Gosh its been a while since I used the rant prefix... I'm a bearded gentleman, I've always had decent beard genes. From the age of 14 I was the young Mexican boy, 16 the bum fluff champ, 18 the goatee ninja and slowly up into my 20s everything started to fill in strong. I like to keep my facial hair at a low level stubble, Nothing more than 5mm all over and lined high on the cheek (No chinstrap for me) and a tight jawline. I've never been able to wet shave properly, I've done it thousands of times and I had little success. The face area was all fine, Smooth like a 9 year old the neck was the most irritating experience of my life. Under my neck on the right in particular would flare up, I'd avoid touching it. Keep it moisturised but nothing seemed to work. Painful, white horrible bumps would appear. I'd have to either let the beard grow out and calm down before tightening up again (2 weeks or so) or risk go over the bumpy mass as best I could with a electric shaver to maintain that clean cut look. Recently I shaved everything off entirely with a Philips one blade. I takes it ultra close for a electric shave... Its still 5 o'clock though and you can only keep it tight every 4-5 days when it gets long enough. It didn't go down well, Work gave me weird looks, My girlfriend admitted she didn't like me without the beard (bitch) I agree I like it too, I feel it compliments and balances my face way better with the beard than without. Its probably the only aesthetic feature of my face that's ever got compliments... But I hate I can't maintain that look. Has anyone had any experience with this? My dad suffers as well and in 40 years of shaving he's never found a solution besides trimming as close as possible with an electric shaver. I want to maintain the clean cut look but the consistency of having to wait a week between tightening up just doesn't work. I've used a hundred and one different products to 'sooth' or 'calm' or 'Protect against' and it never works. On occasion its caused further irritation! I'm happy to pay a premium for something that genuinely works. I've now lost faith...
Double edge safety razor. I used to get rashy as hell on my neck, a proper routine using a DE razor solved all my problems. There is a thread somewhere. edit: https://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=222811&highlight=safety+razor Once you start, you can't stop
I was , mostly, clean shaven for about 30 years, then flirted with a beard with a few years, a few months with, a few months without. About a year ago I was close to buying a DE razor and a badger hair brush. However, I have always found shaving an annoying chore and, just before buying said razor and brush, I thought sod it, screw shaving. My beard will now be with me for life, I have an electric beard trimmer that can give an even cut at around an inch and I'm never going to shave again.
Or a cut throat razor, it's the closest shave i've ever had. A good shave oil does the trick as well. Once you have the technique down, you find that razor burn never happens. I tried everything out there but I seem to have weird skin. I have terrible beard genes, it seems. My hair grows pretty quickly but it grows very patchy, so I never dedicate to growing a beard. So i've tried every brand of razor and electric razors don't work for me. I tried a traditional cut-throat and it was like night and day.
Map your hair growth. That means learn which way the hairs grow on different parts of your face and neck. Irritation in sensitive areas is most often caused by shaving against the direction of hair growth with bad preperation. The trick is "beard reduction" but first, it's very important to have good prep: Wash your face really well beforehand and use a pre-shave soap or lotion if you have one. Use a decent shaving soap, not hand-soap or shaving foam and apply it properly, preferably with a shaving brush. Use a good, sharp blade (I use a traditional DE razor & blades). "Beard reduction" just means that you shave in a succession of passes with each pass giving a progressively "closer" shave. The passes are "with the growth", "across the growth" and "against the growth". So, after mapping your hair growth, lather up and shave your whole face & neck in the same direction as the direction of hair growth. That should be very straightforward and remove a lot of growth. The skin will feel smooth in the direction of growth, but rough when felt across or against the growth. There's nothing wrong with stopping here. A single "with the growth" pass shave will leave you looking clean shaven all day, it just doesn't leave you feeling completely smooth. If you want to get closer... Check for irritation. If anywhere looks or feels sore then stop shaving that area. For the rest of your face & neck, lather-up again (there should be enough still in the brush) and do another pass, this time "across the growth". This will remove more hair and leave you feeling smoother than after the first pass but if you want to get closer still and go for a completely smooth shave... Check for irritation again and all being well re-lather for the final pass - "against the growth". This will leave your skin completely free of hair and feeling smooth in all directions. A good rinse and a splash of aftershave and balm, and you're good to go.
Before I quit shaving, I had that problem. Largely on the neck too. I switched to a straight razor, rather than the gillette type, because it seemed kinda cool at the time (I lost interest with the whole shaving thing, but the maintenance of straight razors bored me too). I subsequently read that some multi-blade heads have nickel coatings that some people have adverse reactions to. Seemed plausible at the time, but since I just opted for beard I've never looked into it further. But yeah. Try a straight or, as mentioned above, a double edged safety. IMO the shave was better anyway, which was a bonus.
I 100% back the DE safety razor reccommendation. With the right technique it'll really help with irritation, you'll get a super close and smooth shave too. Plus they feel cool. You get to have that manly, old fashioned moment in the morning when you shave, which is oddly satisfying. Investing in some good soaps and all that also helps. You'll get a lovely glide from a good soap, and it smells great too. My soaps last me absolutely ages, so splashing out on the best ones still works out reasonable. You sound like a hairier man than I though, but in any case the reccommendation holds true. My friend has similar facial hair issues that you've experienced and this switch really helped for him.
I have always wet shaved, over the years I have tried countless different blades and potions etc. But all I use now is Gillette disposable Mach 3. And my top secret to the perfect shave without burns or rashes..... Dove Soap!! I kid you not gents, try it and thank me later EDIT: As Yada has mentioned I always shave against the growth and its super comfortable with the Dove
I bought a stubble trimmer (not from that link, but it was that make) cos I just can't be arsed with trying to manage irritation. It cuts as short as 0.4mm but can be adjusted up to 5mm I think. Works for me. Personally, I don't get the appeal of beards and so have never entertained the idea of sporting one. What, do you want to me to look like a hipster ****/fisherman/biker?
I've found it's less about the razor (as long as it's a quality blade with a sharp edge) and more about shave preparation and after shave care. I switched to a sandalwood shave soap and badger hair shaving brush about 2 years ago and I've never had a problem since. A natural soap correctly lathered, applied and removed is much better than any aerosol chemical.
Ditch electric shaders and 'cartridge' shavers if you're getting skin irritation, go for the double-edge. You can go for single-edge if you want, but it's a lot of hassle for no benefit (just swap in a new DE blade and the edge will be as sharp as a honed single-edge). Ditched the canned shaving cream. Try a tub of 'solid' cream and a brush, and if that's not working try shaving oil.
I too use a Double Edged Safety Razor. Be aware though that this is a whole world unto itself; You can get all sort of razors which have various degrees of openness (referring to the comb). The more open being able to give a closer cut. Then there are considerations about shaft length (stop giggling). Some people prefer a short shaft, some a longer. The argument being about how the length compliments your technique. Then there are considerations to the most important aspect of a DE razor; the blades to use. Some blades give a closer cut while some are designed for more longevity. The soap used is a major factor too, as already stated, make sure you use a proper shaving soap and a decent badger hair brush. I personally use a Merkur 25C which is a long shafted, open comb razor. Blades I use are Feather blades. And the soap; Arko shaving soap. I now only get shaving rash when I shave with a slightly blunt blade. I need to replace blades approx every 3 shaves, however I do make 3 passes in various directions each time I shave. I find, with this set up, that I'm getting similar closeness as with a Straight Edge razor (cut throat), which I used to shave with before coming to the DE world. After all of the above, bear in mind that everyone's skin is slightly different and it may take some fine tuning to find a set up you really like.
Razor burn is caused by damage to the skin either from the products you're putting on your skin or from pulling the hair around/out of the follicle, firstly only use shaving foam, preferably one designed for sensitive skin, next thing would be to wet the hair and skin for at least 2min, shaving after a bath/shower is ideal, and always, always go with the grain, most hair grows downward so that means shaving in the same direction, lastly try not to shave for the first 1-2 hours after you've woken as your face swells up during the night meaning you won't get as close a shave. Razor bumps are caused by the hair regrowing under the skin, common with curly hair or if you're damaging the skin while shaving, it causes the skin to repair itself over the hair follicle causing blockage, ultimately both razor burn and bumps are caused by damage to the skin so instead of trying to get your face looking like a babies bum be a bit more forgiving.
Never use anything else but Feathers, however I'd love another pack of the Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum Blues (The Russian ones) but they've been discontinued.
Another reason to go the DE route is the paraphenalia which is generally very nice, tactile stuff and incredibly easy to photograph reasonably well.
I never understand all the fuss when it comes to shaving. I use a rather blunt Gillette 5 blade razor, dry, with no prep or aftercare and never have any issues.
