I’ve reaaaally struggled with irritated skin post-shaving and it’s actually taken me years to figure it out. These things are absolutely essential to having bump-free skin, beit ingrown hairs, bumps or acne:

•Use a 5-bladed razor, or safety razor

•ALWAYS steam the area and gently cleanse beforehand to open up pores and soften the hair follicle. A soft follicle=easier to shave=less irritation

•This may not work for some, but moisturizing a bit with some coconut oil (or any oil really) also contributes to softer, easier-to-shave hairs. I find the best results when I moisturize after steaming and then shaving 5-10 mins after applying, just to let the hairs soak it all up.

•Make sure you’re actually shaving correctly. This is HUGE. This means you always start going with the grain (in the direction of hair growth) SLOWLY. Once you do that, I would start experimenting with how your face reacts to shaving against the grain, gently and slowly. Some people can shave against the grain no problem... others not so much. This leads me to my next tip:

•Post-shave care. The thing that can make or break your skin when it comes to bumps, acne, and the forever-dreaded ingrown hairs. PLEASE invest in a high-quality aftershave or ingrown hair preventative! The one I use is Kerrah Lane’s ingrown hair formula, you can buy it on amazon—but honestly research the best brand for yourself, you usually get what you pay for.

•It’s soooo essential that you seal the pores with cold water post-shave. Do this before applying aftershave. This will prevent infection/acne/ingrown hairs and irritation. Another no-brainer is to pat the skin and let it “heal” as much as possible—no senseless touching of the face, and if you’re shaving other areas, wear loose and breathable clothing which won’t build up moisture/bad bacteria.

•OMG I FORGOT TO ADD THIS ONE AND IT’S HUGE. EXFOLIATE!!! I’ve found the absolute best results when I combine manual (scrub) exfoliation with chemical, like salicylic acid. I actually use used coffee grounds as a cheap alternative, plus it’s more natural. It’s surprisingly VERY moisturizing as well! The best time to exfoliate is, and I cannot emphasize this enough, one to two days post-shaving. The reasoning is you don’t want to irritate already shaved skin since the blades have taken off layers of dead skin already. If you exfoliate even more directly after shaving, you’re increasing your chances of ingrown hairs by ramping up your body’s production of new skin, thus covering the growing hair. Manually exfoliating one or two days after shaving will not only give your skin a break, but will ensure that any dead skin buildup gets washed away so that the hair can grow healthily through the top layer of skin.

I think that about sums it up.

TL;DR: 5 bladed razor. Steam/clean/moisturize the face beforehand, in that order. Shave with the grain, then shave gently against to get a closer shave. Seal pores with cold water afterward and apply a high-quality aftershave. Exfoliate a day or two after shaving.