 What's up guys? I'm Brian Sakawa. You're watching He Spoke Style and today we are talking all about shaving and sensitive skin. Before we get started, I want to give a big thank you to Gillette for sponsoring this video and for helping to promote an awareness of issues that I know many of us who shave regularly have to deal with. So sensitive skin is kind of this catch-all term that we use that doesn't have a real clear definition but generally when we say we have sensitive skin we're referring to the fact that we often deal with some type of irritation most frequently on the face or neck. Now in terms of irritation that could be anything from redness, tightness, itching, burning, stinging, ingrown hairs or razor bumps. Now these symptoms typically show up when your skin is exposed to some type of irritant. We're talking about things like soap, anything you're applying topically to your face or neck and of course shaving. So I am one of those guys who shaves regularly and I always have to be really really careful especially in this area of my neck. I don't know what it is but my neck has always been really sensitive and prone to razor burn like redness and irritation. I know I'm not the only one. Now how does this happen? Well this irritation is actually caused by the act of shaving. So when you shave the blade pulls the hair upwards and pushes the skin sideways this is something that the nerves in your skin actually feel and when the force is high or if the nerves get stimulated it triggers like a whole biochemical process that can lead to the perception of burning and itching and to a widening of blood vessels and increased blood flow which makes the skin feel warm and appear red. The more you know right? So in addition to redness and irritation strangely I tend to get really bad ingrown hairs now and then like in this area around my chin. These are often really painful and they look kind of nasty almost like a pimple but like a really big one. It takes four or five days for them to go away. So what happens when you get an ingrown hair is that the razor is actually lifting the hair and cutting it which actually makes it go underneath the skin after you shave. Now this is great if you're looking for a really clean and close shave but it does leave you open to potentially getting an ingrown hair. Now another form of that which I have personally never experienced are razor bumps. Now razor bumps are a very severe form of chronic irritation on the skin that happens as a result of shaving. This is something you're more susceptible to if you have curly hair. You shave you get an ingrown hair there's an inflammatory response that creates the bump then you can get into this whole thing of secondary infections which can lead to terrible things like hyperpigmentation and potentially even scarring. I'm told this is very painful obviously not something you'd want to experience. So what can you do to prevent these issues? Well there are four specific things that you should be paying attention to hydrating, lathering or lubricating the actual act of shaving and making sure that you are soothing the skin after the shave. Now let's take a closer look at each one of those. So hydrating now before you shave you want to make sure that your beard area is wet. I would take that a little bit further and say that you know just splashing a little bit of water on your face is not adequate even if it's warm water. Personally I like to shave after I get out of the shower. I've washed my face which prepares the skin and makes the beard hair really supple. Plus having been exposed to the steam and the heat of the shower gets it ready very very well. This makes the beard hair more receptive to being cut. Next is the lather or lubrication. You want to apply a healthy amount of shaving product to create as smooth a surface as possible for your razor. Now for the actual act of shaving obviously the razor you choose is extremely important especially if you have sensitive skin. If you are one of those guys Gillette has a new product called the Gillette Skin Guard razor. Now unlike other Gillette razors which have multiple blades the Skin Guard razor has only two blades and the reason for that is the more blades you have the more susceptible you will be to irritation. Now in between those two blades on the Skin Guard razor you have this little piece which is referred to as Skin Guard technology. This helps absorb the pressure from your hand and minimize the pressure on each blade. It smooths the skin to protect it from the blades and reduce the tug and pull on the beard hair and it also raises the blade slightly to minimize contact with your skin. Now if this sounds like you are not going to get as close a shave as you would with a safety razor or a four or five blade cartridge you are correct that is by design. The Skin Guard razor is a razor for the guy who is willing to compromise a little bit in terms of closeness in order to minimize the potential for skin irritation. Finally after the shave you need to soothe your skin make sure that you are using a post shave product like some type of moisturizer to keep your skin hydrated after you've shaved. Sensitive skin as a result of shaving is a real thing I deal with it and apparently I'm not alone 70% of men also have this issue. This is a great topic to have a conversation about. I would love to hear your stories leave those down below in the comments. Thanks again to Gillette for sponsoring this video and helping to create awareness around this issue. Links to the Gillette Skin Guard razor are down below in the description. If you liked this video please give it a thumbs up, hit that subscribe button and until next time thanks for watching and stay tailored.