How To Prevent Razor Bumps
A surprising number of people who want to know just how to prevent razor bumps don't know the proper answer to the age old question when it comes to shaving: Should I shave with or against the grain?. ‘The grain’ refers to what direction your hair is growing. For example: The hair above the lip grows somewhat downward, toward the lip; it feels sharper when you rub your finger starting from the lip moving toward the nose – this is against the grain.
There are many razor companies out there that will advertise that their
product works well both with and against the grain, so it's not all
that surprising that just not everyone knows.
Shaving Against the Grain:
When you shave against the grain, you will get a much closer
shave.
In many cases, far too close of a shave. What is likely to happen when
you shave against the grain is that you’ll end up cutting the
hair down far below skin level, and this is a big problem.
Hair is unfortunately not very smart. If your hair is curly, chances
are you've had a razor bump (ingrown hair). These nastily little red
bumps, which can become infected and pus filled, occur when hair either
curls in upon itself and grows downward into it's own follicle, or when
the hair curls and enters a neighboring follicle.
Ingrown hairs look similar to newly forming pimples, but produce a
sharp pain should you stretch the skin in a certain way.
Shaving With the Grain:
Shaving with the grain, as you might have been able to infer
from
the section on shaving against the grain, is the way to go. You still
get a close shave, and if done carefully, you run little to no risk of
developing an ingrown hair.
Yet again, this little tip is something that just not everybody knows
and can easily clear up nasty ingrown hairs permanently. It can take a
little while, sometimes weeks, for ingrown hairs to heal completely,
and shaving over them will only serve to irritate them more and
increase the likelihood of infection, so avoid doing that if you can.
If you're not satisfied with the closeness of your shave when shaving
solely with the grain, try a second pass shaving across (not against,
but at a 90 degree angle to) the grain. Remember to lather on more
shaving cream before doing this. Shaving across the grain will get you
a closer shave with much less irritation than shaving against the grain.
All in all, if you shave with, and perhaps across, the grain
you’ll still get a great shave and drastically lower your
chances
at developing ingrown hairs and irritation. This tip, used in
conjunction with other information found on this site will truly have
you kissing razor bumps and irritation goodbye forever as it is perhaps
the most important aspect of learning how to prevent razor bumps and
razor burn.