Razor burns are no joke and almost everyone who shaves regularly experiences it at some point. You may have switched to an electric razor from a manual one in the hopes of getting rid of this problem. But that hasn’t worked out, has it?
The thing is, even though electric razors cause comparatively less skin troubles than manual razors, you can still get razor burns and bumps from them.
How? Your shaving technique could be wrong, the foil and the blade on your shaver might have worn out, your skin might be too sensitive. There could be several reasons why you feel a sharp burning sensation combined with rashes after shaving.
In this detailed guide, I am going to list all those reasons as well as effective solutions to help you say goodbye to razor bumps for good.
Stick around.
Table Of Contents
Demystifying Razors Burns – How Do Electric Razors Cause Razor Burns
Razor burns from electric razors could be due to a faulty razor or poor shaving technique. Often, it’s the combination of both or some other external factor. Below, we will try to figure out what factors are contributing to razor-induced inflammation.
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Aggressive Shaving
The most common reason could be that you are pressing the shaving head too hard against your skin to get a clean shave. When you press too hard, the skin tissues surrounding your hair shafts get stuck into the small holes of the razor foil.
This exposes a small part of your skin directly to the moving blades, causing scraping which leads to a burning sensation.
Electric razors are designed to remove hair with one pass. If the razor is working just the way it’s meant to, you won’t need to make repeated passes on the same area over and over again.
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Worn-out Foils and Dull Blades
The foil and cutter on foil electric shavers typically last for 18 months. If you have a thick and tough growth and you shave daily, you may have to replace them even sooner.
The occurrence of razor burns, despite a thorough skin prep routine and good shaving technique, might be an indication of worn-out foil and cutter.
If you continue to shave with a dull shaving head, you will inevitably make repeated strokes on the same area. And we all know how our skin hates it.
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Your Shaver Isn’t Clean Enough
When you shave, you don’t just remove hair but also millions of your skin cells. These skin cells, along with hair trimmings, pre-shave oil, and shaving cream can clog the blades. This drastically affects the speed and power of your electric razor. Also, skin cells and grime build-up inside the shaver head can lead to bacteria growth.
So if you don’t clean your razor thoroughly, it can cause bacterial infection, severe itching, skin tenderness, and inflammation.
How to Make Electric Razor Burn Go Away – Methods That Really Work!
Minor razor burns are not that difficult to get rid of, you know? However, before I go on talking about the solutions, here’s a friendly reminder:
Some of us have ultra-sensitive skin and if your razor burns are triggering bigger problems such as severe skin flaking or eczema, you should see a skin specialist first.
With that being said, most of the time, the electric razor burn will subdue after a good while. To stop it from coming back the next time you shave, you can do one or more of the following things:
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Prep Your Skin
Yes, I do understand time is money and it’s important for you to show up for work on time. But spending 5 extra minutes on taking care of your skin before shaving will pay off.
Wash your face with warm water or simply take a hot shower to open up your skin pores and soften up your hair. Follow it up with gentle exfoliation using a mild facial scrub.
Exfoliating will remove the dead skin cells and expose the ingrown hair buried underneath so that your razor can cut them off easily.
If you are going for a dry shave, make sure to use a pre-shave oil after towel drying your face. I would recommend a pre-shave containing aloe vera or tea tree oil for their cooling and germ-fighting properties.
Not just that, a pre-shave oil or lotion provides an added layer of lubrication, allowing the blade to glide without hiccups.
If you have a long beard and often experience tugging or pulling while shaving, a pre-shave should definitely be a part of your shaving routine.
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Trim Your Beard
Tugging and pulling is kind of inevitable if you are using a foil shaver to clean-shave long and dense hair. Not all razors can effectively trim and shave at the same time.
So trimming your beard short with a scissor or clipper would make it easier for the cutter to do its work. Consequently, you won’t have to shave the same area multiple times to achieve baby butt-cheek smooth skin.
This also means your shaving time will be significantly cut short. If you are planning to buy a new electric razor anyway, I’d suggest looking for a model with a built-in pop-up trimmer.
It will save you the hassle of using two tools during an ongoing shaving ritual.
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Clean and Grease Your Razor
It’s important to clean the shaving head before and after shaving to keep the cutter in good condition. Although a quick rinse is fine for daily use, deep clean the blades at least 2-3 times a month using liquid soap and warm water.
Then wait until it air dries completely. Follow it up by pouring 2-3 drops of lubricating white oil on the blades. Turn the device on and keep it running for a few seconds to properly spread the oil. That’s it.
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Sterilize the Razor
The skin tenderness, burning sensation, bumps, and ceaseless itching could well be the symptoms of bacteria infection. You can totally get bacteria infection from both manual and electric razors.
Jock itch, which is a type of fungal infection, and Folliculitis barbae (caused by Staph bacteria) are the two most common skin infections an unsterilized razor can cause.
You see, when you shave, the blades leave microscopic tears on your skin which allow these bacteria and germs to make their way in. To prevent this from happening, apart from treating your skin, you will also have to eliminate the organisms from the razor surface.
The easiest way to do this would be disassembling the razor and applying a disinfectant spray on them. For professional barbers and hairstylists, I would highly recommend getting a UV sterilizer box where you can put all the disassembled razor components and UV treat them.
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Choose Wet Shaving over Dry Shaving
Dry shaving increases the friction between the razor blade and your skin, which is a one-way ticket to skin irritation. Although dry shaving is safe for people with normal to moderately sensitive skin, if you have a super sensitive skin, stick to wet shaving.
Of course, you need to own a wet/dry shaver for this, which is my favorite kind of electric razor. A glycerin-based shaving cream, gel, or foam is particularly great for sensitive skin.
Lather it up well using a quality shaving brush. Make sure to cover the skin beneath the hair growth as well.
The layer lubricates and softens the hair, allowing the razor to lift and cut easily, Additionally, it creates a layer of protection between the sharp blade and your skin to minimize skin irritation.
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Don’t Skip the Aftercare Ritual
A lot of people don’t take post-shaving skincare seriously and that’s when things begin to go wrong.
Dragging a sharp blade on the skin shaves off some of our skin cells as well, leaving the skin surface dry. Moreover, as previously discussed, the blade creates microscopic tears on the skin while shaving.
That’s why you should always wash the shaved area immediately with cold water followed by the application of an aftershave or post-shave balm.
The cold water shocks the freshly shaved skin and closes the pores while the post-shave balm moisturizes the skin.
I personally prefer post-shave balm enriched with shea butter and essential oils. However, if you love the smell of aftershave, use it by all means. Aftershave is an amazing disinfectant, preventing minor cuts from turning into something serious.
However, since your skin is presumably prone to razor burn, only use an alcohol-free aftershave. Alcohol can heavily dry out your skin, making the burning sensation even worse.
Choose a solution with natural ingredients such as coconut oil, tea tree oil, and vitamin-E to soothe and hydrate your skin.
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Replace the Foil and Cutter
If you own a foil shaver and it’s been over a year since you have replaced the foil head and blades, get a replacement. When these two key elements fail to reach their full potential, skin irritation is bound to happen.
And if you have decided to get a new electric razor, go for a rotary shaver this time. The shaving head on rotary shavers cut in a circular motion and flex inward.
This structural advantage allows rotary shavers to glide through difficult contours easily and capture more hair in every pass. The circular motion makes it hard to miss a spot, meaning you won’t have to shave the same area over and over.
It’s fast, it’s comfortable and most importantly, it’s the most effective type of electric razor for thick and coarse hair. So if you are blessed with a thick growth and razor burn is your nemesis, choose a rotary shaver. It’s also easier to clean than a standard foil shaver.
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Only Use Light Strokes
At the end of the day, it all boils down to your shaving technique. I have seen a lot of folks going Mad Max with their electric razors. You need to take it easy and use only light strokes.
Slowly and methodically pivot the razor around your skin in the direction of your hair growth. Shaving against the grain might yield a cleaner shave but it can also tug and pull your hair.
This constant pulling of hair creates the risk of painful ingrown hair, bumps, and itching. If you are using a worn-out or poorly designed razor, pressing and dragging the razor too hard is the only way to remove coarse, stubborn hair.
That’s why I advised you to either invest in a quality rotary shaver or replace the foil and blades in your foil shaver. The combination of good technique along with a good electric razor is most likely to keep razor burn problem at bay.
In Conclusion
Razor burns or no razor burns, you should never be shaving content with a poor shaving technique and a lousy electric razor. Shaving is an art and you need to take it seriously, even if it means spending a few extra minutes on it.
While using any or a combination of the above-mentioned tips will provide temporary relief, see a doctor if the problem seems serious to you.
