Waxing My Face

No, I’m not really going to wax my face — but I’m tempted. Here’s the deal, my face is absurdly sensitive. I have to use a fresh razor almost every day, and that razor must be touched by an elvish princess while being sprinkled with aloe freshly squeezed from an aloe plant growning on a hill nourished only by mountain fresh spring water.

And I still usually get razor burn.

I’ve tried several electric razors, but they either don’t get all the hairs (especially on my neck, ick), or they rip off my flesh around the pointy parts. Since I’ve sorta grown attached to my chin, I just do my best with a razor.

Oh for my 20s, when I could shave once every other week and be fine. (Seriously, I’ve only had to shave regularly for a few years) If someone knows a secret way to shave a particularly sensitive face, I’m all ears. And no, I don’t shave my ears.

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Posted in General Thoughts |

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 at 11:03 am and is filed under General Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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18 comments

Daniel Bartholomew:
 1 

You could just stop shaving and grow a beard. That’s what I did. :-)

Good luck finding something that works for your face!

July 31st, 2008 at 11:28 am
Shawn Powers:
 2 

Yeah, I guess I failed to mention that I can’t grow a beard to save my soul. I could get a hairy neck, an absurdly thick mustache, and NOTHING in between. :)

I don’t want to be that guy…

July 31st, 2008 at 11:33 am
Kisintin:
 3 

Try changing the cream brand, do it in the shower under hot water. I have the same problem, and I don’t do it every day. Experiment with the bristle length. :)

July 31st, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Ryder Step:
 4 

My suggestion: Man Up :)

On a more serious note,
I ran out of shaving gel a few weeks ago, and i was shaving without it. It does hurt a bit. My recommendation, take hot showers, and then do what the barbershops do, get a super hot steaming towel and put it over your skin… combine that with some good shave gel (which works better than shaving cream), and you should be ok.

Also… aftershave, I personally don’t know why people use it, but at least you smell good!

July 31st, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Random Michelle:
 5 

I have the same problem, only my expanse of skin is larger.

First, I only buy sensitive skin shaving cream.

Second, I make sure I moisturize every day. When my skin is dry, it’s more sensitive. Look for a sensitive skin moisturizer, and you should get one that doesn’t stink like a girl.

Third, I shave after I’ve been in the shower for awhile.

And as a bonus, I believe remember Neil Gaimin saying the trick that worked for him was to put conditioner (like hair conditioner) on his face, let it stand for about five minutes, and then shave as normal.

I’m not 100% certain though, so you’ll want to search Neil’s site for that.

July 31st, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Shawn Powers:
 6 

Ryder: HA! Oh, and I’ve never understood aftershave either.

I’ll have to search around Neil’s site. One of the big problems is shaving while traveling. I can’t find shaving gel in anything 3 ounce sized. Stupid TSA.

(And no, I don’t “check” my luggage. My luck doesn’t lend itself well to such things)

July 31st, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Shawn Powers:
 7 

Oh, and regarding shaving in the shower — that scares me for some reason. Something about blindly applying a razor blade to my face without even a mirror to help me.

I suppose a mirror in the shower might work. Maybe I should consider that…

July 31st, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Monochrome Rainbows:
 8 

I vote for not shaving at all. You’re already a Linux guy thats a third of the way to being “that guy”.

Grow a patchy beard and start mumbling about soviet lawn gnomes and aged dental floss.

July 31st, 2008 at 4:09 pm
RandyNose:
 9 

I can’t stand the electric razors, as they always seem to want to pull the hair out by the roots, or remove the top two layers of my skin. I have found that the disposable razors are also the worst for sensitive skin. - But you could try a blow torch, to scorch the hair off. Or try to only shave every other day.

Good luck with it… There’s plenty of razors out there to try…

July 31st, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Jeri:
 10 

Would hair remover work on a man’s face? Or would it be too hard on facial skin? I have no idea… just aksing.

August 1st, 2008 at 1:06 am
Jim Wright:
 11 

I’m with Ryder, Shawn, for the love of God man up - you’re making us look bad.

Personally, I use a cheese grater to shave, a couple of weeks of that and you’ll toughen right up.

Aftershave? Bah, that’s for girlymen, I use kerosene.

August 1st, 2008 at 2:34 am
Topher:
 12 

I use shampoo instead of shaving cream when I do my head and face. It works great, much better than shaving cream.

August 1st, 2008 at 8:58 am
Candy:
 13 

Tom has a facial hair problem too (what is with you geeks anyway? Just shave, sheesh!)… ;) his biggest tip? Use shave oil instead of shaving cream - http://www.trafalgarshop.com has some really nice ones. You can also buy no-fog mirrors for the shower - search Amazon for “shower mirror”

August 1st, 2008 at 9:30 am
mattw:
 14 

I’ve tried shaving in the shower with one of those “no fog mirrors.” They’re no fog for a couple weeks and then they start to fog and you’re wiping them off all the time. But, yeah, hot water in the shower helps.

August 1st, 2008 at 10:04 am
Anne C.:
 15 

Hee! Jim, you crack me up!

I think the no fog mirror that actually has hot water running behind it (through a tube attached to the showerhead, I believe) work better than the ones with the special surface.

And if you’re really desperate, you could try the dilapitory creams (probably one for sensitive areas, if you’ll be near your nose and mouth) but then tell us that you figured out that a blowtorch works just fine, thankyouverymuch.

August 1st, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Michael P:
 16 

I bought a cheap mirror at the dollar store, and when I wash my hair I wipe a bit of the lather from the shampoo onto the mirror and rinse it off. The shampoo prevents the mirror from fogging up long enough for me to finish shaving. I learned that from a SCUBA diver who made his own antifog spray for his goggles from water and baby shampoo.

August 2nd, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Jim W.:
 17 

I am an adherant to the shave-in-shower clan. Works for me. But I have had a couple of friends that would use shaving powder. This is a depilatory that is often used by men-of-color that have problems with razor bumps. There are even brands that contain aloe, etc.

August 4th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Mr. Chris:
 18 

Pardon if I repeat what is written. I’ve no time to browse your comments (…yet. I’m always looking for good shaving tips.)

Most shaving articles I’ve read praise the Mach 3 as the “Abbey Road” of razors. Even folks that use badger hair brushes swear by the Mach 3. It’s so good, Gillette has launched an ad campaign to convert fans to their latest 5-blade model.

I read that “modern” shaving cremes do more to mask your mistakes than lube your face. They have lots of topical anesthetics. I’ve been told classic witch hazel is the best after shave, but I don’t dig it.

I get my best shave in the shower. I keep a small anti-fog mirror there, but it still needs the soap scum cleared from it so I can see what I’m doing.

A few weeks back I saw an ad for an “As Seen On TV” device that sharpens your old razor cartridges. It just flapped a material (I presume leather) with the grain of the blade, just like one would shave a barber’s blade. It works despite the number of blades. Next time I see it, I plan to grab one. Our family runs through razors quickly and I’m always looking for a way to stick it to the man–either through saving razors or printer ink!

August 4th, 2008 at 9:14 pm

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