Shaving with Acne Prone Skin

Sometimes the act of shaving irritates the skin and produces acne. And in a vicious cycle, once the acne is there, shaving becomes a painful ritual. How can one shave with acne prone skin, and avoid causing new breakouts of acne pimples? Here are a few ideas, compiled from different advisors:

• Work with, not against When acne occurs after shaving, it may be because you shaved too well. Cutting hairs down to a level below the skin surface causes them to grow back crookedly. They then “miss” the opening and start growing into your skin, like an ingrown hair. The pore gets clogged up with the ingrown hair, a pimple forms, and eventually pus forms in the “whitehead”. The solution here is to cut the hairs less well. Instead of pulling your razor against the grain, pull it in the same direction as the hairs grow. This should leave the hairs a little bit longer and now their growing back will not irritate acne prone skin.

• Soften Hairs can be softened to make the shaving experience less traumatic for acne prone skin. There are three suggestions for accomplishing this.

•Wash First, you could wash the face or leg, etc. with warm water and soap. This may be done at the sink, or even easier, in the shower.

• Soak Secondly, a washcloth soaked in warm water could be placed on the place to be shaved for a few minutes.
• Old Fashioned Shaving Cream Thirdly, try using an old-fashioned shaving cream and shaving brush. The shaving cream that is applied with a shaving brush has more liquid than the aerosol type shaving cream. Leave on the area to be shaved for over two minutes to achieve a softening affect. Then reapply the shaving cream with the shaving brush and then start shaving.

• Upgrade Try an electric razor. Sometimes the cut is adjustable to a more comfortable shave for acne prone skin. If using a manual razor, make sure the blade is new and sharp. Otherwise, the skin may be irritated by small nicks and acne may form. Also, you may consider switching from a cheap disposable type of razor to a quality metal double-edged razor.

• Less pressure For acne prone skin, the best way to shave is by applying little or no pressure. If the razor is a weighty metal type, the weight of the razor itself should be enough pressure. But if it is plastic and disposable, you may have to apply some pressure, but take care not to apply too much.

• Moisturize After shaving, pamper the acne prone area with a good after-shave lotion, not liquid. Rub in well. Some recommend using antibiotic creams at this time as well. To prepare the skin, you can try using an exfoliant to rid the skin of excess dead cells, which may get the hairs extend further out of the skin and to stand up straighter.

• Less is more Acne should not be touched often, or shaved off intentionally. This will just make the problem worse for already acne prone skin!

• There is hope: “Stick with it, keep trying different things until you find what works for you. I never thought I’d be able to shave, and had resigned myself to using a set of small clippers against my skin every morning to keep a constant 1/16″ of growth, but I eventually found techiques that allow me to shave like a regular person and not look like a thug all the time. It took a few years of trial and error, but was definitely worth it.” — From steadyhealth.com