Super coarse chin hair - should I buy an electric razor?

June 9, 2023 4:13 PM

I've been "blessed" with sparse but incredibly coarse facial hair on my chin. I've been wet-shaving all my life but it's increasingly irritating. Would an electric razor be better?

As I've gotten older, my chin hair has gotten increasingly more wiry. I could polish a diamond with my 5 o'clock shadow.

I've always wet shaved and I try to follow the standard advice (old-fashioned shaving soap, lather up nice and good, multiple passes with the razor with hardly any pressure) but nowadays even a new blade seems to feel irritating on my skin, and having to make multiple passes irritates my skin further.

My cheeks and other parts of my face aren't a problem. It's specifically the hair on my chin and under my chin.

I've never owned nor used an electric razor. Would it be a good idea to buy one in my situation?

posted by splitpeasoup to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)

Is it possible that something other than the razor is the irritant? What are the ingredients of your shaving soap? Do you put anything else on that skin?
posted by amtho at 4:46 PM on June 9, 2023

Best answer: Of course, wetting the area with the hottest possible water for a good while before shaving helps open the pores and soften the hairs. Using a washcloth soaked in hot water can be a good way to do it.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 4:52 PM on June 9, 2023 [3 favorites]

My brief forays with an electric razor have always shown them to be more irritating than less. YMMV of course, but I wouldn't count on it helping here. Honestly, I'd try looking at other variables first before shelling out for one. Try a different style of razor, try a different soap or shaving cream, try a different aftershave. There is no one standard answer for everyone, as everyone has different bodies doing different things.

The aftershave has the most effect on the level of irritation I experience post-shave I've found, and a non-alcoholic moisturizing aftershave seems to work best for me. That said, my facial hair isn't very coarse either.
posted by Aleyn at 5:51 PM on June 9, 2023

Best answer: If a comfortable shave is more important than a very close one - the OneBlade is a good and inexpensive option to try.
posted by kickingtheground at 5:59 PM on June 9, 2023 [2 favorites]

I have not found electric razors to be less irritating.

The thing that helps the most is shaving immediately after I get out out the shower. The hot water from the shower seems to soften up the hair a lot.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:04 PM on June 9, 2023 [3 favorites]

I love my electric razor for exactly this reason: I've got stubble you could sand a table with, and electric is the only shaving method I've found that reliably avoids irritation and ingrown hairs.
posted by ZaphodB at 8:12 PM on June 9, 2023

Back 15 years ago, I needed a new electric razor. So I bought three (a Braun, a Panasonic, and a Phillips). I tried each, and kept the Braun, and returned the others to the store I bought them from. I recently (as in this year) replaced the Braun with a newer one. I believe you should still be able to find somewhere where you can buy, try, and then potentially return electric razors.

I say this to suggest that, yes, it IS a good idea to buy one (nay, more than one), with the possibility that none of them works well for you, but also with the possibility that one of them might indeed be just what you are looking for.
posted by birdsquared at 8:52 PM on June 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I can use my beard as a wire brush, I found an electric razor much worse than a blade.

My end solution is a beard but second choice is good shaving cream and a single blade double edge razor. Multi blade things are terrible.
posted by deadwax at 4:58 AM on June 10, 2023

Best answer: I have sensitive skin and a very dense beard of tough whiskers that grow at an acute angle to my skin. Wet shaving has always resulted in razor burn, but electric shavers just gave me a different kind of razor burn with a poor quality shave—especially in areas with tricky geometry or weird growth directionality. I’ve tried just about every kind of wet shaving implement, lubrication and technique there is.

The Norelco OneBlade has been a revelation. No razor burn and easy to get into every area. It doesn’t provide a completely baby smooth result, but that never lasted very long for me anyway and it is an easy trade off to get rid of razor burn, nicks and ingrown hairs. Being able to use it daily without cutting my face to ribbons is nice as well.
posted by slkinsey at 5:03 AM on June 10, 2023 [1 favorite]

Thirding the Norelco OneBlade. I have incredibly course hair and I tend to neglect my upkeep and let the beard go for a couple of weeks between shaves. It will painlessly clear off the beard. If I want a really close shave I use a Mach 3 and shaving cream afterward, but I usually don't bother.
posted by mmoncur at 9:23 PM on June 12, 2023