Can wet shaving help reduce acne?

If you are in your teens, your 20s, or your late years, you probably would have dealt with acne at some point in your life. In fact, you might still be dealing with it now and that’s okay.

Acne is a skin problem that is usually difficult to deal with and it can also be painful, persistent, and outright ugly. For different people, acne hits differently. There are certain people that only experience minor breakouts that occur periodically, while other people experience severe acne breakouts such as cystic acne, which is very difficult to get rid of because cystic acne tends to leave unsightly scars. Severe acne breakouts are often quite difficult to treat and may require prescriptions from a dermatologist or a medical professional.

Can wet shaving help reduce acne?

It is not likely that anything other than medication will be effective in treating acne. But wet shaving can still help to provide a good way of maintaining healthy skin. When you manage your skin properly, it is only natural that your face begins to look and even feel fresh and healthy.

Now regardless of your age or how severe your acne turns out to be, trying to shave an acne-prone skin can be really frustrating. But not to worry, in this article, we have taken out time to provide you with some essential tips on how to handle shaving with acne. Do you want to know how wet shaving can reduce acne? Do you need tips on how to go about it and other methods to apply? Don’t look too far, instead just follow closely-the rest of this article.

Contents

Tips on how to shave with acne
- Before You Shave
- During And After Your Shave
How Wet Shaving Can Help Reduce Acne (if carried out correctly)
Conclusion

Tips on how to shave with acne

Before You Shave

Before you begin to shave, the are some steps or procedures that you should carry out. Not only will they help make shaving easier, but it will be more effective.

1. Exfoliate First.

As mentioned above, every shaving routine requires some sort of preparation. However, if you are shaving with acne, then there are some additional steps and care that you should follow. Usually, acne breakouts occur as a result of the buildup of dirt and oil in the pores of the skin, while shaving is the process of applying shaving cream, shave soaps or gel to the face, which in the long run only clogs the pores further. Hence, before your shave, it is very necessary to exfoliate thoroughly to get rid of dead cells or dirt that may have clogged the pores. This will not only help clean out your pores, but it will also prevent further growth of bacteria on your skin.

There is a bright side to this actually- there are several brands and types of cleansing products available on the market and different online stores. However, you may need to try out a few of them to find out which one works best for you. Once you can find the product you like, ensure you make it a part of your wet shaving routine and use it at least once a day.

2. Don’t Pop it.

It is safe to assume that when most people find a pimple, it is almost an immediate instinct to try to pop it. Now, this does more harm than good, because not only does it cause redness and inflammation from the constant pressure of trying to pop it, it also spreads bacteria all over the skin, which leads to more breakouts and damage to the skin.

3. Pre-Shave Preparation.

Some men have gotten used to applying a pre-shave oil before their shave. What a pre-shave oil does is that it allows the razor to glide smoothly across the skin, which in turn reduces pressure and friction on your skin. It is important to know that the more pressure and friction caused by shaving, the more prone you are to breakouts. So make sure you give a pre-shave oil a try to see how it can reduce acne breakouts and improve your overall shave.

4. Lather Up.

By preparing a good lather (using your shaving soap and some water), you can actually improve acne. Just like your pre-shave oils work, shaving cream or gel products usually create lather which helps the razor to glide smoothly across the skin. This will definitely reduce the probability of irritation on your skin and prevent acne from worsening. Apart from shave creams and gels, you can also use a shaving soap that has Vitamin E and glycerin to help soothe the skin and ultimately reduce acne. However, try to reduce the usage of many products that contain glycerin as this can dry out skin, hence making shaving even more painful and uncomfortable. If this occurs, make sure you use moisturizers.

5. Use the Right Razor.

Now, this is a very important one. The type of shaver you use can either help reduce or worsen acne. For instance, using a modern multi-blade razor isn’t always the best idea if you are suffering from acne. Using these types of blades and razors can cause irritation, outbreak of pimples, and even spread bacteria across the skin. Therefore it is important to avoid using razors that have more than two blades.

During And After Your Shave

Since you have prepared your skin for a shave, you need to be cautious when shaving. Here are since tips to consider when you’re shaving with acne:

Avoid passing the razor over areas with pimples
Shave with the grain
Reduce pressure that you put on the razor

These above tips are simple methods that can help improve your shave as well as the way your skin looks and feel. After your shave, there are some things that you should do also.

Rinse the razor blade with rubbing alcohol right after you finish your shave
Try to use an alum block on your skin
Make use of a cleanser that contains benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid.

Of course, no shaving is as enjoyable if you are dealing with acne. And depending on how severe your acne is, shaving might not be a complete cure to it, but how you shave before, during, and after, can definitely help improve it.

This may seem odd but another way to improve your skin and reduce the incidence of acne breakouts is to consider shaving less often. For a lot of people, this may or may not be an option, but if you can try to go a few days without shaving, and grow out a little scruff, then this can help improve your skin.

Most importantly, if you are dealing with severe acne, then it may be important for you to consider paying a visit to your skin physician or even a dermatologist for a prescription.

How Wet Shaving Can Help Reduce Acne (if carried out correctly)

You may have heard that shaving often increases the outbreak of acne. That’s not totally wrong, but the best way to combat this is to take a more careful approach to wet shaving and also develop a consistent shaving habit. If you take your time when shaving and if you allow the experience to be more of a pleasure than a regular chore, you will definitely notice the effects for a smooth and good looking skin.

Another important step to any acne routine is having a great moisturizer. A moisturizer does several important things, of which include

Stopping the oil glands of the face from secreting excess oil- because it rehydrates your face after washing it
It wouldn’t clog pores (non-comedogenic)
Ideally, your moisturizer should have an acne busting ingredient.

Another usual cause of acne on the facial area is razor burn, which can be unsightly in its own right. However, you can actually prevent razor burn as well as acne by making sure you shave every day and in the right way. This will mean that your skin (and facial hair) is much easier to maintain.

So, make sure you take out enough time in a day to shave, especially after a shower which is when the skin is less sensitive. You can easily do this by getting into the habit of using hot water and steam to first soften the hairs, then massaging lather onto the face. If you are someone with particularly sensitive skin, this will provide your skin with the right amount of moisture it needs, which ultimately helps to reduce and keep acne away.

In summary, acne is a common part of growing up, affecting about 94 percent of teenagers. For many men, this skin condition often continues into adulthood. Now for those that have severe cases, it is not likely that anything other than medication will be of use in treating acne, but wet shaving can still help to provide a good way of maintaining healthy skin. When you manage your skin properly, it is only natural that your face begins to look and even feel fresh and healthy.

The formation or outbreak of acne, which is usually as a result of blockages in pores and follicles, can be made much worse when the skin is left oily and clogged with dead skin cells. So a healthy habit is very much advised, as well as the practice of wet shaving.