How Do You Prevent Skin Irritation after Shaving

By Philip Yiga | April 1, 2015

Many times our skins get irritated after shaving but this is caused by various factors. For example, if you use an aggressive shaving tool like a multiple blade razor or a slant safety razor, your skin will get irritated and this can result into razor bumps or ingrown hairs. You can prevent skin irritation after shaving by following these proved steps.

• Wash your skin with warm water:- Before shaving, you have to wash your face with warm water, I have already explained this in my past post on ”how to use a safety razor?” but let me repeat myself, after-roll it does not hurt. If you intend to shave your beards, I suggest you wash your face with warm water, after that, you can wet a clean towel with warm and hold it on your face for quite some time, this will open skin pores, soften beards and at the same time lift up all flat-laying beards making it very easy to shave.

• Exfoliate:- It is very rare to find a man who exfoliates, me I have never done it even though it’s highly recommended. In fact we have to exfoliate our skins before and after shaving, wow, that sounds like too much work. But much as it sound like hard work, results are always tremendous, your skin will become smooth and less prone to irritation after shaving. Exfoliating your skin before shaving helps in aligning your hair in a uniform direction making it very easy to shave, yet when you exfoliate after shaving, it unclogs skin pores which might have been covered by shaving cream / soap hence preventing ingrown hairs and related skin irritations.

• Use shaving cream / soap:- By default you have to lather up before shaving with a manual shaving tool. Using shaving cream / soap will reduce on friction between that razor & your skin. However, you have to choose the right shaving cream / soap for your skin, avoid using very strong creams / gels. If you don’t have access to shaving cream / shaving soap, alternate them with normal bathing soap & water / shampoo. Please don’t get bother shaving with water only, it will not prevent skin irritation.

• Lather-up with a badger brush:- I have talked about using shaving cream / soap. Right, you have to apply lather on your skin using the right badger brush. Bristles of that brush are supposed to be soft and gentle on skin, otherwise you will get irritated by a shaving brush even before shaving.

• Don’t shave against the grain: – Many times I advice my readers not to shave against the grain because it exposes the skin to irritations and cuts. However, shaving against the grain will give you a quick close shave but the skin will be left in turmoil and the end results might not be that pleasing. You have to be patient when shaving with a manual razor, at least stretch your skin slightly and shave towards the grain (direction to which your hair grows too). Don’t apply too much pressure when shaving; this will also irritate the skin.

• Use less pressure: – I have said something about this in the above paragraph, but let me elaborate it well in this paragraph. Use short and light strokes when shaving with a manual razor. In my own opinion, I suggest you use a safety razor with some weight on it for example Merkur Long Handled Razor & Parker 96r, these two safety razors have some good weight on them, so you don’t have to use any pressure when shaving. On the other hand, disposable razors & multiple blades razors are light so you might get tempted / bored hence end up using too much pressure. During the shaving process, wash that razor and remove clogged hairs / creams because they will reduce on the performance of that razor and force you to use pressure when shaving.

• Shave with the right tool:- Majority of you have multiple blade razors and you always complain about skin irritations and razor bumps. Basically the main cause of this irritation is a poor shaving tool. Yes, it has the best commercial advert on TV so you think what they say in the commercial is what it does, sorry, these grooming companies are here to make money, so bare with it but from today, switch to double edge safety razors, they have closed combs which tilt / fold the razor blade reducing direct contact with the skin and at the same time reducing skin irritation.

• Wash your face with cold water:- Now we’re almost coming to a conclusion of this post. After getting a real close shave, rise off shaving cream using cold water, this will help in closing skin pores preventing germs from entering your skin. To dry your skin, use a clean soft dry towel and hold onto your skin so that it absorbs water from your skin, the process might take a while but it will save you from skin irritation which might because when you rub the towel with your skin.

• Apply aftershave: – Since your skin is dry, you can apply moderate amounts of aftershave to kill germs and at the same time calm down the skin.

• Don’t shave too often:- Let the skin heal, allow some hair / beards to grow back before shaving again. Over shaving can irritate your skin.

 

THINGS YOU NEED:

• SAFETY RAZOR
• SHAVING CREAM / SOAP
• WARM & COLD WATER
• CLEAN FACE TOWEL
• AFTERSHAVE
• BADGER SHAVING BRUSH