Don't know what to do!

lifehacker

I have been having shaving irrition and redness from shaving since inception and don't know what the next step is. I seem to have pretty curly hair and this seems to be alot of the problem but after a lot of experimenting with electric shavers, Gilette fusion and now proglide and DE razors I can never seem to get a perfect shave. Electric shavers seem to be a no no as shaving against the grain causes problems. Proglide gives a great shave but cuases alot of redness etc. possibly due to more blades.

The most un-problematic seems to be DE shaving but still redness on upper lip and alot of irrition on neck. Yes I am shaving with the grain and in regards to DE shaving I have not cheaped out on the products from shaving.ie I don't know if its down to me not sticking to DE shaving for a number of weeks for example or that the problem is I shave to often? In relation to this I usually try Wilkinson sword classic blades or feathers along with proraso pre and post shave cream and proraso shave soap. This along with my Edwin Jagger and brush seems to do the best job but still problems. Im 20 and need to sort this out :eek:

Apologies for the long post, long time viewer, first time poster of facial hair and hats and need some help

hitemfrank

Is Proraso the only soap you've used for DE shaves? If it is it could be a possibility that you are allergic to something in it.

lifehacker

hitemfrank wrote: »

Is Proraso the only soap you've used for DE shaves? If it is it could be a possibility that you are allergic to something in it.

I originally used palmolive out of the tube (no alcohol) and in retrospect it seemed slightly better. Any obvious differences between the soap and palmolive?

hitemfrank

Without looking at all of the ingredients, there is menthol in Proraso. It's possible you could be having a reaction to that. There are probably quite a few other different ingredients in them.

Put some proraso on the inside of your arm and see if it develops a reaction. If it doesn't it was probably technique related.

gaza123

Might get some stick for this. But have you tried nivea sensitive shave gel? You can do soaps wrong, gel is pretty fool proof.

MadsL

I've never tried this; so forgive me. But have you tried a little 'adult lubricant' in the lather mix...I understand for other forums that this can help with irritation...

How long have you been DE shaving? It can take a while for the skin to settle.

Also have you tried changing your brand of blade?

lifehacker

Gosh Thanks for the replies guys, great to get some info on alternatives !

In relation to gels I tried King of shaves sensitive gel before and did'nt seem to do anything magnificent. I was thinking of something with lanolin in it and perhaps a sample pack of blades from shaving.ie to see what works best, but after the review of Mitchell's wool fat shaving soap I might give it a go :pac:

http://www.shaving.ie/products/Mitchells-Wool-Fat-Shaving-Soap-and-Dish.html


Thanks again for the input

lifehacker

MadsL wrote: »

I've never tried this; so forgive me. But have you tried a little 'adult lubricant' in the lather mix...I understand for other forums that this can help with irritation...

How long have you been DE shaving? It can take a while for the skin to settle.

Also have you tried changing your brand of blade?

Haha dont know if im willing to go that far :P

Eh been shaving DE for about 3 or so months altogether only recently going back to it, just hard to stick to one thing, if one technique does not seem to be the solution

Cabaal

lifehacker wrote: »

http://www.shaving.ie/products/Mitchells-Wool-Fat-Shaving-Soap-and-Dish.html

Seriously recommend this, used to always get red marks on my neck and spots, shaving with DE cut them down massively but only Mitchells really did the trick.

If the link above is too expensive then just buy the soap refill for 6e

lifehacker

Cabaal wrote: »

Seriously recommend this, used to always get red marks on my neck and spots, shaving with DE cut them down massively but only Mitchells really did the tick.

If the link above is too expensive then just buy the soap refill for 6e

Really appreciate that Cabaal, think Il definitely have to go for it now, Il get the sample pack of DE blades also. Any recommendations ? Find wilkinson sword classic does'nt quite give a close shave and on the other hand Feathers although if handled with care can give a great shave are somewhat unforgiving :P

Astra's maybe?

gwjones42

Do you ever go to a steam room or sauna? I've had similar problems as you when shaving for years and have noticed since I joined the gym a while ago that my neck irritation has really calmed down. I didn't go looking for it, but just noticed the improvement.

My routine is to first do the gym stuff a few times a week, then have a quick swim, followed by a few minutes in both the steam room and sauna, with cold showers in between. I make sure that if I rub my face while in the steam room, I go with the grain. It softens the hairs and takes away the old skin that can block curly hairs from coming up!

Give it a try, it might help.