Finally, The 'Perfect' Shave for sensitive types

vibe666

Right, here's the story.

I've always had very sensitive skin around the neck area and shaving is a real bitch, to put it mildly.

But over the years I've tried pretty much everything and this is what works for me (finally!).

Have a shower, making sure to use some sort of moisturising shower gel/cream (Dove, Johnsons or the like) and leave it to soak in for as long as you can, while you do your 'other' stuff.

When you're done, straight after you've dried yourself off, get some moisturising cream on the parts of your face you are going to shave, and then leave it for 5mins while you do more 'other' stuff.

Then apply your shaving lotion/gel/cream and shave with cold water (hot will make any rash even worse) and then pat dry with a newly cleaned towel (preferably not one that someone just dried their arse with!).

After that, pick a nice moisturising balm and give your face a good coating of it, applying again when you get home from work or whenever it starts to feel dry again, and you get the chance.

Here's what works for me:

Shower: Dove Shower Cream - The normalo Dove thing, you get in Boots, or other chemists.

Pre-Shave: Aqueous Cream - A very good (better than E45) moisturising cream, recommended by a lot of medical professionals. Get it in Boots, Grafton St. 3/4 of the way down on the left hand side (bottom of the shelf) in a round tub, like the old E45 ones.

Razors: No contest, Gillette Mach 3 Turbo, best on the market at the moment.

Shave Gel: King Of Shaves Kinexium - Boots again, or other large chemists, possibly supermarkets. Blue bottle, with green lid. Contains silicon so it gives a very smooth shave.

Post Shave: King Of Shaves Post Shave Cream, or Nivea for Men Sensitive Aftershave Balm. SOmetimes the Aqueous Cream as well.

Thats it.

DOes anyone else have anything else to add?

Maybe the best Electric Shavers?

Big Chief

Originally posted by vibe666

DOes anyone else have anything else to add?

95% of the mornings im on a strict time limit if i want to make it to work on time, thus i have came up with a theory that i only wanna be in the bathroom getting washed/teeth brushed/shaved in a maximum of 10 mins.

Putting on 45 creams in the morning is not my idea of how i would like to wake up to, then again im not a morning person and im usually always cranky when i get up (maybe on an exception a friday where im usually ok)

i think having to do all that would just drive me over the edge.

vibe666

depends on if you have sensitive skin or not I guess, and how bothered you are about not getting too much f a rash. :rolleyes:

Typedef

Sometimes I have to put a ton of Sudocream on my neck... since, shaving everyday... makes it quite irritated.... though only since I started using this Gillette shaving cream..

I bought some shaving soap from L'Occutaine (if you please) ... and hopefully that'll end poverty, war... and be better for my skin... all at the same time.

LegacyUser

im usually not too bad, but always leave a little red mark above my upper lip - which is annoying

Praetorian

I don't shave often but when I do I use the Remington MicroScreen 3 TCT RS8986. I think it's €125 in boots (I got mine in the UK for about £100). Just slap on some moisturiser afterwards.

D-Generate

My god that is a hell of long time spent prepareing to shave. My skin is all manly, i can do a dry shave wit no irritation, bow down before me!!

vibe666

bet you use a big bowie knife lick mick dundee too!

seriously though, it does very much depend on your skin type. I just wanted to let those people who have to suffer with razor burn know that there is a way round it. even if it does take 20 minutes:rolleyes:

mooman_00

Originally posted by vibe666
while you do your 'other' stuff.

First of all your referring to **** here right??

Anyway i gave up trying to find the perfect way to shave as i could never find it and ended up with a rash for days. Go buy an electric shaver it'll only cost you about 8 packets of Gillette Mach 3 turbo Blades and you dont have to worry about Rashes, Shaving cream/gel or buying blades ever again. I got the philips sth sth, its grey and orange, waterproof and stays going for 70 mins before recharging.

patch

I concur....use plenty of moisturiser too. I get the tesco one without too much crap in it. Cheap, does the job.

DriftingRain

I use the girlie stuff and it works great on my legs and *cough* every where else! I use rezors with the flexi stuff and the extra blade with aloe. It's wonderful...

daveg

I too have been plauged by sensative skin over the years. I have developed my own shaving routine. I always shave in the shower. I use Gillette blades and I find once they blunt a bit (say after shave 10) they work best. Before that they do tend to cut my neck. I'm damned if I can remember the shaving gel I use but it is for sensative skin and is of the gel variety.

vibe666

I wasn't talking about **** mooman, but whatever floats your boat mate.

anyway, does anyone else have experience of the newer electric models? I tried one about 10 years ago, and got mauled by it, and never used one since.

Are the newer ones better compared to a wet shave?

I know some of the philips ones you can use in the shower anyway.

Any recommendations for someone with sensitive skin?

I was reading about laser hair removal treatment, and was wondering if it would work on facial hairs. that would save a lot of work in the mornings! would cost 2 or 3k (from what I understand) but would be well worth it to never have to shave again!

I was just wondering if I'd end up looking like a ladyboy! I've got a a goatee anyway, so I could keep that, and justr get the rest done, then I'd only have to trim the beard every week.

Am I mad?

mooman_00

I went for the electric way as my next option would have been lazer hair removal.....

its a brand new philips something or other and i will admit the first shave was terrible. Missed loads of smallhairs and had a bad rash for days......but now i find it great, shaving takes about five minutes, little or no rash(takes about 6 weeks to get used to electric razor only had it 2-3 weeks).

All in all i find it great. The only problem i have is it takes ages to get a 'clean' shave as you have to go over each area a few times before you'll get results.

The only thing to watch out for is gimics when you go to buy your shaver.......who shaves in the shower?? thats where you do 'other' stuff My one is 'waterproof' but only for cleaning, as in you can't immerse it in water but it'll take a good splashing. This post is getting way too long so im ending it here.

Emboss

Nivea shaving balm, use it after shaving, after a week of using it all my shaving problems vanished i actually enjoy shaving now no rashes no irritations, (i don't work for them honest) you don't get alot in the bottle and it's not cheap but well worth it,

ToxicPaddy

Originally posted by DriftingRain
...... and *cough* every where else!

under your arms????????:p

johnnynolegs

Originally posted by DriftingRain
and *cough* every where else!

u mean ur eyebrows drifting??

Cake Fiend

I used to get a vicious rash with blades (the occasional time I shaved), but I got a ****ty Remington electric from Argos and now I fly through it with minimal irritation.

Crash

I still get a terrible rash sometimes, though that may be a result of me being lazy and going for a quick dry shave
anytime i do wetshave my face is in worse bits than with a dry shave though.

LegacyUser

Try Total Shaving Solution, you can't beat it.No nicks or rash.I used to take ages shaving in the morning when I used foam until I tried TSS.Blade doesn't get clogged with foam so it makes shaving a lot quicker.Not exactly sure what oils go into it but they have the effect of softening bristles and also moistening your skin.

Mossy Monk

shaving in the shower is the only way. no need for shaving gel which i hate

ColinM

Listen mate, try not to take offence when I say this but:
Stop being such a total pansy! Lay off the evening primrose oil and stay out of Boots FFS! Boots is a shop for women - I would have thought that would have been blindingly obvious! Real men shuffle about outside Boots' front window smoking cigarettes impatiently, while their girlfriends spend fricking ages inside buying unnecessary "tea-tree" this and "peach-nut" that.
Just lather some soap, stick it on your jowels and remove with a shard of broken glass.
[Now you know I'm saying all this with tongue-in-cheek, but at the same time, seriously - quit being such a wuss!]

mooman_00

Originally posted by ColinM
Listen mate, try not to take offence when I say this but:
Stop being such a total pansy! Lay off the evening primrose oil and stay out of Boots FFS! Boots is a shop for women - I would have thought that would have been blindingly obvious! Real men shuffle about outside Boots' front window smoking cigarettes impatiently, while their girlfriends spend fricking ages inside buying unnecessary "tea-tree" this and "peach-nut" that.
Just lather some soap, stick it on your jowels and remove with a shard of broken glass.
[Now you know I'm saying all this with tongue-in-cheek, but at the same time, seriously - quit being such a wuss!]

sigh i wish i could be as butch as you......................

vibe666

:eek: I feel so inadequite

do you wipe your arse with broken bottles too?

Caesar_Bojangle

do you wipe your arse with broken bottles too?

I thought it was just me.


Close shave my arse, mach 3 turbo leaves me with stubble despite what the ads say.

DriftingRain

under your arms????????

Um....YES!!

u mean ur eyebrows drifting??

Um...NO!!

I don't shave the hair on my head, my eye brows, or my arms.

Gordon

I presume that Total Shave Solution is basically a shaving oil? I use oil and enjoy it although I too can dry shave if needed so my suggestions lead to little weight. I would put it out as a suggestion but, vibe, you seem to have a pretty good setup going on, though if it was me I'd tear my hair out (pun) and get it electrolysisysed! heh, well maybe not.

So do all electric razors miss certain patches like moomans? I have one (a quite old one) and it also misses bits so I gave up and used blades.

Wolf

I use soap and a cut throat. If I use anything else I get really bad skin go figure

RopeDrink

Don't shave too often... usually end up with a ridiculous goatee of much fluffness, but hey, I like something to pull at when Im frustrated (The pain reminds me of what the **** Im doing)...

When I do shave, the skin is fine, albeit a little itchy at times... I often use Nivea Aftershave Balm... Makes your face feel cool, soft and it also adds +5 to Nice Smell Skills....

KdjaCL

Oi i patented that use womens cream for shaving idea

but i have moved on with this little combo.

1 Kettle
1 Small towel
1 Mach 3 turbo
1 Bottle of Dove or Vanilla shower cream wife buys (will get anem later) or that PH 5.5 stuff.

Boil Kettle and place towel in sink and pour boiling water over it apply to face whislt hot (you will know by the pain if its hot enough) then use any of the above as shaving foam (also Nivea shaving foam is good).
As the Heat opens the pores on your fave it makes it easier to shave and gives a perfect shave.
When finished shaving pour boilgin water over towel and apply to face dry off and Waa laa perfect shave with no pain, cuts, or that horrible burning sensation.

Been doing that for a while now and its great.

kdjac

vibe666

Originally posted by Wolf
I use soap and a cut throat. If I use anything else I get really bad skin go figure

you name isn't Mick 'Crocodile' Dundee is it?

Seriously though, I had considered that a cutthroat might actually give a more gentle shave due to the extra, extra sharpness of it, but I've always been too afraid to try.

BTW, I got a shave with my haircut (24e extra tho) and although he murdered me in there (very painful after) I got no rash at all.

He used the hot towels thing, nivea (the old sort in the little blue tub) to massage my face for 10 minutes, and a special shaving foam, applied very liberally (again fro about 10 minutes) with a shaving brush, before shaving me with a modified cut throat razor which instead of just having a normal blade it had a groove so he could slide in a razor blade (assuming it was for hygeine purposes). It looked like a cut throat, but it was basically a safety razor with all the safety removed!

Once he's washed and dried me off he sprayed me with some sort of aftershave, possibly sulfuric acid by the way it felt, and then massaged my face again, and used more hot towels before he was done.

Whole thing must have been 40 minutes so it wasn't that bad value considering everything he did.

I was petrified that I'd have a really bad rash all over my face the next morning because the whole thing was stinging for a good 8 hours, but I put some E45 cream on my face twice that day, and again before I went to bed, and I came out of it with less of a rash than if I'd shaved myself.

I get the feeling that if I had that done 4 or 5 times, I'd have strong enough neck skin to stop me getting a rash at all.

The big question is, am I that brave?

dahamsta

Originally posted by Mossy Monk
shaving in the shower is the only way.

Ditto. Shaving at the sink is agonising, I dunno why anybody'd bother. Save on that bastard expensive KoS too.

adam

Wolf

Originally posted by vibe666
you name isn't Mick 'Crocodile' Dundee is it?

G'day mate.

Nah but seriously, its a fabulous shave once you get used to it. At the start I keep it kinda bluntish and still had some nasty cuts.

But once I got used to it fuccking hell WHAT a shave. I also use a shaving brush with dove saop (or whatever is handy but I perfer dove). Then I used any old balm after.

I never get spots, rashes and get a really close shave. My skin looks good (well great tbh) most the time.

Plus I save on razors and shaving foam. Perfect.

LegacyUser

Every single time I shave it hurts.......I have to let maybe two days growth appear before I can shave it off and even then I'm left with a line, just below where your Adams apple rests, I looks like someone tried to cut my throat. its weird, a perfectly straight rash line. I thought it was a crease in my skin or something, but its not....very annoying. As for that Total Shaving Solution, its not a great turn on for the women. Every time I use it I smell like a Eucalyptus tree, even with aftershave on it comes through. Granted I don't bathe in aftershave like some blokes, and I don't mind the smell of it, but it really is very powerful.

vibe666

Wolf, where did you get it and how do you keep it sharper than a really sharp thing on national sharp day?

Might give it a go.

Benbaz

Originally posted by vibe666
anyway, does anyone else have experience of the newer electric models? I tried one about 10 years ago, and got mauled by it, and never used one since.

I hear ya there brother!!!
I remember hinting to my mum for an electric razor leading up to Christmas one year. I totally expected to get one and indeed I did. The only problem is the type that I was hinting for was one that actually shaves the hair off your face and leaves the skin, unfortunately the one that I got was one of the ones that had a taste for human flesh!!! God, when I think of it now, Christmas morning, new clothes, hair cut and a face like a baboon's arse!!! Down with electric razors!!!

B.

Saruman

I got a Braun Freefliger.. comes with shaving conditioner.. its pretty good.. i ran out of conditioner so i just wet my face... its still good for me. At most a bit of my neck can get irritated.. not much though usually.

Whats with muppets who shave in the Sauna in Gyms?? i mean WHY? and its so unhygenic!!

Catsmokinpot

that total shaving solution does wonders i couldnt believe it

easy guv'nor

After years of experiment this has gotta be the dogs to get a close, iritation-free shave:

1. Apply E45 cream to dry face, rubbing in well.
2. Splash plenty of hot water on face.
3. Apply shaving foam/gel.
4. Shave, pausing to note the satisfying, close shave with little
or no irritation.

easy guv'nor

Dunno how anyone can shave in the shower - how do you see where you're shaving? You're shaving blind godammit.

vibe666

I reckon anyone who shaves in the shower would have a shaving mirror in there with them, to save cutting off anything accidentally.

Wolf

Originally posted by vibe666
Wolf, where did you get it and how do you keep it sharper than a really sharp thing on national sharp day?

Might give it a go.

I went to this swanky Barber shop in NI and just asked and they gave this catalog and some advice. Also, keeping it sharp, you can do it yourself, but I bring mine to a barber shop and he cahrges me about £2.50 to sharpen it.

Placebo

everyones skin is diffrent so there is no Universal technique .
mirror in the bath ? does it not steam up ?

Sarky

I find shaving oils rubbish, I stick with the gel. I find Gillette do a pretty good job here.
It's best if you shave after/during a shower, it opens up the pores and makes the whole thing smoother.

My tried and tested method is as follows:

1. Apply hot water to face.

2. Lather up face with gel.

3. Shave along the direction of facial hair (mostly down, although the neck seems to go horizontal for me at least)

4. Wash face in warm water.

5. Lather up again, and shave against the direction of facial hair. It gets rid of the reall small stubble, and the previous shave should have softened you up so that it goes smoothely.

6. Wash face in COLD water. It helps close your pores, and thus retains moisture in your face. No ugly rashes or dryness.

7. Enjoy baby's-arse-smooth skin until you have to shave again.

Miguel_Sanchez

Originally posted by wes
As for that Total Shaving Solution, its not a great turn on for the women. Every time I use it I smell like a Eucalyptus tree, even with aftershave on it comes through. Granted I don't bathe in aftershave like some blokes, and I don't mind the smell of it, but it really is very powerful.

I find Total Shaving Solution doesn't stink me up at all. (stink me up? - wasn't that a Colour me Badd song?)

Anyway - just in case you didn't know - you're only supposed to use 3 or 4 drops of Total Shaving Solution. If you're lashing it on that's your problem right there.

Oh yeah and in case anyway wants to buy it or try it for free - here's the website.

http://www.totalshave.com

Sparks

I use a Mach 3 razor and ordinary gilette shaving gel. And only make one slow pass over each area of skin. And then I use l'Occitane shaving cream afterwards - alcohol-based aftershave was sortof like going over parts of my neck with battery acid

Wolf, I've been thinking of trying a cut-throat for ages now, but the ones I see on the net are all in the $150 range for the razor and strop - do they do anything cheaper in that catalog of yours?

LoneGunM@n

I have very sensitive skin too & I used to hate shaving because I'd always end up looking like a sunburnt leper!!

Then I started using the Gilette Mach3 & Gilette Shaving Gel [with Aloe Vera I think] & I don't get rashes anymore!!

Have to say I got a Hot Towel Shave the day after my exams. I was totally stressed. But I walked out an hour later [after forking over nothing - got it for a pressie ] as if I'd never known stress in my life.

When he pulled the cut throat out though I nearly sh1t myself

nuvolari

grow a beard?

Sparks

Can't grow a beard. There are a few fingertip-sized patches on my face that just don't grow facial hair for some reason.

phobos

I dunno about the whole hour or so, start to finish shaving routine. For some reason when you were describing it, it reminded me of the start of American Psycho, when Patrick Bateman is describing the various types of creams/oils he uses as part of his daily hygene routine.

I personally don't (and I seriously doubt many do) have time to spend an hour in the bathroom in the morning. Maybe at the weekend before heading out, but apart from that, No.

What I do:
If I have time for a shower, I will, as it will really open the pours in my skin. If not then I just fill the sink with hot water, and soak my face/neck. I wait about 5 seconds, and apply Gillette gel. Using a Mach 3 Turbo, I perform multiple quick passes on my face, and single slow passes on my neck. Once complete I finally put a thin lather back on my neck, and repeat slow single pass. Once complete, I splash my face with cold water, and I'm done. All in all it takes between 5 - 8mins, I VERY rarely cut myself, I never get a rash, and it feels great

Without Mach 3's (Turbo or Regular) my neck would be destroyed using the above procedure. With other brands I always nick myself here and there. The blades are a bit expensive alright, but when I find myself with extra cash I make a point of stocking up.

;-phobos-)

trotter_inc

Try Total Shaving Solution, you get it in most supermarkets.... no more cuts or rashes and you wont even need any after shave balm or anything after it.... its great stuff.

Costs about 5 euro and lasts for over 90 shaves!

(Im not getting commission.... honestly!)