What are the best ways to treat and prevent razor burn? Our guide outlines the causes, how to treat them and how to stop it happening again.
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Inflammation, irritated skin and red spots after shaving: no matter how thoroughly you shave, take precautions and care, the skin often reacts very irritated and burns. And in summer the hair grows particularly quickly, so that regular shaving can hardly be avoided. So what to do with razor burn? We have put together 10 tips for you on how you can use simple tricks or home remedies to prevent annoying skin irritation. We hope you enjoy reading!
What is razor burn?
In order to avoid razor burn, it is first important to clarify the following questions: What is razor burn and how can it develop? The annoying burn after a fresh shave is caused by the irritated, roughened, burning skin. The fault is usually the wrong shaving technique. In worse cases, this can even cause hair roots to become inflamed or so-called razor pimples. The rubbing of the blade on the sensitive skin removes flakes of skin from the top layer of skin, which are actually responsible for protecting the skin. Thanks to the light, almost invisible cuts, bacteria easily penetrate the skin and cause inflammation.
Best ways to treat and prevent razor burn
5 tips against the pain
Tip 1: Chilled aloe vera gel has a calming effect on irritated skin and can help with razor burn.
Tip 2: If your skin is severely irritated, you should first wait until the next shave until the skin has calmed down again.
Tip 3: You can dab the affected areas with chamomile tea and a washcloth. Chamomile has a soothing, antibacterial effect on the skin and is also used for skin irritation on the face. Simply brew chamomile tea, let it cool and add the washcloth to the tea.
Tip 4: Baby powder can also help reduce inflammation and promote healing. However, if your skin is too dry, you should take other measures, as baby powder has a drying effect.
Tip 5: Wear loose clothing as possible so as not to irritate the skin unnecessarily.
Preventing razor burn – Shaving properly
Step 1: careful skin care
Very important: Prepare the skin for the shave by cleaning the affected areas with a mild detergent and lukewarm water.
Step 2: preparation
Before you shave, you can also clean the affected area by using an exfoliator that can remove dead skin or sebum. The best thing to do is to use a gentle peeling brush, rub the mass in a circular motion on the affected areas and rinse them off with clear water. Before you start shaving, you should also make sure that the razor blade is sharp to avoid painful scratches.
Step 3: shave properly
When shaving wet, be sure to use shaving foam or gel so that the blade can slide on the skin without cutting into it. With shaving foam, the razor can glide easily over sensitive skin and the blades do not clog easily. If there is no shaving foam around, you can also use olive oil. Electric razors are often the better choice for a gentle, fast shave.
Shaving legs properly: When shaving legs, you should shave against the direction of growth and repeatedly pull the razor from the ankle to the knee with light pressure. For a close shave, go over your legs again with your razor in the direction of hair growth.
Shave armpits properly: Here you stretch your arm far up and back and walk with your razor from top to bottom, from bottom to top or across from both sides until you have caught all the hairs.
Step 4: proper care afterwards
After shaving, the skin is often very irritated by small micro-injuries and needs careful care: You can use moisturizing creams or give your skin another cold shower after the shave. Important: Do not rub the skin with a towel after shaving, but dab it gently.
