shaving tips for men with acne on face and neck
Shaving can be a torture if your have acne on your jawline, cheeks or neck.
One wrong move of the blade and you could cut through a pimple. This kind of injury can lead to scars.
Not only that, using a shaving cream that is not suitable for acne prone skin can cause more pimples.
There are some things you can do to avoid aggravating your pimples while shaving.
- Gently glide the razor over any existing pimples, barely touching them with the razor. Certainly do not scratch past an existing pimple. When you are done with the shave, you can come back to the site of the pimple and gently shave any hair around it.
- Avoid passing the razor more than once or twice over acne prone areas. Too many passes can lead to skin irritation causing more pimples.
- Avoid using automatic razors. An automatic razor can pop an existing pimple and cause a scar.
- A razor with a double blade glides over skin better than one with a single blade. We’ve found Gilette Mach 3 razor to be safe for acne prone skin.
- Avoid shaving creams or foams meant for sensitive skin such as Nivea Shaving Foam for Sensitive Skin and Gillette Shaving Foam for Sensitive Skin. These shaving foams contain rich emollients that can clog your pores and cause pimples.
- Avoid shaving creams meant for a tough beard. The hair-softening agents in such creams can cause pimples as well.
- A safe option is to lather up your face wash and use it as a shaving cream.
- Try to use a non-comedogenic foaming cleanser as a shaving foam. E.g. Himalaya Neem Purifying Foaming Face Wash as a shaving foam.
- If you find that your face cleanser does not foam up enough for shaving, try using a good old shaving brush to work up some lather.
- Try to shave quickly, otherwise the longer the cleanser remains on your skin, the dryer it will leave the skin.
- Do not use any aftershave or Dettol / Savlon as they contain alcohol that can irritate your skin and worsen acne. You want to avoid irritating your skin at all costs.
- If you get a razor cut or accidentally run razor over a pimple, dab some cold water on it and leave it at that.
- Wash your razor thoroughly after each shave in order to prevent germ buildup. For the same reason, change your razor frequently too.
A shaving regimen for acne prone skin
Our community member @rajeev shared a shaving regimen that works for him and some of his friends without causing breakouts, even on sensitive skin.
The idea is to use Lifebuoy soap (yep, they still sell it) as shaving cream and a calamine lotion (Markal Lotion) as an antiseptic and cooling lotion. He has been using this routine for many years with no breakouts.
Know that the above regimen is not my recommendation, but just something that is currently working for a bunch of people. Use your own good judgement before using Lifebuoy as your shaving soap.
Which shaving cream do you use?
image gcfairch@flickr
