Hi guys, How do I get rid of this horrible shaving rash I have? I only shave twice per week otherwise it makes the rash un bearable. I use King Of Shaves Men's Sensitive Skin Face Balm 3 times a day on my face to try and get rid of the rash but it just wont go! Has anyone get any tips of advice on how to get rid of a shaving rash? Many Thanks.
Just a thought - perhaps it is the King Of Shaves Men's Sensitive Skin Face Balm that is causing the problem. Are we talking ingrowns and actually razor irritation or are we talking a blotchy redness that is sore. Blotchy redness can easily be your soap, after shave, or the "sensitive" skin face balm. Try using some aloe, mild sunburn relief, or corn huskers lotion instead. What are you using to shave? If you are using a Safety razor, remember don't use pressure.
Ok guys heres my shaving routine Shower to get face prepared Kings of Shaves Face Scrub Rinse with warm water King of Shaves Alpha Oil Then Apply My King of Shaves Aplha Gel on top Shave with the grain of my beard using no pressure using my gillete mache 3 razor. Blade Change after every other shave. Finsih by submerging my head under cold water for around 30 secons Then applying King Of Shaves Men's Sensitive Skin Face Balm after the shave and 3 times per day until my next shave in 3 days time. I seem to be doing everything right but still get these red spots on my jaw line? They just fill with white puss and appear in clusters. I have 4 cluster at the moment, Two sets at either side of my chin on the jaw line then 2 sets at the top near my ears on my jaw line. I dont think its my shaving products because i have tried others and still get the same affect, Ive also tried different shavers? I think Im just going to have to go to the docotors to get this sorted out?
I would start by going to the store and getting a shave kit like the Van Der Hagen one. $8 at wally world. Take your shower like normal and then don't put ANYTHING else on your face. Lather the soap in the soap kit with the brush and use it on your face. Shave normally. Rinse. Pat your face dry. Use a totally different aftershave than you normally do. Repeat that for a week and see if it gets better. Now, as I prefaced, I would start by doing that. Next step would be to find a good old school or new double edged safety razor (research in these forums and see which one you would like to start with, then ebay )and learn how to use it. I don't know if that will fix the rash but it most certainly will deliver you a better more comfortable shave. You can go to the shave school thread and watch a bunch of videos telling you how to do all of this stuff. Just my opinion. YMMV.
I have a few questions... Have you tried using a splash? It is something that I had switched my routine that has helped a lot with razor burn and ingrown like irritation. I use an alum block and witch hazel after shaving and after that dries, if I want, a splash or a balm/milk depending on how I feel that day. Have you tried a single blade disposable. From the way you describe it I had the same type of irritation that you do while I was in the Army. I was sent to a dermatologist and that was one of the recommendations. What is you ethnicity? Some ethnic groups are more prone to certain types of ingrown hair conditions (pseudofolliculitis barbae) then others and this should only be determined by a doctor. The pustules that you have described can be ingrown hairs. As will as seeing a doctor you may want to remap your face because you may have some "rogue" hairs that grown in a different direction then you current believe they do and are causing your problems. The others have also given some great advice as well. I just wanted to add a little more for you to consider.
try using a good shave cream or soap and get a good badger hair brush to whip it up with. i couldnt use the gels. within seconds of lathering up my upper lip area would start burning. there are so many good creams and soaps out there its hard to narrow down for someone. Id suggest getting some Taylors of Old Bond St. Almond cream or even Rose scented. something that doesnt have a cologne or real strong citrus scent. Taylors makes a cream for sensitive skin but id try something like that further down the road and you can find unscented creams/soaps as well. you may just not get along with the KOS products. when i trashed the canned lather for creams/soaps you mix up i bought a lot of the cheaper stuff thinking i didnt want to spend $14 on some Taylors or more money on the other English made creams($25+). so ill save you some money start out with the more expensive stuff right off the bat since youll prb end up getting some at some point anyway. a good Almond scented soap would be my choice. the cologne or citrus scented stuff will be a little stronger id imagine. I mean i definitely would jump into something thats Bay Rum scented etc. I could be wrong on the Almond stuff so maybe the other guys can chim it but to me id think its easier on the skin since it doesnt have citrus or alcohol in it. id still use the Mach 3 if you like it and just try a good cream/soap first. give it some time. ease into and change 1 thing at a time so you can pinpoint whats wrong. im lucky in the fact that i didnt get the bumps, ingrown hairs that people say you get from multi blade razors. so im not going to tell you to scour ebay or other places to find an old safety razor (grabs kevlar) . watch the vids Mantic did on youtube. trust me youll get a lot of info from them. places to shop and they are in no special order or anything so i dont favor one over the other. Also check out The Shave Den store as well. theres a link at the top of the page. you can get lighter scented or no scent creams/soaps from there to. http://www.bullgooseshaving.net/ http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/index.html http://www.shavingessentials.biz/ http://www.qedusa.com/
You've had on soap and brush anywhere from the $8 Van Der Hagen kit sold at most Wal Marts to getting a badger brush ($15-$40 for entry level) and a $14 tub of Taylor's cream. But, the common theme was consistantly to get a brush and soap or lathering cream. That's great advice and don't let the range of products recommended stop you from getting a brush and soap/cream. I had similar, but less severe, issues before I started wet shaving. While I can agree some wet shaving products work better than others, all but a couple rare exceptions are far better than anything from a can or in a gel form. So, pick what you're comfortable spending and get something - you'll be glad you did. I will add the brush in the VDH kit isn't very nice and doesn't last for years like most brushes, so if you spend a little more anywhere I'd do it here. You can get Van Der Hagen Deluxe soap by itself for under $2 (a real bargain). One item that doesn't seem to be recommended enough above is an alum block. This block of alum salt will kill the bacteria that grow in those spots. You'll get fewer spots and clear up faster simple with this item. It can be somewhat drying to skin, so if you don't have oily skin you'll want to follow it with something moisturizing. You can either buy alum online from a wet-shaving vendor, or it is sold as solid deodorant at organic food stores. If you go the food store route, be sure to get POTASSIUM ALUM, not ammonium alum. Both work as deodorant, but the ammonium version won't be nice on your face.
Since you are only shaving twice a week does your beard get pretty thick? If I let mine grow for a few days (which is pretty rare) and shave I'll get a facial rash. I also used to get rashes and ingrown hairs with a Mach 3. It's one of the reasons I switched to a DE. Also how much preshave oil are you using? If you apply too much it can gunk up the razor, which means you are just pulling hairs out instead of cutting them.
It may be useful, dare I say it, to use an electric razor for a few weeks to let this resolve. If it doesn't you should see your doctor about it. When you resume wet shaving begin with something unscented (sensitive skin). Start with only using a cream or soap with no pre or after shave. If you'd like to begin using scents/pre-shaves/after-shaves start with one a time and use that product for one week before adding another. You may discover that you're allergic to one of the products you're currently using. When you get that all settled I have to reiterate that you should explore a DE razor-it blows away a cartridge and at the end of the day is easier on your face. Good luck.
See a dermatologist. Puss is produced when white blood cells attack an infection or anything foreign in your body -- like an ingrown hair. The normal irritation from shaving may be exacerbating another skin problem you have, maybe bacterial in nature. I wouldn't mess with it and waste time experimenting. See your doctor.
I used to get the same thing back when I first started shaving. Aqua Velva made things better, perhaps due to the alcohol. You mentioned that you had the shaving rash for the past two months. What, if anything, did you change in your shaving routine?
