Ingrowns.Oh the humanity of it all

[imbored2deth]

I have been getting ingrown hairs on my throat area lately. What have others here tried to mitigate this? I have tend skin, bump patrol, but there is a product out there made by anthony logistics that is supposed to be a ingrown remedy. The only issue with I have with that stuff is the price. It is about $25-30 a pop and if it doesn't work then I am out that amount. Has anybody used this and had success with it?

My shave prep is about the same as others. Lately I have been shaving my neck every other day. While this helps a little it is not a cure.

 

[mblakele]

Try face-lathering at the opposite end of the day from your shave. This may free up some trapped hairs. Even if it does not, it is a cheap and enjoyable process.

 

[Vlad]

I haven't had that problem, but I know others have found mild shaving techniques and exfoliation helpful. Check out the resources in my sig.

 

[the_edski]

+1,agreed! If you are doing anything but WTG on your neck/throat, stop and see if that helps.

I haven't had that problem, but I know others have found mild shaving techniques and exfoliation helpful. Check out the resources in my sig.

 

[imbored2deth]

FYI...I have used both DE (tech) and twin blade disposable razors. I get about the same results either way but it seems that the DE is worse.

I only do WTG on my throat. Funny thing though. Technically the right side of my throat hair grows horizontal. When I shave horizontal (WTG) I get both ingrowns and acne. It is worse. When I shave down (which is what I did for 20+ years before), I seem to just get ingrowns.

 

[celestino]

This might sound a bit odd, but have you tried an open-comb razor? i and a few other gents find that they are much more effective for the neck as they do not seem to cause irritation and ingrowns. The Tech just might not be for you. Not all razors work for everyone.
Not to criticize your technique, but you may be applying too much pressure.
One last thing, you may want to try unrefined shea butter. This thing is amazing as a post-shave "balm" which helps with the worst irritation and could help with the ingrowns. Good luck.

 

[Strokin04]

+1 to using shea butter and really paying close attention to the angle and amount of pressure on the neck area.

 

[Attila]

I have heard others say as well that open combs help with ingrown hairs. Might be worth a shot.

 

[catherix]

I had similar problems when I started wet shaving. In fact it's one of the reasons I switched. The key for me is pressure. Anytime I find myself using too much one seems to pop up. And you may try simply giving your face a few/several days off, if that's possible. It sucks not to shave but it'll allow some recovery to happen. I personally use no products that are specifically designed to help ingrowns so I can't help you there.

 

[Buster Casey]

The Anthony Logistics ingrown hair/ razor bump treatment works well, but I believe the Bump Patrol is just as effective. Try going WTG on the neck and taking an extra day or 2 if possible between shaves. I had this problem with bumps on my cheeks area, but it has been over a year now bump free following the advice I am giving. I hope this works out for you.

 

[superkreep]

I know exactly what you're talking about. I've had the following issues: ingrown hair(s) on the neck area, hair that grows horizontally, and $$ spent on numerous in-grown hair treatment. The following routine works for me, although it's a pain in the you-know-what:

- On the neck, only shave WTG
- Skip a day between shaves
- Wash your beard / neck with the acne.org cleanser- ~$10
- Then exfoliate in the shower every day- I use the Olay brush ~$20
- Use the Anthony Logistics at night

Once the AL product runs out, I'll be hard pressed to shell out the $$ for it again. It's hard for me to say it did not work, since I didn't use it in isolation. I do believe the cleanser / exfoliating made a bigger difference. As with anything on this forum, YMMV. Good luck !

 

[sychodelix]

Pressure is very important as others have said. And the acne on your neck are razor bumps, which are related to ingrowns as well. The neck has always given me problems. The key is no pressure, proper blade angle, and SKIN STRETCHING. I'm really surprised nobody else brought it up, but your neck has loose skin, and far less muscle than the rest of you body. It is imperative to keep the skin tight, and use barely touching pressure.

The only other thing is make sure your lather is good and a nice and protective product.

 

[Buck Melanoma]

As someone who only shaves his neck...my experience has been that the number of in-grown hairs comes from two things: time of shaving (if I wait too long in the day to shave, like on a Saturday when I am waiting to do dirty work before shaving) and razor choice.

At this point, I can get a good shave from just about any razor. I now judge razors by how my neck looks after a week of shaves. Some razors are much more likely than others to produce in-growns.

To me, it does not matter if a razor has an open comb or a safety bar. Some of my best shaves (in regard to in-grown hairs) come from the immediate pre/post WWII era razors (Techs, Ranger Tech, Milord, 1948-1950 Superspeed).

In recent weeks I have been playing with a New Deluxe, pre-war Aristocrat, and Sheraton. The jury is still out, but some of these are better than others.

That said, I would also join others in suggesting giving an open comb a go.

In any case, try more other razors.

 

[imbored2deth]

I can look into shea butter but every store I go to has these massive size containers of it. All I want is just an ounce to try it. I would really hate it to buy a big ol bottle of the stuff and find out it does not work. Anybody have suggestions where I can get it in a small amount (1-2oz) for trial and verification?

I have not tried skin stretching yet so maybe that will work.

Shaving products right now are sensitive versions of soaps. Mainly VDH luxury unscented. It does a good job for my skin and is one of the better ones for me. I know a lot of others here have sensitive skin but mine is also sensitive to fragrances. I have to watch what I use. Even nivea canned cream sensitive version was not so great for me.

I also tried proraso pre shave sensitive version. It seemed to help a little with irritation but after some trials with and w/o it, the benefits became less clear. It is a good product but it may not be helping enough for my exact problem.

Probably is a blade angle problem but finding that sweet spot is a pita.

I also tried using filtered water. I think the water around me, while pretty decent, probably does have some amount of chlorine in it. While this would lead to drying of the skin, I felt a need to limit variables. In the end I don't think this is a major factor.

OC razor? Maybe. I have a small population of four DE razors and I only use the tech because it is fairly mild amongst them all. The OC would have to be cheap since I don't want to keep spending money on a losing situation.

 

[sir-nix-alot]

Straight Razor.

 

[wales4ever]

I have been troubled by ingrowns in the past. I would suggest, based on my own experience:

1. Never go ATG. Resist the urge to go XTG every shave
2. Try cold water shaving - this has worked for me!
3. Try a SLANT RAZOR like the 39C - it is awesome! and cuts back irritation like nothing I've ever tried.

Good luck!

 

[imbored2deth]

I should have stated that I do cold water shaves. Cold means maybe room temp or a little colder. I definitely do not do ice cold water. I do get less irritation with this. I also found out that I need to rinse my razor in cold water as well. Putting a hot razor blade against my skin was bad mojo.

For the record, I have never ever gone ATG on my neck.

 

[gangaskan]

this my help?

http://hairremoval.about.com/od/shaving/a/aspirin-mask.htm


shaving items containing Glycolic acid.


also, try growing out your beard if you can, and following a skin exfoliation regiment, as long as you can pull the end of the hair out from growing back in you should be fine (maybe even try with tweezers, but dont pull the hair out ). the key is to follow a regiment and let the skin heal from the swelling and irritation.


how are you making your lather? is it thick, thin, in the middle?

 

[imbored2deth]

The aspirin mask will be one of the next things to try. Thanks for that link.

I try very hard to get a thick lather. Definitely creamy. Probably just under the thickness canned barbasol or cool whip. I have definitely learned to make a thick lather otherwise I suffer the consequences.

 

[Zap85]

In my experience, getting ingrown hairs on my throat has little to do with quality of lather, preshave oil, or anything product related (Although the products certainly help). For me, the hair of my throat grows in totally random odd directions...sideways, up at an angle, totally different that the rest of my face. What has helped me is taking the time to really figure out the direction of growth, and making sure to ONLY shave with the grain on my throat, NEVER against. Also, I have to use much lighter pressure on that area than the rest of my face.

That has worked for me, and now a rarely get ingrowns there. I hope this helps!