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22 nov 2009

The Razor Bumps Tutorial

The Feeling:


“There's nothing quite as frustrating as cleaning up with a close shave, only to suffer from razor burn or skin irritation.”




Agreed? Okey let’s examine what it’s this, since knowledge is power with my experience and of some of my family and friends (Also google worked) let’s understand this.

The Scientific Explanation:
Pseudofolliculitis barbae , better known as, "razor bumps", also known as PFB occur on the faces of men with coarse, wiry, curly hair . Mediterranean, Jewish, African descent, and other peoples who have naturally coarse or tightly curling hair can get 'razor bumps' in their beards.









"These razor bumps appear when beard hairs, most likely around the neck area, curl as they grow and burrow into the skin again (like a loop-back). leading to an inflammation reaction"



The true is that PFB is most common on the male face, but it can also happen on other parts of the body, and also on women where hair is shaved or plucked, especially areas where hair is curly and the skin is sensitive, such as genital shaving (more properly termed pseudofolliculitis pubis or PFP).


PFB can be divided into two types:




  • The extrafollicular hair is a hair that has exited the follicle and reentered the skin.

  • The transfollicular hair never exits the follicle, but because of its naturally curly nature curls back into the follicle causing fluid build-up and irritation.


PFB can make the skin look itchy and red, and in some cases, it can even look like pimples. These inflamed  papules or pustules papules or pustules can form especially if the area becomes infected.



How it happens?
Shaving sharpens the hair ends, making it easier for them to penetrate the skin, and of course cause infection, like many needles in your face.



Ingrown hairs form after the hair has been cut or otherwise removed below the skin surface. As the hairs grow, they curl over within the follicle and fail to exit to the surface. The result is an unsightly, "bump" on the skin.





Some razor bumps also form when a growing hair exits the follicle and bends back towards the skin surface. When these sharp, shaved edges of coarse hair touch the skin surface, they burrow back into the skin causing puffy, pimple-like bumps to appear.



Razor bumps itch, burn, can cause scarring, and make shaving virtually impossible (Maybe you already noticed this).



How bad they can get?


If left untreated over time, this can cause keloid scarring in the beard area.

How to get rid of them?

To Be Honest: If there were a method effective for all men and I knew it, probably I would go for a patent and get rich, and of course won’t publish for free on this blog. THERE’S NO UNIVERSAL METHOD.



1) Avoid Blades
  • Many men have resorted to depilatory creams which seem to work significantly better than blades. However, some depilatories, if not used correctly, may irritate the skin.

2) Let the beard grow!

An effective prevention is to let the beard grow. Once the hairs get to be a certain length they will not grow back into the skin. For most cases, totally avoid shaving for three to four weeks until all lesions have subsided, while applying a mild prescription cortisone cream to the involved skin each morning.

Notice: Cortisone-based creams have been available for some time, but many cannot be used long-term due to blood stream absorption and other side effects.






  1. The Even Day’s Method


Shaving every other day, rather than daily, will improve pseudo-folliculitis barbae. If one must use a blade, water soften the beard first with a hot, wet washcloth for five minutes.







Get Surgery! (Kind of)
  • High Budget
Electrolysis and laser hair removal should be considered when all else fails, but these are expensive and take repeated visits. There is a very small risk of scarring. A few insurance companies will cover some or all of the cost.



  • Low Budget


A few friends of mine have found that the only way to remove these irritating bumps is by tweezing their faces. While this isn't very comfortable, they haven't discovered a better solution (Well at a lower price).






  1. Get medication











Medications are also prescribed to speed healing of the skin. Glycolic acid lotion 8% (Alpha-hydrox, Neo-Strata, Innovcool, others) is effective. Prescription antibiotic gels (Benzamycin, Cleocin-T) or oral antibiotics are also used. Retin-A is a potent treatment that helps even out any scarring after a few months. It is added as a nightly application of Retin-A Cream 0.05 - 0.1% to the beard skin while beard is growing out. Use as tolerated, as it is somewhat irritating.





A few list of products that you can try






  1. Other important considerations







Applying a shaving lotion after shaving will reduce the appearance of redness. This is also great for women after shaving legs, bikini lines and underarms.





Be sure to always use a clean blade when shaving with a razor. This can be best achieved by only using new blades and discarding ones that have been previously used three or more times.





If you use an electric razor, replace the rotary blades or foil after a few months. Of course if you're required to shave daily, you may have to replace them sooner. This can be a headache since many rotary blade components cost more than half of what the entire razor is worth.





While shaving with a handheld razor, always shave in the direction of hair growth. Most hair on men's faces, slant downward, so be sure to shave in that direction. This is also important around the neck areas since shaving against the grain is one of the main causes of pointy, sharp hairs that can burrow back into the skin.





Don't stretch your skin while shaving. Pulling your cheeks, chin or neck while shaving in order to get a closer shave, can cause darkness and discoloration of underlying skin tissue. This is especially true for light and fair-skinned Black men who have dark, coarse hair.





Watch what you eat. A lot of skin irritations may subside if certain foods are avoided. Fatty foods, foods containing oils, cholesterol and sodium, can make your skin more susceptible to damage while shaving.





Other Tips? Look at the post of Shaving 101.





21 nov 2009

Get rid of uneven spots - Bleach them

The Sun Shield For The Face

Peeling Your Face At Home

Shave Brush for NO more Razor Bumps

An introduction from an ex-Razor-Bump-Faced Boy

Let's face it ! There's nothing more ugly in a men face than razor bumps. Scars are nothing compared to them ( e.g. Seal face has scars but he's still a handsome boy don't you think?).

But (And I'm AfroAmerican by the way) in black men the razor bumps get more noticed. Don't know why but it's true!

Okey, while you're reading this your face's aching so what to do them ? Stop putting your hand's on it! And let's start a regime (Or kinda of).
By the way a dermatologist can tell you that the real name of this is Pseudofoliculitis Barbae
Pseudofolliculitis barbae, occur on the faces of men with coarse, wiry, curly hair. Between fifty and eighty percent of African-American men live with the problem of ingrown hairs and razor bumps, daily.

These razor bumps appear when beard hairs, most likely around the neck area, curl as they grow and burrow into the skin adjacent to the hair follicle. Shaving sharpens the hair ends, making it easier for them to penetrate the skin.

Razor bumps itch, burn, can cause scarring, and make shaving virtually impossible. Many Black men have resorted to depilatory creams which seem to work significantly better than blades. However, some depilatories, if not used correctly, may irritate the skin.
Cortisone-based creams have also been available for some time, but many cannot be used long-term due to blood stream absorption and other side effects.
To rid shaving bumps is very easy and can be done with a shaving brush. Shaving bumps on generally occur because the hair curls back into the face itself. This is why a shaving brush is needed to brush over the curled hairs to straighten them.


Step 1
To use a shaving brush to get rid of shaving bumps you’ll first need to pick one up at the local beauty supply store. You can also do some research online for a shaving brush so you know what your looking for too. Choose a shaving brush that is not too soft, but coarse enough that it can be used on the hair on your head. The shaving brush should be in the style of a wave brush.
Step 2
Right after you shave you should be using alcohol that says 90% not the usual 50%. This can be found near the pharmacy counter. When you use it be careful not to hold it on your face to long because it will cause skin burns. Don’t use any type of after shave or cream, these will only clog your hair follicles which makes shaving bumps appear.
Step 3
To use the shaving brush and have the best effect you can’t shave everyday. The shaving brush must be used when hair is present on your face. The shaving brush is mainly used to retrain the facial hair to lay instead of curl.
Step 4
Before you start to use the shaving brush wait 2 days well past the 5 o’clock shadow phase. Now for the next 3 days use the shaving brush to brush the hairs on your face at least three times a day. The shaving brush will pull out any hairs that are starting or have curled over into the skin.
Step 5
Remember I know it may be rough getting used to using the shaving brush and this routine but it works. You might not like looking a little ruff from not shaving but it will be worth it to not having shaving bumps everywhere.
Step 6
A few other things to remember using the shaving brush is to wash your face everyday. Always change your pillow case every few days also. When you feel your face start to itch this is a single to grab your shaving brush because there is a hair that is curling into the skin.
Step 7
Right before you do shave grab your shaving brush and go over your facial hair with it. Regardless to what you heard about prewetting the skin don’t do it. This is why you use the shaving brush prior to starting to shave. Wetting will soften and curl the hair and will void the effects of the shaving brush. Shaving cream can be used but not water and only shave one half of your face at a time.
Step 8
Inclosing before you start shopping for your shaving brush there are a few other thing to understand about your skin. While the shaving brush is a great tool to use you should look into using different razors also. A little know fact is black men’s skin is it doesn’t mix well with shavers that have blades made of a metal called nickel. So do some searching for ones that have stainless steel blades in them while looking for a shaving brush also.