Ingrown hairs

[ashm24]

Hi,

Does anyone know how to get rid of ingrown facial hair ?

I've tried:-

-Tend skin (worked a bit at first)
-electric razor (Braun)
-single blade razors
-double-blade razors (sensor excel)
-triple blade razors (mach 3 face cutter, wilkinson swords)
-loofah sponge
-tea tree oil
-badger brush for making foam
-hair scissor trimming
-Nair cream
-Dalacin T topical antibiotic
-shaving oil
-tweezer plucking
-electric clippers (make face red raw)


None of the above worked :(

The bulk of my ingrowns are on my cheeks. If I let my beard grow my pores get clogged and my face go's red, and itchy. So it's ingrown's red face or a red face with a beard.

I think the problem could be due to female hormones in the water messing up skin!

I know the US military is working hard on a treatment for this.... http://www.afrl.af.mil/technologymil.../04-osr-04.pdf

Seems the recommendations is not to shave for 3-4 weeks

Kind regards,

Ashley.

[ada8356]

Ashley,

You might have to give a few more details...

How are you currently shaving? It you are using a 2 or 3 blade razor, the 'lift and cut' action might be compounding your problem.

It could be that a single blade safety razor with a single pass (with the grain of the hair) could significantly reduce your in-grown hair problem.

One tip that I have read that made sense, was to never tweezer the in-grown hair since this will probably cause it to grow back still in-grown... but to rather lift it out of the skin with the tweerzers and then cut the hair with scissors or a razor.

[HlSheppard]

Hi Ashley -

I'm STILL singin' the praises of PFB Vanish. It's worked for me better than anything else (including most of the ones you've tried, too).

Maybe it's just my chemistry or skin or ?? But I don't know if I'll ever stop using this stuff....

http://www.menessentials.com/oxid.ph...13ae6.61958255

[jmhUT]

Ashley,
You may want to just go see a dermatologist. They really can work wonders with problem skin these days. If you're getting hit either way I doubt your shaving technique is the culprit (at least the main culprit). A good dermatologist can fix you right up.
Cheers,
Jeff

[htownmmm]

Welcome Ashley.

Sorry to hear about your problem- I too lived in the "face of pain" for many years. I had to stop using multi blade razors and the electrics because they just won't help a face prone to ingrowns.

Tea tree oil will correct the problem, but will not prevent it. I used to see a dermatologist about my "bumps"- they would inject 'roids' directly into them to reduce the swelling. ( Hopefully, this will be your last resort )


Anyway, I did not get any improvement until I made the switch to using witch hazel to clean my face twice a day(morning and night) and consistently using the safety razor and blades.

Using too many products @ one time is self defeating- you may not be doing this, but how will u know what works if u don't give it an extended chance?

Electrics worked somewhat, but they always left my face with road rash and tiny, hard ingrown bumps.

Give the DE another try and at least give it a month to allow your face time to adjust. Limit the amount of items you use- that way you can change them one at a time if something is not working.

We are here to help, so post your shave routine and we will attempt to offer you 'pointers' that will put you on the road to shaving bliss.


Marty

[stropmegently]

I have found that the best cure for the problems I had, significant ingrowns as I could only shave ever other day at best and had to combine the electric with the dreaded M3, was to shave less aggressively. I have found that quality prep, taking my time and using a DE have cured them 100% but at a small cost. I do not get as smooth of a shave as I DO NOT GO AGAINST THE GRAIN IN MY TROUBLE AREAS!!!! For example, I do not go ATG on my neck, unless I want to pay for it the next several days. I have tried several times, no pressure on the razor and still, no go. But, I can shave daily, no weepers, no pain, no stinging and no problems (including acne). I recommend getting less aggressive, no going against the grain and seeing how you do. Some can appear to shave against the grain at some future point, but I can't at this point.

Let us know how you do.

Darren

[guenron]

Several years (40?) ago I had ingrowns on my neck that were excruciatingly painful. Though both Marty and Darren are offering sound advice, I do not know whether I grew out of the ingrown era or just shaved with saner technique. I found that using the sharpest blades possible, a single with the grain pass in those areas, coupled with no canned foam or goo made a big difference. I also stopped using alcohol-based aftershaves too. Who knows?
I can remember occassions when I would sterilize a fine sewing needle with a match and go digging to retrieve the errant whisker. I could not even feel the pain induced by this technique over that of the inflamed bump (Bump Hell! More like a MOUNTAIN!) At any rate, this would occassionally provide relief until the damned whisker grew back into the skin again.
Suddenly one day, as if by magic, my whiskers started to grow the straight and narrow pathway of no ingrowns. I wish I could tell you how to achieve this as it was truly a blessing.

[ashm24]

Hi,


I use a badger brush with some shaving soap, and froth up to get a good prep' . I have tried witch-hazel with crushed aspirin (DIY tendskin). Actually I wouldn't try the aspirin anymore as I don't think there are any medical studies on aspirin on the face! Worked fine but the stuff smelt bad !

Face breakdown:-

-shaving up under chin (from chest to chin) will always give me ingrown hairs without fail. I have learned to shave down under the chin (leaving the hairs longer but less ingrowns).

-Shaving down on the lip is fine

-Cheeks, sides of chin, and bit where lip stubble joins chin are a real problem. I get a very patchy shave there, and my beard grain direction is all over the place. Many websites speak of training your beard to grow in a direction. I assume the follicules guide the hair in my case all over the place. Maybe this is the problem.

Do you shave downwards / sideways / up / backwards (towards back of head) on your cheeks?

Currently I shave downwards on my cheeks and it always gives a patchy shave thus forcing me into repeated strokes.

Hayfever tablets also reduced the redness / itching on my skin (I assume it's the anti-histamine) but they had side effects.


Kind regards,

Ashley.

[JMT]

Hi,


I use a badger brush with some shaving soap, and froth up to get a good prep' . I have tried witch-hazel with crushed aspirin (DIY tendskin). Actually I wouldn't try the aspirin anymore as I don't think there are any medical studies on aspirin on the face! Worked fine but the stuff smelt bad !

Face breakdown:-

-shaving up under chin (from chest to chin) will always give me ingrown hairs without fail. I have learned to shave down under the chin (leaving the hairs longer but less ingrowns).

-Shaving down on the lip is fine

-Cheeks, sides of chin, and bit where lip stubble joins chin are a real problem. I get a very patchy shave there, and my beard grain direction is all over the place. Many websites speak of training your beard to grow in a direction. I assume the follicules guide the hair in my case all over the place. Maybe this is the problem.

Do you shave downwards / sideways / up / backwards (towards back of head) on your cheeks?

Currently I shave downwards on my cheeks and it always gives a patchy shave thus forcing me into repeated strokes.

Hayfever tablets also reduced the redness / itching on my skin (I assume it's the anti-histamine) but they had side effects.


Kind regards,

Ashley.

Shaving up from under the chin might be part of the problem. I would think that for most people this would be an against the grain shave. I would try shaving down instead of up.

For your cheeks the fact that you do several repeated strokes may be part of the issue. I might be wrong but shaving many times in the same direction might be kind of like beating a dead horse. Try shaving down your cheeks, only one stroke, and only where there is lather. Try this for a few days and see what happens. Then after a few days if there is improvement try this after the initial top to bottom pass. Wet your face, relather and try to shave across the grain, from your ear toward the center of your face.

I think part of your problem on your cheeks may be simple irritation from overshaving the area.

Tha fact that antihistimines help alleviate the problem make me think you are allergic to something in your routine, maybe even something not shaving related, soap, face wash, detergent on your pillow? I do not know.

If none of the advice given here helps I would definitely see a doctor.

[ashm24]

Hi,

The doc' just gives me dalacin T!!!!

OK I shaved my shoulders, and I got ingrowns there. I freed 5 ingrowns this morning from yesterdays shave. Razor shaving too close for my hair / skin type?

I currently use Mach 3 but I'm fed up with the clogging, ingrowns, dull blades, expense. I've never been happy with the Mach 3 (every shop razor I have tried -BIC's , mach 3, sensor excel, wilkinson sword quattro gave me ingrowns).

I have been looking at these Merkur razors on the net because of their adjustable blade models. How 'adjustable' are these razors? Amazon just refers to six settings. Would a razor like this reduce ingrowns ?



Kind regards,

Ashley.

[boboakalfb]

The lift and cut of the current multi blade razors is not helping you out at all...you do mention trying single blade razors...how did that work for you? Give a DE/Injector a shot...you really have nothing to lose...and I suspect will help you out...

[htownmmm]

Ashley,

My PFB brotha, you have got to stop using the multiblade. They truly do what they say-Lift the hair and then cut it beneath the skin.

Once that sharpened hair gets under your skin, it curls and grows right back into your lower layers of skin( that which is most tender,i.e., not exposed to air).

Free up the ingrowns, let your face rest, do not shave if at all possible until you get a safety razor and blades.


Marty

[ouch]

I'm a firm believer in amputation.

[ashm24]

The lift and cut of the current multi blade razors is not helping you out at all...you do mention trying single blade razors...how did that work for you? Give a DE/Injector a shot...you really have nothing to lose...and I suspect will help you out...

Well the only single blade I can get is the BIC disposable which was sharp but in a pack of ten would contain a few dull blades. I have some on my desk in front of me. I could never get the angle right with these things leading to some very nasty cuts. Looking at them the blade angle seems too steep.(shaving back of hand takes skin off)

[ada8356]

Well the only single blade I can get is the BIC disposable which was sharp but in a pack of ten would contain a few dull blades. I have some on my desk in front of me. I could never get the angle right with these things leading to some very nasty cuts.

Oh no! That's not what you want... there's no telling how bad those blades are.

You want something like the Merkur HD with some good quality blades.

[Ashe]

Ditch the disposables and cartridges for your Mach 3 and try a Merkur Classic razor as proposed in this thread.

The following rather cheap setup will do wonders for you:
- Merkur HD or Classic with some Derby blades (I propose you to order the blade sampler pack from LetterK to try out different brands)
- Edwin Jagger Best Badger brush
- Proraso shaving cream

You will have all this for less than US$ 100 and it will complete change your shaving experiences. Make sure you prep well before a shave and create some good lather.

The majority (if not all) of your problems will be gone in a weeks time.

[boboakalfb]

Just do yourself a favor and buy a fixed head Merkur...HD...Classic...Long Handle...1904...and some blades...don't look back...I would suggest a sampler pack from John (Letterk) on this forum so that you can give the different blades a shot.

Looks like Benjamin beat me to the punch...

[Ashe]

Bob, the good thing is that all of us typically advise the same items meaning alot of truth should be in there.

It wouldn't be easy for newbies if every member had a different proposal on fixing his/her problems now would it?

[Joedy]

...How 'adjustable' are these razors? Amazon just refers to six settings. Would a razor like this reduce ingrowns ?


Kind regards,

Ashley.

They're adjustable in the sense that the safety bar can move up or down. The razor itself doesn't expose anymore cutting edge by the adjusting motion.

Opening the safety bar will allow you to steepen the cutting angle, increasing the shave quality while increasing the risk for razor burn and cuts.

You're really jumping the gun by not purchasing a DE and a few blades.

What you've already spent on products could have bought you a whole set of DE razors, creams, and brushes.

Yes, I am prone to ingrown hairs and painful boils. I've live through years of them.

Since DE shaving for the last month, I've had exactly two ingrowns and both of them were nipped while in the process of forming a bump, preventing the bigger bump and the likely resulting boil.

With the M3, I was getting them everyweek.

I can't tell you how nice it is to shave in the morning, have a BBS face and not have any pain or aggravation. I wish I knew about DE shaving years ago.


I highly recommend the Slant. It's light weight so you won't be as inclined to use much pressure. It slices the whiskers at it cuts, which reduces irritation and since it is so efficient, two passes is usually enough to get rid of stubble.

Try Derby blades - Merkurs and Feathers really tear my face up.

Get a brush (any brush to start with) and get a quality cream.

Give it a month. Your face will need to get acclimated to the change.

Avoid tempation to keep changing variables. If you continue to do this, you'll never discover what works best for your face.

-joedy

[Ashe]

Avoid tempation to keep changing variables. If you continue to do this, you'll never discover what works best for your face.

This is excellent advice!