How long did it take from the time you started wet shaving to notice ingrown hairs and red bumps disappearing? I have been wet shaving for about a month now and notice a slight difference on my neck but nothing drastic.
you won't get them anymore when you get the right angle and blade combo. If your prone to razor bumps because of curl or the hair growing flat to the skin you will occasionally get a small one but not very often. Also if your like me chances of you being able to go ATG is out.
Everywhere else is fine except my neck. It doesnt matter if I shave everyday or every three days it is so sensitive that even wtg hurts sometimes. I am trying to work on my blade angle and the past two shaves seem to really be an improvement but still get the annoying razor burn. I am ordering some blades this weekend to test some sharper ones out.
Healing red bumps and ingrown hairs. I have been very happy with the effectiveness of Bag Balm in it's ability to considerably reduce redness and inflamation resulting from ingrown hairs. If you wash your face and the infected area with soap and warm water at night, before going to bed and then rub a thin coating of the Bag Balm ointment on the ingrown hair follicle, you will be amazed by the results. For those of you that are not familiar with Bag Balm, it has been used by the dairy industry for over one hundred years to help heal and stop inflamation on cow udders. It is available in farm supply/feed stores, pet stores and some pharmacies located in rural areas. One ten ounce tin will last you for years and usually sells for $6 or $7 dollars. It is also good for small cuts, scrapes and abrasions on humans. There seems to be something in the medication, that over the night, reduces the inflamation to the point that I can CAREFULLY shave over the once infected area without cutting off the inflamed/swollen flesh. If you have a severly infected follicle you may want to hold off shaving the area for a day or so, while applying the salve. After shaving apply a dab to the area for healing throughout the day. It has never taken me more then two days to almost completely heal the once inflaimed hair follicle. Continued use, whenever I see any redness, has all but eliminated ingrowns hairs on my face and neck. YMMV I hate to sound like a commercial, but this stuff really works! If Bag Balm is not available to you then try some Neosporin antibiotic salve.
I was getting burn too until I went with a mild razor. What is the direction of your beard growth. Mine grows horizontally on my neck and trying to shave that direction proved fruitless for me, I recieved a tip to try diaganoly and that got me over the hump. I still use bump stopper on my neck daily just as a precaution though.
Thanks for the suggestion! I am going to pick some up tonight. After I shave I use witch hazel, nivea lotion, and aqua velva. Should I substitute Nivea or the Aqua Velva with the balm?
The grain goes from north to south on my cheeks, jaw, chin and halfway down my neck...Then it goes east to west on the left side of my adams apple and west to east on my right side. The most irritation occurs where my beard swirls just below the outside of my jawline on my neck.
After your shave, apply your witch hazel and Nivea as usual, then just moisten your finger or a Q-tip with a light amount of the salve and rub the Bag Balm onto the infected area. Do not use to much Bag Balm. If you have a inflamed folicle, it might not hurt to take some Balm to work with you and reapply a little throughout your day.
Many times razor burn (actually a chemical burn) happens because the skin's lipid barrier has been disrupted beyond the normal daily repair cycle. Here's a great way to set your face and neck up for success. Apply a pre-shave oil which has generous amounts of lipid fats. Oils such as coconut oil or olive oil are such oils. I know, I know, using a pre-shave oil diminishes the lather too quickly. But your skin will be much healthier when using such a pre-shave oil. Bag balm (mentioned above), replaces those lipids your skin so desperately needs to bring its protection barrier up to normal. I shave in the PM, and usually get the red bumps directly after the shave. However, when I apply the coconut oil, prep, and lather shave, with an oil pass at the end, witch hazel splash and moisturizing balm, my face is totally bump free in the mornings. My face feels smooth and healthy. This is because my skin has absorbed those lipid fats, and so the healing process happens much quicker. Try using a lipid concentrated oil for your pre-shave routine, as it may be just what your skin is telling you that it needs.
