A Painful Few Days After!

[Boris D]

Okay so yet again I come and go to ask a random question. In my heart of hearts I never forget you all though.

So here's what I'm finding. My shave itself has varied. From using my own proraso lather, to the canned stuff. From mach 3/4 blades to my double edge razor. Various blades from sampler packs. Boar brushes to badger brushes. Shaving in the shower to shaving out of it. Hot water. Cold water. Towel ahead of time. Now, here is my dilemma....

I feel as though it's not the shave. I may be wrong. Honestly it's the days that follow that bother me. My neck starts to get red bumps in the days that follow and it is painful as it grows back in. I'm not sure if this is me not being clean enough in the days that follow. I don't know if I should be washing my face more often. I don't know if I should be exfoliating before the shave. Does anyone have any ideas on this?

 

[Rockminer]

Do you find that the bumps are related to something rubbing against your face/neck? I sometimes get red irritation like bumps when I wear a dress shirt, have a jacket rub my neck or am wrestling around with my nephews.

 

[Boris D]

I'm not quite sure. I feel like it's always bad the morning after. Meaning it may be that... my pillow case is dirty or something? Or I'm rolling around and irritating it?

 

[Rockminer]

I'm not quite sure. I feel like it's always bad the morning after. Meaning it may be that... my pillow case is dirty or something? Or I'm rolling around and irritating it?

Maybe, but I've never had irritation from sleeping/rolling around at night.

Did this just start happening since you've made the switch to DE shaving? I'm assuming you shaved a different way before? Did you have the same problem with the other kind?

 

[Boris D]

Well, honestly I just got laid off and had to look for jobs again. And for interviews I've started shaving again. At my prior work I could just use an electric razor to trim and not have to clean shave. But before and after, regardless of anything I've ever done or tried to change, the same issue arises. And I really have no idea why.

 

[Rockminer]

I'm not a doctor but it might be worth going to a dermatologist once you get working and have some insurance, if it happens regardless of shaving and or cream/soap products.

Can you post a pic of the problem? Maybe someone can chime in if they see something that might help.

 

[Boris D]

I'm not a doctor but it might be worth going to a dermatologist once you get working and have some insurance, if it happens regardless of shaving and or cream/soap products.

Can you post a pic of the problem? Maybe someone can chime in if they see something that might help.

Sounds like a plan. Next shave I have I'll post a picture the day after and throw it up here. Might be a couple weeks so for now I'll bookmark this and let it die unless someone else has an idea.

 

[Rockminer]

Something you can try is to make sure you are shaving with the grain and just do one pass with some touch ups if necessary. Shaving WTG is different for everyone so make sure to map out your beard pattern and try to see if that helps. My hair grows in many different directions so a WTG pass involves many different directions in one pass.

 

[Boris D]

Something you can try is to make sure you are shaving with the grain and just do one pass with some touch ups if necessary. Shaving WTG is different for everyone so make sure to map out your beard pattern and try to see if that helps. My hair grows in many different directions so a WTG pass involves many different directions in one pass.

Yup I do that. It's not nearly as close but I feel it's hopefully close enough to look like I shaved. I just feel like there's a trick or secret I'm missing that would let me have a clean shave all the time with no irritation.

 

[Rockminer]

Yup I do that. It's not nearly as close but I feel it's hopefully close enough to look like I shaved. I just feel like there's a trick or secret I'm missing that would let me have a clean shave all the time with no irritation.

I'm honestly kinda stumped because you say it happens with any kind of shaving you do ( electric, DE etc. ) which makes me think it could be some sort of skin condition or reaction from a product or metal. But it doesn't happen right away which is hard for me to understand as well. Maybe some more members will chime in and think of something we're not.

 

[Patman27]

No diagnosis here, but have you looked up pseudofolliculitis barbae, aka razor bumps. It happens when a shaved hair grows through some skin and causes an ingrown hair inflammation type thing. I'm no dermatologist, but if you have tried getting rid of any allergic irritants already...

Could always try a little aspirin paste, mantic said it could help ingrown hairs in one of his videos. I'm not sure of the strength he suggested.

 

[Boris D]

No diagnosis here, but have you looked up pseudofolliculitis barbae, aka razor bumps. It happens when a shaved hair grows through some skin and causes an ingrown hair inflammation type thing. I'm no dermatologist, but if you have tried getting rid of any allergic irritants already...

Could always try a little aspirin paste, mantic said it could help ingrown hairs in one of his videos. I'm not sure of the strength he suggested.

This does sound more like what I would guess I'm dealing with. It's as though as the hair is growing it's irritating the nearby skin, though not exactly ingrown.

I also failed to mention that if I do try to shave the next day (AKA back to back days) it is incredibly painful and that's when I'll get nicks and cuts.

 

[TourettesTuna]

Given the lead time on the irritation, ingrown hair like phenomena seems to be a likely cause. However, your information on the shave specifics gives us little to work with. The fact that you tried all of those things doesn't tell us anything, unless you tried them consistently and have detailed notes on your procedure and results. (I realize the end result was the same in all cases, but I'm wondering if there might have been some minute details that could be important.)

For now I would suggest using a routine that exfoliates as much as possible without being uncomfortable. My guess it that you have issues with your hairs getting out of the skin during regrowth. That said, when you shave, do so only after properly hydrating the beard (shower/Kyle's method), and use the scrubbiest brush you can find to face lather. On the days you don't shave, wash and exfoliate your face every day. Hopefully, such a routine will either make things better or worse, and we can go from there. If it gets better, then we have corrected at least part of the problem. If it gets worse, then we'll need to go back to drawing board.

Also, what do you usually do postshave. (Alum? Witch Hazel? ASB? AS? Cold Water?)

 

[nomach3]

I\ve been having great results using organic olive oil, and coconut oil mixed, instead of shave soap.
Leaves the skin soft and not dry, as opposed to soap, which seems to dry a bit.

Might be wortha shot!

 

[Boris D]

I like the olive oil and coconut oil mix idea. As for @TourettesTuna (awkward to actually type that when I realize what it says) ... could you suggest a product to use? I imagine using a good product in the mornings and/or evenings to try to keep my face clean and healthy might help. I would bet the dryness of the skin on my face and general lack of healthy care is contributing to the unhealthy growing back.

As for what I normally use, I've used after-shave balm from The Art of Shaving, I've used witch hazel with lavender, and I've used alcohol-based after shaves as well. I've also tried to just rinse with cold water after shaving in order to close up the pores so to speak.

At the moment, I'm leaning toward the idea of taking better care of the skin on my face, so let's figure out a good and easy exfoliating product and then I may try something with olive oil and/or coconut oil for shaving to help keep the skin wet too.

 

[Shave_Rat]

Another thing to ponder, have you mapped the direction of growth in the areas it seems to happen? I've heard others say that so long as they only shave with the grain in those sensitive areas it greatly reduced the instances of razor bumps and ingrown hairs, since it avoids cutting the hair too close so it doesn't grow up through skin layers and get caught.

 

[hudson_macbeth]

moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. ... I was having the same type of problems untili started making sure my face stayed moisturized. I avoid alcoholic aftershaves and usually run some glycerine in, then Nivea as balm for sensitive skin, and it really seems to help. Oh. . And during the shave, I add enough water to my uberlather to make it slick as snot

 

[Boris D]

@Shave_Rat I've mapped it but it's hard to shave with the grain on my neck as it grows outward almost like an upside down tree. And shaving with the grain outward is difficult with a razor without nicking yourself so I often have to go across the grain.

@Hudson_Macbeth I think moisturizing is an issue definitely and may be the cause of things. If I could get a strong moisturizer and exfoliate that don't take a ton of effort/attention throughout the day it may help.

 

[hudson_macbeth]

Well, the glycerine rub and nivea balm definitely help me, and sometimes I will rub in some unscented moisurizer once a day and it really seems to have helped...and it doesnt hurt that it is incredibly cheap

 

[TourettesTuna]

@Boris D: As to particular products, I don't have any in mind that are stellar. For the shaving brush I would say start with an omega boar and work your way down in back-bone from there. For a moisturizer, I've actually found that Vaseline: Men: Extra Strength works very well as an aftershave balm and general purpose moisturizer. It doesn't fight razor burn very well, but it does moisturize well while absorbing quickly. For daily exfoliation and cleansing, my suggestion is to find non-drying, non-comedogenic (doesn't clog pores) soap or soap free cleanser, and use a wash cloth for a gentle scrubby massage. The cleansers I've tried myself are Every Man Jack face washes (exfoliant and regular), and various shampoo bars (stuff from Chagrin Valley has a fairly good price point). Honestly, I don't think the particular products used for facial cleansing make that much of a difference as long as you follow some basic rules and use them regularly.

Basic rules (not exaustive):
1.) Avoid SLS and its cousins when they are present as main ingredients. This includes saponified coconut oil to a certain degree.
2.) Avoid products that moisturize at the expense of clogging pores. In other words things containing raw coconut oil or other such comedogens are not good to use on your face.
3.) If you expect to get a lot of sun make sure to include sun blocking products in your skin care. Many elements that we use to condition the skin make it photosensitive, so sun block is a good idea when using things like vitamin A.