Lately I’ve been evaluating what are possible inherent factors that might cause me difficulties while shaving. One of them that I came up with is having acne prone skin. Now while having oily skin is good for the long term, in the short term could it cause more difficulties in shaving? For example when stretch my skin I see where there is more oil (sebum?), and my skin isn’t completely “flat”. This is much more present on my neck. Not sure if that makes sense. My idea is that going over these small bumps (accumulation of sebum in the sebaceous glands?) on my skin might contribute (or cause?) irritation? Any thoughts?
Oily and acne prone skin and shaving
- Thread starter taiga
- Start date
My skin improved considerably once I returned to ‘traditional’ wet shaving. However, the improvement was because I had far fewer ingrown hairs and irritation. It is a good while since I had much acne.
The condition of my skin also improved when I switched to DE shaving but it wasn't an overnight thing - it took some time as I improved my lathering and shaving technique.
I'm in my early 50's now and still prone to a zit or two if I don't stay on top of my technique. I find it particularly beneficial to only shave WTG for each pass over my problem area (chin).
I'm in my early 50's now and still prone to a zit or two if I don't stay on top of my technique. I find it particularly beneficial to only shave WTG for each pass over my problem area (chin).
I am pretty new at using DE razors (only about 2 1/2 years using them as I write this), but what I have found in my own personal experience is that leaning to use a DE razor has taught me how to shave without irritation. For me, this means both proper skin preparation and technique.
In terms of skin preparation: I make sure my skin and the stubble is quite wet, and find a shaving soap or other product that provides a very slick shaving surface so the razor can glide without "catching." In terms of technique: Usually what's stated is "use no pressure," but a more accurate statement in my experience is "use a very light touch."
Before I learned to shave with a DE (what I now call, for me, proper technique), I used to have more "acne," but I have come to believe that this is just ingrown hairs from pressing down too much on the razor cartridge to get the quality of shave I wanted. Since learning to shave with a DE, I have recently revisited my former cartridge razor (the Schick Hydro Sensitive) and I have found that my shave quality is much better than I remember, with far fewer ingrown hairs.
TL;DR: In my experience, I believe the "acne" on my jawline and neck irritation was caused from improper shaving technique.
In terms of skin preparation: I make sure my skin and the stubble is quite wet, and find a shaving soap or other product that provides a very slick shaving surface so the razor can glide without "catching." In terms of technique: Usually what's stated is "use no pressure," but a more accurate statement in my experience is "use a very light touch."
Before I learned to shave with a DE (what I now call, for me, proper technique), I used to have more "acne," but I have come to believe that this is just ingrown hairs from pressing down too much on the razor cartridge to get the quality of shave I wanted. Since learning to shave with a DE, I have recently revisited my former cartridge razor (the Schick Hydro Sensitive) and I have found that my shave quality is much better than I remember, with far fewer ingrown hairs.
TL;DR: In my experience, I believe the "acne" on my jawline and neck irritation was caused from improper shaving technique.
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