Skin issues and shaving

[salman]

Sadly, i have sensitive skin and thus i am more prone to ingrown hair, razor bumps, pimples etc than the average wet shaver.

Everytime I develop one of these unwanted conditions, I ceased shaving until it goes away as to not make it worse.

What do you people do? Do you continue shaving or wait for the condition to heal? If you continue to shave, how do you ensure it doesn’t get worse?

Im currently on a 6 day no shave due to ingrown hair, and it is absolute torture. I shape my stubble to give it a cleaner look, but i the pleasure of not having a clean shaven face is killing me.


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[ajkel64]

I just use a cartridge razor but very gently. I have had to do this on some occasions where a DE or the odd time that I tried SE went South. No harm in using a cartridge razor a few times.

 

[UTVol]

I wait as long as life allows and then do a couple things. Typically, this happens to me when technique is off and/or my setup is too aggressive. So I try to focus on angle and use a more mild setup in razor, blade, or both. Also, I may reduce the number of passes, go from 3 to 2. And possibly eliminate the touch up pass.

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[FireDragon76]

Salicylic acid will help the hair follicles to not be trapped and will also reduce inflammation. You can use acne treatment pads that contain this as an ingredient. They even make formulaions for sensitive skin.

Also, you might have to change your shaving habits. A Bic Sensitive or Gillette Guard won't cut below the skin as the blade is recessed a bit. Any kind of sensitizing or inflammatory type of ingredient in a shave product will tend to increase the chances of ingrown hairs. You want to keep inflammation down so the skin doesn't get inflamed and trap the hair in the follicle.

 

[tube_guy]

I have very curly, coarse, facial hair, so my face is very prone to bumps and ingrown hairs. I find my biggest problems are at the edges of my beard. In those areas, the hair seems to be very fine and slower growing, but those finer hairs are still curly and very stiff. That seems to be where the bumps appear most frequently for me. Outside the corners of my mustache area. Underneath my mouth. And at the base of my neck.

For me, not shaving actually makes my problems a bit worse. I've found that a close shave every day, using a sharp blade in a rather aggressive DE razor and very well hydrated lather eliminates my problems, for the most part. If I go too aggressive with my razor, and shave too close, then the problems reappear. So it seems like there's an optimal closeness for me, although it is certainly very close. I've also found that if I try to stretch blade life out too much, beyond 3-6 shaves per blade, my problems start to reappear.

I don't think the problems are related to sensitive skin as much as they are related curly hair. I used to think I also had sensitive skin, but once I got my lather worked out with enough water, my sensitive skin pretty much disappeared and now I think I have skin like iron. At least in terms of shaving sensitivity to irritation.

So knowing what I know about my own face now, I would experiment with different razors. I wouldn't try to stretch blade life out past 3 shaves for a while, and I would shave close, every day. I would also make sure I put a lot of water into my lather.

 

[guitarslinger]

I poured money into my acquisition disorder until I found items that worked perfectly. I would start with trying to find the perfect blade, and maybe switching to a razor with neutral blade exposure. Rockwell 6S or rr mamba 70. Also, make sure to give alcohol splashes a chance if you haven’t. Balms give me zits and eventual irritation.

 

[Invicta]

Seems like a 2-pass shave is your best option; nothing wrong with CCS. ATG is likely to exacerbate the ingrowing hair / razor bumps.

I don't think the problems are related to sensitive skin as much as they are related curly hair. I used to think I also had sensitive skin, but once I got my lather worked out with enough water, my sensitive skin pretty much disappeared and now I think I have skin like iron.

I have heard that regular use of the DE razor alleviates some of the skin problems so perhaps you are getting that benefit.

 

[Will DDH]

I poured money into my acquisition disorder until I found items that worked perfectly. I would start with trying to find the perfect blade, and maybe switching to a razor with neutral blade exposure. Rockwell 6S or rr mamba 70. Also, make sure to give alcohol splashes a chance if you haven’t. Balms give me zits and eventual irritation.

Totally agree with the aftershave splash comment. I always used a balm, but switched to a splash about 8 months ago. I still have a balm which I use on occasion, but I'm a converted splash guy now. Key is to get a high quality splash. Maol, A+E, B+M Reserve are my go too's. Maol is my number one. I have a couple Chatilion Lux, but they scents aren't my favorite. Actually, everything @guitarslinger said will help! Just have to find the magic combo.

 

[BigJ]

My skin improved considerably after I went back to traditional wet shaving.

Keys for me were mapping my beard to understand the precise direction of growth is my problem areas, selecting optimal hardware and software, and using a very light touch!

 

[Jim cunningham]

Sadly, i have sensitive skin and thus i am more prone to ingrown hair, razor bumps, pimples etc than the average wet shaver.

Everytime I develop one of these unwanted conditions, I ceased shaving until it goes away as to not make it worse.

What do you people do? Do you continue shaving or wait for the condition to heal? If you continue to shave, how do you ensure it doesn’t get worse?

Im currently on a 6 day no shave due to ingrown hair, and it is absolute torture. I shape my stubble to give it a cleaner look, but i the pleasure of not having a clean shaven face is killing me.


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Put 2 asprin and a teaspoon of hot water in a bowl a mush in in to a thin paste spread all over the longer you leave the beter then wash of with hot water then spray witch hazel if need be repeat thank me later

 

[Jim cunningham]

Put 2 asprin and a teaspoon of hot water in a bowl a mush in in to a thin paste spread all over the longer you leave the beter then wash of with hot water then spray witch hazel if need be repeat thank me later

O and only 1 pass on Nek with the grain

 

[olegunnar]

Put 2 asprin and a teaspoon of hot water in a bowl a mush in in to a thin paste spread all over the longer you leave the beter then wash of with hot water then spray witch hazel if need be repeat thank me later

Interesting! How long is adequate time do you think? One hour or does it need more?

 

[Jim cunningham]

Interesting! How long is adequate time do you think? One hour or does it need more?

15 minutes is a nuff but the longer the better

 

[tube_guy]

I have heard that regular use of the DE razor alleviates some of the skin problems so perhaps you are getting that benefit.

I'm sure there's some of that, but if I want my sensitive skin back, all I have to do is reduce the water in my lather and increase the pressure on my razor a bit. The big thing for me was incorporating enough water in my lather. Made a big difference.

 

[Noodles]

Not much to add other than, counter intuitively, sometimes shaving more often is better than not shaving. I never do more than 2 passes, often 1 + touch ups. But, I always have 2 off days in a week. And, super slick soap with skin food...

 

[ShavingPanda]

I typically shave 6-7 days a week. I can go 2-3 days without shaving but I get issues with ingrowns after that.

Just curious what gear are you using for razor and blades?

I am prone to ingrown hairs at the base of my neckline. I have found three passes WTG is sufficient. I thought the grain was one way, then tried something as an experiment and had good results. I find face stretching can cause ingrown hairs as well.

So I'd recommend mapping the grain of your beard carefully, particularly in the area of ingrowns. If you're doing WTG, XTG, ATG in those areas, I'd say try just going WTG. I actually find less passes with a more aggressive razor works better for me. More aggressive razors taught me better technique and made me reduce pressure.

For blades, some as they dull (after about 3 uses for me) they start to give me ingrowns. I typically go to 3 shaves per blade, unless it's a blade I know I can get 4 shaves out of.

 

[salman]

So i used some of the SO’s tea tree oil.

What a piece of absolute magic! In two days, the dastardly ingrown hairs were sent to the deepest pits of hill.

I knew tea tree oil was good, but i could never imagine it would work so brilliantly.

Appreciate the feedback from people here with all the remedies. FYI, ive been shaving with a disposable Gilette Blue 2, and changintg it every 3 days. I suspect it might be the culprit. Off to the garbage bin the whole pack goes now! [emoji2]




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[htownmmm]

Tea Tree Oil is my go to for ingrowns. When I first started on this site, I bought a bottle of 100% strength. I still have it and it is about 90% full.

Every now and then I get the odd ingrown ( for using a blade too long) and I apply with a cotton ball twice a day for 1-2 days.

Sticking with a good routine will help, but when it doesn't, Tea Tree Oil is a life( and face) saver.

marty