Another shave, another disappointment

[mbrace]

Hey guys. Newbie to the forums. Read quite a few posts and I'm already loving the support you all provide to the community. Glad to be a part of the group.

I want to take this time to express my frustration as well as see if you guys have advice/words of encouragement to get me on the right track.

**Warning** Long post but please bare with me.

History
First off, I'm a Black American male (I only stated this to help put my experiences thus far into perspective). Every since I've started growing enough facial hair to trim, I've been using an Andis Outliner clipper. Never really had any problem with using a clipper to trim my facial hair. Just the occasional ingrown hair here and there.

I have always heard from other black men & surprisingly some black women that it is not a good thing for black men to shave because we experience razor bumps. I never did question why. I just made the conscious decision that I would never put a razor to my face because I dreaded the thought of having to be in public with those not so pleasant razor bumps.

Fast forward to 2012
As I got older and became more entrenched in corporate America and having to mix and mingle more, I decided that it was time to explore the possibility of shaving. Having a silky smooth face would only help make that oh so important great first impression.

Since I've never shaved before and I've constantly heard "DON'T DO IT! BUMP CITY AWAITS" I wondered who could I get advice from regarding one of biggest moments of my adult life (yes really! I was still a virgin- shaving wise). Hmmm...oh my father-in-law shaves, let me ask him for advice. Well the old Army vet (whose been shaving since 18) simply told me to go grab a cartridge razor and some shaving cream and I'll be good to go. I should have known that this sounded too good to be true. Besides he shaves in the shower without any shaving cream! Following his simple advice, that's what I did. Walked out of Walgreen's with a 3 blade Gillette cartridge and Gillette sensitive skin shaving cream.

Before I took the plunge that evening I decided to do some research just to make sure I understood the basics. The only extra tidbits I picked up was to shave after showering, make sure I wet my face with warm water before apply the shaving cream, and they recommended that black men go WTG. Simple enough right?! I proceeded to shave that evening. After shaving my skin felt silky smooth and I was sure that I was on to something great. At dinner that night I couldn't stop bragging about my new look.

The next morning I woke up to ***!!! I looked in the mirror to find a face filled with bumps. Literally!! The entire shaving area! All I could say was "NOOOOOOOOO"!!! I heard a little voice say "You have reached your destination BUMP CITY"!!!

For the next 3 weeks I used everything I could find to eliminate or at least minimize the bumps. Different types of soap, bump stopper solution, real Aloe leaves, etc. It was a long road but the bumps eventually subsided and I rededicated myself to my clippers. Thankfully she forgave me for my infidelity. We rekindled our love.

Present day Dec. 2013
While at the mall carrying my wife's damage, we stumbled upon The Art of Shaving. I asked my wife for a few seconds out of her precious shopping time to ask the guy a few questions about shaving for black men (no intention of actually buying anything or even shaving again anytime soon). Well after a detailed conversation about my first/last experience shaving and his advice on the art of shaving (no pun), I decided to purchase their starter kit and a DE razor,Muhle (he mentioned that black men should use a safety razor to minimize the chance of bumps).

After having the kit for well over 3 weeks, I decided now is the time to give it another go. I purposely waited for a time frame where I didn't have anything important going on just in case this 2nd attempt at shaving went south just like the 1st. My research this time around was focused on how to use a DE razor. I watched 3-4 YouTube videos that I felt gave me enough knowledge to get the job done.

The evening I chose was one that my wife and I were going to an event. The plan was to shower, shave, and look like new money afterwards.

When I got a chance to take a shower and get my shave on, I noticed that I was running short on time. Uh oh, I guess I'll have to hurry this shower and shave before the wife gets upset . I proceeded to take a quick hot shower which involved me washing my face thoroughly and rubbing a little vitamin E oil on prior to getting out. I figured that oil will add a little more glide for the razor.

Without drying my face, I prepared a sink filled with hot water, dropped my new badger brush in, and added a little hot water to a ceramic bowl I planned to use for the lather. I then proceeded to add a "little" pre-shave oil from the kit to my face. I then added some shaving cream to the tip of the wet shaving brush and start to whisk it around in the bowl. I started to wonder why there wasn't any lather building. Stopped to look at the bottle and realized I had put after shave lotion on the brush instead of shaving cream!! Rinsed the brush and applied shaving cream this time. Started whisking again and develop "a slight foam" in the bowl. I then proceeded to use the brush on my face to continue to try to build up more of a thick lather to no avail. The lather on my face looked something like how the soap would look on your body when applied by a rag while showering (so not thick at all). At the time I didn't think it would be a big issue so I grabbed my DE and was ready to go to work.

I started from the top of my sideburn and dragged the razor down to my chin bone. Long consistent strokes without overlapping un-lathered skin is what I kept telling myself to do. I knew I had to get this done fast because I was short on time. After stroking to my chin bone, I moved to long strokes on my neck. I then re-lathered, shaved, re-lathered shaved for a total of 3 passes. I rinsed with cold water and applied the after-shave lotion. I completed the entire process in a matter of 15 minutes.

I was silky smooth again and I was overly confident in shaving this time around. I figured if I was able to wake up the next morning with no bumps, it was a major success.

I woke up the next morning with no bumps!!! I had a little discomfort around the lower corners of my neck but I figured it was all due to my skin adjusting to shaving.

For each of the next 6 days...
My face and neck got progressively worst with irritation and soon bumps!!!! I started to see bumps on the 2nd day and the bumps grew more intense each day. By looking closely I can see that the hair was trying to break through the skin. I've been using tweezers to lift the hair from the skin without pulling the hair completely out. My face physically hurts to touch. I can only think the pain is from sharp strains pushing back into my skin.

Fed Up!
I started doing some in depth research on shaving for black americans in particular. I know there is an art to shaving for all men but I also know there are key elements to shaving for curly hair. Not an overwhelming amount of info out there but my research has led me here. So far this site has pointed out some of my pitfalls of the first 2 attempts. I read a thread that mentioned to look at Mantic59's videos which I've done.

The main reason for this LOOOOOOONG post is to share my experience and to get advice on where to go from here. I'm somewhat at the point where I'm just going to resort back to using clippers. Since joining the site 2 days ago and watching Mantic59's vids I can say I've learned where I went wrong both times. However, do I really want to try to correct my wrongs and possibly ending up being wrong yet again with more razor bumps to boot? Dealing with 3 more weeks of healing to get to normalcy is not on my to-do list

I've heard that the skin goes through a "getting used to" period. Is this true? Do I have to deal with the bumps until my skin acclimates to shaving?

Do you think that all of my problems thus far are completely contributed to bad technique? Or is it a combination of bad technique and acclimation? Or other?

If you were in my situation, what would you do?

Thanks in advance for the support guys,
mBrace

 

[SantoSubito]

I'm white, but I get where you're coming from. When I started shaving at 15 I did it everyday with a Mach 3 going with the grain only in one pass, I never got the "silky smooth face", but I found the results acceptable since my face wasn't irritated. Fast forward to my first DE setup and going against the grain (which I had never done until I had a DE) and I had ingrown hairs everywhere similar to you.

But I just kept at it doing two passes (one with one against) everyday and after about a month the ingrowns are gone and they don't come back. One thing I'm convinced helps is an alcohol based aftershave; they shrink and tighten the skin and in my mind help to keep the hair outside the skin where it belongs.

If none of that works, or if you don't want to stick it out, you may look into the "Bump Fighter" razor Personna makes. It's designed to cut the hair above skin level to prevent razor bumps while still giving you a shave that looks good.

 

[aimsport]

Great post.

Try one pass daily with the longest prep and the sharpest blade, with NO overlap. That will increase the likelihood that you will be cutting the hair at, but not below the skin. Cutting tugs on the hair. A second cut on tugged hair is actually below the surface once the hair retracts.

 

[mbrace]

I was actually looking into that Bump Fighter razor. Seems to get praise. I may check it out.

So you would agree that your face has to get used to shaving?

How long did it take for your face to heal from those ingrowns initially?

 

[mbrace]

Great post.

Try one pass daily with the longest prep and the sharpest blade, with NO overlap. That will increase the likelihood that you will be cutting the hair at, but not below the skin. Cutting tugs on the hair. A second cut on tugged hair is actually below the surface once the hair retracts.

Thanks aimsport. I'm definitely avoiding more than one pass going forward.

 

[Mark_Toronto]

Pseudofolliculitis Barbae!

What I think helps is shaving in the shower. Do a really good prep, I suggest shampoo first & use it in your beard too. Really soften it up. Don't use a partially dull blade. ONE pass, WTG, especially on the neck. I'd skip the oil. (I've used Bump Fighter, and one pass with a good DS razor will be far closer.)

You might go for an adjustable razor (Merkur, Gillette Fatboy or Gillette Slim adjustable). Lowest setting, only with a sharp blade.

I find an aftershave with alcohol helps too. (I use Proraso.)

Good luck!

 

[Toasty]

I have very coarse hair and the same thing happened to me, lol, that really itches too. Anyway, I've been using a home made pre shave oil, one part olive oil, one part jojoba oil, one part grape seed oil and one part castor oil with great success. I've read that it could be caused by viruses or bacteria and so far so good. I was also allergic to the TOBS shave cream.

I did a WTG pass on my neck for a few days until all the bumps were gone but still used the oil for every shave. If I don't use the preshave oil, I get bad razor bumps, ingrown hair etc...

Good luck to you, hope you find something that works.

 

[Shawn1]

Just off the top of my head, have you checked out the shave wiki pages at the top of this forum? I know how you feel, we've all been there. A few quick tips: face mapping, blade angle, zero pressure-just hold the razor to your face. Along with Mantic, check out some you tube videos by Geofatboy. Keep coming back, it gets better.

 

[UnCL3]

I had been cartridge shaving for 40 years before I started DE shaving about 3 months ago. I got a few bumps at first, got my technique down, and now it's rare that I have any bumps at all.
Things that helped me:
1. Ditch the pre-shave oil. I used it for a while, I don't think it hurts, BUT I found that:
2. After washing my face in the shower, I liberally apply the conditioner that I use on my hair to my face. Then I finish washing up and the last thing I do is rinse the conditioner off my face. I really think this helps with hydration which is key. I found this tip somewhere on the forums here.
3. Sharp but comfortable blades are what everyone wants, and it varies greatly from person to person. I found personally that I love Personna Lab blues (my go-to because they are awesome value, $13 for 100 on ebay). I also like Gillette 7 O'clock yellow packs (great shave but about $20 per 100), Crystal (Israeli made), and Voskhods (Russian made, almost as good for me as the Personna Labs, but a little hard to find in quantity shipped as cheaply as the Personnas).
4. An aftershave balm or lotion that your skin goes "AHHH!" when you apply it. This also is going to vary from person to person.
5. 2 pass shaving, one with the grain, the other across the grain. Skip against the grain until you develop a good technique.

As far as the blades go, don't mess around with the Derby, Walmart Wilkinsons, etc. Try what you see everyone here praising. That will narrow it down some. The forum has a REALLY good resource HERE:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/362918-The-Great-Blade-Exchange?highlight=blade+exchange
Read the rules and maybe you can get some of what you have swapped for different blades.

Personna Lab blues, 7 O'clock yellows, Voskhods, Astra SP's, Feathers (ex$pen$ive), Crystals, are all "known" good quality blades that I have tried. YMMV as they say.

Good luck, don't give up on it!

 

[OkieStubble]

My son in-law is also African American and he shaves with clippers just as the OP. He let me try to convert him to DE shaving several years back to no avail. No matter the DE combo, nothing worked, Bumps! I am amazed at how skilled he is at shaving with clippers. He rubs oil into his face and neck. Afterwards, you would of thought he used a razor by the close shave he gets.

 

[Badger Bill]

Welcome mBrace!!!! Great to have you here. While I can't totally relate to your experience (I'm white so I'm not quite as prone to this issue), I definitely feel your pain, and I've had a taste of it myself with some nasty ingrowns/bumps on my neck when I first started. I know how irritating those were, so I can only imagine what it was like to have them all over your whole face.

With the disclaimer that I have no idea if this will help you for sure or not, here is what I did that has almost completely solved my problem (I do get the inevitable ingrown every now and then on my neck, but the problem is really occasional these days). Aside from the usuals such as extremely good prep (shower first, wash face with soap, etc.), here are my tips:
First, if you can get away with it, I'd suggest starting with only 1, single pass, WTG. I know you wan't the silky smooth feel, but for now, I'd suggest you just go with a good looking shave…. nobody will know that it's not silky smooth except you and your wife! Nothing causes ingrowns more, for me, than an ATG pass. And all that extra passes beyond the first WTG pass do when you already have bumps is nick them and make them worse. So 1 WTG pass. Once you get things under control you can work up to two and then three passes. Also be sure to use an extremely sharp blade. Feathers are what I use, and they sure are sharp. I started with derby's and whatever walmart/walgreens carries and they cause ingrowns like no other.
Also, here is the other real key… let's say you shave in the morning. That evening, before bed, wash your face with soap and then when you dry it with a face towel, gently but firmly buff your problem areas with the towel in an ATG direction. You definitely don't want to do this so hard that it hurts, but you should feel a satisfying bit of scratch. You can even take an old, soft toothbrush and do the same, brushing in an ATG direction. Don't overdo this. If it gets raw or red, stop. But, do this process every time you wash your face, preferably once or twice a day, but not within 5 hours or so from your actual shave.

So there you have it. That's what helped me immensely. I hope it helps you. Be sure to let us know how it goes. And hang in there too. Once you get this wetshaving thing down, it's sooooooooooooooo soothing and satisfying!!! It takes some time to get, but once you do, it's a real treat.

- Badger Bill

 

[jovan]

Have you tried the Gillette Minora blades? They are at WCS. They are marketed if I understand correctly, and please understand no disrespect intended as I am Eastern Europe so I use a blade geared for that market, these are for African market. I found in using blades for East Europe I get a superior shave, otherwise not a comfortable shave at all. Just a thought.

 

[deoxy4]

Exfoliating will help prior to shaving. Skipping against the grain pass is good advice. Another product for razor bumps is Tendskin which you use after shaving to prevent ingrown hairs. You can make your own version very inexpensively, about $3 for a couple months supply.
Good luck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNuZ6gsVZPI

 

[shanghaishaver]

There's a book called 'save shave' by Philip bowers that might be of help to you. Should be able to get it on amazon or b&n.

You might also try shaving with cold water: wet face with cold water, dry face, cold water lather with brush, rub in lather with fingers, re lather with brush, shave, rinse with cold water, repeat for more passes if required, apply balm. Works for some people (me included!)

 

[dducker3]

I'm new to this too so I don't have any good advice for you, especially since I don't suffer from the razor bump issue. I just want to wish you luck and give you some encouragement! With all the great products, and good technique, I'm sure you'll figure it out!

 

[engblom]

I am not having serious problem with ingrown hair, but from reading the other posts in this thread, it looks like ingrown hair comes from a too close shave.

A Merkur open comb razor (pick any, they all have the same head) might help. It is a razor that is really mild, and not able to deliver a baby butt smooth face. It will be decent looking still. A two pass shave with a such razor might be the solution, especially if you pay attention to not add pressure.

I have quite often sensitive skin too (for other reasons than ingrown hair), and 15C (Merkur open comb) is the razor I have been using the latest time. I love it because of how mild it is.

 

[UnCL3]

+1 regarding what engblom says regarding the Mercur Open Comb razors.

The "1904" models are CHEAP, too, and come in long and short handle versions. I just got mine last week, and after I got done, I went "Huh? Did that shave??". It did. Closely. Most open comb types are more aggressive than regular safety bar types (I also have a Old Type 1919 vintage Gillette, and a Cadet open comb; both are very aggressive).

Good luck!

 

[mbrace]

....As far as the blades go, don't mess around with the Derby, Walmart Wilkinsons, etc. Try what you see everyone here praising. That will narrow it down some. The forum has a REALLY good resource HERE:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/362918-The-Great-Blade-Exchange?highlight=blade+exchange
Read the rules and maybe you can get some of what you have swapped for different blades.

Personna Lab blues, 7 O'clock yellows, Voskhods, Astra SP's, Feathers (ex$pen$ive), Crystals, are all "known" good quality blades that I have tried. YMMV as they say.

Good luck, don't give up on it!

The blades I have are Gillette Platinum. Not sure forgiving or aggressive those are. Purchased them with the kit from the Art of Shave. I'll research them.

...First, if you can get away with it, I'd suggest starting with only 1, single pass, WTG. I know you wan't the silky smooth feel, but for now, I'd suggest you just go with a good looking shave…. nobody will know that it's not silky smooth except you and your wife! Nothing causes ingrowns more, for me, than an ATG pass. And all that extra passes beyond the first WTG pass do when you already have bumps is nick them and make them worse. So 1 WTG pass. Once you get things under control you can work up to two and then three passes.
- Badger Bill

So Badger Bill, are you suggesting I should still try to shave while the current bunch of ingrowns and bumps are still visible? I would think to let my hair grow and the bumps subside before giving it another go, right??

Have you tried the Gillette Minora blades? They are at WCS. They are marketed if I understand correctly, and please understand no disrespect intended as I am Eastern Europe so I use a blade geared for that market, these are for African market. I found in using blades for East Europe I get a superior shave, otherwise not a comfortable shave at all. Just a thought.

Honestly Jovan, this talk about blades is a little over my head. I think I need to do more research on it and figure out something that may be geared more towards my hair type. I'll let everyone know what I come up with. Thanks for the recommendation.

I'm new to this too so I don't have any good advice for you, especially since I don't suffer from the razor bump issue. I just want to wish you luck and give you some encouragement! With all the great products, and good technique, I'm sure you'll figure it out!

Thanks man! Words of encouragement go a long way. Great luck on your journey as well!

I am not having serious problem with ingrown hair, but from reading the other posts in this thread, it looks like ingrown hair comes from a too close shave.

A Merkur open comb razor (pick any, they all have the same head) might help. It is a razor that is really mild, and not able to deliver a baby butt smooth face. It will be decent looking still. A two pass shave with a such razor might be the solution, especially if you pay attention to not add pressure.

I have quite often sensitive skin too (for other reasons than ingrown hair), and 15C (Merkur open comb) is the razor I have been using the latest time. I love it because of how mild it is.

I think you're right about getting too close of a shave, especially so early in my journey. Like I said in the OP I can see the strands trying to break through the skin. OUCH! I may need one decent pass to get my skin onboard with this shaving thing. I'll look into that Merkur. Thanks!

 

[Badger Bill]

So Badger Bill, are you suggesting I should still try to shave while the current bunch of ingrowns and bumps are still visible? I would think to let my hair grow and the bumps subside before giving it another go, right??

That's correct (what you said). I definitely wouldn't try shaving while your bumps are still bothering you. I'd let it subside a bit first. If you have bumps that are extremely minor, I think you might be able to get away with a single, very gentle WTG pass, but perhaps that's something to work up to once you get things more under control. For now, I'd definitely suggest giving yourself a bit of time to heal up.

Also just so you know, the bumps will only get worse if you do nothing to fix them. The hairs must be freed, or else they will just continue to grow into your skin and the bumps will get larger. For now, I'd definitely suggest the toothbrush / towel buffing technique that I mentioned in my prior post, and if they are really bad, you might want to try freeing them with a pair of sharp tweezers. BE VERY CAREFUL with this. Do not try to yank out the hairs, and do not "tweeze" with the tweezers in the regular sense. Instead, try gently scraping the tips of the tweezers (using the FLAT side, not the actual sharp point) in an ATG direction, with the length of the tweezer perpendicular to the direction of hair growth.

Hope that makes sense, and be GENTLE with that or it will bite you.

 

[Cacique]

Welcome to B&B!

The only thing that I can think of to add is to try a WTG pass that is at a bit of an angle instead of straight. The reason I say this is sometimes you will find a more comfortable pass like that than a straight pass, perhaps due to some hairs growing in a different direction, or maybe growing in a circular pattern or something. Try going in slow, short strokes so you can stop if you feel any tugging and adjust to it.

Good luck!