New to shaving, need a few tips and guideline rules

[YoungOnline]

Hey all,

I'm new to shaving, been doing it for about 5 months now. I'm black so I have naturally curly hair. I've used a headblade and their products, bic razors, I currently use a gillette fusion proglide power and I have a wilkinson sword (schick to americans and others) hydro 5 coming this week.

Now, I get folliculitis (little white pimples and the annoying scabs), but only really on the side of my head, never on the top and sometimes on the back, but the back is usually minor.

I've tried different shaving techniques but I can't seem to beat the folliculitis. I recently started wiping down with witch hazel + tea tree oil cleanser after a shave and then moisturize with an aloe vera lotion. Since then the problem hasn't been as bad but it's still there. I'm not sure if this is just my head getting used to razer blade shaving (as opposed to 17 years of the barbershop) or if it's just me doing something wrong.

Any help greatly appreciated. I'm a sexy bald and I hate having hair, so the sooner I can get this down correctly and tan my head to match the shade of my face the better.

[schro]

Welcome!
That's interesting you're still dealing with a condition like that after 5 months of shaving. When I was dealing with sebhoerric dermatitis, the affliction died down after a week or so. Have you been shaving your head for 5 months also?

[Mikekoz13]

Welcome to the Forum! It's great to have you as part of the SBG Family.

My first advice would be that if you are shaving against the grain, try stopping that for a week or so to see if that helps. Also, sounds a little to me like you may be going overboard with what you're putting on your head. For me, less is more. So try cutting back on the number of products you use.
Also, you could try using Apricot Scrub as an exfoliant. There  are a lot of threads that mention this. Just search it up.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[YoungOnline]

Schro,

Over the 5 months I've had to stop shaving and let my hair grow out for the folliculitis to clear, but it would just come back the next time i shaved.

--

Mikekoz13,

Shaving with the grain, like many have stated, doesn't really do as good a job as going against the grain does. As for products, I try new products to see which works best, but never altogether. The headblade products are what i started with in february. but recently I've moved to gillette products (shaver and shaving gel). I'll order some apricot scrub and see if that changes anything.

[jimbo48]

You might want to stop shaving for a few days and let your scalp clear up.  Then try shaving with an electric shaver.  That might work.

[YoungOnline]

Do electric shavers get anywhere near as close as straight razors do?

[Tyler]

Try the scrub mentioned above.  Also, ditch the gilette gel and try to find some shaving oil from King of Shaves or another company.

[YoungOnline]

Cheers Tyler, just put the order in. Hopefully this gets sorted.

[-Doug-]

Tyler beat me to the shave oil suggestion I would also suggest that you try KoS shave gels. I had a similar situation when I use HeadSlick. I am a die heard HeadBlader and I love most of their products but I think the menthol in their cream irritated my head so I tried the KoS and the problem cleared up in a day or two.

Some just making a liitle change in your shave routine an make all the difference.

[YoungOnline]

Nice one Doug. Yea when I used the headslick my head looked like an ice-covered mountain range for a microscopic nation. It probably didn't help that I attempted to use a headblade when I first start shaving...

[jimbo48]

I have been using the Conair Cleanhead electric shaver for 6 months.  It shaves my head slick and smoothe without bumps or cuts or razor burn.  It costs less than $30 and keeps you sly at minimum cost.

[Laser Man]

I use a Panasonic shaver (wet shave with HeadSlick) then re-lather and do the HeadBlade against the grain on the top and back.  The Panasonic lets me get really smooth on the sides without bumps or razor burn.  The HeadBlade finishes off any strays left on top and sides for a super smooth finish. 

The Panasonics are a little pricey but shave close.  Amazon carries a good selection.