Skin Problems & Treatments Community

For Men:

From a man's perspective, the number one skin care problem would be ingrown hairs as a result of shaving. When guys shave, they scrape their face with a very sharp metal object. This could be an electric or a manual blade razor. The razor cuts each whisker, leaving a sharp, and often angled, end. Facial hair is much coarser than the hair on the rest of your body; as a result it has a tendency to curl just a bit.

When you cut each hair during your daily shave, the razor leaves a very sharp end to each whisker hair. When this hair grows just a little bit, it tends to curl on itself, pierces the skin and embeds itself into your skin. This results in razor bumps, and some of them will end up inflamed and infected.
How do you take care of this? Try the following suggestions:

· First, when you shave, I recommend a manual razor with a single blade. The double and triple blades promise to give you a very close shave. This sounds good, but the closer you shave, the more likely you are to have those hairs curling below the surface of your skin resulting in razor bumps and infected hairs.

· Secondly, shave in the shower. By having your face very wet, you minimize the likelihood of developing razor burn from too much friction.

· Use a good lubricating shave cream or gel. Trial and error is my suggestion here. No single product works for every person.

· After shaving, make sure you moisturize your face. No, you don't have to use the perfumed products of your sweetheart. There are very good men's products out there. Find one you like and use it. EVERY DAY!

· Lastly, when you shave, shave in the direction your hair grows. When you shave against the direction of your hair growth, you may get a closer shave, but you will increase the likelihood of developing ingrown hairs.

I hope this helps with your razor burn problems.

Best,

Dr. Evans