Member
Chester County, PA
(This post was last modified: 02-23-2023, 12:20 AM by dtownvino.)
Hi Everyone who is reading this. You probably have some form of sensitive skin or get razor burn from shaving. Trust me, I get it.
A little bit about myself. I am currently 46, of Italian descent, grow a moderate to thick beard, have naturally coarse and curly hair, and this makes me prone to skin conditions.
In particular, I have folliculitis and psoriasis. If you don’t know what these are, I’ll give you a short description of both so you don’t have to leave this post.
Folliculitis - Folliculitis is an infection or irritation in the hair follicles (from homeline.com). Think of always getting razor burn or pimples under your skin if something goes wrong.
Psoriasis - Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk and scalp (from mayoclinic.com).
Here is the problem, if my folliculitis kicks up, and I treat it, my psoriasis goes into overdrive and I’m a mess. The best way for me to treat this is to be proactive in how I approach shaving.
Now for my approach and products that help me a lot.
1.) I always wash my face first with mild soap (Cetaphil gentle to be exact).
2.) I have experimented with many soaps, Dragonsbeard Ethos Tibu Sabuni keeps my skin clear better than anything I have used. I only paint on the soap or cream, I do not drive it into my face so hard that I irritate my follicles.
3.) I use sharper blades for 2 shaves , fairly aggressive razors, clean the razor and blade in 70% rubbing alcohol for 30-60 seconds post shave and perform a 2.5 shave pass. Cheeks get the extra half pass as they can handle it.
4.) Post shave always involves a splash, which is mostly Ethos skin food with alcohol. I have no issues with alcohol based splashes.
5.) Moisturizer is a key step. It has to be gentle, 2% Hyaluronic Acid, Ethos Skin food lotion, Nivea sensitive skin post shave balm also works.
6.) Shave timing - 1.5-2 days growth is best for me. Over shaving is a problem, under shaving and my razor choice must change.
So now to the razor - I have been getting fantastic results with the Ti Blackbird Lite Blackland Razors with Nacet, Personna and GSB blades. I have others that work very well too, but this is a great choice if you need a balance of efficiency and aggressiveness without a large gap and positive blade feel.
As for the Ethos - DanLaw turned me onto Tibu and he was 100% right, his generous samples helped me hone in on the best shave cream for me.
I’m not saying other things do not work, for 20 years I used Prorasso White and had good results. Today I have great results considering my conditions and I would not have believed I could get here 2-3 years ago.
It would be good for others to share their experiences if you have sensitive skin.
A picture from todays shave February 22, 2023 with the Ti BB Lite, CC Obsidian Bowl, Rudy Vey Brush, and Ethos Tibu Sabuni. This was followed with a custom skin food splash (Ethos) and skin food lotion (Ethos).
![[Image: N2uH6uw.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/N2uH6uw.jpg)
A little bit about myself. I am currently 46, of Italian descent, grow a moderate to thick beard, have naturally coarse and curly hair, and this makes me prone to skin conditions.
In particular, I have folliculitis and psoriasis. If you don’t know what these are, I’ll give you a short description of both so you don’t have to leave this post.
Folliculitis - Folliculitis is an infection or irritation in the hair follicles (from homeline.com). Think of always getting razor burn or pimples under your skin if something goes wrong.
Psoriasis - Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk and scalp (from mayoclinic.com).
Here is the problem, if my folliculitis kicks up, and I treat it, my psoriasis goes into overdrive and I’m a mess. The best way for me to treat this is to be proactive in how I approach shaving.
Now for my approach and products that help me a lot.
1.) I always wash my face first with mild soap (Cetaphil gentle to be exact).
2.) I have experimented with many soaps, Dragonsbeard Ethos Tibu Sabuni keeps my skin clear better than anything I have used. I only paint on the soap or cream, I do not drive it into my face so hard that I irritate my follicles.
3.) I use sharper blades for 2 shaves , fairly aggressive razors, clean the razor and blade in 70% rubbing alcohol for 30-60 seconds post shave and perform a 2.5 shave pass. Cheeks get the extra half pass as they can handle it.
4.) Post shave always involves a splash, which is mostly Ethos skin food with alcohol. I have no issues with alcohol based splashes.
5.) Moisturizer is a key step. It has to be gentle, 2% Hyaluronic Acid, Ethos Skin food lotion, Nivea sensitive skin post shave balm also works.
6.) Shave timing - 1.5-2 days growth is best for me. Over shaving is a problem, under shaving and my razor choice must change.
So now to the razor - I have been getting fantastic results with the Ti Blackbird Lite Blackland Razors with Nacet, Personna and GSB blades. I have others that work very well too, but this is a great choice if you need a balance of efficiency and aggressiveness without a large gap and positive blade feel.
As for the Ethos - DanLaw turned me onto Tibu and he was 100% right, his generous samples helped me hone in on the best shave cream for me.
I’m not saying other things do not work, for 20 years I used Prorasso White and had good results. Today I have great results considering my conditions and I would not have believed I could get here 2-3 years ago.
It would be good for others to share their experiences if you have sensitive skin.
A picture from todays shave February 22, 2023 with the Ti BB Lite, CC Obsidian Bowl, Rudy Vey Brush, and Ethos Tibu Sabuni. This was followed with a custom skin food splash (Ethos) and skin food lotion (Ethos).
![[Image: PbvI00M.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/PbvI00M.gif)