Painfully itchy legs after shaving

[Techno_Spice]

I need help! About 12-24 hours after shaving (never right away), I develop and overpowering itch on the shaved areas (legs, armpits too, although the legs tend to itch the worst). This itch is so bad that I have woken up in the night reflexively scratching my legs until they bleed.

I've tried all the suggestions the internet has to offer. I've tried:
- nearly every shave lotion the market has to offer, including organic ones and regular body wash.
- nearly every razor the market has to offer; I use replaceable-head razors (Venus Divine) and I replace the head frequently.
- tried lotioning my legs after, and before  after showering with both Aveeno and St. Ives Intensive Healing
- tried using baby oil after, and before & after
- tried using tea tree oil and various other organic itch-calming treatments

None of these have worked

Once the itch starts, there is very little that will end it. I've tried:
- Regular and intensive lotions
- Eucerin anti-itch calming lotion
- Aloe Vera sunburn treatment (I thought the aloe or lidocaine in it might stop the itch)
- Benedryl (just in case it was an allergy to something in my shaving creams)
- OTC Hydrocortisone cream

Nothing works to stop the itch after it has begun. Pretty much all I can do is scratch and hope the itch ends before I scratch down to blood. It is agonizing and keeps me up at night. The same itch happens with Nair as well, but not hair-buffing although I could never get that to work to remove hair very well.

My doctor has no idea and just keeps saying "try a different shaving cream". He's not a very good doctor but I don't have a lot of insurance in-network options there. Has anyone heard of this? Do I have no option but to stop shaving?

[Debbiegranvilles]

Use E45 works every time for me :)

[Debbiegranvilles]

I have the exact same thing happen and scratching makes it worse so all I use is E45 works every time .

[itssimplesometimes10]

Also use body wash.. It is just so the razor glides well... Don't use shaving cream as it is absorbed into your skin and irritates new skin, and it makes your skin too soft, thus when you shave you take off too much dead skin, thus irritating the new skin underneath with the shaving and the chemicals from the cream...

[itssimplesometimes10]

I had this same problem to where almost immediately I would itch until I wanted to just rip my legs off... I now know what to do...
1) don't take more than 10 minute showers
2)wash your body and shampoo fast so your skin on your legs doesn't get too moist with the steam(steam=moist skin... That's why we are able to take off the dead skin cells/calluses on our feet when are feet are soaked in hot water or in the shower). If your skin is too moist you will be irritating your skin underneath the dead skin cells and irritating new skin is not good, even if you use a new razor it is not good...
3)shave fast and not hard, don't go over the skin too much
4) AGAIN, do not let it get too steamy in the shower, lukewarm water and 5-10 min showers, but still pay attention as to your shaving, don't let it get sloppy or you will shave to aggressively.
5)when you are done, rinse quickly and turn off the shower immediately, pat dry your legs.

Also, don't shave every day. Shave maybe 1-2 a week at the most. You need to let the dead skin cells collect on your skin, that is what keeps the moisture in. When you remove the dead skin cells with shaving and steam it makes your skin dry, irritated and the natural oils in your skin will be nonexistent.

I would only recommend exfoliating areas you do not shave or areas that don't bother you. You may also exfoliate your legs but only while they are hairy... The advice to exfoliate your legs after shaving is not good advice as it will strip away the dead cells and natural oils, plus irritate any new skin from the wash you just had.

Never never never put lotion on your legs if they are itchy, it is not natural and the chemicals will make your new skin react because new skin is sensitive to ANYTHING! So that is why it is VERY IMPORTANT to take short showers so you will not strip your legs of all the oil and dead skin. New skin is good, don't get me wrong, but you are not supposed to shave it or put lotions or creams on it.

Try this, and hopefully it will work. Remember shave less often, 1-2 times a week, maybe even once every week and a half(this is what I do)! if your husband doesn't like it tell him something you don't like about him.. Remember being beautiful is about being natural and not hurting your skin :)

[dluckygurl8]

Thank God for this thread, I thought I'm the only one suffering from this! I've been waxing for years and never had problems until two days ago when I decided to shave my legs because I couldn't wait for my next waxing appointment - VERY BAD IDEA!!!

Since last night, I've had horrible itch all over my legs, I woke up in the middle of the night scratching like a mad(wo)man and couldn't go back to sleep. The itching doesn't happen during the day though so it could be true what most people here say about having allergic reaction to dust mites (my son has dust mite allergy).  So I would def try mattress and pillow encasings.

A few minutes ago (it is night time now but I haven't gone to bed yet), the itch started again and I couldn't stop scratching! I had to remove my skinny jeans and and put aloe vera gel (http://www.seifengalerie.de/shop/Gustav-Baehr-GmbH-Baehr-Aloe-Vera-Gel-nach-der-Depilation-200-ml), which was recommended by my aesthetician to cool down the skin after waxing. I tried it all over my legs and the cooling effect somehow helped to ease the itching (sans jeans or pants). So the theories about shaving against hair growth, hair growing in and not being able to get through the pores, shaved skin brushing against fabric, and temperature (cold weather and hot showers drying the skin even more) could be true.

Since I cannot do anything immediately, I would settle with the aloe vera gel, hoping it would completely get rid of the horrible itching.  

I would never shave my legs ever again! Btw, I exfoliated while in the shower today and it didn't seem to help much either.

[Brittmariesusan]

Hey all!

Like all of you, I am super glad to have found this thread! I am one of those folks whose legs are the only things irritated by shaving - the rest of me is fine. But my legs are sooooo not fine!! (It's interesting to note that I never had this problem before we got a dog last summer, who, it turns out, I am allergic to. I have been doing allergy shots which help a ton, but that hasn't affected my post-shave leg itch situation.)

I should probably do the encasement of bedding, that would be smart, but I wanted to let you all know about another solution I just found: chocolate waxing! I know, it sounds weird and/or made up - I wasn't sure what to expect, but was told that the chocolate wax is a lot better for sensitive skin than the wax usually used for skin removal.

I got my legs waxed on Monday. Right after the appt, I did get a whole breakout of hives on my legs, but I took a Benadryl & they went away within a few hours. Ever since then, no trouble!

I'm sure this won't be a solution for everyone, but wanted to offer my own experience for anyone else who might want to try it!