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How to quickly and effectively solve the problem of irritation after shaving on the face

 
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
 
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Shaving is a rather unpretentious process, with the bases of which every male teenager is familiar. Nevertheless, even experienced in this regard, mature men face such an unpleasant reaction of the skin as irritation after shaving on the face, which causes a lot of unpleasant sensations, and also looks quite unaesthetic.

The question that most men worried about during the shaving process is something like this: how to avoid the appearance of painful wounds and redness while getting rid of unattractive bristles? To answer it, you first need to understand what are the causes of this irritation, which provokes the appearance of such symptoms.

Causes of the irritation on face after shave

No matter how cleverly the man owned a shaving technique, there is always the possibility of irritation after manipulations in the face area. The reason for this is most often an insufficiently sharp or frankly blunt razor blade. This applies to both conventional reusable or disposable machines and electric shaving tools.

By the way, too sharp a blade of disposable machines can also leave small cuts on the skin, which sometimes inflame, forming on the face foci of redness.

Irritation after shaving may appear on the face, if during the removal of the hairs of the bristles the razor blade has gone too close to the upper layer of the epidermis. Thus, microscopic lesions on the skin can be formed. Getting infected in them can cause inflammation on the skin of the face. As a component that causes irritation, ordinary dust, oil residues on the skin, dirt remaining due to insufficient cleaning of the face before shaving, as well as improperly chosen shaving aids that does not purify, but on the contrary clog pores on the skin, can be used as an irritating agent, thereby provoking an inflammatory process.

Severe irritation after shaving on the face can be the result of a physiological process, such as ingrown hair, which is a frequent shaving companion. Frequently repeated irritation of this type, manifested as a painful acne, redness and itching, is considered a skin disease and is called "pseudofolliculitis". This disease most often affects men with curly dark stiff hairs.

Irritation after manipulation on the face may result from sensitive skin or insufficient cleaning / moisturizing of the skin in preparation for the shaving process. Repeated shaving during the day, not allowing the skin to rest, also leads to inflammation of the wound.

The cause of irritation after shaving on the face may sometimes be ignorance of the rules of procedure, when the blade is directed against the growth of hair. Perhaps such manipulations will speed up the process of shaving, and the skin will quickly achieve the desired smoothness, but on its surface it will most likely soon appear painful irritation. It will be more correct to first remove the bulk of the bristles by running the razor in the direction of hair growth or slightly sideways, and then bring the skin to smoothness by working the machine against the bristles, trying to do as little repetition as possible in one place.

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Treatment of the irritation on face after shave

In connection with the fact that irritation after removal of the bristles brings a lot of unpleasant physical and psychological sensations, many members of the stronger sex are interested in the question of how to get rid of irritation after shaving on the face, and also prevent the appearance of new foci of inflammation on the skin? The first question will help answer many special medical and cosmetic means, as well as alternative recipes to combat irritation after shaving on the face.

Choosing an effective remedy for irritation on the face, do not always be guided by information from advertising in the media or at a price. Inexpensive means with aloe vera chamomile with salicylic acid and glycerin cope with the problem of inflammation on the skin is no worse. If you have difficulty in choosing the right composition, you can ask for help from a beauty salon, a beauty salon, where hair removal is performed, or to a dermatologist.

One of the most inexpensive, but effective means to combat irritation are aspirin and salicylic acid. In this case, we are interested in their antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effects.

Salicylic acid is sold in vials in the form of 1 and 2 percent solutions. To remove irritation, only 1% of the composition, which is applied to the skin with a cotton swab.

Despite the effectiveness of this remedy, it can not be used continuously for more than a week, in addition, the daily dose of this drug for adults should not exceed 10 ml. To remove the unpleasant sensations on the skin after shaving, it is enough to wipe it with salicylic acid 2-3 times during the day.

Aspirin from irritation on the face is used in the form of a mixture of crushed tablets and glycerin (for the preparation of the composition do not use metal utensils!). This tool is recommended not just applied to the skin, but also slightly rubbed into it, leaving it completely absorbed.

Salicylic acid and aspirin are medicines, the effect of which can sometimes cause dry skin, allergic reactions and reactions of intolerance to the components. To avoid such unpleasant consequences, they can be replaced by a safer and more pleasant means, which is a normal children's cream, because it equally effectively helps both with diaper rash in children and with irritation after shaving on the face of adult men.

Such creams can contain medicinal herbal extracts of chamomile, calendula, plantain, string, which effectively fight with various kinds of injuries and irritations.

Apply baby cream on the face area should be accurate massage movements. Usually this cream is well absorbed and does not require flushing. Remove greasy shine after the cream on the face can be soaked skin with a clean cloth.

To the inexpensive means, helping to remove the irritation after shaving, you can relate and some pharmacy ointments: hydrocortisone, erythromycin, zinc, salicylic, which in medical practice is often used to treat acne and acne. The most popular of these is the hydrocortisone-based ointment, but it has one important drawback: with regular use, it is addictive, and the effect of use is markedly reduced. Prolonged use of this ointment can lead to as unpleasant consequences as skin atrophy, so it should be used only as a first aid, giving preference to cosmetics.

Pharmaceutical ointments with a pronounced antiseptic effect are recommended to be used in cases where irritation occurs on an ongoing basis, and other preventive and medical-hygienic measures do not help.

Good means for irritation after shaving are those containing benzoyl peroxide. This component can be found both in the composition of some pharmacy products from acne (Ugresol lotion, Bezacne gel, Proderm, Basiron AS, Effezel, Oxigel, Oxy, OXY-15, etc.), and in many cosmetics of well-known brands Creams, lotions, Galderma tonics, Clear, Mary Kay, etc.). These drugs have a pronounced anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effect, are not addictive, but because of the rather high prices are not available to everyone.

On the shelves of cosmetic shops you can find various means of irritation after shaving on the face, as well as shaving aids, designed to prevent the appearance of irritation on the skin, but not all of them are effective enough in this regard. Increase their effectiveness can be by adding to the drug 3-4 drops of essential oil, which has a restoring, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effect. These oils include tea tree essential oil, lavender, bergamot and others.

Any of these oils can be mixed with coconut oil and applied fairly thick on the skin after shaving for a while, and then cleaned with a dry cloth. This procedure refreshes and moisturizes the skin, and also removes various inflammations and irritations on the face after shaving.

New application of popular means

From non-specific means, used from shaving after shaving on the face and other parts of the body, one can distinguish a preparation of Ayurvedic medicine with the antiseptic cream "Boro Plus", known to many as an effective tool used for various skin lesions, including mild forms of burns, and insect bites .

The cream is generally safe if there is no allergy to any of the ingredients. It consists only of natural ingredients, therefore, like a baby cream, it is suitable for sensitive skin. Use it to relieve irritation on the skin 1-2 times a day, applying a thin layer and lightly rubbing into the skin until the symptoms disappear.

Another 2 means based on dexpanthenol, which are known to many in terms of treatment of sunburn, drugs "Pantenol" and "Bepanten". They can be found in virtually every home medicine cabinet, but not all of them know that these drugs are able to effectively combat the irritation after shaving. Nevertheless, this is so. On the effectiveness of these products in no way inferior to special means after shaving.

These are not prophylactic agents, which means they should be used when irritation is already noticeable on the skin. Apply therapeutic creams and sprays preferably at least 2 times a day to get the desired effect in a short time. Approximately the same effectiveness with irritation after shaving on the face have known ointments "Rescuer" and "Healer", as well as their variants.

Home-based recipes for irritation after shaving

If you do not have any of the above listed at your fingertips, you can use time-tested alternative means. One of these means, no matter how strange it may sound, is a baby talc on the basis of talc. After powdering the areas of irritated skin after a while, you can see that there is no trace of redness and rash.

Remove the irritation on the face after shaving will help wash with ordinary brown soap without additives. This natural cleanser has excellent cleansing and antimicrobial properties. The only condition for such prevention of irritation is a slightly longer effect of soap on the skin than with normal washing. After washing your face, do not rush to wash off soap foam from your face, let it stay on your face for a while, having an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect.

It helps in this situation and a strong broth of parsley, which is used in the form of lotions and compresses applied in a warm form to the damaged skin for 20 minutes. Parsley can be taken as fresh or dry.

Soothing effect on the skin is also famous for the decoction and infusion of chamomile flowers. If the infusion is prepared on the basis of chamomile and mint, taken in equal proportions, then the cooling effect of this agent will be noticeable.

You can wipe the irritated skin on your face with aloe vera juice mixed with vegetable oil. This remedy well prevents the appearance of foci of inflammation in the area of damaged skin.

A good prevention of inflammation on the face skin are lotions from the decoction of calendula flowers or oak bark. For their preparation, a tablespoon of the crushed raw material is boiled for about 10 minutes in a glass of water. Use chilled, pre-strain, after each shaving procedure.

To remove irritation on the face, you can wipe the skin with a slice of lemon or lemon juice, which is the strongest natural antioxidant.

Prevention

No matter how good the remedies for after shaving on the face are, they can not prevent the reddening, itching and flaking of the skin accompanying the procedure for removing the bristles. They can not prevent ingrown hair and inflammation in places with micro-scars, since they are intended to relieve the symptoms of an existing or beginning irritation.

Prevent the appearance of irritation on the skin after shaving special means for shaving, which in the range is in any store of cosmetics and household chemicals. Typically, these products contain soap, glycerin, stearin, oils, antiseptic additives, antioxidants, silicone, and sometimes vitamin E. But the whole point is that such remedies will justify their purpose only if they are selected correctly, in accordance with the type and skin features, otherwise they themselves can cause irritation after shaving with their participation.

Sometimes, in order to prevent the appearance of redness, itching and inflammation on the face, it is sufficient not to practice shaving for a while, otherwise it makes sense to neutralize the cause that causes irritation after shaving on the face, for example, to replace dull blades in the machine with sharper ones or to use disposable machines , not turning them into reusable. Reusable machines before use, preferably disinfected with alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, and after shaving, rinse thoroughly with soap and rinse with clean water.

After shaving, the face must be thoroughly rinsed with cold water or wiped with a piece of ice. A compress from a wet tissue napkin will also help. Such procedures will cool the skin, inflamed from mechanical action, and the redness will quickly come down or not appear at all.

Electric shavers knowingly enjoy great popularity among people of the older generation, because their use significantly reduces the risk of damage to the skin during shaving. The blade of the electric shaver does not touch the upper layers of the skin and does not injure them, in contrast to the machines, and therefore the shaving irritation is not observed.

The electric shaver will be irreplaceable with sensitive and problematic skin prone to inflammatory reactions, as well as on business trips and on vacation. The process of shaving with sensitive skin is better to perform in the evening, when the metabolic processes are activated, then on the morning the irritation after shaving on the face will no longer be very noticeable.

When using shaving machines, you need to monitor the sharpness of the blades, which will allow you to cut off the hairs from the first time, without traumatizing the skin with a repeated mechanical action. But even the sharpest blade does not justify shaving in a dry one. The use of shaving means improves the sliding of the razor over the skin and prevents damage to the skin layer by a dangerous razor. Soap foam in this case is not the best option, because it does not moisturize, but rather dries the skin, not greatly improving the slipping of the machine. You need to choose a good moisturizing shaving product, which contains silicone, which provides an ideal shaving razor.

The means after shaving should also have a moisturizing and calming effect, it is better if they contain extracts from medicinal plants. When dry and sensitive skin should avoid the use of lotions and tonics containing alcohol, which can cause redness on the face after shaving.

During shaving, it is advisable to use warm water, and rinse your face at the end of the cold procedure. The best option is shaving after taking a bath or shower, when the skin is steamed, and hard hairs become softer with heat. You can steam up your face on the eve of the procedure, washing yourself with hot water. The steaming will make the shaving procedure more comfortable and effective, and also help to prevent such an unpleasant process as ingrown hair.

The use of too hot water during shaving will only worsen the situation, since particles of removed hair and dead skin will get into the open pores during the procedure during the procedure, clogging them and causing inflammation.

The irritation after shaving on the face most likely will not appear, if after the procedure of shaving on still damp skin to put special soothing agents. Actively wiping the towel become sensitive to the mechanical effects of the skin can cause only additional injury to it, leading to redness and pain. Therefore, after shaving it is recommended to rinse your face with cool water and only lightly soak it with a napkin, then apply creams and lotions that prevent irritation.

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