I am a black man with curly hair. I normally use a cheap electric razor that doesn’t cut very thin but helps prevent ingrown hair and bumps (maybe like one bump a month). While on a road trip, it broke so I bought a disposable razor from a gas station and took a shave. At first, I was super impressed by how clean shaven I was. That was until three days later when it started to sting (not sure if this is razor burn or early signs of ingrown hair. Now, a week later, my neck is covered in in-grown hairs that are only now disappearing as the hair is regrowing.
I probably would rather go back to an electric razor to prevent this but I would love some suggestions for a new razor. I’d love to get something that works well and lasts. Also, I would love advice and suggestions for what I did wrong and how I can maybe achieve a clean shaven look without crazy bumps
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I found this article by some fancy looking hair cutting place.
Well.. don’t use cheap stuff for starters lol. Straight edge shaving is the gold standard. Lots of cool stuff to get into. But everyone has different skin and hair so you have to try different things
Use head clippers. Good clippers with no guard will shave you practically baby ass smooth, with no ingrowns.
Philips MG9540/15 (aka Series 9000)
Received as a gift and I love it.
It comes with this thin “one blade” trimmer that I think would fit your needs. Batteries and blades are great on both devices.
While not a black man I do have an unruly section of hair on my neck that each hair seems to grow in different directions so you have to shave it in multiple directions. The only way I manage this area with as few ingrown hairs as I do is to exfoliate it regularly and use a good quality razor blade. Much easier to maintain day to day by trimming it short with clippers, still exfoliating it just not as frequently as I find the hairs more compliant
Straight edge is the way to go. Yeah, it’ll scare the shit out of you at first (especially when you do your neck), and you’ll make some mistakes and nick yourself a few times, but once you get the hang of it you’ll never go back.
I’m allergic to pretty much everything, so I use nothing but lots of water and I have nothing but smooth skin when I’m done. Saves a ton of time as well.
Main things to learn is to keep the skin taut where you’re shaving, and get to the point where you feel the blade as an extension of your fingers. Once you get there you’ll wonder why you ever did it any other way.
There are “starters” that have disposable blades in a holder. They work just fine and cost less than $20, including 100 blades that will probably last you most of your life.
Sounds like razor bumps. It’s a common issue for some skin types (including mine). Like you, I use an electric razor. I have a Philips that goes down to 0.4mm.
When I do clean shaves, which is not very often because my wife prefers stubble, I take precautions.
First, I limit how often I shave. Every day is too much for my skin. I can get away with twice a week and not look like a hobo.
Second, I use a double edge safety razor. This allows me to use a new razor every week for the cost of about $0.50. Double edge safety blades are really cheap, even for the high quality ones. I found a Gilette safety razor from 1944 on eBay back when I was looking for something better to use than the high priced plastic crap most stores carried. No one had good quality safety razors back in the 90s. Now you can find good ones all over the place for reasonable prices.
Third, ALWAYS wash your face with hot water before shaving. Hot water softens the beard and makes it easier to cut. Cleaning your face also gets rid of oil and tiny particles that want to come between your shaving blade and your skin.
Fourth, I use a shaving cream with a good lather. I like to use Proraso in the tube, and I apply it with hot water and a super badger shaving brush (an added expense, but should last forever). Smells great, and the blade glides over my skin.
Fifth, always shave with the grain. Shaving against the direction your hair is growing can cut the hair below the skin and lead to ingrown hairs. The hair under my chin and on my neck grows in six different directions and the main direction of growth is opposite the skin on my face, so I have to be careful at the boundaries, or I end up with lines of irritation afterward (which is better than patches, but still looks bad). On my cheeks, I’m shaving downward, on my neck it’s upward, and under my chin it’s toward the center until I get to the middle where it’s downward. At this point it’s muscle memory because I’ve been doing it for decades.
Sixth, rinse with cold water and don’t use alcohol-based aftershaves. Use a moisturizer if your skin feels dry. Use witch hazel if you want a cleaner feeling.
You probably shaved your neck against the grain. That’s a big nope on the first pass, especially if you have sturdy facial hair.
What’s worse is that every commercial shows guys doing it, so it’s probably considered “normal” by a lot of guys.