face getting green after shaving?

Thoughts and input on anything related to wet shaving or men's grooming.
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babalu
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face getting green after shaving?

Post by babalu »

Hi,

i'm 18 and i want to start shaving, but i tought i'dask a litle question here, when my bro shaves his face his face gets greenish after he shaved, does anyone know how and why it becomes like that?? i want to avoid that .. maybe anyone got tips for that?
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HBK42581
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Re: face getting green after shaving?

Post by HBK42581 »

babalu wrote:Hi,

i'm 18 and i want to start shaving, but i tought i'dask a litle question here, when my bro shaves his face his face gets greenish after he shaved, does anyone know how and why it becomes like that?? i want to avoid that .. maybe anyone got tips for that?
What's he putting on his face after the shave?
Scott "The Heart Break Kid"

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ichabod
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Post by ichabod »

His entire face, or just the part with stubble? Beard shadow is often described as being blue, but I don't think I've seen it described as green.
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Set a man on fire, he'll be toasty for the rest of his life.
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D.Irving79
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Post by D.Irving79 »

maybe hes the hulk ?

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Post by paperpundit »

Blood?!? Me no like blood....AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!
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Post by george »

Is he a Vulcan?
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Live long and prosper.
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TorzJohnson
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Re: face getting green after shaving?

Post by TorzJohnson »

babalu wrote:Hi,

i'm 18 and i want to start shaving, but i tought i'dask a litle question here, when my bro shaves his face his face gets greenish after he shaved, does anyone know how and why it becomes like that?? i want to avoid that .. maybe anyone got tips for that?
It could be the green paint that he uses for shave cream, or it might be the artichoke leaves that he plasters on his cheeks after shaving.
Jim

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JoeDizzy
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Post by JoeDizzy »

Dark Haired gents have reported this effect. Most likely just that.
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babalu
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Post by babalu »

well my bro is just using shaving oil.. and after he's done with shaving he just uses some parfum on his face :?: :?: :?: yea well my skin colour is bit lighter than his, but i dont know if it is the skin colour to blame for the colour after he shaves.. because i ve seen manny people have dark skin colour but dont have this problem :?:

as for my self, i really dont know what to do to prevent this :(
Jukkie
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Post by Jukkie »

It could just be his natural complexion showing since the hair's not covering it up. Is he eating well and taking care of himself? Skin can often change in appearance if an organ isn't functioning optimally (ie. poor nutrience, illness, etc). Maybe the blue is being reflect off a yellowish complexion?

It honestly does sound a little weird. I've never heard of it. Maybe there's something in his cream? Is he using a fake gold DE or something?

...

I looked on google and found this same issue brought up by someone on another forum. Seems that the members on badgerandblade say it's 1 of 2 things.

1) your brother is cutting the hair very closely, the green tint is the hair beneath the skin showing through.

2) your brother is shaving slopily and not getting close enough. The light is reflecting off the stubble onto the surface of his skin.

Thick, dark beards seem to be more problematic with this.

So, seems like the answer here is to find out how well your brother's actually shaving. Can you visibly see his stubble? Or is his face smooth.

If it's just an issue of stubble reflecting light, you can overcome this by learning to shave properly. If it's an issue of hairs showing colour through the skin, that's a bit trickier to fix.

You could always try shaving and leaving it a little rough then bleaching the hairs. This might be a hassle for you, but it'll give you some white hairs to obscure and scatter the green hue so it's less noticeable. I don't know about your skin colour though.

Ultimately though, you may be stuck with this. You can try tanning a little to darken the skin, or maybe get yourself into really good shape and hope your skin builds a little density (it's a long shot, but who knows).

Failing all else, learn to wear it. *shrug* personally I think having a natural green complexion would be pretty cool. Just wear the right shirt to go with it and just take it as a personal individual feature. We've all got them, they're not necessarily ugly or anything, they do look different, but not necessarily bad. If anything it make you more distinguishable.
babalu
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Post by babalu »

hmm well i never really payed attention to how my bro shaves, but yea he's got scoliose or something maybe its because of that.. but can you maybe give me some tips on shaving?? i mean what i have to use before starting to shave.. like oil s or something?? and what to use after maybe ?
btw, another thing, is it better to shave with the direction the beard has grown or against its direction??
Jukkie
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Post by Jukkie »

You keep these forums bookmarked, that's what you do :wink:

Anyways, scoliosis is in your spine, it shouldn't be causing any changes in the skin so that wouldn't be it.

I'll run you through the whole shaving game best as I can off the top of my head, I'm sure other members will fill in their own advise or correct anything they disagree on.

First off, how well do you want to shave. Do you want a really good job? Or do you just want to get the hair off? If you're just looking for the quickest shave you can get to say you at least bothered shaving, you could probably get away with using a Bic single blade disposable (if you can find them anymore :() Otherwise their double blades aren't all that bad for what you're paying. I think the next step up from there would be a Gillette Fushion. Honestly, all other razors I've seen in a drug store aren't worth buying, you'll just end up with bad skin and lots of irritation from shaving over and over trying to compensate for your razor. Of course, different skin, different face, different results.

IMO the Fushions are your best trade off between "I don't want to spend time shaving" and "I don't want to chew my face up". In my PERSONAL experience though, after 1, maybe 2 shaves, the blades need replacing, totally not worth the cost of the replacements for me at least, only getting a couple shaves out of them at a time.

Above that, you're looking at either a DE, or a straight razor. Or you could always get an electric if you want to go... *snicker*... dry... (Hey everybody, come look at the dry boy!) (sorry, it just felt like a stigmatic thing to say around here).

There is a significant difference between each of these razors. Take a look at them, see what you like. IMHO, because of the high replace rate, and high cost of Fushion blades, DE's are probably your best best for both avoiding frustration and saving money in the long run without having to go through all the maintenance of a straight edge.

Of course, I have problems shaving with most razors. My hair's dodgy and likes to hide from most razors that have a safety bar in front of the blade. If you're satisfied with disposable Bics though, great, they served me for about 3 years before I started looking for something better.

First, you need to prep your beard. I'm going to assume that you don't have a steaming towel. No problem, go take a shower for a few minutes and let the hot water soak your beard area. after 2-5 minutes (I like to be thurough, 2 should be enough though) of soaking your hair will be softened and ready to cut. Your brother might not do a beard prep, but trust me, those 2 minutes can make a huge difference in how your skin feels afterwards.

Next you gotta lather. Again, depends how much you care about what you're doing. If you don't care, go to the drugstore and pick something up. I will give this advice though about drugstore aerosols and goops. Most aerosol foam cans SUCK. It smells like your rubbing isopropanol and petrol into your face. The foams usually aren't very slick, and really gets stuck in your razor. In my experience, all aerosol foam is to be avoided. Some brands this may not stand for, but I have yet to try them.

Goop is maybe half a step up from foam. It doesn't ALWAYS smell bad, it also tends to be a little thinner and slicker than foam. Aveeno makes a can of goop which is very slick to shave with, easy to cut through, smells AMAZING for goop, and is probably the most enjoyable canned good I've found. If you're buying cheap stuff, look for that, make sure you find it and try it.

If you want to do better than goop, you're looking at shave soaps and cream tubs. I'm not going to rank either as better or worse, people have preferences, from what I understand, they're both liked by prefering users. You may need to buy a shaving brush for lathering these though. The creams at least, I don't use the soaps. Taylors of Old Bond Street makes an almond scented cream which I'm currently using. It smells like wiping candy on your face. I highly recommend it for the price if you want to go in that direction.

So you're ready to shave. First, start by going with the direction of your beard growth. Study your beard line and map out its growth pattern. I think you'll be surprised at how many details you might find that you were unaware of. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS start by shaving with the grain. People might argue this, but if you're just beginning, shave with the grain of your hair, this will be much easier on your skin.

Once you've gotten the hang of the razor, you can do another pass across the grain for a closer shave. I personally say never shave against the grain just to be safe (though I do anyways when it's just that much easier) however you shouldn't do this if you're just starting, and never do this with multi-bladed razors. Great way to get ingrown hairs.

When you shave, don't press. To start, you might appreciate a pivoting head. Pressure is a bad thing in shaving. It changes the surface of your skin and makes it difficult for the razor to cut close and properly, it also increases your chance of cutting a hair beneath the surface of the skin (ingrown) and razor burn.

Take your time. Rinse your blade off often. I do it after every stroke.

Never use your razor against bare skin. If a spot needs fixing, take the time to put some cream over it before you reshave it.

I think most people (but not all) will advise you to use some sort of skin bracer or after shave once you're done. Personally, cheap dilluted liquor works just as well, if not better than what you'll buy at the drug store, and it's probably close to 100-200% cheaper, if not far more, it just might not smell as friendly. Couple drops of essential oils should fix this though.

Enjoy.

From here, you can go even further. Tone and moisturize your skin. Thayer's makes an AMAZING toner which is VERY cheap considering the bottle will last you well over a month or two if you generously slather it on your arms, chest, full neck, face, and hands, at least once or twice a day. Assuming you ONLY use it on your face, 1 bottle will last a LONG time. Moisturizers? I don't know. I'm waiting for my Thayer's moisturizer to get here to try that. As far as drug stores go, I guess Aveeno is the best I've found. Don't get the anti-irritation stuff though. It made my skin secrete this oil for HOURS, and for the first hour it almost seemed like the cream was being ejected back out of my skin and was clumping up on my face. Their skin relief moisturizer is better, still a little oily though in my experiences.

If you still have energy, time and money to spend, start conditioning your skin so it's healthy. Healthy skin creates a more even, smooth surface for your razor to shave against. Exfoliate, moisturize, and tone your skin regularly. That's purely just the extra stuff you don't really NEED to do.

I think I've covered just about everything...

Oh yeah, after the shave, rinse with cold water, I do this before the aftershave.

When you dry your face, pat it, don't wipe it or rub the towel against it, just gently pat the moisture into the towel so you don't go adding friction to already sensitized skin.

So yeah, think about how much time you want to spend shaving in the morning. Think about how much you care about the results. If it looks fine from a distance and that's good enough for you, disposables are all you need. If you really want it to feel and look like smooth skin, you gotta start looking at the DE's and/or straight edges. If you take this route, I'd also strongly suggest that you take very good care of your skin. The complexion will show through a lot after the hair's gone. Get your skin into decent health and it starts to take on a 'glowing' appearance, it actually looks kinda cool and can create all sorts of crazy contrasting patterns in your face with the blue in your veins (if yours show at all).

Go to your local drugstore, buy whatever pack of disposable razor you can (except for Gillette, and remember, more blades does not mean better razor, or closer shave). Look for that aveeno goop stuff, and steal a half shot of hard liquor from your parents since you're too young to buy it (oh come on, like he hasn't done it before :roll:). That's all you'll need for your first shave.

Do the prep like I told you, apply the cream thick enough that it covers the hair but not so thick that it becomes excessive or starts to really build up anywhere. If you get a pivoting headed razor, excellent, if you didn't take note of the angle that the blade is on, and just do your best to get that angle so the blade is cutting as close to the surface as it can. It'll seem a bit tricky, but you'll feel the improvement as you get used to it with every shave you do. After a week, maybe two, you'll have a very good feel for the basics of shaving, what you like and dislike about your razor, and whether or not you want to invest more time, research, and effort into buying proper tools and learning how to get a barber shop quality shave.

Don't let words like "invest" scare you too much. Shaving has a very sharp learning curve. It's just a pretty big curve. It's easy to get the hang of it, perfecting it and getting good at it does take time and practice. But in my experience, there's noticeable advancement every single day.

Again, I heavily suggest that you do not leave these forums until you're a confident shaver, satisfied with your routine and results. This is a good place for ANY questions involving technique or products.

If your friends start bugging you about having all this moisturizer and toner kicking around your house, just say that skin's part of the immune system, you figure that if you could rub cream into your skin to make it healthier so it can protect you against germs and bacteria better, it's worth moisturizing to get sick less.

Personally I don't know what guys have against toning and moisturizing. Or other guys who do it. It's good for you, it's not exactly time consuming, and healthy skin just feels better to live in and really can make a difference in your appearance (skin's the larges body part people can see on you immediately and constantly).
Bob
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Post by Bob »

It is not uncommon for men with very dark hair to have this "green" effect, especially if they have a Mediterranean skin tone. Some guys use talc to cover it. My advice is to just get used to it, however, since it is a natural occurrence.

If you use the Search function, I think you'll find several threads on this topic, one or more of which may offer some better advice than mine.
--Bob--
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