My anti-burn strategy

[moshulu]

I hate razor burn. There is nothing worse than pausing in the middle of the day and realising that one can still feel a faint irritation from the morning’s shave. So I have been experimenting with ways to minimise the burn. Here is what works well for me. I note that my skin is very sensitive, but otherwise my face is easy to shave: smooth skin and a moderate beard.

1. Shower with hot water and wash face with a neutral, high-lipid-content soap.

2. Use a fine shaving cream with good moisturising and lubricating properties, and make a big, warm lather. I have read a lot of theorising about creams, soaps and lathers, but a most of it is unconvincing. My bottom line is: water softens hairs and makes them easier to cut, lubrication keeps the blade from scraping too much skin. My favourites are: Trumpers Almond (which I have used for many years), and a recent mixture of Nancy Boy Cucumber (excellent lubrication) and AOS Unscented (for the moisture).

3. Leave the lather on for 30 seconds or so. Close your eyes and concentrate of your face. If you can feel even the faintest tingling or stinging, throw your cream/soap away.

4. Keep the lather warm by using a scuttle.

5. Use a very sharp blade (preferably a Feather) and a mild razor (e.g., a Tech, a President, a #66). Use minimum pressure, hardly any, “gravity plus”. The sharp blade makes it unnecessary to apply pressure, and that is what creates burn. On the final pass, do only those areas that really need it. Forget “blade buffing” – it’s guaranteed burn. And do not Fear the Feather. If you have smooth skin and good technique, you will never bleed.

6. After the final pass, rinse off ALL of the lather with warm water, and IMMEDIATELY apply a liberal amount of fine unscented moisturiser (I use a French high-end product called Toleriane). Only then begin clean up of gear. Don’t put anything more on top of the moisturiser. That’s it.

7. Avoid all essential oils, perfumes, fancy chemicals. They really irritate freshly-shaved skin. That means no elaborately-scented creams, no witch hazel, no eau de Cologne, Aqua Velva or the Great Smell of Brut, no phoney-baloney Eton/Cambridge/Jermyn Street concoctions, none of that girly-smelly stuff, period. A woman should smell like a woman, a dog should smell like a dog, a man shouldn’t smell like anything.

YMMV, etc.

[Cuttingboard]

Sometimes I get a trace of razor burn, mostly around my adam's apple when the blade gets a little dull, and the best thing for me is to rinse with cold water, apply Thayer's witch hazel with aloe and then apply jason's 98% aloe vera gel before a moisturizer. Even when I do not get razor burn, this is my post shave procedure, the aloe gel is great for relieving razor burn, smoothing and tightening the skin.

[Silk]

7. Avoid all essential oils, perfumes, fancy chemicals. They really irritate freshly-shaved skin. That means no elaborately-scented creams, no witch hazel, no eau de Cologne, Aqua Velva or the Great Smell of Brut, no phoney-baloney Eton/Cambridge/Jermyn Street concoctions, none of that girly-smelly stuff, period. A woman should smell like a woman, a dog should smell like a dog, a man shouldn’t smell like anything.

YMMV, etc.

Not sure if that last bit was intended to be tongue-in-cheek, but it gave me some girly giggles nonetheless. Your post failed to mention one other very important part of the manly ritual: eating fire and crapping thunder.

PS I also hate razor burn.

[tag-and-log]

5. Use a very sharp blade (preferably a Feather) and a mild razor (e.g., a Tech, a President, a #66). Use minimum pressure, hardly any, “gravity plus”. The sharp blade makes it unnecessary to apply pressure, and that is what creates burn. On the final pass, do only those areas that really need it. Forget “blade buffing” – it’s guaranteed burn. And do not Fear the Feather. If you have smooth skin and good technique, you will never bleed.

Right on the money!

[mattbikes1]

I find that I only get razor burn when I over shave. This means too many passes and too much pressure. Thanks for your advice. I am still pretty new to wet shaving but it is great to hear thoughtful feedback from those who came before (which is pretty much everyone as far as I am concerned). Still, for my money, I will continue to use my alum block after a hot rinse, then cold rinse, and then GFT skin food. I use a moisturizer with witch hazel from Humphreys and I like it a lot. But I realize that I will probably at some point change my routine as I progress. Thanks for the post Moshulu!

[Pogo]

The post of moshulu is the best advice I’ve seen to avoid razor burn. It’s notable for its cogency, reasonableness, simplicity, and avoidance of skin irritants. It is minimalism at its best.

I respectfully recommend it be retained as a wiki.

Pogo

[JCee]

7. Avoid all essential oils, perfumes, fancy chemicals. They really irritate freshly-shaved skin. That means no elaborately-scented creams, no witch hazel, no eau de Cologne, Aqua Velva or the Great Smell of Brut, no phoney-baloney Eton/Cambridge/Jermyn Street concoctions, none of that girly-smelly stuff, period. A woman should smell like a woman, a dog should smell like a dog, a man shouldn’t smell like anything.

YMMV, etc.

Well, I was with you up till #7. I'm not sure I can start may day off without getting fully mentholated in the morning.

[Elecid]

7. Avoid all essential oils, perfumes, fancy chemicals. They really irritate freshly-shaved skin. That means no elaborately-scented creams, no witch hazel, no eau de Cologne, Aqua Velva or the Great Smell of Brut, no phoney-baloney Eton/Cambridge/Jermyn Street concoctions, none of that girly-smelly stuff, period. A woman should smell like a woman, a dog should smell like a dog, a man shouldn’t smell like anything.

YMMV, etc.

This piece of advice actually has little to do with avoiding burn. True, cologne-based creams and soaps have the potential for skin irritation, and some essential oil-based ones (rosemary comes to mind) may as well, but certain scented products will be scented with things such as menthol, cocoa butter, or peppermint oil--all of which are actually HELPFUL to prevent razor burn.

That being said, the rest of your advice is sound, but I'd add: Do your shave in as few passes as you can, and don't go over places that are already BBS/DFS depending on your goal. I steal these bits of advice from the forum.

Apologies for thread necromancy. I did a search, and didn't think of the post's age.