New wetshaver with some problems

Hey boys, I'm an 18 year old college student at the University of Tulsa and just started wet shaving a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, I'm having some trouble. I'm using cetaphil face wash, proraso cream, a jagger best badger brush, and right now (though I ordered a Murkur HD), a sensor excel. I'm using 100% aloe gel as an aftershave balm. Now I have mild acne, so I use retin-a micro, which means my skin is probably a little thin and sensitive (and oily).

Now the problem: The last couple times i've wet shaved, my skin has ended up very red and blotchy, which makes it look like my acne is terrible. I wash my face in the shower, get a good lather (I watched Mantic's videos), make 3 passes, and then finish with the aloe gel. I love the smooth shave that I get, but I need some help on getting my skin to feel good and look calm after a shave.

Thanks in advance!

-Sam

Hi,
One thing that I've read that many of the guys believe that splashing your face with cold water after warm helps. I've tried it and it does.
Vinny

Also, I suggest you try an alum bar. You can find a source and read about the use in the post at the link below my signature.

Let us know how it goes. The blade sampler packet from LetterK might also be helpful in letting you find the right blade for you.

It's possible that the shaving is irritating the acne condition. You might want to consult your doctor.

Yeah the shaving is aggrivating my skin, but it shouldnt be. I'll try the alum bar thing and see if that helps. Any other suggestions?

Depending on how heavy your beard is, you may consider making less than three passes. Maybe try cutting out the "against-the-grain pass" and see if that helps with the irritation. I also agree with the comments on the cold-water splash. The good think is that you're in college, and you may have more of an opportunity to skip shaving for a couple days. I remember by to my ole college days...I probably averaged a shave once a week Enjoy your time in college!

I'm not a boy, but can I offer up some advice?

You may be having a reaction to a product(s) you are using on your face. Play around with your product use, and see if that helps. I believe some guys have had reactions to the Proraso. That might be the problem for you, too.

If you are in the US, you should be able to find some cheap alternatives to Proraso(ie Palmolive(red tube) or Tom's of Maine shaving creams). Plus some others I can't think of. Maybe give those a try.

The retin-a could be the issue....especially if you are getting any sun on your face at all. I would make sure not to apply it on your beard area for a while and see if that makes a difference.

Thanks Bob.

I don't have any experience or knowledge concerning retin-A, so I didn't want to offer any suggestions on that point.

The combination of chemicals being applied to the face sounds like a possible concern to me.

Wow. This is the most helpful forum ever. And I can't really stop putting the retin-a on my beard area, because that's where I have acne. It clears up after a couple days without shaving, and I didn't have this reaction with a one-pass run and aveeno sensitive gel. Maybe the Merkur HD i ordered will help out a bit.

Welcome to B&B!

You do know that you are George Jefferson's "favorite" person?


Marty

I have no idea what that means. Fill me in.

P.S. When I wetshave, I still get a tugging/scraping feeling. Could this be contributing to the condition and how do I avoid this? I really think I am lathering well enough.

I used to use Ret-A as well, and found that I got some of the same problems. This was around 8-9 years ago, so pardon my lack of knowledge on it.

I'd give some Pre Shave Oil a try, as that seemed to help me. Make sure you really wash off the oil after the shave, so it doesn't contribute to further acne. I used to use a 2 blader back when I used the Ret-A, and found that one pass was about all my face could handle, in the areas where I used Ret-A. I found that more passes on those areas tended to lead to increased redness and irritation.


I also found that not using the cream every day had helped, and for me, just giving my skin a break often helped things out. Remember that the Ret-A seriously makes your skin dry, and sometimes you need to take a break from it.


Hope that helps

1. Try a glycerine shaving soap, such as Em's place Glycerine rounds. They are way cheap, smell good, and offer in my opinion the slickest shaving experience, which should cut down on the irritation on your face.

2. Try Body Shop Shaving Cream. More expensive, but no fragrance (in case it is the fragrance or menthol in the Proraso which is causing the irritation) and very highly moisturizing. ALso, no mail order required-- just go to a body shop store.

Most shaving oils have a number of ingredients and essential oils, any one of which could contribute to irritation. I would stay away from those for now.

scruffyv said:

1. Try a glycerine shaving soap, such as Em's place Glycerine rounds. They are way cheap, smell good, and offer in my opinion the slickest shaving experience, which should cut down on the irritation on your face.

2. Try Body Shop Shaving Cream. More expensive, but no fragrance (in case it is the fragrance or menthol in the Proraso which is causing the irritation) and very highly moisturizing. ALso, no mail order required-- just go to a body shop store.

Most shaving oils have a number of ingredients and essential oils, any one of which could contribute to irritation. I would stay away from those for now.

Click to expand...

The Body Shop Shaving Cream does have a fragrance...just seems no one can agee on a description of it. But you can pick up a sample to try.

Randy

hey man- im a college student myself at ASU and know what you're going through. I bought alot of wet shaving stuff:



However, what i have found that works best for me now, showing THE BEST RESULTS in YEARS is the following:
1st


2nd


3rd


I only shave every 2-3 days now. every day was making my skin look horrible, and my acne worse. Also, only wash your skin with some kind of product 1 or 2 of the days you are not shaving, and NEVER before you shave. This will only strip natural oils from the skin and lead to irritation.

The best wash i've found in the past 5 years is the following:
www.barberbrigade.com
the sharp's barber brigade no smell clean foam face wash- available at target right next to Proraso. Best stuff i've used period.

Also, depending on your face, you may want to get a REALLY sharp blade like Feathers loaded into your razor ( i use the long handle classic from Merkur). The duller blades tug at my skin and cause more harm than good. Try the sampler pack from letterK. Im glad i did- by reading alone, i thought the Derby's would be best for me- turns out they were one of the worst for my skin.

When it comes time to Moisturize- ask youre parents what they use. i tried so many things that didn't agree with my skin type until my mom gave me a travel size of her's. we have very similar skin, and it works great for me!



When my skin balances out a little more, i'll give the brush and cream another go. but for right now this is what is working for me.

Especially since you are using medication for your acne, I would only do two passes, and watch the against the grain passes. All of the shaving is probably really irritating your skin. I'm 25 and my skin isn't great, and those ATG passes make me break out.

You may want to try an alcohol based aftershave, I find that they help my skin out a little more, but be prepared for a gentle sting when you put them on.

It took me too many years to figure out how to solve my acne problem.

First, you need to figure out what skin type you have. There are four choices: Dry, Oily, normal, and combination. combination means you are oily in your T zone (Your forehead, nose and chin form a T) and dry in the rest. If you can't figure it out on your own, ask a girl to tell you. If you do it with style and a beer, it could be a great conversation starter. (Remember, its not what you say, but how you deliver it.)

There are 5 steps to proper skin care: Clean, Exfoliate, Tone, Moisturize, and Protect. Use the gentlest product you can find. "Maximum strength" or anything with supra, power, or mega are not the right choices.

Since acne tends to follow oily or combination skin, I'll focus there.

STEP 1 - CLEAN: Start with a clearner, meant for you skin type, in the shower. Cetaphil is a great general cleaner, but it may not be tailored to your skin type. Wash your face AFTER you wash your hair. If you do it the other way around, oils from your head will follow the soap down and negate some of the benefits of your face wash. Wash your whole face, beard included. Some here advocate not washing the beard area, but for me this causes acne problems. Skip the astringents or products with salyctic acid. They just overly dry you out.

STEP 2 - EXFOLIATE: Chances are the cleanser you bought for step one exfoliates as well. If not, buy one that does . Or, you could be like a woman and wear a mask. Another option is every other day use of a product like St. Ives apricot scrub. Be very gendle with these gritty or micro-bead cleaners, they can hurt your skin if overused. Do this in the shower as well. The act of shaving exfoliates as well, but only your beard area, so I recommend just exfoliating your entire face.

STEP 2.5 - SHAVE: This is the in-between step in the skin care process. Look around the board, but you might want to try and start with something more gentle like palmolive red tube (at CVS). Proraso, as wonderful as it is, might give you fits with the menthol. Don't shave anywhere there isn't cream. Don't worry about the closeness of your shave for now. Start with one with-th-grain pass and see how you tolerate it for a week. Then add a second pass if you want. Save the against-the-grain passes for hook-up nights. Cool your face with a VERY THIN LAYER of after shave balm. I don't know if it really helps, but rinsing your blade in rubbing alcohol supposedly sanitizes it for tomorrow's use.

STEP 2.75 - ACNE: This is the time to spot-treat pimples with a Benzoyl Peroxide 10% cream or gel. You will need to do this less and less as time goes on.

STEP 3 - TONE: This is where the alum bar mentioned before fits in. Or, go to the store and look for a toner. You don't need an acne toner. Any old toner will work well.

STEP 4 - MOISTURIZE: Even though you have already put on an aftershave, it is critical to moisturize your entire face using a moisturizer specifically formulated for your skin type. If you have oily or combination skin, this is 100% critical. For years I used astringents, acne bars, pads, and other nonsense that dried the hell out of my face. I figured I was banishing the nasty oils to hell. Instead, I was over-stimulating my oil glands and making the problem worse. After you clean off the dirty oils in your face, you need to replace them with a healthy moisturizer so your skin doesn't freak out.

STEP 5 - PROTECT: Women use foundation for this step. A man's alternative is to use an SPF 4 sunscreen or choose a moisturizer that has SPF in it. Honestly, real men skip this step

Remember, use the gentlest products you can find until you know you can tolerate anything else.

One final thing, a lot of people will tell you about diet and its effect on acne. These statement are usually helpful to you, but only indirectly to your acne. Maintaining proper body weight and being in shape will help your acne. Working out will burn off some of the testosterone that is part of the problem. Other activities will help with that as well. Both involve sweating and probably a lack of coordination If you do either, wash your face and moisturize before you go to bed.

wonderful post frisco, I defidently have that bookmarked.