How can I reduce irritation when I have to shave over irritated spots?

Hello again. As some may or may not know, I've been struggling with my shaves for about a year and a half. Still plugging away trying to figure out how in the world I can make this manageable.

I feel like my technique will improve if I shave everyday, however I have a lot of nicks and bumps all over the face and neck from shaving. How can I possibly improve technique while having to shave over these areas?

It seems everytime I wait a few days, the nicks are still there and the hair is thicker, causing more passes and more irritation.

I'm wondering if perhaps I should go back to electric shaving. It's so expensive, but I don't know how else to avoid irritation. It's beyond frustrating. I watched another video and the guy said you should shave at a certain speed, so I was thinking maybe I'm shaving too slow.

I don't know...I shaved today and it didn't seem to get caught much but man my face is so beat up. When I use to touch up the face with a DE shaver and do the majority with an electric, my face was basically pimple free. Sorry to rant. I'm just so annoyed at this point. Some people get this down in a couple days. Here I am over a year later frustrated beyond belief.

Here is my quick $0.02: Without knowing anything else I would suggest 1 or all of the following:
- look at your prep. Do you shower first? Have you tried pre-shave products?
- look at your razor. Is it a mild, medium or aggressive razor. Perhaps that needs to be changed.
- look at your blade. Same
- look at your soap. Does it lather well? Are you having an allergic reaction to it? Are you applying enough?
- look at your brush. Is it soft yet has good backbone?
- look at the WIKI and Youtube to double check your lathering and shaving technique(low pressure, correct angle, short strokes, etc)
- consider cold shaving. There are many on this board, including me, who no longer have any irritation by making the switch to cold shaving.
- let it rest. Sometimes you have to just let things settle down and heal before trying again.

What's your routine, especially pre-shave prep? Is your lather slick enough? What razor and blades are you using? Is your skin dry, or particularly sensitive? Knowing more will help us help you

1holegrouper said:

Here is my quick $0.02: Without knowing anything else I would suggest 1 or all of the following:
- look at your prep. Do you shower first? Have you tried pre-shave products?
- look at your razor. Is it a mild, medium or aggressive razor. Perhaps that needs to be changed.
- look at your blade. Same
- look at your soap. Does it lather well? Are you having an allergic reaction to it? Are you applying enough?
- look at your brush. Is it soft yet has good backbone?
- look at the WIKI and Youtube to double check your lathering and shaving technique(low pressure, correct angle, short strokes, etc)
- consider cold shaving. There are many on this board, including me, who no longer have any irritation by making the switch to cold shaving.
- let it rest. Sometimes you have to just let things settle down and heal before trying again.

Click to expand...

Agree with all of this - especially the part about cold shaving. It really helped me when I was getting irritation on my neck. Also feels awesome.

Please tell us what sort of gear you are using as well as what your routine is. That will certainly help the guys here to form a picture of where you may be able to improve things.

More info for sure! The bottom line easiest thing to say is that you shouldn't shave over irritated spots, period. But I think we can help you avoid irritation altogether.

Hi,

Use Nivea cream on your wet face, lather up and shave WTG until you get back to normality

Cheers

However you do your shave, be sure to back way off on the pressure. Once things get back to normal stay off the pressure, just use the weight of the racor.

Oddly, I had pretty good luck with out showering before my shave and using tepid or cold water. Works for my skin and pores, anyway.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...ving-looking-for-advice?p=7746051#post7746051

This was another post. I use Escali badger brush, and one of a variety of razors, like the Merkur 34C. I use Proraso sensitive soap or TOBS Sandwalwood. Blades vary. I use Astra a lot but seems dull. I kind of like Wilkson's Sword, I've tried Feather with irritation.

Here's a video that showed how I would shave not long ago. I got a lot of responses based on it, so I try to keep my wrist straight with less pressure, and I'm trying to maybe shave a little faster, let gravity work more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQnXOAILiIo

I basically had to strap my phone to a towel rack, with tape. So...that's why it kind of fell.

AeroSSX said:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...ving-looking-for-advice?p=7746051#post7746051

This was another post. I use Escali badger brush, and one of a variety of razors, like the Merkur 34C. I use Proraso sensitive soap or TOBS Sandwalwood. Blades vary. I use Astra a lot but seems dull. I kind of like Wilkson's Sword, I've tried Feather with irritation.

Here's a video that showed how I would shave not long ago. I got a lot of responses based on it, so I try to keep my wrist straight with less pressure, and I'm trying to maybe shave a little faster, let gravity work more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQnXOAILiIo

I basically had to strap my phone to a towel rack, with tape. So...that's why it kind of fell.

Click to expand...

The way you hold the razor may cause too much pressure.

dpmtherrien said:

However you do your shave, be sure to back way off on the pressure. Once things get back to normal stay off the pressure, just use the weight of the racor.

Click to expand...

This! And welcome!

If/When (it's getting less common) I manage to irritate my face too badly I switch to my electric so it has time to heal. I think that's a good option.

Edit: watched the video & it looks like you're using pressure. I'd hold the razor very lightly with just the thumb, index, and middle-finger. Use no pressure, and remember you don't need to get everything with one pass.

As said above, it's a pressure thing. Let the weight of the razor do the work for you. I use two fingers and my thumb to hold the razor with another finger resting on the tip of the handle. This results in holding the razor very lightly with no pressure on the razor. You want to hold the razor as lightly as you can without it falling from your hand. This post may help you. Finally, for blade angle, look here.

Shaved just now with cold water, with no improvements at all. In fact, it was worse if anything.

I'm trying hard to back off on pressure, not sure if I'm even doing that. It's just annoying to me that it's like I don't have the coordination or my brain can't pick up on these obvious things and do them. Had a decent amount of irritation and finished with the electric quick.

It just pisses me off. I've spent so much time and money trying to figure this out, it just amazes me how complicated I'm making it. I'll probably post another shaving video in a couple weeks when I come home from college. Who knows, maybe I'll have to post a new video every week to figure this out...

To add something quick, the other thing is half the time I have left over lather over spots after I shave there, especially above and below the lips. So...am I not holding the razor against my face but digging into it somehow?

I tried to shave a little quicker than normal and it's not helping. I was just wondering if I would let gravity do more work so I wouldn't feel the need to press down. I don't know. I have tried out many blades and razors, I have tried out different soaps, too. There are just too many things to look at sometimes that I get overwhelmed. I think I'm just gonna try to limit pressure as best as I can for now. I'll be back soon...

Pressing in seems to be a natural response for me as well, that's why the grip is important. I don't know it serves another purpose but by holding it very lightly with just a few fingers it becomes more difficult to unintentionally apply pressure.

Don't worry if you don't get all the lather, if it has lather you can shave over it again. There's probably an angle problem behind it, but it's easy to work around.

Don't just limit pressure, literally use no pressure. The razor should just barely glide along the surface of your face. The idea is a beard reduction, so if you don't get everything in one pass you can come back around for a second, third, fourth. With no pressure/ no irritation the multiple passes won't hurt.

I found Mantic59's videos helpful to watch (3 of them, two on basics and one on advanced techniques).

Also, if you can, give your face a chance to rest and heal.

Do you shave before or after you shower? If you shave after you shower, try shaving before you shower with enough prep to get the whiskers wet but not enough water saturation to get the skin on your face all soft and more easily-damaged. I know that goes against "conventional wet shaving wisdom" but what have you got to lose by trying? It will either work for you or it won't.

Worked wonders for me. Wield that razor like you've just been tasked with shaving Baby Jesus.

I just had a a rough few weeks. Moisturizing my face during the week with Curel lotion and nivea balm for sensitive skin really helped. +1 on Mantic. He'll give you a great constant to where your lather ought to be. Like others have said, let it rest and stay WTG if you have to shave.

I'll throw in my 0.02 here, but have you mapped your beard out? I can't avoid irritation, especially on my neck, if I don't shave WTG (or as close to it as possible). Stick with 1-2 WTG passes till the irritation subsides. And TBH, I feel I can get just a good shave with 2 WTG passes as 1 pass WTG and 1 XTG. Don't over-think it and don't try too hard, either. Let the razor do the work and make sure the blade angle is spot on.

Good luck.

Pimples probably means you're shaving too close. I had a friend that went through this. Very different type from me--very fair skin, very heavy beard. He was also having trouble with an electric and disposable cartridges. It took him months, but finally got himself in shape by going very straight with a "locked wrist" technique (ask someone about it--not my speed at all), going very slow, using a very light touch (which took him a while to master), the right blade & razor (I think an average Merkur and not quite the sharpest blade), and only going with the grain. I'm not sure (he didn't post here much) but I think he finally settled on creams instead of soaps. Don't try to skimp here--get a really good cream/soap, not necessarily expensive, but something really good, which will probably be in the $15-25 range at a minimum.

That's almost completely opposite what I do, but different things work for different people. If I try to make sense of his solution, it seems like it's all about getting the blade to sit right and glide over his face while giving less irritation. The Merkur and a sharp (but not too sharp) blade gives enough blade clearance and bulk in the hand to get a proper grip and feel the blade on his face, while a cream tends to give better slickness than a soap so it's easier to make the blade glide. He also didn't go against or even across the grain, which is the best way to avoid bumps. Going very slow with a bulky, heavy razor and "locked wrist" probably let him learn to be guided by the movement of the razor because he couldn't feel his way though using "the force" to guide him by the feel of the blade against his face.