Apologies for the horror pics, just hoping to get some advice really. This is my face / neck an hour after shaving (post Nivea face wash & shower) with a DE89, Voskhod blade (3rd use) & Body Shop Maca Root cream. It was a 3 pass: WTG, XTG & XTG opposite direction, then touch ups. If I had taken the pics within minutes of shaving, they would have been far more horrific!
I think that the bulk of the redness is scars leftover from going ATG and having to dig out ingrowers resulting from said passes. I haven't gone ATG for over a month as it seems my skin really can't take it. If I go ATG, I get an assortment of weepers, regardless of blade, razor, angle, etc and my face gets itchy later on during a shaving day and this can carry over to the following day. I'm gutted that I can't get as close a shave as I'd like because of this, but for the punishment my face gets I just have to settle for a DFS.
As you can see though, I thought that after over a month of not going ATG, my skin would have cleared up a lot more. I'm tearing my hair out somewhat with this now, my face looks like this after virtually every shave, except sometimes worse if it's a blade that doesn't agree with my skin. I always shave after either a shower or a good face wash / hot flannel etc, and I think I get good lather from Truefitt & Hill Ultimate Comfort cream. I let the weight of the razor do the work and don't apply any more pressure than is necessary. I cold water shave and rinse with cold water for half a minute, clean up my stuff then apply balm. I get a more efficient shave with an iKon open comb than with the DE89, yet still get irritation. Even with my face looking like it does, it doesn't particularly feel like a mild razor helps me, as I get irritation no matter what I use, so I may as well use a more efficient razor.
Not sure what to do really, it's partly seeing myself in photos from 10-15 years ago that has made me realise that my face was nice and smooth and irritation free back then, using just canned goo and a WS Protector cartridge razor. Before anyone pipes up with “Shaving is beard reduction, not beard eliminationâ€, I am NOT trying to get every hair, just trying to get a decent shave without my face looking wrecked. Ideally if I can sort the problem out I'd like to keep DE shaving. I don't really want to go back to carts as Fusions gave me bad ingrowers and irritated my neck anyway, even with a 1-pass WTG shave. I've tried a slant and an SE recently and got the same level of irritation with them. Just wish I could get rid of the rash. I don't really get any burn or pain as such, I just hate my face looking like this. It's settled down a bit since I took the pics a few hours ago, but depending on the blade it can take 2 hours for my face to settle down after shaving. I remember the days of shaving and then going out for the night almost straight after, (that's) just not an option now as I can't go out with my face in a right state.
I suppose seeing a dermatologist is an option (how do you even do this, presumably your GP refers you?), but I would be interested in any thoughts or product recommendations. Would pre-shave or witch hazel be helpful for example? I use Aloe Vera gel sometimes. It soothes irritation but doesn't make the redness go away. I've heard hydrocortisone cream can help, has anyone tried it? I've read a ton of articles on razor burn and they all say to use a single blade rather than a multi blade cart, which is another reason I don't want to go back to carts.
Any help appreciated. Potentially I may have to face up to DE shaving not being for me, but I've done it for a year now and enjoy the products, ritual, etc of it all, but I honestly can't say that my skin is that much better now than when I started all this. . .
I think that the bulk of the redness is scars leftover from going ATG and having to dig out ingrowers resulting from said passes. I haven't gone ATG for over a month as it seems my skin really can't take it. If I go ATG, I get an assortment of weepers, regardless of blade, razor, angle, etc and my face gets itchy later on during a shaving day and this can carry over to the following day. I'm gutted that I can't get as close a shave as I'd like because of this, but for the punishment my face gets I just have to settle for a DFS.
As you can see though, I thought that after over a month of not going ATG, my skin would have cleared up a lot more. I'm tearing my hair out somewhat with this now, my face looks like this after virtually every shave, except sometimes worse if it's a blade that doesn't agree with my skin. I always shave after either a shower or a good face wash / hot flannel etc, and I think I get good lather from Truefitt & Hill Ultimate Comfort cream. I let the weight of the razor do the work and don't apply any more pressure than is necessary. I cold water shave and rinse with cold water for half a minute, clean up my stuff then apply balm. I get a more efficient shave with an iKon open comb than with the DE89, yet still get irritation. Even with my face looking like it does, it doesn't particularly feel like a mild razor helps me, as I get irritation no matter what I use, so I may as well use a more efficient razor.
Not sure what to do really, it's partly seeing myself in photos from 10-15 years ago that has made me realise that my face was nice and smooth and irritation free back then, using just canned goo and a WS Protector cartridge razor. Before anyone pipes up with “Shaving is beard reduction, not beard eliminationâ€, I am NOT trying to get every hair, just trying to get a decent shave without my face looking wrecked. Ideally if I can sort the problem out I'd like to keep DE shaving. I don't really want to go back to carts as Fusions gave me bad ingrowers and irritated my neck anyway, even with a 1-pass WTG shave. I've tried a slant and an SE recently and got the same level of irritation with them. Just wish I could get rid of the rash. I don't really get any burn or pain as such, I just hate my face looking like this. It's settled down a bit since I took the pics a few hours ago, but depending on the blade it can take 2 hours for my face to settle down after shaving. I remember the days of shaving and then going out for the night almost straight after, (that's) just not an option now as I can't go out with my face in a right state.
I suppose seeing a dermatologist is an option (how do you even do this, presumably your GP refers you?), but I would be interested in any thoughts or product recommendations. Would pre-shave or witch hazel be helpful for example? I use Aloe Vera gel sometimes. It soothes irritation but doesn't make the redness go away. I've heard hydrocortisone cream can help, has anyone tried it? I've read a ton of articles on razor burn and they all say to use a single blade rather than a multi blade cart, which is another reason I don't want to go back to carts.
Any help appreciated. Potentially I may have to face up to DE shaving not being for me, but I've done it for a year now and enjoy the products, ritual, etc of it all, but I honestly can't say that my skin is that much better now than when I started all this. . .