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Neck irritation after workout

So I've been doing this for a few months now and I'm starting to get the hang of it. If I concentrate, I can get a good close shave on my neck without irritation.

Every weekday I wake up, shave without showering, dress, and go to the gym. After the gym I shower and go to work. The trouble I'm having is that the sweat from exercising brings out the neck irritation. After all my hard work I look like I just scraped a CVS disposable back and forth.

I've been trying a number of products, both after the shave and after the workout. I thought a creamy lotion like Nivea would do the trick. It reduces the burning sensation but not the redness nor the bumps .*

Any advice?

[*] Good thing I don't have enough cred for a custom title, huh? :smile:
 
I also sometimes feel the effects of a workout on my shave. My recommendation is to try to shave after working out. I would urge you not to get special products to battle issues that could potentially be avoided by a small change in your routine.

Good luck!

Best - MM
 
The same thing used to happen to me. For a while I managed to drag myself out of bed early enough to do my workout before I showered, but I'm not really much of a morning person. What's worked for me is moving the workout routine until right before lunch, so my neck has a few hours time to close up and rest beforehand (though you might not have that luxury).

Out of curiosity, do you use any witch hazel or an alum block? I don't (yet), but I always wondered if using them right after the shave would help some.

Good luck with whatever solution you try!
 
Right now I'd rather not reorder the routine because I take a class in the morning. Putting off shaving until after exercising means commuting (gym is at work) with an itchy, scruffy face, and it means I'll get to work about 1/2 hour later. Not to mention carrying the badger and blade nestled against my sweaty socks.

I've been using witch hazel frequently, and I like it, but it doesn't seem to mitigate the post-sweat burn. I haven't tried the alum block.
 
I have the same experience. Alum block will help, but won't solve the problem entirely. The best thing would be to reschedule your shave; you might try shaving before bed, which would give your skin time to recover.
 
On Saturday's during the summer, I cut the grass after shaving, no shower, and in Houston perspiring is a way of life during the summer.

I like to use a Tech or a mild shaver with a very slick soap or cream, go for par, as Mantic says, and finish up the shave with some witch hazel and some Corn Huskers. No sting if I did it right.
 
You are shaving too close in your neck area. Avoid ATG in this area or use a lighter touch in this area. I will get this sting when I am sweating during summer activities if I shave too close.
 
I get my best shaves after my post workout shower. Like Austin said though, the neck is a sensitive area.

I can imagine that; the extra body heat ought to soften your face and beard. But in the past when I've worked out before shaving, my face would get all hot and itchy and I'd be irritated even before getting to the shave. Do you have the problem?
 
I have the same experience. Alum block will help, but won't solve the problem entirely. The best thing would be to reschedule your shave; you might try shaving before bed, which would give your skin time to recover.

Thanks, I might try that. It would mean being able to eat breakfast again...
 
Update: this morning I noticed the bumps before shaving. I decided to give my neck a rest for the weekend and only did one WTG pass. We'll see how it goes.
 
If you shave before a workout: start a shower with hot water, then gradually cool it down. This will help with irritation as well as your sweating. By the end of the shower the water should be very cold. Your irritation hopefully will decrease drastically. Then make sure to "pat" your face dry, no rubbing.

If you shave after a workout: wait 15 minutes, take a hot shower, shave, then jump into a cold shower, or use a slightly-wettened ice cube and run it over the shaved areas. Pat dry, no rubbing.

Hopefully this might help. Also, if you're using a menthol type of shaving cream, this might be the problem. Your face is numbed while shaving, only to be irritated by sweating later. Read about your skin type in The Art of Shaving. Some knock it, but it has great info about our individual skin types.
 
I have the same problem, but the timing is quite different. I always shave early in the morning 7-8 am, but do not do any form of exercise until 7-8 pm at night. At first it is all fine, but if I sweat profusely it starts to burn quite a lot. It is impossible to see any difference in the skin, and the burning stops when I stop sweating, but it is still a bit annoying. It is the only aspect of life that is worse after switching to DE.
 
If you shave before a workout: start a shower with hot water, then gradually cool it down. This will help with irritation as well as your sweating. By the end of the shower the water should be very cold. Your irritation hopefully will decrease drastically. Then make sure to "pat" your face dry, no rubbing.

Thanks for this advice. I have been doing this sort of but maybe I'll try to get it even colder.

Hopefully this might help. Also, if you're using a menthol type of shaving cream, this might be the problem. Your face is numbed while shaving, only to be irritated by sweating later.

Doh! I just cracked open a new tub of Proraso pre-shave cream, yes, with menthol. I guess I'll skip it for a couple of days and see what happens.
 
I can imagine that; the extra body heat ought to soften your face and beard. But in the past when I've worked out before shaving, my face would get all hot and itchy and I'd be irritated even before getting to the shave. Do you have the problem?

You need to thoroughly wash your face with hot water and a decent face scrub to remove all the salt and sweat from your pores. I used to have the most trouble after my shave though.
I have solved that problem by splashing my face with cold water after the shave and then using Brut moisturizing ASB. The ASB is alcohol free and contains aloe and shea butter.
 
Update on the neck issue for today: shaved in the morning, as usual. During shave, justdid a single WTG pass on the neck. After workout, took the coldest shower I could muster. Patted on some Nivea extra soothing lotion.

I still had some slight irritation on the neck. Not underneath the chin, where my neck stubble is the toughest. Instead, it's closer to the adam's apple. Anyway, an hour later, it actually looks pretty good.

Thanks for all the advice, guys; keep it comin'. I might try nightshaving sometime this week...
 
Day four of Operation I Stick My Neck Out for Nobody: I did the same thing as yesterday (single WTG pass on the neck, cold shower, nivea lotion), except I left out the Proraso green preshave. Thanks to Good_Things for the suggestion.

I have to say my neck feels a lot better without the menthol preshave. I think I'll set it aside for a few more days. We might be onto something here.
 
I mean, I think it comes down the fact that your skin is kinda raw and then you're sweating before it's healed. I shaved with straight this Saturday, then went to play a touch football game a few hours later. I was getting some mild irritation.

The less passes you do, and the lighter you do them, the better off you should be, but the only way you are going to eliminate irritation is probably going to be not shaving pre-workout.
 
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