Conquering my completely irrational fear of razor blades.

[dragos240]

I was about to take a shower, but then I saw a razor blade, rita's. It was jet black, and sharp to the point, My face turned white, and I stepped out of the room. At this point I turned to my mom, and asked her to take it out, and hide it in the drawer. I need a way of conquering this fear. I mean, if nothing is done, I'll look like stallman by the time I grow up. At 8 I was being silly and "pretended to shave". The result was my lip being cut open, and that it bled like crazy for a few hours. Finally it stopped, and in a few weeks, it healed. But now, in a few years, there will be facial hair, and ....... well. You get the point. I'm not afraid of knives, or anything else. It's just razor blades.

[pwnst*r]

not sure how to do that other than just facing it when you finally have to shave. don't listen to others when they suggest using an electric razor because that irritates your skin more and in my experience doesn't yield as close a shave as hot water, quality shaving cream, and a good razor.

[gn2]

That's not irrational.
You are afraid of them because they are dangerous, that's how fear is supposed to work.
I almost chopped the top of my finger off with a razor blade when I was five, because I wanted to see just how sharp they were, so I understand what you mean.
I hate razorblades too.
(and have the beard to prove it)

[Exodist]

I was about to take a shower, but then I saw a razor blade, rita's. It was jet black, and sharp to the point, My face turned white, and I stepped out of the room. At this point I turned to my mom, and asked her to take it out, and hide it in the drawer. I need a way of conquering this fear. I mean, if nothing is done, I'll look like stallman by the time I grow up. At 8 I was being silly and "pretended to shave". The result was my lip being cut open, and that it bled like crazy for a few hours. Finally it stopped, and in a few weeks, it healed. But now, in a few years, there will be facial hair, and ....... well. You get the point. I'm not afraid of knives, or anything else. It's just razor blades.

Get an electric razor trimmer:
http://www.amazon.com/Braun-Free-Control-1775-Shaver/dp/B0009IK198

[hambone79]

I have a very bad fear of flying, but I have had to fly several times for business trips and when I went on my honeymoon. All I can tell you is to just suck it up and face your fear head on. Your fear may never completely go away, but the more often you face a fear the easier it will be to face it the next time.

In my case, the more often that I fly the easier it is for me fly. The very first time I flew I got physically sick and put a white knuckle death grip on the arms of my seat. The last time I flew I was able to sleep about 1/2 of the trip.

[gn2]

Flying's safe, it's crashing that's dangerous. :D

[Exodist]

I have a very bad fear of flying, but I have had to fly several times for business trips and when I went on my honeymoon. All I can tell you is to just suck it up and face your fear head on. Your fear may never completely go away, but the more often you face a fear the easier it will be to face it the next time.

In my case, the more often that I fly the easier it is for me fly. The very first time I flew I got physically sick and put a white knuckle death grip on the arms of my seat. The last time I flew I was able to sleep about 1/2 of the trip.

I have an insane fear of spiders. I cant even watch them on TV. When I was a small child I had a wolf spider chase me while it was jumping high in the air. Mind you I was like 6 so it didnt have to jump very high, but it seemed very high to me. Since then I am scared to death of them. I have blown hunting trips becuase I would see a spider then shoot it with my riffle. In the mean time scaring off all deer in the area.

I am 31 now. I dont plan on facing that fear any..

[Majorix]

I'm not afraid of knives, or anything else. It's just razor blades.

How about using a blade to shave? :p

Seriously now, unless you give us a logical reason, I can't be of much help.

[pwnst*r]

Get an electric razor trimmer:
http://www.amazon.com/Braun-Free-Control-1775-Shaver/dp/B0009IK198

no

[CJ Master]

no

yes

[gn2]

no


yes


Yes and no.

[ChrT]

Use safety razors? It's pretty much impossible to hurt yourself with those.

Of course, going Stallman is always an option. Real men wear their beards long and proud!

[clonne4crw]

Oh, geeze. I end up cutting myself with those X-acto knifes all the time, mostly because I always lose my scissors and end up using those. I'm not afraid of them, just have learned to be a little more cautious with them the hard way. :P

I guess I would suggest you buy one of those disposable rasors, get some cream, and just try shaving. It's no big deal-- if you respect them and use them the right way, they will respect you. :popcorn:

[Megrimn]

also considering that you were little at the time and didn't really know how to handle one. If it makes you feel any better, I sliced open a cheek once, and it wasn't on my face. Don't ask how it happened, as I'm still not sure how it happened myself.

Actually, I got my thumb, too. With a razor and then several years later with a very thorny rosebush, in the exact same spot. It's just a fact of life that if you decide not to live as a hermit, you're going to get hurt one way or another.

[Exodist]

no

Why? It works very good. I also belive I got mine ALOT cheaper at wallmart for like 30USD.
I always get bad razor burn and irritated skin. Thats why I use mine.

[Dark Aspect]

I have an insane fear of spiders. I cant even watch them on TV. When I was a small child I had a wolf spider chase me while it was jumping high in the air. Mind you I was like 6 so it didnt have to jump very high, but it seemed very high to me. Since then I am scared to death of them. I have blown hunting trips becuase I would see a spider then shoot it with my riffle. In the mean time scaring off all deer in the area.

I am arachnophobic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachnophobia) too, its one of the few ways to make me scream like a little girl :)

[pwnst*r]

Why? It works very good. I also belive I got mine ALOT cheaper at wallmart for like 30USD.
I always get bad razor burn and irritated skin. Thats why I use mine.

that's because you don't use hot enough water/good razor/good cream. i shave in the shower with a fogless mirror. gotta get those pores opened up for those ultra clean shaves.

[Exodist]

that's because you don't use hot enough water/good razor/good cream. i shave in the shower with a fogless mirror. gotta get those pores opened up for those ultra clean shaves.
I have bad skin sensitivity. I am also a CNC machinist, so I am around alot of dust and very fine ground iron, steel and aluminum. Not to mention the coolant mist and vapor plays hell with my skin. I do like a good razor shave tho on the weekend. But my Braun electric is not bad at all if you keep it clean. I have had it for 4 years and still yet to change the head or blade thingy. I just keep it clean with diluted alcohol/water mixture.

[RichardLinx]

That is one strange phobia, hope you can conquer it!

[Eisenwinter]

You should try it on some other part of your body, like your hands.

Shave some of the hairs off of your forearm. It's more difficult to cut that area because the skin there is harder than facial skin.

Once you successfully remove a few hairs from there, you'll see that the experience isn't as bad as you made it out to be, and get over your fear (somewhat, at least).

[cmay]

I was about to take a shower, but then I saw a razor blade, rita's. It was jet black, and sharp to the point, My face turned white, and I stepped out of the room. At this point I turned to my mom, and asked her to take it out, and hide it in the drawer. I need a way of conquering this fear. I mean, if nothing is done, I'll look like stallman by the time I grow up. At 8 I was being silly and "pretended to shave". The result was my lip being cut open, and that it bled like crazy for a few hours. Finally it stopped, and in a few weeks, it healed. But now, in a few years, there will be facial hair, and ....... well. You get the point. I'm not afraid of knives, or anything else. It's just razor blades.

there are only two ways of overcoming fear. one is to take medicine for it and a other is to simply ignore it. fear is a good thing as it keeps you alert. but if it becomes a irrational fear then it is not a good thing. you can ignore fear as well as you can ignore being angry or being sad and all other feelings. it is just a feeling. train yourself ignoring the fear and maybe ask yourself some deeper questions about what it is about.
good luck with it.

[pwnst*r]

there are only two ways of overcoming fear. one is to take medicine for it and a other is to simply ignore it. fear is a good thing as it keeps you alert. but if it becomes a irrational fear then it is not a good thing. you can ignore fear as well as you can ignore being angry or being sad and all other feelings. it is just a feeling. train yourself ignoring the fear and maybe ask yourself some deeper questions about what it is about.
good luck with it.

stay away from meds as much as you can. NOT recommended.

[azkehmm]

Go watch Sweeny Todd :)


On a more serious note, talk to a psychologist for a couple of hours. If it's a good one, you'll be cured. My mother got rid of her really serious claustrophobia after two hours with a psychologist who used something called "tapping therapy."
It may be a bit expensive, but chances are it'll save you a lot of trouble in the future.

[Tristam Green]

Forget the electric. It works only so well, and can actually contribute to razor burn dependent on your skin type.

Forget medication. That's a ridiculous out for a simple fear.

Forget the psychologist, for the aforementioned reasons.

Talk to a barber. Hell, talk to *your* barber about it. They know razors, and most barbers are still happy to give a "shave and a haircut" - albeit not for two bits.

Hopefully they can assuage your fear.