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clogged pores, acne or something

I keep getting these outbreaks where my jaw meets my neck basically (not sure how to describe it best). It starts under the skin and develops into a large red bump, up to about the size of penny and then looks more and more like a normal pimple. I only get them in this region, they're huge and they take weeks to disappear and when one is gone another one usually is on its way. Extremely frustrating.

I don't think this is a matter of ingrown hairs, but I'm not sure. Anyone have any clue as to what to do about this? I normally wash using a moisturizing scrub when not shaving and the rest of my face is pretty much ok.
 
I used to get this too, I think it was acne. Whatever it was it seemed to go away when I started using a DE razor, instead of my old sensor excel
 
Good to know I'm not alone at least :001_smile

I forgot to mention this but it's actually gotten worse since I started with DE shaving.
 
whats your routine?

A good question. Something might be off somewhere. Are you certain you are using the proper blade angle with no pressure in the area? This is a weird transitional area of the face, and is often the place of most discomfort for me, especially if I rush.
 
Normally I shower before shaving and face lathers with different soaps. Currently I'm doing 1 WTG, 2 XTG and sometimes ATG. Rinse hot water and then cold water. I rarely get irritation after shaving although these areas are of course hard to shave as there are "bumps" in the way.

I haven't used an aftershave earlier but am thinking that it might be an idea to clean up a bit better after the shave?
 
Normally I shower before shaving and face lathers with different soaps. Currently I'm doing 1 WTG, 2 XTG and sometimes ATG. Rinse hot water and then cold water. I rarely get irritation after shaving although these areas are of course hard to shave as there are "bumps" in the way.

I haven't used an aftershave earlier but am thinking that it might be an idea to clean up a bit better after the shave?

Alcohol based splashes are good. They get rid of a lot of the funky bacteria which cause acne and the tiny white bumps which accompany irritation and sometimes ingrowns. It may help clear up some of your outbreaks, and they smell good!
 
Are you using new products since the spots started? Could you be allergic to something?

If it's acne, consider heading over to acne.org for their very low strength (2.5%) benzoyl peroixde. It's cheap and I know people that swear by the stuff.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Do you stretch the skin in this area as you are trying to shave this hard to get at spot?
Stretching the skin with a DE can lead some folks to irritation and ingrowns.
 
Many thanks for the input so far!

I tried using a sample of ogallala bay rum I got with my razor but that tended to dry out me skin so I didn't use it very much. I also just got a sample of SCS Hydro AS which left my skin very sticky instead. I guess it's a matter of finding an AS that suits the skin and is somewhere in between these two.

Well, the first month of wet shaving I just primarily an Omega soap and since then I have mysteriously gotten four other soaps that I rotated between. Hard to say if it's one specific I'm reacting to but I would imagine that I would have reactions on other places too then?

When shaving these areas I usually tilt my head in the other direction to slightly stretch the area, nothing more. Would it be better to not do that?
 
I had a similar problem on my jaw line or on my upper chin when I started wet shaving... I thought it was the soaps so I started using just one for a week and then switching if I still had the problem. I think it may have been my boar brush... I washed it before using it the first time and rinsed it well in hot water before and after use, but maybe there were some oils deep inside that bothered me or maybe the stiff bristles bothered my face, either way I haven't had the problem for a while. I ususally use tabac and alternate with vdh or nancy boy cream for variety and rinse hot then cold after and actually don't apply anything after shave. Some times I use a gel, but usually I actually use a hydrocortisone cream because I have an issue with really red, flaky, dry skin around my mouth and on my cheeks and edge of my nose. So I don't know if this helps any, but at least there's some hope that if you keep trying things eventually you may accidentally fix it like me.
 
I had a similar problem on my jaw line or on my upper chin when I started wet shaving... I thought it was the soaps so I started using just one for a week and then switching if I still had the problem. I think it may have been my boar brush... I washed it before using it the first time and rinsed it well in hot water before and after use, but maybe there were some oils deep inside that bothered me or maybe the stiff bristles bothered my face, either way I haven't had the problem for a while. I ususally use tabac and alternate with vdh or nancy boy cream for variety and rinse hot then cold after and actually don't apply anything after shave. Some times I use a gel, but usually I actually use a hydrocortisone cream because I have an issue with really red, flaky, dry skin around my mouth and on my cheeks and edge of my nose. So I don't know if this helps any, but at least there's some hope that if you keep trying things eventually you may accidentally fix it like me.

Hmm, so you exchanged your boar brush for something else or how did you solve it?
 
I think whatever it was about the boar brush just stopped being.. It's gotten a lot softer I can tell, but maybe the oils or whatever finally worked their way out. Either way I haven't had the issue for nearly a month.
 
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