Noobie recruiting for battle vs ingrowns.

[Ariakaas]

Hi everyone!

I posted an intro in the hall of fame with an in-depth introduction of myself:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=70766

anyways...I have terrible ingrown hairs on my cheeks, none on my neck or anywhere else, there seems to be a new one every two days. I am looking into straight razor shaving to see if it helps combat my problem.

If there are any other people out there with this same issue please post any advice or links that I could use on my journey to a clear and clean shaven face.

-----------
Hiep

[futurman]

I pull the little guys out with ingrown hair tweezers. The bump will disappear in a few days. I also stopped using the junk blades from wal-mart, and I use red personnas now. Much less frequent ingrown hairs. Above all else, make sure you take the extra extra time to have a good prep before razor touches face. A good prep can make what would be a mediocre shave into a great one!

[expatCanuck]

What are you shaving with now?

I found that going from Atra cartridges to DE (with proper prep) stopped my ingrowns. No need to go to a straight (which I've heard has a beast of a learning curve).

[Ariakaas]

Well, I went from the Mach3 with regular crap from the can, and then have tried the norelco dry shaver to try to combat these ingrowns. I was going to try to go straight razor since I have no skills in either the DE or Straight so if I don't know how much easier the DE is to learn then It won't bother me too much. My hair also grows pretty slowly so when I do shave it thought it would be awesome to do it the coolest way possible...wash-hot towel-lather with a brush-shave-wash and start a new collecting of Straights.

[Deftim13]

I have went from having tons of ingrowns on my neck to having zero since I started shaving with DE blades. Most of it has to do with the razor but I also think most of it comes from my shave prep being light years ahead of what I use to do. Lots of hot water to soften the skin and make sure you do not stretch the skin. A good sharp blade and just take your time.

[dsipari]

I used to have similar problems (actually, that was why i got into SE/DE shaving to begin with.....40+ years ago!). For me the problem was/is a curly beard. Shaving with twin/triple-blade razors would cut the hair below the skin line and when the hairs start to grow back, they would curl in causing irritated bumps.
My solution then was to switch to an injector (still have my Schick from college!), but DEs or Single Edge razors might be helpful for you, especially should you not wish to attempt straights (which i am also doing at this very time!).
You can beat these things! Best of luck.

[Ariakaas]

hmm, anyone know where i can get my starter round 5/8 hollow grind shave-ready straight razor from? Since I will be so new with handling one I'll probably not want something toooooo nice yet. I was recommended to use a Dovo to start.

[Sticky]

hmm, anyone know where i can get my starter round 5/8 hollow grind shave-ready straight razor from? Since I will be so new with handling one I'll probably not want something toooooo nice yet. I was recommended to use a Dovo to start.

Razors: used and often very nice vintage ones from the B/S/T here or the classifieds at straightrazorplace.com (be sure your first razor is really pre-sharpened)

Starter kits: www.classicshaving.com www.ruprazors.com www.thewellshavedgentleman.com www.vintagebladesllc.com

If you want to try chrome oxide on a paddle: 0.5 Chrome Oxide http://www.japaneseknifesharpening.c...tml?&Vl=8&Tp=2
www.japaneseknifesharpening.com

Welcome to straight shaving.

[Pogo]

Ariakaas,

Many of us have had the problem of ingrown hairs.

Please allow me to summarize the suggestions, and add a few, to minimize their reoccurrence:

* The over-arching principle is not to shave too closely. Forget Baby-Butt Smooth (BBS), Damn Fine Shave (DFS), and Close, Comfortable Shave (CCS). Aim for Barely Presentable Shave.

* When you lift ingrown hairs with tweezers, clean the tweezers and the skin with isopropyl or ethyl alcohol before and after use. Do not extract the hair completely; just lift out the tip so it can be shaved.

* Preshave preparation is essential. Allow a full three minutes to wet your beard before shaving. Use a washcloth (flannel) and rub against-the-grain to lift the whiskers.

* Use a single-blade razor (double-edge or Bic sensitive [Schick injectors and their blades are hard to find]). The Bic Sensitives will do you fine. If your heart is set on a double-edge razor, consider the Weishi (best price at Cotton Blossom Crafts, http://www.cottonblossomcrafts.com/weishi_razor.htm). The Weishi is very gentle and won't shave too closely.

* Shave only with-the-grain. Never go across-the-grain or against-the-grain.

* Never go over the same area twice with the razor. You can take care of those missed areas tomorrow.

* Do not stretch the skin when shaving. This rule precludes use of straight edge razors.

AFTER you've tried the above suggestions for two weeks, if you still have a problem, you can try these steps:

* Try "Bump-Fighter" razors. If, after another two weeks, you still have ingrowns, then,

* After you've shaved and rinsed, apply a cream that contains glycolic acid.

Don't jump to the last two steps prematurely.

Hope this helps.

Please give us feedback about what you did and how it worked.

Good luck!

Pogo

[Ariakaas]

Thank you for all that ingrown hair advice Pogo and everyone else. I definitely want to try out Straight Razor shaving still but will take all of these points and use them.

[AudioNut]

If you haven't, watch mantics videos.

As for me, I went from the ol' Mach 3 and goo can to wet shaving in order to get rid of ingrown hairs and irritation. So far, it has worked like a charm. Since I started wet shaving I have 0 irritation and have had only 1 ingrown hair during the whole time compared to 6 - 12 I would normally get EACH time I shaved. FWIW, the 1 ingrown I got I attribute to overstretching the skin. Have yet to try a straight though.

[Ariakaas]

these are exactly the results I love hearing about!

[Pogo]

January 7, 2008

AudioNut,

Heilige Scheiße! Mantic has a video on skin stretching!

Is there anything that Mantic hasn't taught us?

Yours in the sunshine of shaving.

Pogo

[BullGoose]

If I can add my 2 cents...I would suggest trying a cream rather than a soap. I think the cream gives better margin for error. If your blade angle is off, the blade still glides rather than scrapes.

I thought I was a soap man until I received a free sample of Fraser's Polar Ice shaving cream. The cream comes in a tub and you still stir up a lather as you would with a soap. It gave me the closest shave I have ever had.

[Ariakaas]

I am looking forwards to using cream as my choice lather since it seems like ill be able to control the mess I make more with that. I won't have a huge area to work with when I start.