Is there a way to soften hairs without using hot water?

Discussion in 'Shave School' started by SlaveShaver, Apr 27, 2017.

  1. SlaveShaver

    SlaveShaver Member

    Whenever I use a hot water towel to soften my hairs, after the shave it will make the skin on my cheeks feel very tight, and sometimes will cause them to be permanently red for quite a long time. I can't use any type of postshave afterwards to help with this because whenever I put anything on my face I get bad dermatitis. (Trust me, anything). I also just have lukewarm showers for these reason.

    I am wondering if there is a way to soften the hairs that does not require the use of hot water? I tried cold water shaving a few times to try and get around my problems but that gave me a huge amount of irritation in my upper lip area and made the hairs tug quite a lot, so don't think that is an option.
     
  2. macaronus

    macaronus Sir Nice-a-Lot

    You might try pre shave oil or pre shave balm. JoAnna - our Queen of Blades - makes some wonderful pre-shave balm => *click* <=
     
  3. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    Unfortunately, I believe that @SlaveShaver is one of our AU members. So buying from a US shop isn't a good buy.

    That said, there are a number of recipes for 'make your own' shave oil that you can make with local supplies/oils.
     
    macaronus likes this.
  4. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    olive oil, coconut oil, a light dose of hand lotion, etc. will work.
     
    macaronus likes this.
  5. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    Just Grapeseed oil will likely tell you whether or not preshave is helpful. If that works you can always add stuff to that base or buy a commercial preshave.

    Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
     
    macaronus likes this.
  6. gwsmallwood

    gwsmallwood Well-Known Member

    Just wash your face with lower temp water (you decide what temp works best) and then use a small amount of moisturizer before the shave. I use Nivea Creme, others use pre-shave soaps, balms, or oils. I don't think it matters all that much which product you decide you like, it just needs to give your face some level of moisturizing prior to the shave.
     
    DaltonGang and Eeyore like this.
  7. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    Sounds like you might be a candidate for our Cold Water Shavers. You should give their thread a look. Good luck.
     
  8. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    I agree, lower the water temp. Also, try shaving directly after you shower.
     
  9. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    Morning Scott, TGIF.
     
  10. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    Good morning. I'm about off to work. Have a great day.
     
  11. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    You too my brother.
     
  12. SlaveShaver

    SlaveShaver Member

    I'm pretty sure I get more irritated skin and ingrown hairs when I cold shave. I don't know if other people have that experience. Most of the people I've seen posting on this topic say that they get less irritation with cold water shaves. I wish I could do cold water shaving because I actually enjoyed the experience a lot more because it's refreshing and because my face does not get red, dry and tight. However, I felt a lot of irritation quite quickly after the cold water shaves and it makes the inflammation above my lip worse, I think.

    I want to try it again but am worried it will cause more inflammation and ingrown hairs.
     
  13. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    Damn pard, you do have a problem. Hope you get it figured out.
    Good Luck!
     
    Tiredricefarmer likes this.
  14. gwsmallwood

    gwsmallwood Well-Known Member

    Have you tried any of the other suggestions in this thread? Don't get stuck on this one suggestion. Water temp probably isn't going to make the biggest difference for you. Sure sounds to me like your skin is dehydrated. Use a moisturizer of some sort before and after your shave. Also try showering after your shave.

    Probably most important, pick a routine and stick with it for 10 shaves before deciding on whether it works or not. Then change only one thing in that routine and go another ten days. Repeat until you find a routine you like.
     
    Tiredricefarmer likes this.
  15. SlaveShaver

    SlaveShaver Member

    Yeah, I'm just considering one thing at a time. I would use a moisturizer but pretty much everything I put on my cheek gives me dermatitis, and am reluctant to keep trying different moisturizers for that reason.

    That sounds like a good suggestion but if something gives me inflammation or ingrown hairs straight away I'm reluctant to keep trying (particularly because the inflammation takes forever to go away or lessen).
     
  16. SlaveShaver

    SlaveShaver Member

    I might try the oils suggested above in order to soften the hairs.
     
  17. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    Then try straight mineral oil. Just put one drop on your cheek or something. Rub it in lightly. You see, almost every single 'moisturizer' has a mineral oil base to help seal in existing moisture. Everything else is just to try to put some moisture in before sealing with the oil. Taking a shower moisturizes your skin. A drop of oil may do the job. As it's completely inert, your skin shouldn't react unless it's a physical, rather than chemical, reaction. Almond oil, grapeseed oil, and similar tend to have .. well, water in them, to help the skin.
     
    Terry Williams likes this.
  18. SlaveShaver

    SlaveShaver Member

    I think it may be a physical thing also because I have noticed that just rubbing my cheeks with my fingers can be enough to give me a reaction sometimes.
     
  19. david of central florida

    david of central florida Rhubarb Rubber

    With no disrespect, are you a troll. Do you have these issues, or are you just pulling our legs to get a response?
     
    LevelupShaves and Bama Samurai like this.
  20. Lancre

    Lancre Well-Known Member

    You might try hair conditioner if you have any handy.
     
    Terry Williams and jmudrick like this.

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