What's new

Constant ingrown hairs

Hello and good day to you all.

I have been using a safety razor for two years now and I cannot get rid of ingrown hair issues. I get them no matter what I try. I have tried lots of products which didnt work and now I no longer feel motivated to keep going and/or buying new gear. I am here to ask for your tips, if you experienced similar situation. Here's my current gear and some background.

Muhle R89 grande (bigger handle)
Proraso (by omega) boar hair brush / Pure badger by Nom (I think Muhle owns Nom which is for more budget oriented products)
OSMA alum block
16 diggerent blades from Derby to Feather. My favourite: Voskhod, Derby extra green, BIC, Shark.
Proraso white line pre, post, soap; Proraso blue line; Muhle Soap and Cream Sandalwood; Nivea sensitive cooling after; shaving oil from local drugstore and many more...

My shave goes something like this:
1. Hot shower, facial cleanser (part of skincare), exfoliate twice a week (more often then that only makes things worse) with scrub/sponge+face soap/wet cloth.
2. Pre-shave: Proraso or oil, desinfecting the head of the razor with a blade in it by spraying it down with 70% alcohol and rinsing it off with hot water
3. Face lather, nicely thick and slick
4. One pass, with the grain, no preassure, not going over one spot multiple times
5. Cold water rinse, alum block, another rinse, gently drying, applying cooling balm for sensitive skin. Often times getting razor burn - applying cooling lotion on top of that for sensitive skin. If the burn is too bad, I go straight to Aloe Vera gel with panthenol - that saved my *** many times.
6. NEXT DAY: INGROWN HAIRS, RED SPOTS, BUMPS - treating them for a week, sometimes more. When my skin is nice and healed, all the hair is properly growing out, I trim to 1mm with an electric trimmer and go through this again.

SHAVING WITH COLD WATER DOES NOT HELP AT ALL... sadly.

BACKSTORY:
Cartridge razors gave me massive breakouts on my neck (at least that's what I thought it was, only later on have I learned that those are razor bumps). I switched to Phillips One Blade, grew a beard and only trimmed, being extra careful on my neck. There was a time, when I could even pull of a sort of clean shave by going against the grain with my OneBlade - DRY. Then, ingrowns came back. I found out about DE shaving so I bought Willkinson premium package with the twist to open razor, which is supposed to be super mild, boar brush which is marketed as synthetic and soap which smells awfull. Then I upgraded to R89, proraso, badger and boar brushes to try out which I like more and so on. Then I made my way through 200€ of products without getting a shave after which I didnt have ingrowns (bumps, red spots).

I feel like I am doing everything I can and the Proraso white line, even though helping with the razor burn a lot - to the point where I think I can shave the next day, was the last thing on my list that was supposed to help. Still, 24 hours after I shave I many hair follickles on my neck start to swell and they become unsightly red spots. Shaving more often resulted in more irritation and worse ingrowns. I have tried stuff like No Bumps Gel by Clubman Pinaud, a product very similar to Tend Skin (I cant get my hands on original tend skin, since it is expensive to ship to middle europe) and a few others. I even tried dissolving Aspirin in some water or aloe gel to act like pure salycilic acid that is supposed to exfoliate the skin, clearing the hair follicles and allowing the hair to grow out correctly.

Sorry for the longest post ever, I'm simply frustrated. If you have made the effort to read through this, please let me know if you have any tips for me. I do not feel like spending antother dollar (euro for me) for new stuff. I swore I will find the way to shave witout ingrown hair/razor bumps and I will enjoy it, but unfortunatelly, I was not able to for two years.

Thank you again and may you have a blessed day.
 
Last edited:
I wish I could give you a better answer, but you are clearly trying everything. I think at this point, you should ask a dermatologist about the ingrowns. The reason I say this vs offering advise is because of personal experience and the same experience from others: the ingrown hairs may be rivers underground, so to speak. Meaning you are not actually removing them, only shaving over them. It is not possible without a LOT of pressure to shave below skin level, enough to cause ingrowns, with a single blade. I accidentally removed several layers of skin trying to deal with ingrown hairs when I started out. I had 2 inch long red streaks, I thought I was going to have to go to the hospital. After some research, I found out that I had finally removed some extensive ingrowns. I don't like to mention this often nor do I recommend self surgery.
 
I get in-growns still, but mostly around the bottom part of the neck around the adams apple. Taking a single feather light pass there with the grain helps minimize but even shaving the area lightly the bumps still appear. I think its just a matter of genetics and you'll probably never be able to get rid of the bumps. You can try not shaving as close, just a light with the grain pass every day and see where that gets you.
 
Thank you for your quick answers. When I got my R89, I had a bad shave, got a bunch of bumps and I was trying to get them out vigorously. I got a bad infection and my neck litterally shed - like after a sunburn. Not proud of that, but it healed and was ok. I even think it helped since then it got a little better. Now I am very carefull with dealing with them. I can safely release them from under the skin without getting into more trouble. And trust I am nuts about it with my magnifying mirror and tweezers. So I never shave over them - I always wait for even the discoloration to dissapear, to be sure that the skin healed properly.

And yes, I am trying to "ride the cap" on my most sensitive areas so not to shave too close. Unfortunatelly, they still appear.

So yeah, about to pay a visit to my dermatologist seems like...
 
I‘m not sure if I can be of help at all but have you ever tried something like a Bic Metal?
SE, superlight and the right angle is built into the head. Even though they are disposable they hold up for a long time. I tossed my first one after 10 shaves.
300732AE-16A9-4431-BF51-B49319E2A650.jpeg
 
I‘m not sure if I can be of help at all but have you ever tried something like a Bic Metal?
SE, superlight and the right angle is built into the head. Even though they are disposable they hold up for a long time. I tossed my first one after 10 shaves.
Yes I have tried a similar razor from a local drugstore. Didn't do me any favors though. Thank you for your answer!
 
Hello and good day to you all.

I have been using a safety razor for two years now and I cannot get rid of ingrown hair issues. I get them no matter what I try. I have tried lots of products which didnt work and now I no longer feel motivated to keep going and/or buying new gear. I am here to ask for your tips, if you experienced similar situation. Here's my current gear and some background.

Muhle R89 grande (bigger handle)
Proraso (by omega) boar hair brush / Pure badger by Nom (I think Muhle owns Nom which is for more budget oriented products)
OSMA alum block
16 diggerent blades from Derby to Feather. My favourite: Voskhod, Derby extra green, BIC, Shark.
Proraso white line pre, post, soap; Proraso blue line; Muhle Soap and Cream Sandalwood; Nivea sensitive cooling after; shaving oil from local drugstore and many more...

My shave goes something like this:
1. Hot shower, facial cleanser (part of skincare), exfoliate twice a week (more often then that only makes things worse) with scrub/sponge+face soap/wet cloth.
2. Pre-shave: Proraso or oil, desinfecting the head of the razor with a blade in it by spraying it down with 70% alcohol and rinsing it off with hot water
3. Face lather, nicely thick and slick
4. One pass, with the grain, no preassure, not going over one spot multiple times
5. Cold water rinse, alum block, another rinse, gently drying, applying cooling balm for sensitive skin. Often times getting razor burn - applying cooling lotion on top of that for sensitive skin. If the burn is too bad, I go straight to Aloe Vera gel with panthenol - that saved my *** many times.
6. NEXT DAY: INGROWN HAIRS, RED SPOTS, BUMPS - treating them for a week, sometimes more. When my skin is nice and healed, all the hair is properly growing out, I trim to 1mm with an electric trimmer and go through this again.

SHAVING WITH COLD WATER DOES NOT HELP AT ALL... sadly.

BACKSTORY:
Cartridge razors gave me massive breakouts on my neck (at least that's what I thought it was, only later on have I learned that those are razor bumps). I switched to Phillips One Blade, grew a beard and only trimmed, being extra careful on my neck. There was a time, when I could even pull of a sort of clean shave by going against the grain with my OneBlade - DRY. Then, ingrowns came back. I found out about DE shaving so I bought Willkinson premium package with the twist to open razor, which is supposed to be super mild, boar brush which is marketed as synthetic and soap which smells awfull. Then I upgraded to R89, proraso, badger and boar brushes to try out which I like more and so on. Then I made my way through 200€ of products without getting a shave after which I didnt have ingrowns (bumps, red spots).

I feel like I am doing everything I can and the Proraso white line, even though helping with the razor burn a lot - to the point where I think I can shave the next day, was the last thing on my list that was supposed to help. Still, 24 hours after I shave I many hair follickles on my neck start to swell and they become unsightly red spots. Shaving more often resulted in more irritation and worse ingrowns. I have tried stuff like No Bumps Gel by Clubman Pinaud, a product very similar to Tend Skin (I cant get my hands on original tend skin, since it is expensive to ship to middle europe) and a few others. I even tried dissolving Aspirin in some water or aloe gel to act like pure salycilic acid that is supposed to exfoliate the skin, clearing the hair follicles and allowing the hair to grow out correctly.

Sorry for the longest post ever, I'm simply frustrated. If you have made the effort to read through this, please let me know if you have any tips for me. I do not feel like spending antother dollar (euro for me) for new stuff. I swore I will find the way to shave witout ingrown hair/razor bumps and I will enjoy it, but unfortunatelly, I was not able to for two years.

Thank you again and may you have a blessed day.
Have you thought of giving a real straight razor verses a shavette a try?
 
Have you thought of giving a real straight razor verses a shavette a try?
I did. But since my hair grows sideways on my neck and it took me a long time to find a proper technique with a DE for that, I thought straight razor / shavette is too much a leap for me. And since safety razor has a somewhat obstructed angle range I think it would be a real commitment to learn how to shave with a straight razor.
 
I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I wonder if a more aggressive razor is in order? Maybe an open comb like a NEW.

Sounds like your prep is pretty good (although I'd skip exfoliating). One of the fundamentals of DE shaving is letting the razor and blade do the work. Applying too much pressure leads to bad things. A more aggressive razor helps with one-pass shaves.
 
@TheBeast sounds like you need to learn the gentlemanly art. That should solve your problems.
Are you refering to the issue of the pressure used while shaving? Well I trained for two years from day one to not apply any, but I will keep trying.
I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I wonder if a more aggressive razor is in order? Maybe an open comb like a NEW.

Sounds like your prep is pretty good (although I'd skip exfoliating). One of the fundamentals of DE shaving is letting the razor and blade do the work. Applying too much pressure leads to bad things. A more aggressive razor helps with one-pass shaves.
Thank you for your answer. I am kind of afraid of what that might do, since my skin does not react to aggressive blades really well. And since a new razor is a considerable investment for me (student budget), plus seeing how much I have spent already for stuff I can't use, I'm really skeptic about this. Also, my second razor, the R89 was wholeheartedly recommended to me at first so I thought I was done with buying new razors. I would love to get new ones if I knew I would love using it, don't get me wrong, but I have to keep in mind that could be money thrown away since it doesn't have to solve anything. BUT I have been considering as a christmas gift for myself a Merkur Progress - adjustable seems like the best deal for my money.
 
Last edited:
My advice: dermatologist, or grow a beard (seriously).
Thank you, I will see one because it's getting out of hand. I mean I'm sitting here three days after a pretty good shave with half my neck red and swollen.
And I am rocking a beard but still, I like my neck line clean. Sure, I can trim it to 1mm no issues other than I don't really like the look. And my hair is CURLY so the beard isn't really a pretty one, it isn't even dense and my cheek line is patheticly low witch bald patches, my moustache isn't connected in the middle and neither is the goatee area or under the bottom lip, sooo... not the prettiest of the beards.
I would love to just throw all that away and enjoy the ritual of shaving every other night. Except yeah, ingrowns...
 
Not to be an evangelist, but you pretty much never see straight razor shavers who have gotten past their 30 shaves complaining about ingrown hairs.

My neck hairs grow sideways too. I can't get them perfect, but I can get them good enough for everything except me running a finger across them from side to side and saying "yeah, that's not perfect."
 
I do wish you had posted this sooner as Jatai was having a huge sale, I know you don't want to spend more money. But, the guarded Artist club blades really are magical. The SS or SR with a slight bump to push the skin down and the razor nearly flat, the blade doesn't even touch your skin. The guard is just enough to make sure the blade doesn't take the top off any bumps and the blade lifts the hair like a straight.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Are you refering to the issue of the pressure used while shaving? Well I trained for two years from day one to not apply any, but I will keep trying.
@TheBeast sounds like you need to learn the gentlemanly art. That should solve your problems.
No, I am referring to the gentlemanly art of straight razor shaving. That includes shavette type shaving. Once you master the basics of SR shaving (takes about 30 daily SR shaves), your problems will most probably be solved.

With what you already have, you can get into SR shaving for just a few dollars.


IMG_20210815_083846.jpg
 
Last edited:
No, I am referring to the gentlemanly art of straight razor shaving. That includes shavette type shaving. Once you master the basics of SR shaving (takes about 30 daily SR shaves), your problems will most probably be solved.

With what you already have, you can get into SR shaving for just a few dollars.


Thank you. I will give that a try, I have seen some budget oriented shavettes with great reviews and it always bugged me to try it. Even tho I'm quite afraid of it, I think I will give it a try.
 
Not to be an evangelist, but you pretty much never see straight razor shavers who have gotten past their 30 shaves complaining about ingrown hairs.

My neck hairs grow sideways too. I can't get them perfect, but I can get them good enough for everything except me running a finger across them from side to side and saying "yeah, that's not perfect."
I do wish you had posted this sooner as Jatai was having a huge sale, I know you don't want to spend more money. But, the guarded Artist club blades really are magical. The SS or SR with a slight bump to push the skin down and the razor nearly flat, the blade doesn't even touch your skin. The guard is just enough to make sure the blade doesn't take the top off any bumps and the blade lifts the hair like a straight.
Thank you for your tips, I will check it out, seems promising even though it means another round of risky shopping.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Thank you. I will give that a try, I have seen some budget oriented shavettes with great reviews and it always bugged me to try it. Even tho I'm quite afraid of it, I think I will give it a try.
Best you first start a thread in the straight razor section of B&B before you start. The members there will only be too happy to guide you. Something like "I Want To Start Shaving With A Shavette".
 
Top Bottom