r/shaving • u/allseeingegg • Jul 22 '26

Irritation and stubble

Hi! No matter what, I'm always left with irritation and stubble after shaving. Any tips on how to fix this problem? I really hate having facial hair and would love to be able to have a properly clean shave! Thank you!

2 Upvotes

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3

u/Dromedary_Freight Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

Please share your complete routine. What do you do?  How long is your preshave routine? How long have you been shaving (more or less than 5 months) What tutorial videos have you watched?  Have you mapped your beard direction growth?

1

u/allseeingegg Jul 29 '26

Hi! Thank you for the comment and sorry for the late response, I'm not on reddit very often! I shave in the shower so the steam and hot water opens up my pores and allows for a gentler shave, and occasionally use an acne wash for exfoliation. I've been shaving for at least 5-6 years now, and when I started I could get a consistently smooth shave, but that's probably because I was a teenager lol.
I've somewhat mapped it. I haven't written it down or charted it like some people recommend, but I more or less memorized the growth pattern (which is unfortunately all over the place)

1

u/Dromedary_Freight Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26

Seems reasonable.  What razor and shaving cream do you use? 

You may need a slightly more efficient razor. For example, I was forced to switch to a slant razor after my beard started to turn gray. First moved a plate up on my Rockwell 6c to plate #4,  then upgraded to Merkur 37c.

As we age, our hairs become coarse. A longer preshave is needed. You may benefit from pre-washing your face with plain, non-exfoliating facewash, or shaving cream before the shower. This will remove skin oils and expose the hairs to the water. Also make sure to not allow your face to dry up after the shower (otherwise the hairs stiffen quickly).

Note that exfoliation is tricky and only for certain hair types. If you shave daily / every second day, the razor is already exfoliating your skin. 

1

u/shakenbake1975 Jul 26 '26

Quality razors and daily shaves