razor bumps

Hi,

Hope someone can help me with this. I'm getting a very good shave on my face, and the underside of my chin, but .. ARRAGGGGH! the bottom of my neck is neck to impossible to shave without any irritation and razor bumps (you know, those red bumps that wonderfully appear). Any advice? I'm using a Murker DE razor and C. O. Bigelow shave cream (made by Poraso).

guitarman said:

Hi,

Hope someone can help me with this. I'm getting a very good shave on my face, and the underside of my chin, but .. ARRAGGGGH! the bottom of my neck is neck to impossible to shave without any irritation and razor bumps (you know, those red bumps that wonderfully appear). Any advice? I'm using a Murker DE razor and C. O. Bigelow shave cream (made by Poraso).

Click to expand...

My guess is that it is, probably, a combination of some (or all) of the following:

1. Not enough beard prep
2. Improper blade angle (The neck is not flat like your face. Correct angle is tougher to achieve.)
3. Putting some pressure on the blade (No pressure really means NO PRESSURE. It sounds patronizing, but it's hard to get the hang of at first.)
4. Shaving over skin with no lather on it. (I still have a problem with this and I always pay for it with razor burn or red bumps.)
5. Incomplete knowledge of how your beard grows on your neck. (This, for me, made the biggest difference. You HAVE to know which direction the hair actually grows [as opposed to how you THINK it grows] in order to make sure that your WTG pass really is WTG and not XTG, etc.)

Your face is MUCH more forgiving than your neck. It's the quality of shave on your neck that really tells you how good your technique is.

In the end, it takes a lot of practice. It has taken me three months, but I can finally say that I can shave every day and get BBS on my neck, with no nicks, red bumps, or razor burn whatsoever.

Stick with it. You'll get the hang of it before too long, and it is SOOO worth it.

IMHO, razor bumps are caused by a combination of razor irritation and shaving cream residue. I found out that if I rinsed my face extra good after the shave, my razor bumps went away. For this reason, many people will rinse their faces with warm water before cold water. Use Witch Hazel after the cold rinse. Skip the balm.

guitarman,

Do you think it's pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB)? See this link: http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/pseudofolliculitis.html

If you don't think it's PFB, follow the advice of Tommy_C and pal.

Please let us know how you've doing.

Hope this helps.

Pogo

Hi all,

Thanks for all the advice. It's not PFB, just a combination of things. Today's shave was MUCH better, thanks to:

1. Better razor technique (lighter/no pressure, and better angle)
2. More conscious of going WTG
3. I bought some Aveeno shave gel, <http://www.aveeno.com/productDetail.do?prodid=3670> which really helped as well. It lathered up well, went on smooth with the brush, and was very soothing. I was using C. O. Bigelow, which I like very much, but today, this seemed to do the trick. I don't know if I'll make a permanent switch to Aveeno, but might use it until my technique gets better.

Aveeno makes great skin products for babies (I used to give my son an Aveeno oatmeal bath whenever he got diaper rash as a baby, and it worked like a miracle). The shave gel also contains some oatmeal, so there must be something to it for sensitive skin.

Again, thanks for checking. I love this website.

guitarman said:

Hi all,

Thanks for all the advice. It's not PFB, just a combination of things. Today's shave was MUCH better, thanks to:

1. Better razor technique (lighter/no pressure, and better angle)
2. More conscious of going WTG
3. I bought some Aveeno shave gel, <http://www.aveeno.com/productDetail.do?prodid=3670> which really helped as well. It lathered up well, went on smooth with the brush, and was very soothing. I was using C. O. Bigelow, which I like very much, but today, this seemed to do the trick. I don't know if I'll make a permanent switch to Aveeno, but might use it until my technique gets better.

Aveeno makes great skin products for babies (I used to give my son an Aveeno oatmeal bath whenever he got diaper rash as a baby, and it worked like a miracle). The shave gel also contains some oatmeal, so there must be something to it for sensitive skin.

Again, thanks for checking. I love this website.

Click to expand...

Nice one. I also felt that Tommy nailed it when he gave you that advice. Be careful though that you don't get overly confident; you might risk screwing up your next shave. (I kept falling in this particular trap several times!)

guitarman said:

The shave gel also contains some oatmeal, so there must be something to it for sensitive skin.

Click to expand...

Before switching over to DE shaving, the Aveeno gels were the only gels I could consistently rely on to not cause irritation. Not a bad product for "goo in a can"

Tommy_C said:

5. Incomplete knowledge of how your beard grows on your neck. (This, for me, made the biggest difference. You HAVE to know which direction the hair actually grows [as opposed to how you THINK it grows] in order to make sure that your WTG pass really is WTG and not XTG, etc.)

Click to expand...

Yeah, but if your method shaving it makes no difference =P

All great points though... I think you covered it all...

I might add possibly trying Alum Block... it works for me.