Shaving: Do's, Don't's, best equipment, pre- and post- shaving regimes

I've recently made the move to using Wilkinson Sword Quattro, but have noticed that my neck is being cut to hell since - I have extremely sensitive skin, so always need to take this into account.

It's almost certain that other people are in the same boat as me and would like to shake up how they shave.

At the moment I start by washing my face with a face scrub, use a shaving oil (from Total Shaving Solutions), then some shaving gel (Gillette Shaving Fusion) and finishing up with some moisturiser.

How can I shake up my shaving to reduce those annoying little cuts and irritation? Does anyone recommend any products that I should purchase?

Also if anyone else has any queries - fire them away!

ianmcgrath

I became a big fan of "King of Shaves" over the last couple of years. I find that their shaving gel and balm work best for me, although different products might suit different people best. With the King of Shaves gel, it's somewhat similar to shaving oil. So you don't need to use that much. Plus, unlike other gels (and similar to oil) it is see-through, which is quite handy. As for their balm, I find it is one of the few balms/moisturisers that doesn't irritate the top part of my face.

P.S. The razor I use is the black disposable one from Gillette. I settled on that one after a fair bit of experimentation.

mynameis905

If it's just the neck that's getting irritated, let the beard grow out for a few days (say, over a weekend of you need to be clean shaven Mon-Fri) and see which direction the hair grows in. For a lot of men, including myself the hair at the bottom of the neck grows upwards so if you shave downwards on the neck you're going against the grain which is guaranteed to cause irritation. What I do now is shave down from under my jaw to around the Adam's apple, and then up from the bottom of the neck. No more irritation for me

OldRio

These boys know their stuff.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1103

Keano

I always shave after a shower. The pores are open and makes my life a lot easier, I have very dark hair so need to shave 3-4 times a week and have no problem with irritation

seamus

Started using a double-edge safety razor at the start of the year versus the standard Mach 3/4/5 or whatever they're called now.

What I've found funny is the stuff that you take for granted when using disposables, like shaving long hair against the grain. But you only get away with it if you leave long gaps between shaves. If you try to do it a couple of times a week, you tear your face apart. Using a double-edged razor forces you to adopt some basic regimes which you can then use with disposables and work just as well.

The simple do's and don'ts I've found are:

Don't shave against the grain on the first pass. Ever. 3 passes works very well - once with the grain (trim down the long hair), once perpendicular to the grain (shave it close) and finally and optionally against the grain to get it baby-soft. If you go against the grain on the first pass, you're asking for a sore face and ingrown hairs. Between each pass, rinse off with warm water and lather up again.
If you're in a rush, you can possibly skip the first pass and go for the second, but if you've any kind of growth (3mm+), then you're better off taking the extra 3 minutes to trim down the growth. If you skip the last pass, then you'll be able to shave every day.

Do: Rinse with cold water at the end. Get yourself a styptic pencil and use it after. Hurts like motherfncking bejeebus, but I've found nothing as effective for reducing redness and stopping those irritating little red dots.

Do: Shave after a shower if you can. If I've enough growth I'll actually use shampoo and leave it in for a few minutes (along with my hair) to soften up the hair. I can't say if this is even a good idea, but I've found that it works for me.

Don't: Shave in a rush. If you only have 2 minutes, then you're better off being a bit stubbly. It's still only 10-15 minutes at most, so take your time.

Do: Find out the grain on your hair. As mynameis says above, there is no one grain for everyone and the hair can grow in all different directions on the same face. My hair grows downwards on my face, rightwards (i.e. horizontally) on the left side of my neck, but down and to the right on the right side of my neck. I also have a little whorl on my neck that's a bitch to get right. I think it's the damage left behind by a very big spot I had at some point in my youth.

anthony4335

Don't press down with the blade ,regardless of which blade you use, use short strokes and rinse the blade often. Also I find washing you face afterwards seems to help and pat dry.

Jimmy Iovine

I bought a beard trimmer to take a good chunk off if I haven't shaved in a few days.

I use Nivea sensitive gel. It's in the white can.

After many goes, I settled on King of the Shaves for blades. I don't use them that often but I find they're the best.

Are you changing your blades often enough? That can cause irritation.

Also, I have begun to use some balm after but I'm not sure if that is having an effect. I haven't used it often enough.

The advice about the grain is great. I must check my own.

Oh, I find that when I shave and wear a shirt buttoned right up, my neck gets red raw. It's possible that the shirt is too tight but it's very annoying.

I tend to shave two days before something like an interview to avoid that problem.

Starokan

I used to get the neck cuts and nicks a lot, two things helped me

- Daily Shaving - I know a lot do this anyway but I used to shave every couple of days, I found shaving daily seemed to make my skin more used to it for want of a better phrase. Might be only a personal thing but it worked for me

- Soaking face cloth in water, this would be similar to what the poster above mentioned about shaving after a shower. If i was not showering I soaked a face cloth in hot water and placed on face and neck for about 30 seconds - a minute. Really seemed to help make shave much smoother and less harsh

Chemical Byrne

I have heavy, dark hair and I always found shaving after a shower was much easier as the water softened the hair. Shaving without shower was always a disaster for me.

Recently I've discovered that to generously apply some basic, cheap skin lotion say 20 minutes before showering and shaving makes an extraordinary difference. I can get it almost baby smooth without going against the grain! I use some sort of Nivea lotion beforehand, nothing fancy.

Boom_Bap

Now, I havent shaved in a while but I used to try a variety of different products, mainly using the Mach 3
I've used the Nivea sensitive gel which was probably the best of the over the counter price range shave gels.
The King of Shaves gels I found clog up the blade on the razor quicker, so lots more messing around trying to clean the blade while shaving.
The best by far was some Shea Butter shaving cream (cant remember brand, blue bottle) that I used to get from the USA.
Apply to your face about 10 minutes before shaving, let it works it's magic and the shave was extremely smooth after it.
After a quick google, Boots appear to have a Shea Butter cream.

The key also to a good shave with sensitive skin is steaming hot water. It helps open the pores....I used to also boil the kettle and put my face over if before shaving.

mynameis905

Any shaving foam/gel that comes in a can is not going to be particularly good. I've tried all kinds of high end shaving soaps and creams and the one I keep coming back to is the humble Palmolive shaving stick. 60 cents in Tesco assuming you can find it, if not Superdrug usually have it. This stuff is literally magic - don't take my word for it but you can do a quick google and you'll find that it's universally praised among wet shavers. You'll need a shaving brush to lather it up but you can pick one of those up cheaply in your local chemist or you can splurge and get a good badger hair brush

Chemical Byrne

^ I had this Palmolive stick once and didn't realise you had to have a brush. What I used do was just rub it over my face like it was PrittStick. Is this wrong?

Anyway, I only ever got to use it the once. I bought one but I left it in the old apartment after I moved out when I broke up with my bitch of an ex.

Chemical Byrne

One other thing I always wondered - after how many shaves would a dark haired guy normally have to change razor blades. i use the disposable gillete.

jimgoose

I use a Gillette Fusion, with some half-decent shaving gel from an aerosol can - I find the Gillette stuff quite good for reasonable money. The razor blades themselves are outrageously, bowel-evacuatingly expensive but they are excellent and I can't see myself replacing them with anything. <Shakes fist in the general direction of Gillette Towers while dancing a sort of helpless tiny little dance, à la Arthur Dent>. I also use Nivea after-shave balm, which comes in a little squarish white bottle and provides bang-for-buck.

Dard23

Ok, I had tried everything and I do mean everything to stop razor burn! Still everytime I wet shaved without fail I would end up with bad razor burn and bumps for days after! I ended up just trying to let it grow for weeks but I always felt dirty with stubble after a few days. So around a month ago I did some research and came across a Godsend product, Tend Skin. It really is as good as they say! I've barely any redness left on my neck and I've wet shaved twice since I got it! Seriously worth a try for anyone struggling with razor bumps/burn. The idea I believe sounds harsh but works a treat. Basically when you wet shave the hairs immediately start to become ingrown and stick into your skin causing the irritation, pain redness and spots I was so used to getting. Tend Skin rectifies this by peeling a think layer of epidermis off your face which immediately releases the hairs and allows them to grow outside again. That seems to be the science which sounds dodgy but in reality it works incredibly well! I've no pain and my neck looks good for the first time since I can remember. You'll find it on Amazon, read the reviews for yourselves. Hope it helps someone here!

um7y1h83ge06nx

I used have sensitive skin for shaving and switched to using a double edge safety razor.

A basic setup can be very cheap, a simple Boots or preferrable Wikinson razor, one of those Palmolive sticks and a handy brush can all be gotten from the likes of Boots.

Since though I've invested but it's worth it. One of my favourite items is Mitchell's Wool Fat soap, luxurious!

Link

mynameis905

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

^ I had this Palmolive stick once and didn't realise you had to have a brush. What I used do was just rub it over my face like it was PrittStick. Is this wrong?

Anyway, I only ever got to use it the once. I bought one but I left it in the old apartment after I moved out when I broke up with my bitch of an ex.

You're half way right. Once you've rubbed it over the stubble and got a good coating of soap on the face you dip the brush in water and then lather it up.

newacc2015

Do: I use the Arko shaving sticks. I like there is no scent off them. I brought a massive box of Amazon, but honestly a stick lasts me months and Im generous with it.

Do: If you have used your razor in a few days (or in general). It will be covered in Bacteria. I stick mine in a mug of boiling water for 1/2 mins to kill of the bacteria. You can use rubbing alcohol too. Its to prevent what looks like acne on your neck. But its germs from the razor. I stopped sticking the razor in hot water for a while and my neck was covered in acne. Now after a week of sterilising the razor, my neck is spotless.

Chemical Byrne

That's strange. I never disinfect the razor and I never get the acne.

_Kaiser_

I'm clearly a heathen Electric Remmington Foil shaver for me (switched from rotary a while back and found it much better/closer). I get pretty heavy beard growth even the next day but this works for me

Orion

Abel Billions Policeman wrote: »

I used have sensitive skin for shaving and switched to using a double edge safety razor.

A basic setup can be very cheap, a simple Boots or preferrable Wikinson razor, one of those Palmolive sticks and a handy brush can all be gotten from the likes of Boots.

Since though I've invested but it's worth it. One of my favourite items is Mitchell's Wool Fat soap, luxurious!

Link

I find soap doesn't work for me - I'm in a hard water area so don't get a good lather. So I use a shaving cream instead. Currently using Taylor of Bond Street Sandlewood cream - think I got it in Knight's in Stephen's Green. Either there or shaving.ie.

As mynameis905 said if it's in a can then it's going to be poor. A good cream, good badger shaving brush and a good razor ftw. My technique is pretty much the same as seamus except for a really close shave I go down twice, across once and then up against the grain for the last pass.