Thread: Barber says I'm hopeless...

Forgot to mention, Ocelot is a Dermatologist and he recommended Aveeno Theraputic Shaving Cream. In a can, which in this case is immaterial, as it works quite well any time I'm coming up with skin sensitive irritated shaves. I use it for a day or two till the irritation goes away and I'm free to play with my soaps/creams again.

And before I forget again, my children are of the Jewish/Irish(with a little Danish thrown in) combination. One son does complain about similar conditions as yours. I had him switch to a DE and Aveeno and haven't heard any complaints from him as yet. And believe me, you don't have to be Irish to have sensitive skin. My Jewish/Polish red haired Mother came, as she would put it, "From beyond the Pale" was cautioned to stay out of the Sun as much as possible and I inherited that skin sensitive trait.

Originally Posted by Dzanda

Casey1991,

While you may well have some PFB, bumps that appear that soon after a shave ARE NOT due to PFB. PFB bumps and pimples require time for the hairs to grow into the skin, and that takes much longer than 5 minutes.

A very good point!

I had the same issues when I started shaving. I researched and found it could be related to bacteria so I looked for something that would help in regards to the bacteria. Found that olive oil works great as a preshave oil and then found a recipe for a 4 oil mixture of 1 to 1 on each oil. I add castor oil, olive oil, jojoba oil and grape seed oil, these have been working great. My hair is very coarse and curly.

I hydrate my face with a hot wash cloth and then add the oil to my entire bearded area and then the hot wash cloth again on top to help the oils penetrate. I then rinse off the oil with hot water and proceed to apply the lather and shave WTG, XTG and finally ATG, everywhere with a rinse of hot water on each new application of lather. Then I rinse off all the lather in warm water and pat my face and neck dry. The final thing I do is apply witch hazel that I've added comfrey tincture to, it speeds healing of cuts and is a great at destroying bacteria that causes infections such as razor burn folliculitis, which I believe was responsible for mine and possibly even your folliculitis, not pseudo-folliculitis barbae. If the folliculitis is due to bacteria, this will help.

Mine would also show up right after a shave, after using this method, I've reduced mine to almost nothing. I use very short strokes too and get a very close shave, I think this is equally important.

I also had an allergic reaction to the TOBS sandal wood so I gave it away and only use stirling shave soaps.

A friend of mine had problems for years with ingrowing hairs and bumps. I introduced him to DE shaving and the problem started to diminish. I've just asked him what's his routine and it's as follows. He bought himself a magnifying shaving mirror to check for ingrows. He starts with a very hot towel, then checks for any ingrows which he lifts with a steralised needle (sounds worse than it is as he just loops them out). He then lathers and shaves WTG. Again a hot towel then 're-lather then XTG ear to nose. He never does a ATG pass. Warm rinse followed by cold water rinse, pat dry then applies a product called bump stopper. This seems to work for him and he now enjoys shaving. His wife enjoys his smoother skin and the fact he now looks younger!
Hope something here helps

Hey Casey,

I'm a junior doc and may be able to help you. I may try a generic retinoid like a tretinoin gel. It promotes epithelial cell turnover, usually used for acne and also found in many anti-winkle/aging creams (in lesser strength). I think it may help in your condition (I am not 100% sure and have not asked my dermatologist friends yet!) although not advertised for it. Your primary care doc may know what to do or you can cut straight to the chase and go to a dermatologist. It usually is somewhat covered on insurance if you have a medical necessity, which it sounds like you do.
Anyway I am no shaving expert, but I do think there is hope.

Good luck,

Jared

P.s. All these other ideas are good and valid as well.