Love the Sly look, having trouble maintaining it...

[Hauser_2]

Hi all,

I used to have an account on the forum some time ago, but I haven't been on for so long I don't remember any of the details - you were all really supportive of my transition to shaving my head with a razor and getting that smooth feel I love.

The reason I did not stay in the community is because I have frequently come to an impasse when shaving my head: more on that in a minute. I really do love being bald, it gives me enormous self confidence (which I very much need!) and people have commented how it suits me. However I am rarely bald for very long as I have such problems shaving my head without ripping it to shreds..

My hair appears to be very thick on the sides and back (especially the back) of my head. My hair is also naturally curly. It also grows in several different directions (curse of curly hair?) which in itself is a pain in the ass. No matter what kit I use or what shaving routine I try I can't seem to shave it smooth without getting horrible razor burn, which is really starting to get me down. My hair grows fast so I have to shave every morning, which I don't mind, but the hair grows back like industrial strength sand paper. No matter what routine/razor I use I seem to always get bad drag on the razor (the back of my head is the worst) and have difficulty removing the hair as it is so tough.

During my routines some things I do always: a hot shower before, pre-shave oil, shaving cream, alum block, after-shave. The razor changes as I've tried to find something that works. I've gone from using a Mach 3, to a safety razor (Merkur 34C with Astra Superior Platinum blades), to my current routine of a Panasonic ES-LV65 with a Mach 3 to tidy up. The Panasonic is great for getting through that sand paper toughness, but still leaves razor burn, from mild to tomato.

I've come to the conclusion that my hair is incredibly thick and I can't see a way to defeat it without going in to work looking like someone has buffed my head against gravel - which makes me feel less confident (the opposite of what I really want out of it). I hate letting my hair grow even a little as I don't much care for my widows peak.

Are there any god tips/suggestions you guys can come up with to help me through this? Otherwise I will have to go back to a 0 grade trim as my head is so sore after a few days shaving with a razor I physically can't continue as it hurts too much.

My current routine: Hot shower, American Crew shave oil, Arko shaving cream applied with a boar brush, shave with Panasonic ES-LV65, tidy up with Mach 3, wash with cold water, apply alum block, finish with Snake Bite aftershave.

Just to add I have tried shaving with the grain and then against it and the effect is the same as going straight against the grain so I don't bother with it. I also don't have the time in the morning to increase the length of my shaving routine.

Please help!

[Razor X]

Can you get an acceptable shave from the Panasonic alone? Won't be as smooth as a blade but it may be less irritating.

[Magoo]

You just might have to settle with a short buzz cut # 0  or  # 1/2 . Seems you gave shaving a good trial.

[reddog]

I'm not sure why you have a hard time with the electric shaver. I use a Remington foil shaver sometimes, and never had irritation from it. You might also try Bump Patrol after shaving. It really helped me when I started shaving my head. It took about a month before my scalp toughened up.

[socknoggle]

I'm wondering if you're pressing down too hard.  I have thick hair as well and have to resist the temptation to press too hard on my tough spots.  I have to shave twice every time to make sure I get it all.  The second time around I go really lightly.  My hair grows in a bunch of different directions, but I've learned which direction to shave on which area of the head, and that helps. 

Another thing that helped me was to eliminate the shave oil before applying the cream.  That created another barrier for the razor to go through.  After I ditched it my shaves got much easier with far less irritation. 

[SlyCatCrossing]

Two things I noticed here: 1st, you are grinding an electric razor all around your head THEN taking a blade to it immediately after (a multiple blade cartridge at that) and 2nd, you are following up this brutal assault on your scalp with snake bite... A strong alcohol based aftershave that is designed to hurt and promoted as a product where you "feel the burn"

If I have a rough shave any alcohol type post shave product will make my skin red for a little while after, fortunately that rarely happens anymore.  The pre shave oil certainly helps with slickness but you may be having a reaction to it causing redness and irritation that then gets grinder down by an electric AND blades.  Using a good soap and brush, like you are, does help but what it helps is lifting the hairs to get a closer shave on each pass.  Actually, better phrasing is "a more productive" pass.  What I would suggest is to do what you are doing know but remove the electric entirely from the equation, switch the snake bite out for something more soothing like witch hazel and/or clear aloe gel, and give your skin a couple days to heal before you do anything else.  Also if you experience the horrendous level of scalp scraping you have stated then you may have to switch to shaving every other day or even every third day.  I get being self conscious about not having a smooth shiny dome daily but wouldn't you be more self conscious about looking like you took a cheese grater to your head everyday?

I hope none of this comes across as rude or anything, as I have only the best intentions in mind, but I honestly feel like if you read your initial post over again aloud then I think you will see where your irritation issue is coming from.

I also have very long thick curly hair, am bald by choice, and am prone to serious hospital worthy ingrown hairs and infections and irritation... I typically use a headblade with personna twin blade carts on my head, de razor on my face, good brush and soap/cream, and a two pass shave w/ touch ups all around followed by cold rinse, witch hazel, and aftershave of the day. Since I started this routine I have reduced my irritation and ingrowns by 80%+ and infection by 100%.

[Semi-Sly]

 I am currently in barber school and you're getting a lot of great advice from these guys
 So much to me cents worth is basically repackaging some of what they've already said

 First it is true that there are some people skills are so sensitive that shaving is not an option I even have people when I give them a regular haircut I have to be very very careful when I clean up their necks.   In the end it turned out that you're just one of those people and if so zero buzz cut is absolutely acceptable and will look great on you .

 Second the guys are right .  Doing both the electric shave and the blade shave end to end really is an assault on your scalp.  And each type of shape is meant to be done in different conditions .  A blade shave is best done when  the scalp Has been steamed and the hairs have been softened with hot water and lather,  such as right after a good hot shower .   Electric shaving should be done when the  scalp is clean and very dry.   If the scalp is moist the foils of  The electric razor are going to stick to it and they're going to pull on the skin.  Further, the  blades are going to have a tougher time cutting those soft thick wet hairs.   So in essence the electric razor is going to be grabbing those thick wet hairs and yanking on them before either cutting them or simply pulling them out of your scalp! 

  I also learned a little trick at  school which helps when using  using a foil razor or even a really  close Clipper blade like a 00000 blade on the scalp.   We dust the  scalp a win little bit of Barber's powder.   This dries  the cutting area and also allows the foil or the blade to slide along head Using  The tiny bits of powder as if they were ball bearings.   The foil goes much more smoothly it does not pull the scalp and it cuts much better .   Of course some people ate also sensitive to powder getting into thei pores and causing its own irrritation.   So if you were one of those people it would behoove you to wash your head after word and then, like the guys have said,  instead of using an alcohol-based aftershave use something like witch hazel which is a natural anti-inflammatory.

 I hope this helps and it's a great thing that you're asking questions why don't you post a photo of yourself so we can see how you look with the zero buzz?

[SlyCatCrossing]

Thanks for the additional input semi-sly! Well said

[Hauser_2]

Thank you for all the information guys! I will definitely and put some of it into practice. I'm determined to have the Sly look - really rather hate my widows peak..as a 26-year-old I think it ages me, even on a very close crop, and I hate that shadow, and when I go out for drinks there's always one woman who wants to rub my head if it is slick.

SlyCatCrossing: I think I will invest in a Headblade to see if I see an improvement. What are the benefits over a cartridge blade? Less drag? I cut myself to pieces with the Merkur (fine to shave face with) and wouldn't want the same thing to happen again. I will also buy witch hazel to replace the Snake Bite.

Semi-Sly: I will attempt the Panasonic on a dry scalp (SlyCatCrossing also mentioned to do this). I was under the impression this might agitate the skin, or I would at least encounter significant drag. I don't mind shaving with the Panasonic (especially if I don't have time for a wet shave), it does a fine job (tricky around the ears, hence the touch up with the cartridge blade). I will also be a bit more diligent and press down more lightly and move against the specific way the hair grows (currently just chucking it all over in any old direction, probably quite viciously).   

Again thank you for the wisdom everyone, sorry I took so long to get back to you. I will report back to let you know if there is much improvement.

 

[SlyCatCrossing]

The headblade is still a cartridge based razor system however the advantage it gives over a traditional stick razor is it allows you to have even pressure distribution over your entire head.  With a stick razor it can be very difficult to have even pressure distribution which is why some spots will be smooth, some spots will have stubble, and some spots have irrititation.  It's the even pressure distribution that makes the headblade a better tool then a standard stick razor.

As for the safety razor, I have and love them but don't often use them on my head because even with perfect technique and no irritation it still takes way too long to shave your head.

If you really do want to go with an electric, which is totally fine, try a light dusting of powder in your head as a "pre shave" it sounds weird but is an old school barber trick that allows for closer shaves from an electric with less irritation.  If you do this before you shower you won't have areas to clean up but you will have to brush out your electric each time.  Any powder will do: plain talc, cornstarch, Pinuad barbers talc, or even gold bond (nice menthol kick too!)