Don't know how to stop these red marks...

[tob1303]

Alright, first let me apologize for close up pictures of freshly shaved and unattractive skin...but I honestly don't know what it is nor how to prevent them. I know it's not pleasant to look at...I'm sorry.

Now, these are pictures taken 20 minutes after a shave - it's not a good shave - just a WTG pass and a semi XTG pass - not going for closeness yet. Anyway...these are the red marks that appear ten minutes after every shave, every time. My face does not burn. These are not ingrowns. These are not nicks or cuts (they didn't bleed nor did they hurt). And within 12 hours they are gone for the most part and within 6 hours they are much less apparent. Also, they show up in the exact same spot after every single shave with the exact same pattern, etc....they are simply the same spots every time. They don't really hurt, and they don't really feel like bumps...in fact it feels rather smooth. But the point is I'm supposed to be able to shave immediately before leaving the house...and well, this is no good for that. I simply don't know what they are. I can tell you the angle is the same on my neck as it is everywhere else, which goes fine. I also pay especially close attention not to apply too much pressure - which I know everyone says.

What is this? Why can't I get rid of them? What can I do to stop this from happening? And do I have to wait a week or two (I can do that, I'm a student) to let them heal before shaving again in order to stop them?

View attachment 88621
View attachment 88622

Again I apologize for pics...but I'm desperate.

 

[baba]

Well, first off...no need to apologize. You are looking for help, so the more you can either articulate or display of the problem the better. Second you need to find out why this is happening, if you can do that, then you can solve the problem. Try to limit your variables.

I too get a red area after shaving (mostly on my neck also) but it goes away within an hour. It has gotten much better lately though.

I read something not long ago about bacteria on razors and have been either using alcohol or antibacterial hand gel on my razors and blades before and after I shave. Since then, the redness on my neck has been less pronounced. I'm not sure if they are related, but it can't hurt to try.

I hope it helps, I'm sure the other members will have plenty of good tips.

Good luck!

 

[tag-and-log]

It looks like you have a complicated growth pattern on neck, and you might be doing ATG there. Hence the razor bumps. Also it can be tricky for a newbie to keep the correct blade angle in the neck area.
Good luck, sir!

 

[drewmac]

It looks like you have a complicated growth pattern on neck, and you might be doing ATG there. Hence the razor bumps. Also it can be tricky for a newbie to keep the correct blade angle in the neck area.
Good luck, sir!

I'm going to agree with the inadvertently going ATG. I have a wicked patch of hair on my neck that goes in all directions and if I forget to compensate with a different blade direction, I get these same razor bumps.

My best suggestion would be to skip shaving for a day and really feel the stubble that comes in, rubbing it in all directions. That will give you a great idea of how your beard grows.

 

[NatJag]

This is interesting. I too have a similar thing. Although mine disappears after an hour or so. I'm a DE user but tried to use a straight. When I used the straight, my neck came up better than using the DE. I'm using the same direction of shaving as DE. I normally use a Mühle R89 razor, when I went back to my Futur with an Astra blade, I had no problem on my neck area. I've not been too bothered about it at the moment, wearing polo necks in winter so nobody can see my neck anyway. But I'm guessing the blade probably has something to do with. I may try different things on myself and report back.

 

[briznian]

It looks like you have a complicated growth pattern on neck, and you might be doing ATG there. Hence the razor bumps. Also it can be tricky for a newbie to keep the correct blade angle in the neck area.
Good luck, sir!

I agree with this. I have a very similar pattern there and compensate by doing a modified 'Gillette Slide'. Basically I shave XTG there and it seems to fix the problem.

 

[mrscottishman]

Well, it looks like razor rash to me. Some good suggestions already. I can't imagine ingrown hairs or infected follicles recovering in half a day. In years past I would get something like that if I used a dull blade, no prep or just too much pressure. Has it always been this way when you shaved? Redness = Irritation, so you have to figure out what is doing the irritating. Blade? Sharpness, coatings. Technique? To much against the grain, too much pressure, bad angle. Soap? Try a gentle glycerin soap for a change. Aftershave, Shave oils, prewash soap etc? Avoid the other stuff until you figure it out.

If it were me I would do a warm water prep with a towel, use a mild glycerin based soap, lather with a soft and well rinsed brush, try a new top rated blade, shave with the grain only and with very light pressure (I mean really light!), keep the blade angle a little shallow (think skimming over your face, not scraping away beard) not do over two passes for a while, not worry if I got a BBS shave (in fact I would try to avoid a close shave, I would just do beard reduction until I got a handle on this), cool water rinse and pat dry and never rub.

When you have got it under control you can add back some of the variables one at a time. Shave across the grain later and with more passes and so on.

Sometimes we develop sensitivities over a period of time and things we were ok with before become irritating. Companies change their formulas and that can trip us up too. Weather changes affect our skin and shaving. I get a little dryness going for me in the winter, but I feel oily in hot weather.

Don't get frustrated and just take it easy,
best of luck,
mrscottishman

 

[PatrickNewing]

I think you can see in the photo that you have growth in different directions on the neck.

I have the same thing (redness/razor bumps), but it is much more localised and only on one side of the neck.

Really am a newbie, but I left it for a whole week between shaves then I could see very clearly in what direction the hair is growing. I was convinced that wasnt the problem but after a weeks growth I saw that at the bottom of the neck the hair suddenly goes left to right.

Also I think I get shaving bumps not only because of direction of growth and having to be very careful with that - but also because I find it more difficult to control the angle of the blade when shaving the neck area. Its easy to dig in more with the blade and cut too close.

And I tried Proraso sensitive cream. Its very good. Seems slicker and helps the razor glide.

And I am EXTRA careful to use no pressure whatsoever when doing my neck now. I hold the razor by my finger tips and go very easy.

Hope this helps.

 

[tob1303]

Well, thanks for you help fellas.

Yes, my neck does have weird directions and such (also wierd angles)....but I have done a thorough mapping of the growth and have one of Mantic's blank faces printed out with about 75 arrows on it to remind me of where it goes in which direction....and I use it as a guide. I've also tried using a north to south while ignoring the grain in an attempt to fix it - to no avail.

This shave was done with a brand new Derby blade...as were the other shaves that cause the same thing - Wilkinson Sword did the same thing as well - don't ask me about the Merkur blades I tried.

I have used a lot of variables and few variables. This shave was with AOS pre-shave oil, TOBS Almond cream, alum block, WH, Proraso Pre-Post..........however for the past two weeks I've been tinkering trying to find a way - I've taken out the alum block, no change, I in fact rarely use oil - no change, I used TOBS cream/TOBS soap/Tabac Soap/CO Bigelow Cream/Provence Sante Soap - no changes. I've gone with just Proraso Pre-Post/just WH/just Nivea/Just Skinfood/just other ASB's and their assorted combinations....I can't seem to change the results.

I wish I could tell you I know it's not the angle or the pressure...but frankly, I can't think of anything else it could be. Though I know that I am absolutely so careful on my neck - my angle is very shallow....what is beyond me is this area where the irritation is, is not the angled area of my neck...meaning this is the bottom, where is is flat, not where my jaw turns into my neck - I don't know why the flat portion of my neck has problems.

I think I'm going to attempt to give my neck a week or two off (attempt is the key word) just so these things can have a chance to completely heal. Then I'll just recalibrate and pay special attention to direction/pressure/angle.....again. Though this doesn't seem to be changing anything I was doing before.

For comparison's sake...here's my neck now, 11 hours removed from the shave...this is a slow healer - but definitely improve - also note it's not as bad as it looks, before or later, in the picture :

View attachment 88661
View attachment 88662

 

[craig87c]

I have nearly the same growth pattern actually. Somewhat East to West on one side, every-which-way on the other. What works for me is to do XTG (both directions) on the E-W side, and a WTG (as much as possible) then XTG (as much as possible) on the crazy side.