Face looks like I met an ice pick, what do I do?

[bluefoxicy]

My face looks young, I'm 25 now and people think I'm a teenager.

However I'm getting a few dark spots and stuff... along with a little acne, but bay rum and exfoliating scrub clears up severe acne in like 3 days (the bay rum stings like a bitch but it works wonders, Dominica is awesome).

My skin seems to be taking a beating from ... who knows, probably the summer heat along with a little bad technique; I did about as much damage as a Fusion with the Feather AC last night, which is surprising.

My lather may have had issues... it seems like I have to use a bit more/less water depending on heat, humidity (LESS FOR HIGH HUMIDITY), and the like. Plus the quality of my water recently changed, as my pipes have been replaced and so a lot of build-up is gone; yet I still have hard water.

So I have three issues: general skin tone problems, acne, and lather that either absorbs entirely too much water in high humidity or evaporates too much from heat.

I'm thinking I can solve this by exfoliation (face scrub, like SCS has, or something from Mama Bears...), a lanolin-based lather that handles humidity (Proraso handles humidity and extra water excellently, but it's not lanolin-based... maybe Musgo, or MWF; I have Musgo on hand), and using a light splash like Bay Rum rather than lotions/balms like Pinaud/Aqua Velva (both leave a matte film on my face) or any of the SCS or Mama Bear's After Shave lotions/balms/milks.

Thoughts?

Picture taken like 12 hours after a shave, so I'm a little stubbly. Notice splotches on chin and cheeks, and a couple bumps on my cheeks.. my skin is splotchy like an old man's :(

[DE Shaver]

Perhaps if you can clarify what you are exactly looking for, you'll get some responses. Is it possible you can pose your questions more clearly? (e.g. What's causing the blotches on my skin? I want to get rid of them. What should I do?)

[sffone]

Try going a couple of days without shaving to see what affect that has, if any, on the skin condition. You may want to consider just shaving every other day for a while. And shave only with the grain.

[Go West Young Man]

From my recollection of your postings, you tend to jump around between products a lot, no? Maybe stop messing around with a lot of different variables, find one of everything that you like and stick with that setup for several weeks. You can then start changing one thing at a time and see how it compares to your baseline.

[BladeRunner001]

My face looks young, I'm 25 now and people think I'm a teenager.

However I'm getting a few dark spots and stuff... along with a little acne, but bay rum and exfoliating scrub clears up severe acne in like 3 days (the bay rum stings like a bitch but it works wonders, Dominica is awesome).

My skin seems to be taking a beating from ... who knows, probably the summer heat along with a little bad technique; I did about as much damage as a Fusion with the Feather AC last night, which is surprising.

My lather may have had issues... it seems like I have to use a bit more/less water depending on heat, humidity (LESS FOR HIGH HUMIDITY), and the like. Plus the quality of my water recently changed, as my pipes have been replaced and so a lot of build-up is gone; yet I still have hard water.

So I have three issues: general skin tone problems, acne, and lather that either absorbs entirely too much water in high humidity or evaporates too much from heat.

I'm thinking I can solve this by exfoliation (face scrub, like SCS has, or something from Mama Bears...), a lanolin-based lather that handles humidity (Proraso handles humidity and extra water excellently, but it's not lanolin-based... maybe Musgo, or MWF; I have Musgo on hand), and using a light splash like Bay Rum rather than lotions/balms like Pinaud/Aqua Velva (both leave a matte film on my face) or any of the SCS or Mama Bear's After Shave lotions/balms/milks.

Thoughts?

Picture taken like 12 hours after a shave, so I'm a little stubbly. Notice splotches on chin and cheeks, and a couple bumps on my cheeks.. my skin is splotchy like an old man's :(

It's probably not your water or technique. I think it's what you're doing to your skin with many products (exfoliate, alcohol AS, etc...).

If you're exfoliating every day, that is too aggressive, IMO. Try:

Exfoliation 2-3 times per week (use a good one like Burt's Bees or Alba, etc...)
Gentle cleanser every night
Moisturize after cleansing/exfoliating

If you don't moisturize skin after treatment, you run the risk of irritation and dryness. Cleansing/exfoliating takes away some of the essential oils your skin makes to stay soft. Keep it moist

I wouldn't recommend alcohol based products as alcohol would dehydrate your skin, exasperating the problem

For toner, I highly recommend using Thayer's Witch Hazel (w/o alcohol)...do this after a shave

Regarding your lather and humidity...If you think humidity/ heat are to blame, then I would say that learning and concentrating on making a good lather should be of paramount importance. Any good soap/creme will handle just fine regardless of how humid or how hot...make sure you know how to make a good lather.

Also, making good lather is maybe about 10% of the equation...That thing ain't gonna do you any good if you don't use it properly after making it...make sure you work it into the beard/hair for a good 2 minutes (remember the Mantic59 videos on Youtube and the Wiki info here). Remember: Even if you make the world's BEST lather but only quickly slap it on your face to cover the stubble, you will not be effective at softening the beard (which is the primary purpose of a good lather)...you will only end up making great lather.


I hope this helps,

Cheers,
Robert