Appreciate feedback from those who struggle with ingrowns/acne

[Dtownvino]

I have folliculitis and psoriasis. If you don’t know what these are, I’ll give you a short description of both so you don’t have to leave this post.

Folliculitis - Folliculitis is an infection or irritation in the hair follicles (from homeline.com). Think of always getting razor burn or pimples under your skin if something goes wrong.

Psoriasis - Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk and scalp (from mayoclinic.com).

Here is the problem, if my folliculitis kicks up, and I treat it, my psoriasis goes into overdrive and I’m a mess. The best way for me to treat this is to be proactive in how I approach shaving.

Now for my approach and products that help me a lot.

1.) I always wash my face first with mild soap (Cetaphil gentle or PAA the cube 2.0).

2.) I have experimented with many soaps, Ethos Tibu Sabuni keeps my skin clear better than anything I have used. I only paint on the soap or cream, I do not drive it into my face so hard that I irritate my follicles. I can also use all Ethos Soaps.

3.) I use sharper blades for 2 shaves , fairly aggressive razors, clean the razor and blade in 70% rubbing alcohol for 30-60 seconds post shave and perform a 2.5 shave pass. Cheeks get the extra half pass as they can handle it.

4.) Post shave always involves a splash, which is mostly Ethos skin food with alcohol. I have no issues with alcohol based splashes.

5.) Moisturizer is a key step. It has to be gentle, 2% Hyaluronic Acid, Ethos Skin food lotion (unscented) something like this. No SPF, guranteed to clog my pores.

6.) Shave timing - 1.5-2 days growth is best for me. Over shaving is a problem, under shaving and my razor choice must change.

So now to the razors:

Blackbird Ti Lite very good results.

Even better results with a Karve Overlander than the BB Ti.

Best results for me are with the Lambda Athena.

I use clindamycin phosphate lotion, too.

 

[Roy]

I occasionally get red bumps for no apparent reason.
I'd say, use a mild razor but a sharp blade you feel comfortable with.
Use a cream or soap with little scent and bowl lather, painted on your face.
Use a very very light touch. One pass .
Rinse with tepid water.
No balm as I find this can redden the bums, and no alum.
I'd use a quality cream or soap with minimum ingredients such as Mdc however, proraso white suits my skin too.

 

[Rich S]

@Shave and coffee

I read this thread and feel plenty of sympathy for you.

I suffered from this problem when I was in my 20s, although I don't think it was nearly as much trouble as you've had. Here's a collection of things I've learned that worked for me.

Shaving – Less is more. Use a light touch. Don't shave so close that you can't shave again the next day. When I had that problem, I was using a Gillette Techmatic. Anyone remember those? The blade was quite flexible, and I thought that helped. They haven't been made for a long time.

I tried various soaps and shaving creams. Edge gel was a new shaving cream then, but it didn't make a difference. Neither did shaving creams with aloe, or any shave lotion.

What did work for me was to get my face skin to exfoliate. I'd wash my face with soap & water, using a small boar bristle face brush. Rinse the soap off with a thick, dense, all cotton face cloth. Washing & rinsing were done vigorously. It was important to keep my face wet & soapy for several minutes, long enough to wet the dry dead skin layer that accumulates on my face. About once or twice a week, this would make my face skin exfoliate. It was pleasant, never painful when it happened.

That peeling made all the difference. Apparently, dead skin in the outer layers on my face would block my pores, eventually clogging them. These pores produce the oil on your face, and I have thick oily skin & a heavy beard. This is what worked for me. It may or may not work for you.

Many year later, I tried Poraso Red shaving soap. It definitely enhanced my facial skin exfoliation. For what it's worth, Poraso Red has shea butter in it, unlike the other Poraso shaving soaps. At first I wondered how a oily substance, often used to keep dry skin moist, could help my skin exfoliate. I don't know the answer, but I think it's worth a try.

I have read that shaving soaps with animal fat, or tallow, might make skin break out worse if your skin is already oily. I avoid them, and use washing or shaving soaps made from plant based oils.

Good luck!

 

[Shave and coffee]

@Shave and coffee

I read this thread and feel plenty of sympathy for you.

I suffered from this problem when I was in my 20s, although I don't think it was nearly as much trouble as you've had. Here's a collection of things I've learned that worked for me.

Shaving – Less is more. Use a light touch. Don't shave so close that you can't shave again the next day. When I had that problem, I was using a Gillette Techmatic. Anyone remember those? The blade was quite flexible, and I thought that helped. They haven't been made for a long time.
View attachment 1720769

I tried various soaps and shaving creams. Edge gel was a new shaving cream then, but it didn't make a difference. Neither did shaving creams with aloe, or any shave lotion.

What did work for me was to get my face skin to exfoliate. I'd wash my face with soap & water, using a small boar bristle face brush. Rinse the soap off with a thick, dense, all cotton face cloth. Washing & rinsing were done vigorously. It was important to keep my face wet & soapy for several minutes, long enough to wet the dry dead skin layer that accumulates on my face. About once or twice a week, this would make my face skin exfoliate. It was pleasant, never painful when it happened.

That peeling made all the difference. Apparently, dead skin in the outer layers on my face would block my pores, eventually clogging them. These pores produce the oil on your face, and I have thick oily skin & a heavy beard. This is what worked for me. It may or may not work for you.

Many year later, I tried Poraso Red shaving soap. It definitely enhanced my facial skin exfoliation. For what it's worth, Poraso Red has shea butter in it, unlike the other Poraso shaving soaps. At first I wondered how a oily substance, often used to keep dry skin moist, could help my skin exfoliate. I don't know the answer, but I think it's worth a try.

I have read that shaving soaps with animal fat, or tallow, might make skin break out worse if your skin is already oily. I avoid them, and use washing or shaving soaps made from plant based oils.

Good luck!

Appreciate this and some of the recent feedback.

The good news is that I'm looking A LOT better now and feel like I have things under control. This thread ended up being super helpful in identifying a few things that I had overlooked:

1. Putting too many different lotions/creams on my face where I thought I wanted to have something specific for every need.
2. Avoiding scented shave creams and making sure I get a good lather to protect the skin and lift whiskers.
3. Re-visiting beard growth and focusing on consistent, good blade technique.
4. Importance of using my tretinoin prescription. Although, my skin reacts if I use too much, I've had great results by consistently using the smallest dab at night. It won't dry my skin out and I see that my skin is turning over a lot more quickly, staying clearer while clearing up any spots far more quickly than before.

I can't be grateful enough for this forum and some of the respondents on this thread. I really posted here as a last resort before having to consider accutane, which was embarassing for me to even think about.

This forum is even better when interacting with you lovely folk as opposed to just lurking around .

 

[Bugin]

You mention washing your face with a mild soap which is great but one thing people often overlook is that shave soap often fills that niche quite well. A good shave soap is often engineered toward hydrating and conditioning more that cleaning (it does clean as well though). I'd try finding a shave soap to prewashing with first. The extra round of hydration/conditioning may do some good as well. Just my $0.02.