Is senior citizen skin more fragile while wet shaving?

I am in my 70s and I have noticed that my skin seems thinner than when I was younger. My arms will bruise and scratch more easily. I also believe as a wet shaver the skin on my face probably is more fragile, potentially will be cut or nicked easier while shaving, and probably using a milder razor in my senior years is wise.

I also believe my whiskers are tougher and more coarse than they were decades ago. So paradoxically I have a coarser beard but a more fragile skin. That can be a challege while wet shaving.

Does anyone else share my experience? Or do you have a different view? Any suggestions?

santamariasteve said:

I am in my 70s and I have noticed that my skin seems thinner than when I was younger. My arms will bruise and scratch more easily. I also believe as a wet shaver the skin on my face probably is more fragile, potentially will be cut or nicked easier while shaving, and probably using a milder razor in my senior years is wise.

I also believe my whiskers are tougher and more coarse than they were decades ago. So paradoxically I have a coarser beard but a more fragile skin. That can be a challege while wet shaving.

Does anyone else share my experience? Or do you have a different view? Any suggestions?

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Although not quite as "senior" as you, I opine:

Personally, I believe my beard is a tad softer than it was when I was a young(er) buck.

I also concur that -- more so in women, IMHO -- that the skin gets thinner as one ages. Personally, I don't see that on me, especially on the shaving landscape.

What I do observe, now that I am retired, is that I have more time to (now) enjoy the shaving experience -- and maybe take a little more care in attacking the beard/skin. And I have migrated from a Mach3 (may it rest in peace) to a real blade (injector), so I need to be a little more careful with the more aggressive instrument.

My $0.02...

I am 55, so not as senior as the OP. My skin seems ok, but I have noticed the thinning skin on my dad who is 87. Doesn't seem as pronounced on his face as on arms and legs. I have shaved him 3-4 times when he has been in the hospital, His beard seems as tough as ever, especially when the only prep I can do is warm washrags.

Just my personal experiene and YMMV.

My father in law is 78 and his skin is so thin it can be damaged by bandaids.

Skin gets noticeably thinner as you age. Usually starts right under your eyes.

Yes, I have noticed this. I'm 68 (say it ain't so!) I DE shaved for 25+ years, from 14 on, until I stupidly lost my Fatboy. I kept wet-shaving, but with blue Bics and Mach 3s. Then this year, I went back to DE shaving, with another Fatboy.

My skin is more sensitive, and I must take care. My beard seems the same. Good prep is necessary, and gentle technique. I have found some absolutely fabulous soaps and creams that offer great protection. I can do two-careful-passes-and-touch-up with great lather and a new(ish) blade, and get superior shaves. Alum. AS splash and balm, Coral Skin Food are all needed now for no irritation.

But if I follow this more complicated old-goat regimen, I get great shaves, usually BBS.

Still, I manage to scrape sharpened steel across my face every day or so, thus I don't know if "fragile" is quite the word.

I pretty much agree. I don't know for sure if my beard has toughened up, but I cannot wisk, without irritation, a razor down my lower cheeks anymore. When I was young I was able to use one stroke from my sideburn, down my lower cheek, to the middle of my chin. Now I get weepers on my chin if I try to do so.

I'm 70, who'd a thunk I ever would have made it this far considering what I did in my younger days! I haven't noticed my facial skin to be much thinner, a bit perhaps, but I do notice I'm more sensitive to what I apply during and after my shave. If I'm not careful I'll get red blotches that clear up in hours, sometimes days.

santamariasteve said:

I am in my 70s and I have noticed that my skin seems thinner than when I was younger. My arms will bruise and scratch more easily. I also believe as a wet shaver the skin on my face probably is more fragile, potentially will be cut or nicked easier while shaving, and probably using a milder razor in my senior years is wise.

I also believe my whiskers are tougher and more coarse than they were decades ago. So paradoxically I have a coarser beard but a more fragile skin. That can be a challege while wet shaving.

Click to expand...

I'm in the middle of my 70s, with a big 7-5 coming up less than half a year away. I do not think that my whiskers are greatly different over the last 20 years or so, however, most of my beard turned white about that long ago, and I have had the feeling that the individual hairs involved had different characteritics, but not really more resistance to being shortened.

My face and scalp has always been oily and soft, and that has not changed, but my arms and legs need more attention in summer when I wear shorts and Ts most of the time. I have to use hand lotions up my wrists, and different bath soaps in shower in summer. I pick up a lot more marks from the four footed friends I share my home with than was true before, so I suppose the outermost layer of dermis has become less resilient on my ankles and knees.

I do not have any sense that my rare mistakes with a blade are less rare now than ten years ago. HERE, however, I do have one complaint against my body -- one retina was severely scarred somehow in the past ten years without really calling my attention to the loss until it was already quite bad. It was my dependent eye, the left, of most use for depth perception; rather suddenly, it seemed, there were parts of my face I could see as well in my mirror!

Skin definitely thins and loses it's elasticity as we age. This is why we wrinkle, bruise and even tear more easily (with adhesive tapes, etc). There's no preventing it, but you can accelerate it with sun damage. I don't know if the face is more resilient or average. Certainly "crows feet" are among the first signs of aging to show up, and they're on the face. However, that skin around the eyes seems naturally thinner than the cheeks, for example, so maybe there's a little buffer in there that helps us keep enjoying shaving!

65 and notice it on my hands mostly. fingertips and top of hands remarkable so. I hardly can wring out a hot towel and I spent years in commercial kitchens with bulletproof hands.

Definitely have thinner skin as I age, however my whiskers seem to be softer than when I was younger. Biggest problem is the neck area with looser skin that comes with age, and a turkey waddle that puts me in fear during the Thanksgiving Holiday Season.

I'm 65 and have thinning skin. I go for a CCS, or sometimes a DFS, shave to avoid damaging my skin. I find that since I've been using a DE razor, my skin is healthier and less irritated.

Speaking of aging skin, do most of you who are seniors use a milder razor blade? What blades do you use? I find the sharper blades too sharp for my senior skin.

I'm 71, going on 72. I take "blood thinners," so small cuts do take longer to stop bleeding. I, too, have noticed that the skin on my hands and arms seems to be more prone to easy injury, but I cannot tell that the same holds true for my face. I nick myself less often now than when I was a teen, so I suppose practice does pay off.