Shaving, Adolescent Boys and Acne
During puberty, physical changes make boys shave their growing beard regularly. If you are one of them, do you know how to do it well to protect your skin and prevent acne?
The most obvious way around it is to use a good quality electric shaver. Usually this resolves the problem of cutting pimples and causing unnecessary pain and injury. However, you will need to follow a good skin care regime to remove the dead skin cells which build up on you skin, in order to promote healthy growth of new skin cells.
Make sure you use skin care products for sensitive skin when acne pimples are many and inflamed. It is important to get the skin type right too. Dry, normal or oily skin, requires different approaches and in many cases there will be a couple of different skin types in any one individual.
Most people may have a combination skin types, such as dry and oily skin, or normal and oily skin. Usually with acne there is a component of oily skin – the nose, forehead are often oily, while the cheeks and chin areas are either normal or dry. You will need to keep this in mind in order to effectively treat your acne and shave without causing additional problems.
There are some basic principles that men should know about their skin and how to best conquer the shaving process. If shaving is not done correctly, you could end up looking a bloody mess and have blotchy irritated skin and that is not a good look with which to impress the girls.
To start with, young men, and for that matter even mature men do not realise that the beard hairs grow in different directions… The key is not to shave against the direction of the growth. In order to get a close shave, it is very important that the preparation stage for shaving is done correctly if a close shave is desired.
Shaving against the growth of the hair will give you a closer shave, but you increase the risk of nicks and cuts many fold and if you have acne, this can get rather bloody.
So, here is how to get it right from the start.
Before we start, shave in the shower. The warm water will open the facial pores soften both the stubbles and the skin and this promotes a better, closer shave. Also, there is less risk of nicks and cuts if your skin is warmed by the hot water in the shower.
Ok, let’s get started:
Step 1 – Use an exfoliant. This gets rid of dead skin cells, which lifts your stubble and gives a closer shave, leaving your skin smooth and looking well groomed.
Step 2 – Prepare the canvas, use the shaving gel. This helps you to get a smooth shave and the lubricating oils prevent nicks and cuts. Once you have applied the shaving gel to your face, work it into lather and then start shaving.
Step 3 – Shaving. The best razor is one that lets you use a light stroke and you do not need to push down too hard.
If you use an electric shaver, it is still to your advantage to shave after you have had a shower, because the skin is warm, softer and the stubble are easier to shave off. Some of the newer electric shavers you can now use under the shower too – so take advantage of that and use the benefits of the ‘hot water’.
Step 4 – Moisturize. This is a must. After you have finished your shower, apply the moisturizer specific for your skin type – remember you may need to use more than one if you have two different skin types. If you have a shiny skin, use the one for oily skin, if it looks dry and or dull, use the one for dry skin, else use the one for normal skin.
Step 5 – Restore. Once or twice a week, use a natural clay mask to help your skin heal from the taxing process of shaving. It also helps to remove toxins that build up in the skin, especially if you suffer from acne.
So there you have known the all steps. Shaving can be easy and painless. As long as you follow the above steps, you should not have any trouble getting your stubbles under control. Remember, use the shower to shave, it really does help immensely as well as save you time, and it helps you to enjoy shaving. |
