Thread: Tiny White Zits

...make for a gross title. Unfortunately it's also a shave relevant title. I get them on my cheeks and chin a couple of days after a close shave. Does anybody else have this problem? Are there ways to prep or shave that can help prevent it? The thought also crossed my mind that my skin would adapt to regular shaving and stop being so sensitive. Hopefully I don't have to reprise my teenage complexion to enjoy a SR shave.

Could be blocked pores, Try this:

• Rinse with warm water between passes to get the gunk of the face
• After shaving
  
  • Rinse with warm water to clean the pores
  • Rinse well with (ice)cold water to close the pores
  • (optional) apply alum all over the shaven area, leave it for a few minutes and rinse with cold water again
  • Do your usual after-shave ritual(balm, after shave, eau de cologne etc.)

It should keep the pores gunk-free and thus irritation free. This is my after shave ritual, but I never had zits after shaving. As always: YMMV

Good luck!

Are you doing loads of passes over the same area? Or doing an ATG pass?

I find that this can really break up the surface of the skin which might also be a contributory factor.

Originally Posted by bam42685

The thought also crossed my mind that my skin would adapt to regular shaving and stop being so sensitive.

That is exactly what I experienced. It was almost like the very close shaving pulled this stuff to the surface. Then after a short period it seemed like my skin adapted and that was the end of it.

bam42685;

What you are describing sounds like a classic case of "pseudo folliculitis".

This is a condition where after shaving the hair decides not to grow properly out of its own follicle, but deviates slightly and grows through the skin instead. This causes irritation, redness and (in some cases) the tiny pimples that accompany the local irritation. When the hair finally grows through properly the skin heals itself (usually within a day or so) and all is normal again.

Of course, in some cases, the hair does not break through the skin but grows underneath it (ingrown hair) which can really be annoying.

I suffer from the same, exact problem on my chin and have never been able to shave with a blade in that area without ending up with the same annoyance. As a result, I shave most of my face with a straight and save the chin for an electric razor (oh for shame! )

The best way to fight the condition is to NOT shave close in the problem areas. In other words, don't go for a BBS finish there, but rather the opposite. For example, shave only with the grain and never against it, do only one pass instead of two, etc. Waiting a few days between shaves until the skin recovers is also a plus since you don't want to annoy the area so much with repeated shaves that the area becomes infected.

As BrickBag recommends, good preparation can help a lot and I would also add that cleanliness of hands, sink, razor and associated accessories can only be seen as a plus.

Sometimes a good aftershave balm will help reduce the condition. If the annoyance is severe you might even need to consult a dermatologist.

I provide a link to a more complete page of information: Pseudofolliculitis barbae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hope this helps.

- Ignatz

White bumps after a really close shave could also be an ingrown hair that has become infected. If so all the cleaning face suggestions would help as they might reduce the change of bacteria getting into the freshly shaved follicle. I get them a bit and found that a clean face, and a little witch hazel (which is antiseptic and astringent) after the shave helped. If you've just shaved against the grain try giving that a break for a awhile if possible. As usual shave prep is important. I find that the more I soften the beard the less likely it is I get an ingrown or bump YMMV. Good Luck

Looks like ignatz beat me to it!

Thanks for all the responses! My blemishes were appearing in areas where I shaved ATG. This was only on my face as I am not quite skilled enough (yet) to get into the curves of the neck with much detail. Perhaps I will stop after the across the grain (STG for sideways?) and see what happens. I think my prep was pretty good but I will try to do better post shave cleaning per the advice on here. Also, the blemishes didn't appear for a day of two so I suppose I should take greater care to clear the pores on days I don't shave. Now they are all clear without any ingrown hairs so hopefully I don't have to fight that in the future.

Possibly an aftershave with known antiseptic ingredients could help eg bay rum &/or calendula

I too have suffered from the same. I've found that a nightly cleansing with acne pads eliminates the problem. I've found the walmart equate brand effective. Pseudo folliculitis should be treated the same as you treat acne.

Originally Posted by ignatz

bam42685;

What you are describing sounds like a classic case of "pseudo folliculitis".

This is a condition where after shaving the hair decides not to grow properly out of its own follicle, but deviates slightly and grows through the skin instead. This causes irritation, redness and (in some cases) the tiny pimples that accompany the local irritation. When the hair finally grows through properly the skin heals itself (usually within a day or so) and all is normal again.

Of course, in some cases, the hair does not break through the skin but grows underneath it (ingrown hair) which can really be annoying.

I suffer from the same, exact problem on my chin and have never been able to shave with a blade in that area without ending up with the same annoyance. As a result, I shave most of my face with a straight and save the chin for an electric razor (oh for shame! )

The best way to fight the condition is to NOT shave close in the problem areas. In other words, don't go for a BBS finish there, but rather the opposite. For example, shave only with the grain and never against it, do only one pass instead of two, etc. Waiting a few days between shaves until the skin recovers is also a plus since you don't want to annoy the area so much with repeated shaves that the area becomes infected.

As BrickBag recommends, good preparation can help a lot and I would also add that cleanliness of hands, sink, razor and associated accessories can only be seen as a plus.

Sometimes a good aftershave balm will help reduce the condition. If the annoyance is severe you might even need to consult a dermatologist.

I provide a link to a more complete page of information: Pseudofolliculitis barbae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hope this helps.

- Ignatz

Wow! That was a great help! I have had the same thing going on with my chin when I go ATG. I would get these little white pimples only when I go ATG. It makes sense that in the chin area, the hairs would have a little hard time coming back out. Thank you for the help! I have been wondering about that for a long time.