Thread: painful to shave two days in a row. Solutions?

I have had this problem even long before I converted to straights razors. If I shave two days in a row, the second day's shave is destined to be a painful one with bad razor burn and even small nicks. I can even tell before i touch a blade to my face. If I just rub the back of my fingers against the gain of my stubble, my skin feels extra sensitive on the painful/irritated side of the sensitive spectrum, especially my neck and along my jaw ling where the grain changes direction. Anyone else experience this and have a solution besides going 2 or three days between shaves?

I have the same problem. I now use Alum after my shave. Burns like a SOB, but seems to heal my skin up super fast. You may want to try it if you havent already. Other than that you may try a schedule day 1 two pass, day two 1 pass, day 3 two pass, etc.

hope you figure out what works for you! good luck

Originally Posted by alb1981

I now use Alum after my shave. Burns like a SOB, but seems to heal my skin up super fast.

How do you use the Alum? Dissolve it in a solution of some kind and apply to the face or do you mean just to the nicks?

Leave your face wet and rub all the shaved areas with the alum. It will snap your pores shut and promote healing to any irritations and nicks.

Use less pressure when you shave. Do as few passes as possible, and try to only go WTG. Try not to shave every day if you don't have to. And nailing the pre and post shave routines will help as well.

Sounds to me like either dull blade or bad angle or too much pressure or maybe a combination of some of those. It's serious enough that it's still bothering you the next day and that's bad. My guess is the reason you had it before straights had to do with similar, probably too much pressure.

mranderson,

Yes, pre/post shave routine and shaving technique can have a huge impact to the final outcome. But everyones skin is different, and some of us simply are not cut out for daily shaving, no matter what you try. It sounds like you have sensitive skin like me, since I have the exact same problem. Without a sign of any type of skin irritation, if I try to shave again within 24 hours I'm liable for some discomfort and irritation the following day. If I shave every other day I don't have this issue at all. I'm lucky in that I don't have a job that requires me to be clean shaven every single day.

So in the end you can experiment with your prep and technique, but there is always the possibility that you may have to accept that your skin is your skin, and that skipping a day may be the best thing you can do.

Originally Posted by mranderson

How do you use the Alum? Dissolve it in a solution of some kind and apply to the face or do you mean just to the nicks?

Just wet your face and rub the block or stick on your face. Alum Bloc is just a block of salt and it really works. It also works as a deodorant.

Some people cannot shave two days in a row for whatever reason. It might not be what you want to hear as a solution, but there you have it.

If you do not believe that you are actually one of those people, then the only other logical explanation is that you are doing something to aggravate and inflame your skin on that first shave. You need to carefully examine every aspect of your shaving routine, from prep to final stroke of the razor to see what is going on. Perhaps if there is an experienced barber in your area you could go get a shave and see how you feel after that. If your face feels OK afterwards, go find out what he/she does and how he/she does it.

Good luck.

James.

One thing that greatly improved my shaves in all areas (reduced irritation included) was learning how to make a really nice, slick lather. You don't need a fancy scuttle or anything, I just use some soap in a bowl and a bit of cream on my face, but the products, proportions, and execution took a bit of experimenting to get right. Once I did, though, it was literally a night and day difference. Little to no nicks and irritation, every time, with no change to my shaving technique.