may not have been the only one who found a way to avoid nicks and cuts. Anyone who has some input is welcome to contribute their experience and thoughts on the topic.

Good to see you post your old signature Jimmy, I always thought that was sage advice.

I would say don't skimp on the prep, and using good quality products goes a long way towards a nick-free shave.
And keep your mind focused on the task, if possible keep distractions to a minimum.

For me, if the shave isn't going well (i.e. pulling, nicks, poor hair removal) I stop and re-evaluate. Sometimes it's the razor, sometimes the prep, sometimes the lather but for me, most often, it's a lack of attention. This is when I'm likely to nick myself. When My mind is totally on the task, I am most likely to have a nick free shave.

One of my hard earned lessons is to not inflate my cheek or upper/lower lip with the razor touching my face. Ditto for skin stretching by hand. Sounds and is stupid, but as a newb, it happened more often than I'd like to admit. Also, if you do change the contour of your face by said acts, do not forget to adjust your razors angle accordingly.

I find that if you take a hot shower, and you lather and massage your face, then apply a hot towel for a few seconds, then re lather. Also i apply a moisturizer(i have dry skin) and a tad of olive, baby, mineral oil(this makes great lub, also protects your skin from getting cuts(do not apply to much, cuz it ruins the lather) then apply lather. Then you make sure your angel of shave is spot on, little or no pressure on the razor. After the shave use a lot of soap and cold water(to get rid of the oil, you want to avoid acne) Then use the moisturizer cuz after the soap your skin has lost its natural oil. I happen to enjoy using post shave lotion, then Clubman after shave. Also don't forget to pull your skin, if you don't the razor has a better change of snagging your skin(thus causing a nick). If you do get a nick just use your nick sealing pen.

Originally Posted by donjcschilde

One of my hard earned lessons is to not inflate my cheek or upper/lower lip with the razor touching my face.

Hi, I'm new to the forum, well, I'm newly registered but I've been reading for a while. I was looking for tips to understand why I cut myself in the same place with my straight. This could well be part of the problem coupled with other poor technique issues I am working on.

Originally Posted by saxymal

Hi, I'm new to the forum, well, I'm newly registered but I've been reading for a while. I was looking for tips to understand why I cut myself in the same place with my straight. This could well be part of the problem coupled with other poor technique issues I am working on.

What areas are giving you trouble?

If I'm going to cut myself it is almost always my left cheek less than an inch from my moustache and slightly above. I get it just before I do an XTG pass from cheek to sideburn on the upper part of my cheek. I do my left cheek right handed because I am *ridiculously* bad at keeping smooth and controlled with my left hand, and I've *really* tried. I also seem to miss under my jawline on the RHS and i sometimes get mini nicks and cuts on my neck but this is usually from bumps or previous nicks I'm going over.

I learned pretty quickly not to adjust the angle whilst resting the blade on my cheek (I still don't know why I did that one day, I knew what was going to happen as I did it!) so I will try not to adjust my face whilst in contact with the razor but I am looking for any other advice.

P.S. My prep is thorough ( shower, hot towel, lather, hot towel, lather then shave with two or three passes sometimes with a hot towel between rinsing and reapplying lather if I have time) so I'm pretty sure it's technique or my blade and not that.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned making sure your razor is sharp. Most (99%) of the nicks and cuts I've had were from a razor that I tried to get one more shave out of before honing. Based on my experience, a dull razor tends to dig in or pivot on a tough whisker, rather than cutting it.