Well I've really excelled myself today. I'm nearing the end of my 30 day settling in period. I've got the pre shave and after shave routine and products that I'm happy with, and seem to be doing fine. I've adjusted my shave quite a bit. I'm doing 2 passes wtg only and then a final touch up. Now it's never going to be a super close finish. But it's comfortable, non irritant, and I'm learning that with the right attention to detail, and care, it's not a long way from a perfect shave for me. After struggling with rash on my neck, and a couple of ( I think) ingrowers on my jaw line, I decided that taking things right back to basics, and walking before I try running anywhere, I could develop my technique bit by bit. So.... I read on here a post from a fella, who said a good way to avoid ingrown hairs is to lather up on a night time when getting washed up for bed. I did this over the weekend, using my Kent soap, ( not the cream I'm using for my 30 dayer) also giving me some practice with the soap, and then done my usual alum, witch hazel and a bit of balm. Half way through this mornings second pass I began to burn, and burn, and really burn. I finished up my shave cold rinsed, alum, witch h, and a/s. And wow was I burning. I was on a fresh blade, a Gillette 7 o'clock yellow, and was wondering how I'd managed to razor burn so bad. Well, it's dawned on me that, i think because I face lather, and have also been doing this evening lather routine, that I have super exfoliated so much that I have removed major skin from my cheeks and mouth area. It's not as red as it was this morning, but still stinging fair. I will now have to go without a shave tomorrow morning. Not happy. I have two brushes, both pure badger, it was my Simpson special that done the damage. Do I need to convince my good lady that I need a silver tip for Christmas.
Oh boy. My face needs a healing period inbetween shaves, before I go to bed I wash my face with Noxzema, using my fingers. Dont over do it. As far as the Silvertip? everyone should have one! How about a Synthetic?
I'm not so sure that I understand what Jasio78 is actually doing. He says that he read somewhere that he should lather up on a night time when getting washed up for bed. Does this mean, Jasio78, that you are wearing your lather to bed, or are you shaving before you go to bed and then again when you get up in the morning? I don't know what razor UR using with that Gillette 7 O'Clock yellow either; maybe the blade didn't set right in the razor. This does, though, sound like a great opportunity to put a silver tip brush on your Christmas wish list, though.
Over exfoliating the skin is bad for the skin, some say once a week. Some products say for daily use. Thats because the corns that exfoliate are small and the exfoliation is mild. It it true you might have scratched your face a bit raw. Let your skin rest for a day or 2. luziana_geeser mentioned that the blade might have been set wrong, be sure to check the blade exposure on both sides are the same so its not skewed. Also if it is a new soap you might be sensitive to it. I used Razorock a couple of time PERFECT results, then one day burning, another day good result, then burning, burning and more burning. I had to give it away. That could be your issue
Hi. Thank you for your help. I shave every morning after a shower. On the night time before bed I washed and then lathered up, as if to shave, but don't shave. I think the idea is to exfoliate the skin, and free up any hairs that might be trying a u-turn from the morning shave. My razor is a muhle r89, pretty fool proof. Wow. What a great idea to go to bed with a lathered face. Pillow would smell lovely. Sorry if I didn't quite explain myself.
I will rest for a day. For my shaving I'm using TOBS CREAM. when I first started out I used the Kent soap, and it was all good. But I decided to use the cream for ease, whilst on my 30 day stint. I did wonder about the fact I went back to the Kent, could it have irritated me. Thinking back too, because of the notoriety of Kent/MWF, I really went for it on the face lather to get a good product. Every Time I think I'm getting somewhere I ruin it for myself.
Sorry for multiple posts. Are synthetics all a lot stiffer than silver tips?? Also. Like with most brushes, there's a few variations in price. I'm seeing (uk) £30 upto £100+.
Synthetic are very soft, no backbone. sounds like you want something with backbone? Yes, wide range of price.
Well the brush is certainly something I need to find out more. I have three. 1. A Men-u synthetic. It's a cheap chemist type. It's definitely very spiky. I would use it for the hard soaps, thinking it would scrape up more product to lather with. ( this is my science on brushes anyway. I have a feeling I'm about to be educated). 2. Simpsons special s1. An entry level pure badger Simpsons. I like this little brush. But it's small. Poss only 19/20mm. As I face lather, I find it doesn't quite hold enough for 3 passes, so I would put this in the ' better for bowl lathering' category. 3. Vulfix pure badger. This is my usual brush for every day use. Prob 90% of the time. I like it and it works wonders with my TOBS CREAMS. It about 22mm I think. So that's my findings so far. Please educate me. I'm willing to spend a few bob if need be. I don't mind spending money. I just hate wasting it.
Here in the states, L'occitane has the Plisson synthetic for $30. It's softness is similar to a good silvertip. It's hard to be sure what caused your problem. It could be the scritchiness of the pure badger. Maybe you have some sensitivity to the lanolin in the Kent soap. You shouldn't need any alum as part of the evening lather routine. Maybe a combination of things. I would suggest instead shea butter the evening before, raw if available, mixed with a drop or two of a skin friendly oil (argan, jojoba, etc.). I believe the idea of the evening lather is to help moisturize the skin and the whiskers, a kind of pre-pre-shave routine.
I've had a quick look. They seem very popular with the fellas on here. Do they work well with creams and soaps alike. They look quite stiff and scratchy. To be honest, before this episode I think that was one of my qualities I would have looked for. But now I'm not so sure. Once bitten... And all that.
I think the whole idea of this extra lathering session, has introduced a little mix of variables to my routine, and as you suggest, it could be one or all of them together. It's frustrating, because I'm really happy with the shaving itself this last week or two. I think I'll bin the whole idea for now. Go back to just a wash with a mild face wash, ditch the evening alum, ( I wasn't sure if that was needed or not, so did it anyway) keep the witch hazel??? And a bit of moisturiser or if I can get some Shea butter then all good. Carry on my shave routine, keeping to the cream I'm used too, and think about a brush. To be fair, the whole brush wasn't a prob until now. Now I'm thinking I need boar brush, a plisson, and a silver tip. Does the shave den have a loan system As in financial, not brush.
first, if you like what your doing, brush on bro. I've read this like twice, trying to find the question. if your getting a rash or burn from lathering up at night. then don't do that.
[QUOTESo.... I read on here a post from a fella, who said a good way to avoid ingrown hairs is to lather up on a night time when getting washed up for bed.][/QUOTE] I disagree completely. It may help you to know exactly what an ingrown hair is, and what are it's characteristics. Basically, an ingrown hair is one that is very stiff and brittle. This stiffness causes the hair to grow in a curl and in some cases a curl so severe that the hair never even exits the skin surface, but instead grows completely under the skin surface. What causes a whisker to be so stiff? Basically, a lack of oil. When hair is soft and flexible, it is primarily because it's well oiled. Look here and note the location of the oil gland. http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/picture-of-the-hair In short, when you lather up at night, you are doing a bang-up job of removing oil from your skin, and your whiskers. Then when you do this again in the morning, you are adding insult to injury. Now, there certainly isn't anything wrong with making test lathers using either of your brushes. In fact, I heartily encourage this. You get to learn your brushes, and your soaps by doing this. But given that you are having irritation problems, lather in a bowl and not on your face. Now, what to do for the irritation? Here we go: 1. Washing your face at night is just fine, and I would not stop this practice. However, I would recommend that you forget the shaving soap. Use warm water, (definitely not hot water) and a moisturizing soap or face soap. It is not wise to use hand soaps or bath soaps on your face. They can dry your skin. Use hand soaps on your hands, and bath soaps in the tub. If you use a wash cloth, use the softest one you own. Wash gently and do not scrub. Be kind to your face, always. Make sure that you rinse all soap completely from your face. Don't make the mistake of using a damp wash cloth to wipe the soap away. This just smears the soap around and does not remove it all. Leaving any type of soap on your face to dry is just asking for trouble. Rinse the soap away. Rinse again, and rinse well. When you dry your face, pat dry gently with a soft towel. Don't scrub. 2. Apply a moisturizing balm of some sort. Your post shave balm is just fine. Don't just dab on a tiny bit either. Apply a moderate amount and massage it gently into your skin. Massaging the balm in is an important step, and many overlook this. Massaging the skin promotes circulation, stimulates natural oil production, and makes certain that your balm is distributed evenly and thoroughly. In short, be gentle and be good to your face. Do not apply alum to your face at night time. If you wipe on a layer of alum and leave it on, it will fight natural oil production and it will dry your skin. Neither would I apply any after shave that contained alcohol, nor any cologne. Now, hit the sack. I'm very sorry to hear of your problems Jasio. I'd not get discouraged. This is just part of the learning process. Best wishes to you, and Happy Shaving!!
I disagree completely. It may help you to know exactly what an ingrown hair is, and what are it's characteristics. Basically, an ingrown hair is one that is very stiff and brittle. This stiffness causes the hair to grow in a curl and in some cases a curl so severe that the hair never even exits the skin surface, but instead grows completely under the skin surface. What causes a whisker to be so stiff? Basically, a lack of oil. When hair is soft and flexible, it is primarily because it's well oiled. Look here and note the location of the oil gland. http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/picture-of-the-hair In short, when you lather up at night, you are doing a bang-up job of removing oil from your skin, and your whiskers. Then when you do this again in the morning, you are adding insult to injury. Now, there certainly isn't anything wrong with making test lathers using either of your brushes. In fact, I heartily encourage this. You get to learn your brushes, and your soaps by doing this. But given that you are having irritation problems, lather in a bowl and not on your face. Now, what to do for the irritation? Here we go: 1. Washing your face at night is just fine, and I would not stop this practice. However, I would recommend that you forget the shaving soap. Use warm water, (definitely not hot water) and a moisturizing soap or face soap. It is not wise to use hand soaps or bath soaps on your face. They can dry your skin. Use hand soaps on your hands, and bath soaps in the tub. If you use a wash cloth, use the softest one you own. Wash gently and do not scrub. Be kind to your face, always. Make sure that you rinse all soap completely from your face. Don't make the mistake of using a damp wash cloth to wipe the soap away. This just smears the soap around and does not remove it all. Leaving any type of soap on your face to dry is just asking for trouble. Rinse the soap away. Rinse again, and rinse well. When you dry your face, pat dry gently with a soft towel. Don't scrub. 2. Apply a moisturizing balm of some sort. Your post shave balm is just fine. Don't just dab on a tiny bit either. Apply a moderate amount and massage it gently into your skin. Massaging the balm in is an important step, and many overlook this. Massaging the skin promotes circulation, stimulates natural oil production, and makes certain that your balm is distributed evenly and thoroughly. In short, be gentle and be good to your face. Do not apply alum to your face at night time. If you wipe on a layer of alum and leave it on, it will fight natural oil production and it will dry your skin. Neither would I apply any after shave that contained alcohol, nor any cologne. Now, hit the sack. I'm very sorry to hear of your problems Jasio. I'd not get discouraged. This is just part of the learning process. Best wishes to you, and Happy Shaving!! [/quote] Thank you so much for your words of wisdom. It's good to understand the science of the problems, in order to deal with them.
And I hope you saw my opportunity to prompt readers to get a chuckle out of such a notion. Thanks for the clarifications.
To be honest, I quietly chuckled my way through the day yesterday, picturing the wife's face if I'd emerged from the bathroom and climbed into bed fully lathered. Then again, for what she puts up with, with my new found love of all things shaving, she probably wouldn't bat an eyelid.... Whatever next?? Goodnight.
