Is razor shaving better for dealing with ingrown hairs than electric?

[Rolex John]

I've been dealing with ingrown hairs for a long time, and shave with a Panasonic electric. I shaved with disposables when I was younger, but it was slow, uncomfortable, and often yielded razor burn.

Will a double edged safety razor be a better option?

 

[jkulysses]

I've struggled with this my whole life also, well since I started shaving which was around 13 ya I'm hairy lol, and I've tried almost everything out there. I even had a shaving profile while I was in the Army and I'm pretty sure I was the only white guy with one of those profiles at least in my unit. I've never had any luck with electric razors not even the expensive ones. All these new razors with 14 blades that get the closest shave possible are not for us because they work too good so stay away from the Mach 3's and so on. When I was still stationed at military bases there was a line of products for black people that worked good for me but they don't sell it around here where I'm at now. What works best for me now and better than anything ever has is for one I take a very hot shower and scrub my face real good with a face scrub made by I believe Neutrogena called Razor Defense or something like that and this is more to fight razor burn than ingrown hairs but it doesn't hurt either. I then get out of the shower and place a hot rap on my face but mostly neck cause thats where i have the most problems. Then I apply the shaving cream and what works best for me is a product thats made for shaving heads but works great for your face also. It's called Headslick and they sell it at Rite Aid or online. It's in a yellow bottle shaped like a mini water bottle or something. As far as the actual razor I use an old school Gillette sensor Excel. You can still buy the blades at wal-mart but not the actual razor or handle I should say that attaches to the blades but you can still get those brand new on ebay for pretty cheap. In fact I bought several cause one of these days they aren't going to make them anymore. So basically you don't want a super clean shave the key is to not shave the hair below the skin. If your work has a problem with it then get a doctors note which is what I did then they can say nothing. I still get them form time to time but I got some real pointy tweezers that are made for ingrown hairs and I use them to help a hair along if it's trying to go under the skin. As tempting as it may be don't pull the hair out because it will come back and be worse then ever typically lol. This is what works for me anyway and goodluck I struggled for years and this is the best method I've come up with so far.

 

[unky_gumbi]

The problem with electrics and multi bladed razors is that they pull the hair to cut it. Pull it enough times before cutting it and it is short enough to fall under the skin causing ingrown hairs.

A DE razor may help because it only has one blade so it limits the pull to cut. I would say its worth a try for you and you can get set up with a good DE system for very little money, but there is a learning curve to get close shaves.

I have 7 razors and I paid a total of $100 for all of them, 2 were given to me, I bought 4 at flea markets, one I bought on a online buy and sell, and my first I bought from an online dealer. I know that is 8 razors, but I sold one because I didn't like how it shaved for me. so I got $20 back bringing my razor investment down to $80.

Blades would be the next thing to look at. To give a little price comparison, the last blade purchase I made cost me under $27 for 100 blades delivered. I get 4-5 good shaves out of a blade, a package of the latest and greatest multi blades cost upwards of $25 around here, and I would get maybe a month, a month and a half out of them

Picking a good soap/cream really helps too, and as the previous poster mentioned, prep is everything. If you don't take the time to ready your face its going to be rough no mater what type of razor you use. Even switching over to a quality shaving soap from the regular canned goo makes a difference.

If you do decide to switch over to DE shaving watch some of mantic59's youtube videos. He presents well, and gives solid information. It will shorten the learning curve considerably. He is also a member here that steps in to check on us from time to time.

Things you have to watch out for with traditional wet shaving are

• RAD: Razor Acquisition Disorder
• SSAD: Shave Soap Acquisition Disorder
• SBAD: Shave Brush Acquisition Disorder
• ASAD: Aftershave Acquisition Disorder
• RBAD: Razor Blade Acquisition Disorder

Not that they are bad things, but your bathroom becomes cluttered as you acquire more stuff.

On an end note I have not had a single ingrown hair since switching to DE shaving and I can count the number of nicks I have had on one hand. So don't think of an old style double edge razor and something that is going to rip your face off. If you use it right you will have enjoyable shaves.

 

[hoopster]

I'm throwing out my electric razor after receiving a nice double edge safety razor for Christmas this year. I've always preferred to use a Gillette Mach 3 over electrics anyways but hated paying the high prices for new cartridges. Now I can purchase inexpensive blades and love the hefty, quality feel of the Merkur Futur. My Mach 3 can be a back up and the electric is going in the garbage. I'm glad to be rid of that monstrosity really.

I'll second watching Mantic59's youtube videos. He's a wealth of entertaining info.

 

[shecky]

It may depend on your razor. But I know my Panasonic electric is quite unlikely to cause ingrown hairs, mainly because it doesn't shave close enough to allow such a thing to happen.

Ingrown hairs often seem to occur when the skin is stretched and the whisker shaved close. Some electric systems claim to do this. Some cartridge systems also make such claims. And many single edge blade users do this manually. The reason being is that this yields a very close shave. But the risk of ingrown hair remains with any system. And can be worse with some kinds of whiskers. For example, African descended men often must be extra careful as they are much more prone to ingrown hairs than others.

Personally, I have a recurring ingrown hair that seems to flare up about once a year, and has done so since I was a teen. It seems the only way to avoid this is to be careful to not shave too closely in that one spot. Doesn't matter what method or razor I use. It takes some experimentation to find a way that works for the individual.

 

[Will Power]

Hate electrics, clumsy unwieldy and deliver a poor finish. I actually suspect they may PROMOTE ingrowing hairs!

I know that since returning to DE shaving, my skin looks and feels a lot healthier than before so I think it should help with ingrowing hair as it improves skin texture and elasticity.