Now, this may sound really disgusting but I’m gonna say it anyway. I get a horrid, evil shaving rash every time I shave my legs.
I sometimes use an exfoliator before hand and it occasionally works, but most of the time I’m walking around with these red pimply bumps on my legs that look terrible.
My skin is extremly sensitive so waxing is out of the question, and the smell of depilitory cream makes me gag, (especially after one drunken night when I mistook the tube of it for my toothpaste.) Can anyone help me with this problem? Is there anything that anyone uses out there that actually works?
Okay, I’m a redhead with sensitive skin, and I used to get itchy red bumps too. All the time! But I found this soap to use, and it never happens now, not even in winter when my skin is dry. I don’t have the box now… okay, I looked it up. It is from crabtree and evelyn, and no, I don’t work there or anything, but this soap is the greatest. It is the rosewater milled soap with cold cream. I don’t know what in it does it, but I never have the post-shaving rash anymore. Ever.
I’m strangely obsessed with hair removal, as will be evidenced by the bizarre number of comments I have on this topic.
I would not recommend shaving after soaking a tub. Your skin will be slightly puffy from having absorbed the water in your bath, and two things might happen – first, you tend not to get as close of a shave, since not as much of the hair is exposed to the razor. I even notice the difference between shaving at the beginning of a shower as opposed to the end. I think it also makes the skin more easily irritated by the razor when it is in this puffy state. However, I see that <b>Alice</b> finds the soaking method better, so you may want to give it a try just to compare the two.
You might find an improvement if you use the exfoliator after you shave as well. (Not immediately after, but the next day). Actually, I think most exfoliators give you the most benefit if you use them regularly, and not just before shaving. If it hurts when you exfoliate, then you are probably doing it too hard, or using too harsh of a product. It takes some time to build up to rigorous exfoliation. You want to start mild, and work up from there.
Is your skin dry in general? You might also want to use lotion (gawd, I sound like the Hannibal Lector of skin care) daily. You won’t see immediate results, but after a while of this routine, you might find it helps. I think the best “product” is an actual aloe plant. You can keep aloe or other products in the fridge rather than the bathroom so it literally “cools down” irritated skin.
Finally, some people with extremely sensitive skin do better if they only shave in the direction that the hair grows. You will not get as close of a shave doing this, but if you shave this way more frequently, it should still do the trick. I’ve found this especially helpful for the bikini area.
I have terribly sensitive skin too, and I’ve found one shaving cream that works, and only one. The purple skintimate (make sure it’s in the metal can, because the plastic bottle type is a different formula) called " Mosturizing shave gel Vitamin E Utra Protection." It seems to have enough mosturizer in it to keep that rash from happening, but make sure you do let your leg hairs get pretty wet first, though. If you shower, wait until after you’ve shampoo’d your hair. The bonus of doing it that way is that you get to let the conditioner soak into your hair while you shave, too.
When I bought an Epilady my life changed forever. It was like buying a lifetime’s supply of Nads for much less than a fraction of the price. It’s a little machine that pulls the hairs out as you move it over the leg. I only need to use mine about once a month. It hurts a bit but it’s worth it. I can’t understand why the Epilady isn’t sold on television. It’s a worthy product - much more so than a lot of infotainment stuff. No rashes either. I know that sounds like an exercise in viral marketing but it’s not.
Aside from simply “sensitive” skin, I have “allergic skin.” I get a very similar rash if I shave with a razor and most soaps shaving creams etc. only make the problem worse because they almost all have fragrance (my allergy!)
Fragrance is an “irritant”. It may be helfpul if you use unscented lotions etc. to sooth your legs after shaving. Your poor legs are getting scraped with a blade, and a scented product on top of that will irritate them all the more.
What I do: I have given up on shaving and use a Braun Owie-Owie-Owie Hairplucking Device (don’t use Epilady, they mangle your legs!). As long as I never let the hairs grow back for long (gotta catch them whe they’re still very short and have a teeny-tiny circumference around the shaft), it doesn’t hurt to re-pluck.
Yes, I still get the slight rash, but no where near as bad. The plucking lasts a helluva lot longer – I’d rather have the rash once a month than every other day!
If you are having issues with ingrown hair… Argh! I’m not sure how to help.
My experience is the opposite. If I shave after showering, I usually get a closer shave than if I shave dry. I also get more ingrown hairs, but my girlfriend takes care of problems like that for me.
Ah yes, the Epilady. I got one years ago when they first started marketing them. Had I known that they were designed as torture devices, I would have saved my money. I’m glad you’re happy with it, but I would rather give birth, have kidney stones, and get my eyes poked out with knitting needles all at the same time than ever use an Epilady again.
Gillette Mach 3 blade- for guys, not the girl’s type- and Skintamite, or however you spell that. I get rashes too, but not so much since I switched to Mach 3.
From what my doctor told me (yes, I consulted her about solutions to my shave-rash), Epilady has a nasty habit of breaking the hairs, rather than plucking them out, and tend to result in ingrown hair problems quiet often. She recommended the Braun gizmo. It helps if you use your free hand to stretch your leg skin taught before plucking instructions come with the gizmo). Otherwise, the elasticity of your skin interferes with a clean pluck – and that definitely hurts like crazy!!! The first time you ever pluck, it will be owie (make sure you don’t let your hair really grow much before you try it – hair that’s longer than eight of an inch isn’t grabbed very well – owie factor #2)). As I mentioned before, after the first owie-pluck, you have to make sure you re-pluck when the regrowth is very young (the circumference of the hair shaft will be much more narrow, and it won’t hurt nearly as much).
I find it almost painless, as long as I don’t let the fuzzies grow back for too long.
SIDE NOTE: My doctor also suggested a man’s blade. I tried the Mach 3, but still got a rash (though it was a much cooler looking razor than the dainty lady ones).
I used to get the nasty red bumps when shaving my legs – and I have no skin allergy problems – until I switched to using men’s razors. They also seem to last longer. Hmm. I like the Schick Vitamin E lubricated ones. Bic razors seem to cut my legs a lot worse than other brands.
I second the use of conditioner. My swim coach (male, btw, but I guess it really doesn’t matter in swimming) told my team that about 6 years ago. It’s the best bang for your buck–especially if you get some cheapo conditioner that you use only to shave with.
I’ve used Caress Shower Bath (?) as well as a lubricant. It’s much heavier than shaving cream or gel and, for me, works much better. It also smells better.
I might get a bezoar, but it could be worth it. :o