HELP. Oily acne prone skin. Should I use brush and cream (or) preshave oil and cream?

Hi, I am newbie and going to try this wet shave. I read a bit about it, and seems to be the way to go for less irritation. Short but sweet, I had bad acne and went on Accutane. it's mostly gone now, but still gets oily. I think I might be messing my face up more ( its either acne coming back, or razor bumps from shaving with barbosol).

QUESTION?? Should I go for the brush and a good cream, (OR) go with a preshave oil and good cream without brush? considering my skin type.

All suggestions welcomed. IE certain products, as I am wanting to spend this money today or tommorow.

Thanks

I also have adult acne, AND have ingrown prone skin. The best thing you can do at first is stick w/the unscented stuff. I would highly suggest going out and getting some Kiss My Face unscented shaving cream. This can be used with or without a brush, and should help w/combination and/or oily skin.

To combat ingrown hairs, I would definitely suggest switching to a DE, Injector, or at worst a good quality single blade disposable. Ingrowns are caused by 1)shaving too close and the hair getting trapped in the follicle as it begins growing and 2)shaving w/a dull blade and essentially pushing the hair follicle back into the skin instead of slicing cleanly through it. I personally can get a very clean/close shave w/minimal risk of ingrowns if I use an injector. I have good luck w/DE's as well, but have the best w/the single, stiffer injector blades.

Preshave oils work well to give you a better overall shaving experience (help soften the beard, etc) but other than straight olive oil I really wouldn't recommend them for someone w/acne prone or oily skin. If you don't thoroughly wash off the oil it will most likely cause more breakouts.

If you're oily I'd steer clear of the pre shave oil, I'd go brush and soap even over cream.

Ok, So Wouldnt Soap Be Too Harsh For Me Then? So This Is What I Am Planning On Doing/buying. Please Make Any Neccasary Changes As Advice.

Already Have Mach 3???
Good Shave Cream (or) Soap?? With Or Without Brush??
Hot Water/steam
With The Grain
Take Time
After Wards, Put Lotion On Face?? Any Good Suggestions For Oil Free Lotion?

Acne varies a bunch? Do you have random pimples all over or is your face comletely covered? As for soap being harsh, soap traditionally is more drying but if you truely have oily skin thats not a bad thing (at least it wasn't for me). Use a good quality soap. If your acne will allow you to use a brush with out discomfort then use a brush, boar is the cheapest and is the stiffest and most prickly so probably not good for you, The silvertip brushes are the softess (but most expensive too), I have a Vulfix 2234 which is super badger and is very soft and its about $65.00.

As for aftershaves, when I was younger nad had acne I prefered alchol based AS products such as Aqua Velva. The good thing is its cheap and easy to find so if you want to try it YMMV.

What's your budget? That would help. If you've got a tight budget, going the brushless route (at first) might be a good choice.

If you end up finding you've got razor bumps and not acne, one of the best things you can do is ditch the mach 3.

Some soaps are harsh or drying, others aren't. For people w/oily skin, a soap that is a little drying isn't too bad but you don't want any that's really drying. If you overdry your skin, it will just make your oil glands work harder and then you'll end up w/even oilier skin. Something neutral/middle of the road would work well. Something like pre de provence might work well. It's middle of the road in regards to moisturization, quite possibly locally available, and has a light scent.

Hutch said:

If you're oily I'd steer clear of the pre shave oil, I'd go brush and soap even over cream.

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+1

I'd definitely go with a brush and soap.


==Tom

Hutch said:

If you're oily I'd steer clear of the pre shave oil, I'd go brush and soap even over cream.

Click to expand...

+1, I don't recommend preshave oils for any shaver, especially one who is acne prone. Soaps in most cases are good for oily skin.

And without a doubt, ditch the Mach 3, it will definitely be much harsher on your skin. I'd pick up a Merkur HD. Email Lee of Lee's Razors at [email protected], he'll get you set up with a proper razor. Also I'd get a blade sampler from www.westcoastshaving.com. With this sampler you can 5 or 10 of the top 5 blade makers on the market. This will work wonders for your skin. Additionally, the DE route is more expensive at the onset, but once you get your razor, a 100 pack of most blades will under $20 and in some cases as low as $10, that's enough for 400 to 500 hundred shaves. That many cartridges would be over $100.