How to avoid irritation after shaving?
It is THE question for people who shave, today we will see how to avoid irritation after shaving the beard?
Indeed, in this article, we will go over some basics about shaving, the skin, and why there can be irritation, redness, pimples, that can appear. Then, we will see how a good preparation, with adequate tools, can reduce pimples after shaving the face. Then, we will give you all our advice on post-shaving, so that you know how to avoid pimples after shaving the beard. The goal is that by the end of the article, you will know everything about how your skin reacts to shaving, and how to avoid the inconveniences that it can generate, and at worst, limit them so that it calms down faster!
Why does shaving the beard cause irritation and pimples?
Why does shaving the beard cause irritation and pimples? To understand all this, we need to go back to the constitution of the skin and know why it reacts. First, the skin is made up of several different layers, each of which has its own particular role. The top layer is the cornea. It is this layer that wears and renews itself continuously, and its main role is to protect the layer just below: the epidermis. The epidermis is more sensitive to cold, heat, water, and the various aggressions of your environment, but it is thanks to the cornea that the epidermis benefits from a protective layer, with a phenomenon like the reptiles and insects, and that is called desquamation.
When you shave, you risk damaging this layer of cornea, and this layer is very thin on your face and neck, whereas it will be much thicker on your feet or your hands if you are a craftsman, or your fingers if you are a guitarist. On the face, this layer is very thin, so shaving can remove it, leaving your epidermis exposed to external aggressions, and can cause small pimples after shaving the beard, redness, and that famous "razor burn" sensation.
However, not all skin types are equal, as with the implantation and growth of the beard. Indeed, if you have an oily or acne-prone skin, you will be more prone to pimples after beard shaving, while with a dry skin, it will be more red patches and redness that will appear. So, depending on your skin type, whether you have pimples after shaving your beard for a black skin or irritations on a clear and granular skin, we will have different advice to limit redness or pimples, and make your shaving more pleasant.
Finally, shaving too regularly, without giving your cornea time to reform, can attack your skin and cause stronger reactions than usual. Be careful to monitor it carefully, because it can be more serious, and cause an infection (including ingrown hairs), and require at that time the eye of a professional.
A good preparation to avoid the buttons of shaving the beard
A good preparation to avoid the buttons of the shaving of the beard, it is THE advice which we can give you. Indeed, it is essential to put the skin in the best conditions, it will improve the quality of your shaving, but it will drastically reduce the reaction of your skin in the hours that will follow it.
But what is a good preparation? Let's start with tool preparation. In the article on how to choose your shaving tool, we gave you the hints on how to get the best possible shaving accessory for your skin. But to summarize, if you want a clean shave with the least impact on your skin, you need a blade as new as possible, but disposable razors are not very ecological. So we prefer single-blade razors like the shavette or safety razor, because not only does the single blade allow for a cleaner cut of the hair, but changing it each time, you won't have a worn blade, which will greatly promote micro-cuts, corneal deterioration, and irritated skin after shaving for a man (as for a woman), which is the open door to red pimples after beard shaving. Now, assuming you have a new blade, on a tool you're comfortable with, there are still a few things to prepare.
Let's start with the skin. Applying a hot towel to the area to be shaved is the basis for dilating the pores of the skin, softening the hairs to be cut, and making it easier for the blades to glide. But before that, it is necessary to clean it thoroughly, to avoid that the openings of the pores are doors of entry to the dirt, dead skins, and pathogenic agents. This goes without saying, but it is obvious that cleaning the skin and hair is an essential factor in limiting white spots after shaving the beard. Moreover, we advise for dry skins to apply shaving oil like the one we propose, to facilitate the passes that you will make and to protect the pores from infiltrations while the towel is on your face by creating a hydrolipidic film on your skin.
Finally, for an optimal shave, shaving cream (preferably foamed with a shaving brush) applied after removing the towel will be perfect! Now that your skin and tools are prepared, go lightly, don't overdo it, and avoid going over the same area too many times. By pressing too hard or going over the same spot too many times, you will drastically impact the cornea and cause minor bleeding and eventually pimples after shaving your beard. To avoid going over the same spot several times, shaving foam will do its job, where an oil or gel may complicate the task by its transparency. That's it, and last little advice for an optimal shave: always shave in the direction of the hair. There are many diagrams on the internet that can help you with this!
Now you know everything about how to avoid pimples after shaving your beard, but there is one last step, which starts after you have finished shaving.
What can I do to avoid pimples after shaving my beard?
What can I do to avoid pimples after shaving my beard? Now that you're shaved, we have a few more tips. The very first: Rinse the freshly shaved areas well, first with warm water, then with cold water to close the pores. This will also soothe your skin if razor burn has turned you into a tomato. Now, on the question of how to remove pimples from a man's shave, we can't think of a better advice than our aftershave and facial cream which contains Aloe Vera, hyaluronic acid and is a great asset to soothe the skin, protect it by recreating a hydrolipidic film, and thus calm the redness and prevent the appearance of small pimples. We can't recommend anything else as the feedback is unanimous on this product!
There you go, now you know everything about how not to get a pimple after shaving for a man, or rather about the specificity of shaving the face. Don't hesitate to read our other blog posts, where we give lots of advice on shaving and beard maintenance!