How to Avoid Razor Burn

One of the worst parts about saving (especially if you want to be clean-shaven every day) is getting razor burn. It ruins the nice look of a cleanly shaved face or super smooth legs if there's also a rash of razor bumps.
Here are a few of the ways you can avoid razor burn.

• Make sure the razor you're using is sharp enough. Blunt razors tug at the hairs and create more friction, causing lots of skin irritation. A sharp razor will glide over the skin more easily and irritate it less.
• Don't apply too much pressure to the razor when you're shaving. A gentle shave with a sharp razor will be just as close, and will help you to stave off the razor burn.
• Use plenty or the lubricant of your choice - shaving cream, shaving gel, shaving soap - whatever works best for you, as long as you make sure to use something that cuts the friction of dry shaving. (The exception to this rule is the electric razor.)
  
• Make sure you wet the area you want to shave with plenty of very warm water. This softens up the skin and the hair and makes it easier for the two to separate. Additionally, your softened skin will have more give as the razor slides over it, making it less likely to become irritated.
  
• Don't shave too roughly or too quickly. Rushing through your shave inevitably results in slicing the tiny layers of skin off, which makes the skin painful and red.
  
• Shave in the direction of the hair's growth. This is the most gentle way to shave and will prevent the skin from becoming red because the hair has been jerked the wrong way.
  
• If you have a tendency to get razor burn, resist the urge to use irritating chemicals on your skin - perfumes, colognes, certain lotions, etc. Instead, use an aftershave cream with aloe vera or another soothing substance in it.
• Clean and dry your razor between shavings. Rinsing your razor with rubbing alcohol and then making sure you put it away dry will help your razor to remain bacteria-free and to remain sharp longer (razors that remain wet tend to oxidize and become dull more quickly.
  
• If you have frequent razor burn, using witchhazel, aloe vera, cold water, or mile salicyclic acid can help to sooth and clear it.