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Razor bumps ahhhhh!

RaZoR BuMps from were, how and why? I have started using different soaps and as for irritation(razor burns) and cuts have pretty much stopped :thumbup1:but have been getting ALOT OF bumps around the neck line:thumbdown. They dont burn or irritate just dont look attractive :thumbdown. I have tried the alum block, nivea balms (sensitive, sensitive cooling and original) but still keep showing up. Any ideas? What should I look for? should I try talc/ powders instead of balms?

I should explain technique huh well I shower, while bush soaks in hot water.
I then face lather for two to three pass (a fresh lather each pass)

when shaving full beard (Once a week) I do 1 pass wtg, pass 2 cross grain and then 3rd pass against....
when shaping up(every two days) (neck and squaring off the cheek hairs and mustache areas) I do wtg, atg and a touch up if needed

I then pass alum block, clean sink wash off alum and reapply alum to the sensitive areas, and top off with one of the nivea balms. Worked for the three months I have been wet shaving and just recently the BUMPS KEEP APPEARING
 
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My best guess it they're coming from your ATG passes. I never shave ATG. It's not worth the risk of ingrown hairs. I used to get them going WTG with a cartridge razor, which is why I switched to DE razors.
 
Its technique, man.
You aren't going to buy your way out of discomfort with post shave treatments.
The trick is to not irritate your face in the first place. 2 words: pressure and passes. Gotta get them both right. for me, less pressure and more passes was the key. You don't have to mow down 80% of your growth in Pass 1. Go for 50.
Maybe just do 2 with a DE, and do your final cleanup with a cart for any spots you may have missed, but it saves your from doing a full pass over everything.

Its took me about 3 months, but now I don't even really need anything post shave anymore. I only do it when I want some fragrance occasionally.
 
Milhaus isn't wrong, but it sounds like we're discussing recipes, when what you really need is to learn how to cook! See the little microscopic view bubble from advertisements in your mind as you look into the mirror. ATG on your neck, the blade goes under the hair and deflects to the skin. A very shallow or very steep angle won't, but you may have to throw away some treasured cookbook advice about "angle and pressure." Grip firmly.
 
It sounds to me like it might be ingrown hairs from your ATG passes. Some gents just aren't able to abide ATG passes and do two XTG passes in opposite directions.
 
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My best guess it they're coming from your ATG passes. I never shave ATG. It's not worth the risk of ingrown hairs. I used to get them going WTG with a cartridge razor, which is why I switched to DE razors.
Ditto on this. I can't do them. I know I will never have the much sought after bbs, but that's ok. (I do still try occasionally, then wait a week while my neck heals :) )
 
My best guess it they're coming from your ATG passes. I never shave ATG. It's not worth the risk of ingrown hairs. I used to get them going WTG with a cartridge razor, which is why I switched to DE razors.

+1

I have the same ingrown hair problem so I never go ATG.
 

mswofford

Rest in Peace
Good advice above; Skip the ATG for awhile and see if that helps. It's not necessary for a good appearance and you can always try it again later.
 
Gentle men as always thank you will stop the against the grain til bumps heal. The splashs, balms and alum I kinda need to continue for one moisturizing I dry very quickly and need moisturizing second I need a quick heal or pore closing as I work in a prison and its not the cleanist enviroment.... Also love the scents
 
Also I might just be thinking out of my (use imagination here), but I mentioned the balms because I remember once, back when I used carts, I used some cocoa butter to lotion up my face right after a shave. My neck filled with razor bumps and ingrown hairs. That was the first and last time I ever did that and til just this week it hasn't happened. Come to think of it the bumps look and feel just like that time I used cocoa butter. Instead am using a ASbalms (nivea). Is it dumb thinking or a possibility? Only AS I have used have been nivea balms and alum block.
 
Have you tried cold water shaving. I switched over and helped out a lot. Free to try. Also, my skin does not like alum at all. What really helped with mine was Lucky Tiger. You can get a sample from maggard. Also, I have read some people have great success using MrGlo pre shave.
 
Have you tried cold water shaving. I switched over and helped out a lot. Free to try. Also, my skin does not like alum at all. What really helped with mine was Lucky Tiger. You can get a sample from maggard. Also, I have read some people have great success using MrGlo pre shave.
yup ordered some lucky tiger due to the scent leaving quick that way it doesn't make with cologne also it made with great stuff in it!
 
yup ordered some lucky tiger due to the scent leaving quick that way it doesn't make with cologne also it made with great stuff in it!

Are you using it now? I tried using alum and just stopped. Maybe that might help you. But with the whole prison job not sure if that is a good idea. Not sure if Lucky Tiger has an astringent in it or not.
 
Also I might just be thinking out of my (use imagination here), but I mentioned the balms because I remember once, back when I used carts, I used some cocoa butter to lotion up my face right after a shave. My neck filled with razor bumps and ingrown hairs. That was the first and last time I ever did that and til just this week it hasn't happened. Come to think of it the bumps look and feel just like that time I used cocoa butter. Instead am using a ASbalms (nivea). Is it dumb thinking or a possibility? Only AS I have used have been nivea balms and alum block.
Now you're cooking with gas! You can't trust some corporate dog to fix YOUR skin. I looked at two aftershaves, one that burned and one that didn't, and that one had glycerin. Glycerin soap kills me, but a couple good squirts in a burning AS made the alcohol stay right at the skin surface rather than penetrating to the nerve endings. I got the "cool" menthol sensation for the first time in my life!

It's because my skin is self-moisturizing and only as tough as an old pudding. A lot of lotions just explode my skin, while alcohol caves it in. I switched to a drop of shaving oil, a simple humectant, when needed. Cocoa butter could definitely be the very same phenomenon.
 
Are you using it now? I tried using alum and just stopped. Maybe that might help you. But with the whole prison job not sure if that is a good idea. Not sure if Lucky Tiger has an astringent in it or not.
na I just got it haven't yet
 
A lot of different advice being thrown around at you in this thread.

For me personally, I get the bumps you are talking about on the left side of my neck if I use too much pressure/angle on the ATG pass. I've found that you can do a couple different things that will help, but the biggest will be at a bare minimum, skipping ATG or even XTG till it has cleared up. If you can skip shaving for three days, even better. Once you get back to shaving, really pay attention to those areas and don't try to get BBS too much. Once you've started to improve your technique then you can try to push it some more and try for a daily smooth shave.

Three side notes:
1. All the balms/extra products you're using may not be helping you. Stick to one product (the lucky tiger you mentioned is good stuff).
2. Beard mapping is king. Go back and make sure you absolutely know your beard growth in the spots you are having trouble and adhere to it.
3. Cold water shaving does seem to help, but at the very least, once you're done washing the soap off, splash with some cold water.
 
While it's not giving you razor burn, you're probably trying too hard to get a BBS, so you're probably pushing a tad too much with the razor at a bad angle, cutting the hair under skin level and at an angle, so the hair regrows towards under the skin.

Hold your razor at a slightly more parallel angle and less pressure.
 
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