Does wet shaving improve the condition of your skin?

I am curious regarding what people think of wet shaving and skin care. Personally, I think it makes a huge difference. But, that may be just for me. So, I decided to do a totally unscientific poll. Any factors you think are important should be weighed into your answer.

 

I think our hobby makes us pay more attention to our skin thus our skin benefits.

 

I don't think shaving makes a difference. If you shaved with canned goo and a cart, you were still
wet shaving. However, I think switching to a non-cart razor, the thought, etc. many of us now put into the process does have an effect. I think a lot of us end up using better products, and cleaning our faces more carefully than before.
So, I don't think the act of this type of shaving creates any difference physically, I think it does make us take better care of our face in general.

 

If you saw my skin before making the change to DE, you really wouldn't recognise it. The cartridges were pulling the hair instead of cutting it, causing all sorts of follicle damage. The crap in the can was like pouring fuel on a fire. Now my stubble is uniform all over and it looks presentable. I can also go at least 24 hours before any stubble shows. I have no issues with my skin, it feels moisturised all the time whereas before it was just flaking all over. It is true though, I am paying attention to my skin and beard for the first time ever and that's all down to loving what I'm doing. It used to be a real chore for me, so much so that I wasn't shaving for long periods because of the damage and hating it so much. It has changed my life, and that's a big statement but it's just the truth, I'm just not going to divulge the whole story.
I'm even getting compliments about smelling nice!

 

Some people are prone to ingrowns that go away when they start shaving with a single blade. I'm past the age where I have acne but when I had it I noticed a reduction in acne. Probably because the shaving soap cleans my face and also because the blade exfoliates.

 

Wet shaving every day means that I am taking better care of my face. For years I wore a full beard, and although I saved time by not shaving, my face (under the beard) was dry and at times flaky. With my daily regime it gets much better care and is healthier.

 

Mark;
Yes. Before bed I wash my face with Noxzema, I apply a face cream.
In the morning I shower, was my face with Noxzema or another face cleaner. I shave using a good quality shaving bush that exfoliates my skin, I use a good quality moisturizing shaving cream. I appy alum, witch hazel, aftershave, and to end it all a nice aftetshave balm. My skin shows no signs age, is soft. Also Im a non-smoker and limit my alcohol consumption. Drink 8- 8oz glasses of water a day.

 

Wet-shaving, for me, means less skin irritation, dryness, and skin rash. Daily application of balms and lotions means a healthier appearance.
There has been some discussion on forums with regards to the dermatological benefits to the dermaabrasive effects of razor usage upon the skin, particularly use of a straight razor.
I've not noticed a difference in my skin between using a DE or straight, but I have seen a huge diff since leaving the old cartridge razors.

 

I believe that for me it is the whole process that does in fact improve the condition of the skin rather than just the blade, just the soap, etc. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. (Hmmmm...maybe I should start a philosophical school of thought along this premise. )

What I wasn't sure of is if others felt their face had improved over time as I do. Right now, there are a lot more people who see "much better", and no one who it seems to have hurt.

 

after retirement, I hated shaving so much, I only shaved twice a week. so basically I liked ruff about two thirds of the time. now I enjoy my me time, the mug gets pampered every morning. my skin has improved in both texture and is less oily.

 

I definitely had a bad ingrown problem on the back of my head for years. As soon as I started shaving, first with carts, it started to go away. Once I switched to DEs it vanished. Haven't had an issue with ingrowns since.

 

It depends....you should see me after using a Feather blade....my face looks like I came up on the short end of a chain saw fight.

Ed

 

I see no difference in my skin.

 

Certainly on the neck.

 

I've been "wet shaving" for so long(approx. 40 years) I really don't remember what my skin was like before..

 

My oldest son has a beard (just as his two brother have), but he's the only one of them who uses a DE razor (EJ89) for 'cleanup edging' of the beard on the throat.
He doesn't get any of the red marks or irritation there that his brothers still suffer through (they still use the multi-bladed cartridge shavers). If he ever decides to go back to being clean-shaven, I know the razor route he'll take.
His skin looks healthy and non-irritated.

 

Yeah. My skin is a thousand times better. I used to still use a brush and Proraso White but with a Gillette Fusion(the AoS route, haha). I still had to learn how to do all the passes on my face, but I got so much irritation that when I put on aftershave balm, my face would burn like absolute hell. What made the difference, was not going from canned goo to Shave soap and a brush, but switching from a cart razor to a DE razor and getting good at it. I used to have enough ingrown hairs that my girlfriend could pluck 5-10 a day and I would still look like a mess. Now, my face is 80% cleared up after just 4 months, I get basically no irritation from a 3 pass shave, and she can maybe find 1 hair or 1 pimple. I think in 4 months, that's huge progress.
However, I have never tried canned goo with a DE razor. The lowest I'll go is VDH Deluxe haha.

Also, now that I have a girlfriend, I've learned more about facial scrubs and skincare. So, everyday I use a 15000 IU Vitamin E cream from Sprouts, and wash my face in the morning and night with Noxzema and scrub with St.Ives Apricot scrub. I also use either B and BW body wash or natural bar soap and Paul Mitchell's Tea Tree Shampoo and Conditioner.

 

Salicylic acid pads such as OXI or Noxema pads are good for ingrown hairs.

 

Nope. For me there is no difference in skin condition. The shave quality on the other hand has raised considerably! Not to mention the pleasure in shaving.

 

I don't know if my skin overall is much better, but I do know one thing I haven't had an ingrown hair since I started. I will also agree with Dapper that I am definitely taking better care of my skin since I started. I now wash my face in the morning before I shave and at night before I go to bed using skin lotion at night. A lot of the dry patches that I used to have are gone.