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Constant ingrown hairs

I don't know if its been mentioned already but I find that when I get in growns once in awhile it's the after shave I used that contains castor oil. I stick with the alcohol based after shaves and have no problems.
 
I don't know if its been mentioned already but I find that when I get in growns once in awhile it's the after shave I used that contains castor oil. I stick with the alcohol based after shaves and have no problems.
Wow, nice tip. I'll bring out some old-schooll alcohol based splashes and give it a try. Altough I often feel like I need a cream / balm to hydrate after the shave but it's worth a try, thank you.
 
Hey!

I have carefully read all the comments and advice given to your condition. All are sound and come from experience and a good place.

I made a post asking for advice because a suffered from the same problems. Not so much regarding ingrowns or bumps but irritation in general. I had this ONE spot on my neck (right side of Mr. Adam) that no matter what I did I would get irritation. Not directly after the shave but it usually crept up a day after. I, like yourself tried what I believed was everything. And I mean EVERYTHING.

The practical things that helped me alot was angle and pressure (duh). I also focused on my lather. Turns out that my lather had been to dry my whole wet shaving carrier. Finding a blade that works helped alot and the thing that helped the most was not overdoing the prep. Softening the bristles with either a shower, cloth or a semi-lenghty warm water splash, paired with a good lather helped more than anything. It didnt ”cure” it though.


So I finally went to a skin specialist/dermatologist. Turns out that my thyroid gland (a gland that is positioned in the lower throat region which regulates your hormones, amongst other things) was not doing what it was supposed to do. This made my skin flare out with red blotchy areas especially on my neck and especially after aggetating it (shaving).

This would last a couple of days. Shaved again. Same problem. I got treatment and meds and *knock on wood* no more irritation.

Look. I am no medical professional. I am just a random guy on the internet. Never take medical advice from a random guy on the internet, BUT as many have stated before me. Your troubles seem to surpass ”ordinary” skin associated problems due to shaving. Razor burn, ingrowns and irritation is common. But having days or weeks of redness, discoloration and irritation is not. My humble advice would be to stop shaving and see a dermatologist. This way you can be sure there is no medical reason to your troubles. I wish I had done it sooner. Would have saved me alot of frustration, money and pain.

Best regards.
 
Hey!

I have carefully read all the comments and advice given to your condition. All are sound and come from experience and a good place.

I made a post asking for advice because a suffered from the same problems. Not so much regarding ingrowns or bumps but irritation in general. I had this ONE spot on my neck (right side of Mr. Adam) that no matter what I did I would get irritation. Not directly after the shave but it usually crept up a day after. I, like yourself tried what I believed was everything. And I mean EVERYTHING.

The practical things that helped me alot was angle and pressure (duh). I also focused on my lather. Turns out that my lather had been to dry my whole wet shaving carrier. Finding a blade that works helped alot and the thing that helped the most was not overdoing the prep. Softening the bristles with either a shower, cloth or a semi-lenghty warm water splash, paired with a good lather helped more than anything. It didnt ”cure” it though.


So I finally went to a skin specialist/dermatologist. Turns out that my thyroid gland (a gland that is positioned in the lower throat region which regulates your hormones, amongst other things) was not doing what it was supposed to do. This made my skin flare out with red blotchy areas especially on my neck and especially after aggetating it (shaving).

This would last a couple of days. Shaved again. Same problem. I got treatment and meds and *knock on wood* no more irritation.

Look. I am no medical professional. I am just a random guy on the internet. Never take medical advice from a random guy on the internet, BUT as many have stated before me. Your troubles seem to surpass ”ordinary” skin associated problems due to shaving. Razor burn, ingrowns and irritation is common. But having days or weeks of redness, discoloration and irritation is not. My humble advice would be to stop shaving and see a dermatologist. This way you can be sure there is no medical reason to your troubles. I wish I had done it sooner. Would have saved me alot of frustration, money and pain.

Best regards.
I'm really glad that you have found your cure! I have to work on lather, angle&preassure too. These situations, when I'm "indisposed" for days/weeks happen after particulary bad shaves. Now that it's after the holidays I'll go and consult a dermatologist, I've been putting it off for far too long.

Thank you for sharing your experience!
 
BIG PROGRESS
My appointment with the dermatologist got canceled and postponed for the second time in a row. I wasn't able to resist the urge and I went for a shave anyway with my neck at around 85% - still some red/pink that faded overnight but got worse if I scratched the area.

My trusted set-up with R89 + Voskhod blade did wonders when I applied all of the tips which werre given to me in this thread. No shower, only hot water rinse. I used my badger brush since I find my boar to be too scratchy. I palm-lathered and made some beautiful lather which was shiny and slick and I aimed for more watery consistency. I only shaved the width of the head of the razor (sideways) at the bottom of my neck. Half of this area was previously affected by razor burn that lasted weeks - it was a result of face lathering too harsh and then proceeding to shave with too much pressure using too dry lather.

No burn, no additional redness, absolutely NONE sting of the alum. Couldn't believe it. If I would shave my whole beard today like this, it would be a 98% shave. There are still some whiskers around which it starts to turn pink/red but that is usually gone by the morning.

Where I see the biggest culprits:

1. Face lathering with a boar brush that is too scratchy and being too vigorous with it - that alone is enough to upset my skin so I will be palm lathering with a badger brush. (Bowl lathering produces bubbly and foamy lather after a week of training, palm lathering produced ultra-lather on my first try)
I may also look into some really soft brushes like Muhle silvertip fibre (or badger) but that seems too costly.

2. Using lather that was dry and foamy. My previous lathering was catasthropic so I spent the last week trying out numerous guides as to how to get it where it needs to be. Before it was not protecting or lubricating nearly at all. Now its simply beautifull.

3. TOO MUCH PRESSURE. Throughout the last week, I sat down in front of a mirror with a razor that didn't have a blade in it and I was literally practicing my angle and pressure. At last I understood the real meaning of "feather touch". I applied my knowledge in the shave and voilà - the perfect shave.


Now I believe I didn't need anything more than just some back-to-basics. Angle, pressure, slick lather. That's it. Seems like I'm set for life with my gear and products even though I have a straight razor with a custom hand made strop on the way. That should be a birthday gift later next month. With my stock of 2 open and 2 closed comb razors, from very mild to pretty aggressive, shavette and a straight razor, 20 types of blades and plenty of soaps and aftershaves I would say I don't need to buy a single shaving item for years. Weeeeell we'll see how that goes especially after tasting what shaving should really feel like. I'll try to hold myself off and maybe stop myself right after I get a really soft brush which I feel like I could really use or when the money runs out which seems like pretty soon. But hey, better building such a stock than wasting it on cartridges I guess.


Thank all of you who gave me some pointers and especially those who gave me whole guides and their personal experiences. Special thanks to the gentlemen which I won't name but they will know it's them who I'm talking about for supporting me the way they did.

Now the real journey can begin! Hopefully soon I'll be the one writing all those cool guides for guys who need help.
 
Hello and good day to you all.

I have been using a safety razor for two years n ow and I cannot get rid of ingrown hair issue
Everyone has an opinion. Mine would be first of all Shave less often for a while and develop an against the grain technique. Second forget the alcohol blade rinse
 
@sternej, I guess there's some weird bug going on with that last post and you wanted to post about less frequent shaving and ATG technique. Funny enough today I really did forget the alcohol rinse. As for shaving ATG, that would take a long time and I guess I'll never even get there. Now I'm happy with my single with the grain pass which seems to work, later on I may try another passes.
 
@sternej, I guess there's some weird bug going on with that last post and you wanted to post about less frequent shaving and ATG technique. Funny enough today I really did forget the alcohol rinse. As for shaving ATG, that would take a long time and I guess I'll never even get there. Now I'm happy with my single with the grain pass which seems to work, later on I may try another passes.
Happy Shaving. Good luck with your ingrown hairs
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
@TheBeast, it's great to hear that our advice and guidance has been of benefit to you. You have started down a path that I think will serve you well for the rest of your life. This journey will not just develop your shaving experience but also increase your overall self-confidence.

You will succeed in whatever you apply yourself to.
 
@TheBeast, it's great to hear that our advice and guidance has been of benefit to you. You have started down a path that I think will serve you well for the rest of your life. This journey will not just develop your saving experience but also increase your overall self-confidence.

You will succeed in whatever you apply yourself to.
Thank you! I was feeling kind of down that couldn't even shave like a man! Now that is behind me. I still get some slightly red / pink spots/areas but I guess they too will go away when I find a perfect razor+blade combo with good technique.
 
UPDATE

I am now able to get nice shaveswithout much irritation, but still some. I can shave every other day, but I find it better to shave every other day to let everything heal and start fresh. My best shaves are with the R89 and I'm trying out all the blades I have to find my favorite once more. With more aggressive razors I get more irritation. Stirling soap gives me great lather and slickness but the Proraso white gives me less irritation. I use cold water since it helps considerably with irritation.

I still get a few bumps here and there, mainly on the edges of my growth. These hairs are so thin I can't even see them properly, but they do make some annoying bumps. They are in position where I'm ending the stroke with the razor so the angle isn't perfect every time or I push down harder in order to follow the curve of the neck.

My bumpy days after every shave seem to be ending. Now a new era begins - pink spots. In some areas, there are spots around each hair that look like acne or bumps that have been squezed out and left a "scar". They are either red or slightly pink and they take 24-48 hours to heal, so I guess your typical razor burn. They aren't itchy, dry or burning. I get no sting from alum bluck after the shave anymore thanks to watching my pressure on the razor.
 
This thread is like a great book. I got engrossed in the ups and downs. Wanted to see how it ended but didn’t skip to the end, because I didn’t want to miss any of the middle.

Get to the last page and it’s almost a happy ending. When do you ever get to a book and the last few pages have still to be written?

Brilliant thread with some great advice and tips throughout.
 
For many, many years I just had stubble.... used an electric trimmer 2-3 per week. It was the era of Miami Vice, so I solved my ingrown problem and "thought" I was cool at the same time.

Then I went to long beards till some nasty bug showed up and I had to shave to fit real masks. Lower neck still a problem, rest OK
 
Perhaps that is the culprit? Generally they'll pull the hair away and out of the skin and cut too short, and then the follicle goes back under the skin causing ingrowns.
Nope, this is the ONLY thing that works for me in the lower neck, doesn't cut short, it's a trimmer not a razor. Used it for 20yrs, Miami Vice look: no ingrown. That newish double blade sensitive skin cart from Gillette also works.... a bit $$
 
Nope, this is the ONLY thing that works for me in the lower neck, doesn't cut short, it's a trimmer not a razor. Used it for 20yrs, Miami Vice look: no ingrown. That newish double blade sensitive skin cart from Gillette also works.... a bit $$
I just realized you are not the original poster.
So perhaps that is part of his issue.
 
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