Free Shipping + 30 Day Money Back Guarantee

Magazine

The Effects Shaving Everyday Has on Skin

author
Posted by

Brian Melville

Shaving is an essential part of many men’s grooming regimens starting from a young age.

For those who prefer a clean-shaven look over a full mustache or beard, the intention of removing facial hair is usually to maintain or improve their appearance. So what happens when you shave too often and get the opposite results?

Though not often discussed, there are dangers to shaving too often. Applying a blade to your face daily without taking additional safety precautions increases the likelihood of you removing stubble… and the top layer of your skin. Yes, really.

In some instances, removing these dead skin cells is helpful. However, when you do this excessively, it may lead to the over-exfoliation of your skin, resulting in ingrown hairs and razor burn.

Knowing all of this, how often should you shave? Today, Particle will explain the safest way to remove your facial hair, as well as tips and tricks for keeping skin looking healthy so you can stay looking handsome, whether you shave every day, just a few times a week, or when your girlfriend forces you to.

How To Safely Shave Every Few Days

Shaving too often poses the risk of irritation. Not everyone has the liberty to avoid shaving every day, but for those who do, instead of shaving your facial hair every day, you should shave every two to three days.

Although you are aware of the health benefits of shaving less frequently, you may have some understandable concerns about your appearance on the days that you are not shaving. It is possible to take better care of your skin without sacrificing confidence.

We have compiled a couple of valuable tips to help you stay looking fresh even on days when you skip the razor routine.

Use Beard Oil

Part of maintaining a healthy complexion with or without facial hair is keeping your skin moisturized. When you shave every day, moisturizing can be a straightforward process. However, moisturizing when you have bare skin patches and areas covered in facial hair can require a little more effort.

To keep your skin feeling and looking nourished on the days that you’re not shaving, you can use beard oil to moisturize your facial hair and the skin that it covers. Beard oil is more easily absorbed through facial hair and into your skin.

The benefits of using beard oil include keeping your skin looking radiant, doubling as a styling agent, and softening your facial hair (in turn preparing it for when it is time to shave).

We suggest Particle Beard Oil to help reduce the itching and irritation that sometimes accompanies beard growth. Our oil consists of a blend of 100% natural oils that include apricot oil, jojoba oil, and avocado oil. Together, these ingredients work to nurture a fresh and well-groomed look that will keep you looking clean you until your next shave.

After washing your face, apply your beard oil. Your pores should still be open from the wash, allowing them to absorb the oil better. Spread three to four drops of product onto your palms and fingertips. Then, massage the oil into your beard.

You can safely use beard ol in the morning and at night as long as you are not using too much product — just a few drops is more than enough for most beards!

Comb Your Hair

Combing the minimal facial hair that grows between shaving days can do a lot to make for a sharp appearance. A comb should be enough to keep your beard looking groomed; however, a brush is usually a better option for men with rapidly growing facial hair or naturally thick hair.

In addition to using your comb or brush to spread your beard oil evenly, you can also use these tools to spread your skin’s natural oils.

Our bodies naturally lubricate themselves with sebaceous glands. Sebaceous glands produce sebum which can help soften both skin and hair.

To avoid sebum getting trapped between your facial hair, you can brush your beard and spread this natural oil throughout. Combing may even help avoid the development of unwanted dandruff on the skin below your facial hair.

Finally, combing your facial hair is a direct way for you to keep up with your appearance. Brushing will eventually train your facial hair to grow in the direction that you want it to, making future styling even easier for you to accomplish. For the days when your facial hair is visible on your skin, use your comb or brush to keep stray hairs in place.

How To Safely Shave Daily

Whether your motivations are work or play, if you don’t have the luxury of prolonging shaving, there are ways for you to improve your shaving experience and minimize the chance of harming your skin.

Exfoliate Your Skin

Before you shave, gently exfoliating the skin beneath your facial hair may make it easier to remove the hair by eliminating excess sebum and dead skin cells from your epidermis. When left on this skin, all of this buildup can clog your hair follicles, increasing the chances of acne and ingrown hairs, as well as making it more difficult to remove hair safely.

There are two methods of exfoliation that you can choose from. The first is mechanical exfoliation, which uses tools like gloves, sponges, and brushes to physically buff away unwanted substances. The second is chemical exfoliation, which uses chemical solutions to dissolve the build-up of grime resting on your skin and pores.

While you are welcome to use either method of exfoliation, we suggest that you employ chemical exfoliation if you are shaving every day. Chemical exfoliation is the gentler method between the two — because shaving exfoliates the skin to a certain degree, any additional exfoliating should be mild and minimal.

Chemical exfoliation is best for sensitive skin, too, whether it is sensitive by nature or is just extra sensitive because of excessive shaving. A chemical exfoliant with glycolic or salicylic acids can increase cell turnover, which will help your skin to recover from the wear and tear that comes with everyday life and shaving daily.

Keep Your Razor Clean

We have already established that the more times a blade crosses your skin, the more likely your skin is to accrue damage. Therefore, if you are not going to limit how often you shave to a few times a week, you should limit the number of times your razor touches your skin.

The simplest way to do this is to keep your razor clean and sharp. A dull razor will often have to cross over the same area of skin more than once to remove your facial hair effectively. Shaving over the same spot increases the likelihood of cuts, infection, and irritation.

Use warm water to open up your hair follicles without removing natural and necessary oils when shaving. Allowing your facial hair to soak in this warm water before shaving will minimize the chances of the hair growing back with sharp edges that can irritate the skin.

It is safest to shave in the direction that your hair naturally grows (i.e. with the grain). Doing so will reduce irritation to the skin. Remember to rinse out the collected hair from your razor between every stroke. When left in the blade, this hair can cause the razor to become dull.

Moisturize After Shaving

Perhaps the most effective method for maintaining frequently shaved skin is keeping it moisturized. It is common for men to lose moisture in their skin when shaving, which is why your skin can benefit from the additional hydration that a quality face cream can provide following a shave.

With Particle Face Cream, you don’t need a multi-step skincare routine — we make life easy with just one product. Our face cream is a 6-in-1 anti-aging cream for men that uses cutting-edge technology to fight eye bags, dark spots, and wrinkles. One of its key features is the ability to soothe the skin after shaving by moisturizing and nourishing the skin with Dead Sea minerals.

After rinsing your face clean of any remaining shaving gel, you can apply your face cream. Massage a dime-sized amount of Particle Face Cream into your forehead, cheeks, nose, chin, and under-eyes. Apply a thin layer over your entire face every morning and every night.

Conclusion

Your top priority should always be to put your skin’s health first. While it is undeniably better for you to give your skin an occasional break, there are several different ways you can nourish frequently shaved skin.

If shaving less is not possible for you, try employing other methods for supporting your skin through being groomed so often, such as using a face cream containing high-grade ingredients twice a day.

For more tips on keeping your skin healthy, check out the Particle blog here.

Sources:

The hair follicle as a dynamic miniorgan | PubMed

How to safely exfoliate at home | AAD

Seborrheic Dermatitis and Dandruff: A Comprehensive Review | PubMed