Problems Shaving

A

Amnesia180

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200
Hi Everyone,

I'm new here and only stumbled across this forum when I was looking at reviews on my new shaving cream. What a great community this seems to be and I'm hoping people can shed some light.

I'm male, 23 years old and used to shave every day. For the past 3 or 4 years I have been getting terrible shaving rash. Sometimes it is just red, other times they turn into pustules. I've been to the doctors a number of times and I've never been prescribed anything and they've always put it down to stress, or a blunt blade etc.

I'm currently using the new Gillette 5 blade... and have always used nivea and gillette sensitive skin shaving foam/gel.

I've recently treated myself to the Body shop Maca Root Shave Cream and bought myself a little brush to apply it with. I've never used a brush before and for the first time in years I have been able to shave two days in a row without it hurting or being painfully sore. Usually, the day after shaving when my hair starts to come back through my neck is red and sore, that is why I can't shave. But despite haing a small rash, I was able to shave with comfort and ease.

Now, I've used moisturiser tonight (which I don't usually do because it hurts and inflames my skin) but today it has been quite soothing, but has aggravated my skin a little bit.

So, that is an introduction to myself and my hassles with shaving.

Does anyone have other recommendations for aftershave care or their thoughts on Maca Root Shave Cream?

Many thanks, and I look forward to seeing/speaking to you around the forums :)

Amnesia
 
Greetings,

You have a fine start with BS Maca root cream its great. You may find that the 5 blade razor is part of the problem too, 5 blades kind of means 5 times as much skin scraped off your face along with the stubble. Most of us here use either an old fashioned double edge safety razor have a look at the stickies for info on the best stuff to start with.
 
Amnesia180 said:
For the past 3 or 4 years I have been getting terrible shaving rash. Sometimes it is just red, other times they turn into pustules. I've been to the doctors a number of times and I've never been prescribed anything and they've always put it down to stress, or a blunt blade etc
Click to expand...

I went through 22 years of exactly what you describe - razor rash, breakouts, GP appointments, dermotologist appointments, use a 2-blade, 3-blade, electric, grow a beard, shave wet, shave with oil, shave dry. The epiphany came for me when I ditched the multiblade razor after a chance remark on a radio programme and went back to a single blade and proper preparation. Within a month I bumped into my GP socially and his reaction was "WOW! What happened to your face?"

I'm absolutely not saying it will be the same for you but think on it this way - every time you drag a 5 blader across your fizzer that's 5 lots of irritation and the trailing 4 blades are going without any lubrication. Thanks to the design of the multiblade razors you're encouraged to press on harder... so 4 blades held on hard with no lubrication - is it any wonder there's irritation?
 
What ho Amnesia?

Good kit to start with. Perhaps you ought to treat yourself to a Boots own brand DE razor. Dirt cheap, comes with blades and good enough to find out if it will suit your needs. You can then go on to spend like a drunken sailor (ahem, like the rest of us).

DO WATCH THE MANTIC "HOW TO" CLIPS ON YOUTUBE!

Good luck!

:)
 
One other thing - how close are you trying to shave? Are you trying to remove every last trace of whiskers (our Trans Atlantic cousins refer to this as a BBS - "Baby Butt Smooth" shave)? Allied to using a good old fashioned DE razor, don't think you have to scrape away until all the whiskers are gone - go for a good rather than super smooth shave - it may well be that your skin cannot handle a shave like that. Many of us can't.
 
I think this is a story that could be told by most people on this forum.

Go for a safety razor, you won't regret it. I'm firmly in the vintage camp on these.

I'd say one of the most important/enjoyable things is to try lots of different products to find which suit you. If you have truely sensitive skin, and your problems aren't being caused by your choice of razor, then try something like Taylors Jermyn Street collection, which is for sensitive skin. However, lots of people find that using proper preperation and a DE blade solve a lot of these sensitive skin shaving issues.

You'll build up knowledge of what you can use and what you can't or which products to keep away from certain places. I can't use any of the maca root products, as they turn my face, especially cheeks, into an inferno of red blotches, as does pinaud clubman (which luckily is fine everywhere else, mmmmmm).

One word of warning, the whole 'DE shaving is cheaper' argument is fooey, you will soon be spending ££££ on shiny pieces of metal, pieces of dead badger and the latest fruit flavoured shaving soaps.

There's a wealth of info out there.
 
Welcome along!

I agree with all said.

Watch out for your Prep, take care not to get a too thin lather, and watch the pressure (for me this means almost "lifting" the razor away from the face)

Sometimes a blade is just a dud. If it does not feel right, just throw it away immediately, don't try the full shave.

/Max
 
Welcome aboard!

You say you have already had a better shave using cream and brush and I completely agree. So that rules out the razor as being the problem (for now).

As for aftershaving treatments. You'll get lots of advice about balms and splashes and even pieces of rock(?).

Try water for now - just a splash of cold water. Leave the chemically loaded potions out of the mix for now.
 
Wow!! What excellent replies, and by 9am in the morning...

Excellent forum, and thanks for the contribution guys :)

Yes, as said - I have experienced a better shave. This mornign my face is feeling great, still quite smooth (although there is stubble coming through, but that is expected after nearly 10 hours).

Someone mentioned about the type of shave I would like. I've tried growing a beard, to have some "design stubble" before and I didn't really suit it. Sure, it was easy - but I have quite light brown hair which means I look scruffy/unshaven rather than designer.

I would like a really close shave, usually my razor's do not take it down as close as I would like and it looks like I've got a 5 o clock shadow within just a few hours (which I don't really like). Quite often, it would be a bit too sore to take a second swipe over my neck so my neck/underneath my chin would have more stubble on than the rest of my face.

However, my first aim is to get my face feeling more comfortable and having less of a rash. My neck doesn't hurt to touch anymore (there is still a small rash), but I'm think that over time this may reduce.

I'll keep an eye out in boots for a DE (double edge?) razor...

Now, when preparing my face. I just splash warm/hot water. I try and get it onto my neck (and push against my skin inline with my hair, away from my face). I've never used a brush before, so I was dunking the brush in the way and dabbing the top of the cream in the pot and just spreading over my face... is this correct? Any further advice on that would be appreciated.

Thanks again for all the replies,
Amnesia
 
Regarding using the brush: Watch Mantic59's video's on youtube. One thing though: You may find you need to use more product than Mantic does! I cant get lather out of the small amounts of product he uses, but this could have something to do with water hardness as well. Just be prepared to add more product.

Take care not to make the lather to thin. If its to thin it will dry fast on your face, and that is a recipe for disaster.

/Max
 
Hi Amnesia,

I could write pages on the questions you ask but two of the guys here already have,

This is an excellent write up on the kit written by Antdad

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And this is another excellent write up on how to use the kit by Hando

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Both of these guys have many years of experience and took the time out to put these together, have a read through them at your leisure and the rest of the help section, it has most of the answers to the questions that you have and the ones you will think of in the first few weeks. By all means ask questions on any points that are unclear to you.

Quick answer is yes lots of hot water as a prep; forget oils and pre creams for now, many use a hot wet towel and apply this to their face for a minute before shaving, this works very well at giving me a shave with no irritation at all but is not always pratical if your shaving in the morning and on a time clock. If you have ever cooked the lather is like making white sauce, there is a distinct point where it chances consistency and texture and often trying a few test lathers starting with a really dry mixture and keep adding water till it goes too runny will show you the various stages the lather goes through.

It sounds like you are just spreading the soap on your face, this won't work well, you need to whip it with a little water and make a cream out of it. It may be cream to start with but the addition of the water and mixing turns it into a different type of cream.

You are on the right tracks, Make a decision to get the DE from Boots or stay with the cartridge and stick to that for a couple of weeks, I would not advise jumping in between them. I think the DE route is preferable for most guys but as Joe above points out a perfectly good irritation free shave can be obtained with good soap and a brush. the main problem is the canned goo applied by hand, these contain mild anesthetic type ingredients so the shave itself feels good and the problems come later but they are better than no shave cream but only just.
 
Re your brush use questions:

Mantics youtube channel is the best place for practical demonstration.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7Aj9vwrtc there you go. That is the one on brush use and lathering. It is a bit long and tedious but one view and you should have a a good idea of how it all works.

And here is a link to the rest of his stuff. http://www.youtube.com/user/mantic59

Good luck, really hope this all works out for you. I have a good feeling that it will!
 
Technique takes a while to master. I thought I had it licked after a week or two but I was still pushing down on the razor sometimes and getting the angle wrong. Best bet is to follow all the sage and learned advice above and try to stick to one setup until you are confident you are getting the best out of it. Then you can try changing the razor, blade, soap or brush (one at a time preferably) and see how a week or two of that serves you.

When you get to that stage if you want you can send me a PM and I will post you out a mix of blades for free (known colloquially here as a PIF), or get your name down on the balde bazaar PIF, where you receive a package of various blades, take out a couple, and in a few if you can, and pass them on.

Hope this helps.
 
Welcome to the forum!

You're probably inundated with useful information by now! I'd just like to add the importance of mapping your beard growth, once you know which direction your stubble grows in then you'll know how to shave it.
WTG - with the grain.
XTG - across the grain, and
ATG - against the grain.

Stick with WTG to start with, and perhaps a bit of XTG in the right places. Leave ATG until your skin calms down and technique improves, some people never shave ATG at all due to the irritation caused, I guess it all depends on skin type etc.

Enjoy the journey ;)
 
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