African American Still Getting Bumps..

Hi...ive been wetshaving for a lil while now, say a month..
My shave has improved greatly..but Im still gettin these bumps on my left cheek..its weird, because on my right cheek, its smooth and no bumps..but i get a little area around the middle of my left cheek that i start breaking out in bumps..
I shave straight down(top to bottom) for about two passes and then Im done. I am overall alot more satisfied with this shaving, but i was hoping if you guys could give some suggestions to get rid of these stubborn bumps.. thanks!!

for the longest time i only got irritation on my left under my neck, i found out it was becasue since i shave both sides with one hadn my angle was a bit off for that side of my face, just adjust your angle,

take a couple days off if you can between shaves and it shoudl clear up

good luck,
take your time and make sure your lather is thick and slick

Are you using the same shaving cream or soap each time? Some products will cause irritation, etc for some guys and not others. Also, there may be some shaving technique issues in regard to holding the razor. Or to much blade pressure on certain areas of your face.

If you are right-handed and the trouble is on your left cheek, I'd also guess you have a pressure or angle issue there.

Assuming you use a DE, try holding it at the balancing point on the handle. This was helpful to me on the opposite side, letting the razor find the correct angle naturally.

sloooow down to almost a crawl when you shave, you have to give the razor time to cut and not yank at the hair.

Sometimes those bumps just have to heal. I had a couple trouble spots, and I think the daily irritation never allowed them to go away.

Along with the other suggestions here I saw something on Youtube a couple weeks ago that blew me away, using a tooth brush to prevent razor bumps:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYb_8VPl7EU[/youtube]

Give it a try and let us know if it works!

--Mark

dbraz said:

Hi...ive been wetshaving for a lil while now, say a month..
My shave has improved greatly..but Im still gettin these bumps on my left cheek..its weird, because on my right cheek, its smooth and no bumps..but i get a little area around the middle of my left cheek that i start breaking out in bumps..
I shave straight down(top to bottom) for about two passes and then Im done. I am overall alot more satisfied with this shaving, but i was hoping if you guys could give some suggestions to get rid of these stubborn bumps.. thanks!!

Click to expand...

Be sure that top to bottom = with the grain on the one cheek that's giving you problems. You could be shaving across or against the grain right there and not even know it. You may want to let your hair grow for a couple of days to really study the growth pattern. Good luck and be sure to keep us updated

Have you heard of this stuff? It's specially formulated to fight bumps and ingrown hairs, with salicylic and glycolic acids. It's a little roll-on applicator, and it kind of burns like hell, but does a great job. I was using it prior to switching to DE, as I got bumps and ingrowns on my neck a lot, but since I went DE I haven't had any, so I have no use for my bottle any more. If you're interested in trying it, let me know (shoot me a PM)...I'll send you the rest of mine (about 80% full) free of charge.

I'm a fan of Anthony's Ingrown Hair Treatment. It's worth a look. I don't use it everyday anymore, but when I have a breakout, it works

koso said:

If you are right-handed and the trouble is on your left cheek, I'd also guess you have a pressure or angle issue there.

Assuming you use a DE, try holding it at the balancing point on the handle. This was helpful to me on the opposite side, letting the razor find the correct angle naturally.

Click to expand...

Another option would be to learn to shave with both hands. There's bit more work involved, but this way if you ever break your hand you can still shave. Plus you can amaze your friends with your amazing ambidextrous shaving skills.

mantic said:

Along with the other suggestions here I saw something on Youtube a couple weeks ago that blew me away, using a tooth brush to prevent razor bumps:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYb_8VPl7EU[/youtube]

Give it a try and let us know if it works!

--Mark

Click to expand...

Hey, that looks interesting. Nice find, Mark. I wonder if it works.

Bulldawg said:

Be sure that top to bottom = with the grain on the one cheek that's giving you problems. You could be shaving across or against the grain right there and not even know it. You may want to let your hair grow for a couple of days to really study the growth pattern. Good luck and be sure to keep us updated

Click to expand...

Yeah...thats the thing...Im totally confused about having to find my grain...can someone please educate me on this???
But, anyway...I let my beard grow out a little bit but I really want to know this grain first before I try anything...
And, my friend suggested me this 100% Pure African Black Soap to use as a daily soap because it supposedly does away with razor bumps..etc..I actually looked it up online and it does wonders for people...
So, im going to give that a tryout also...
But, please...if anyone could give me a tutorial on finding the grain that would be great..!!
Thank you

If you imagine your skin as the picture, the small circles as the hair follicle and the line as the direction that the hair naturally lays against your skin as it grows, then;
left to right is with the grain
top to bottom is across the grain
right to left is against the grain

If you rotate the picture right or left to match the way your hair grows, then left to right, and top to bottom must also rotate the same amount in order to stay WTG, XTG and ATG.

dbraz said:

Hi...ive been wetshaving for a lil while now, say a month..
My shave has improved greatly..but Im still gettin these bumps on my left cheek..its weird, because on my right cheek, its smooth and no bumps..but i get a little area around the middle of my left cheek that i start breaking out in bumps..
I shave straight down(top to bottom) for about two passes and then Im done. I am overall alot more satisfied with this shaving, but i was hoping if you guys could give some suggestions to get rid of these stubborn bumps.. thanks!!

Click to expand...

Do you switch hands?

Also, try a lighter lighter touch, especially so until the bumps clear up. Sometimes we apply un-needed extra pressure.

O.G. said:

sloooow down to almost a crawl when you shave, you have to give the razor time to cut and not yank at the hair.

Click to expand...

+1 You should be able to hear the blade cutting the hair. If you don't hear anything, you are going too fast.

Bulldawg said:

Be sure that top to bottom = with the grain on the one cheek that's giving you problems. You could be shaving across or against the grain right there and not even know it. You may want to let your hair grow for a couple of days to really study the growth pattern. Good luck and be sure to keep us updated

Click to expand...

dbraz said:

Yeah...thats the thing...Im totally confused about having to find my grain...can someone please educate me on this???
But, anyway...I let my beard grow out a little bit but I really want to know this grain first before I try anything...

Click to expand...

Are the bumps from irritation or are they ingrown hairs that haven't cracked the surface? If they are from irritation, it may be a combination of things as others have stated. It could be technique, i.e., blade angle, pressure, etc. It could be the blade; maybe you need something sharper or less sharp. It could be part of your prep. Are you rubbing your face really hard with a washcloth?

With respect to mapping the the grain of your hair growth, there is a Mantic59 video on finding the grain of your face. Basically, with several days of stubble, take a cotton ball and slowly move it on your face. Imagine that your face is split up into sectors. In each sector, move the cotton ball in multiple directions. If any cotton catches in your stubble, make note of the direction you were moving the cotton ball as that will be against the grain for that sector. Repeat until you have done your whole face. After a while, you will remember the patter of growth for different sections of your face.

Keep us updated on your progress.