Chest Shaving
Shaving irritation on your chest is unsightly and uncomfortable. If you are prone to it, part of the reason may be how you're shaving. Chest shaving follows similar rules to any other sort of shaving. Luckily, the skin on chests is usually a little tougher than, say, armpits so solving chest shaving irritation should be relatively easy.
How to Shave Your Chest
First-time shavers, remember to trim the hair down as short as you can - preferably with an electric hair trimmer, but a careful, thorough job with scissors will suffice.
Wash with antibacterial soap. This simple but ultra-important move does three things: 1) It removes anything that might irritate freshly shaved skin (like moisturizer, sunscreen, etc.). 2) It cleanses the area of bacteria that can infect cuts and ingrown hairs, and 3) It moistens the hair. You may not think it possible, but the sharp, brittle hairs on your chest are very absorbent. If you shave in the shower or bath (a good idea), wait for a little while for the hairs to absorb as much moisture as possible. This will result in the hair coming off easier and cleaner, which means less irritation and a lower likelihood of ingrown hairs.
Chest Shaving and Irritation
Remember to always use shaving cream or gel and be sure to work it into the hair a little before you start to shave. Try leaving the cream sitting there for a few minutes to really soften the hair. Another step to avoid irritation when chest shaving is by trying to shave with the grain of the hair.
Also, you should replace your razor’s blades as soon as they start to dull. Depending on the roughness of the hair being shaved, the blades should be replaced after as few as 2 shaves to as many as 8 shaves, and no more. When you shave it's not just hair coming of, but a thin layer of skin (which is why skin can get irritated). A dull blade doesn't let that skin come off cleanly, so you must make sure to only use sharp blades when chest shaving.
When you're done shaving, rinse with warm, not hot (hot water doesn't kill bacteria unless it's SUPER hot - too hot to tolerate for more than a couple of seconds) water to get all hair and gunk off, then, and this is important, rinse with cold water. This part sucks - it's very cold, however, it helps close your pores quickly thus protecting them from damage and irritation. Gently pat dry.
Do not apply aftershave or anything like that to your chest - it will not help with irritation. Do, however, apply moisturizer - a high quality, preferably unscented one. 100% Aloe vera gel is a favorite for calming irritated skin as well as moisturizing.
Following these tips will take the irritation out of chest shaving.