Facial hair?

[Jenni B]

I'm sure there's been a few questions on here about facial hair but you might not have had this one before.

At the moment it appears that i might be suffering with a condition known as Sycosis Barbae or barbers itch.
For those of you who don't know what it is, i didn't either until i did a search on the net.Its ingrowing facial hair.

You can have a shave and some hairs have already grown back into the skin or after the shave some start growing back towards the skin. This then leaves horrible little red pimples:mad: , I find it happens more on my neck than my face and this condition has turned up out of the blue.

My question is what can be done about it+?

Well i did have a treatment of light. What i mean is, you can attend a light treatment clinic where once lay on a comfy bench at forty five degrees the technician coats your neck with a cooling cream, then a gun the shape of an industrial stapler is placed on your neck at different intervals and pulses of light is zapped on to the neck.

It feels like a pin prick each time plus you can smell yourself burning. The principle is that it burns the dark hairs away but it won't get the light or the transparent ones. I had three of the six treatments, it didn't blow me away but it might be better for other people.

So.....has anyone been in the same situation, are you going through it now?

I've seen some products that look promising...

Ingrow Go, Tend skin, Priva shave. They all come in bottles and are between £10 and £20. Although the price isn't the issue. The idea with these lotions is to soften the hair so its nice and whispey as appossed to the the hair being strong like a tree trunk, i'm sure you get my drift.

Has anyone used these items or got any other ideas for me please.

Sorry if this happens to be a rethread.

Love, Jenni

[celtic.blue.eyes]

To anyone that has never ecperienced this, it sound so minor, but what a mess it can make of your face, and very long lasting as well!

I've had the same problem, and it seems that each irritated hair one can take well over a month to heal:sad:

About a year ago, I found the following in the alt.fashion newsgroup, and it does work! Since this was in response to a specific question, I took the liberty of a little re-wording.

I had this problem for over 20 years before I figured it out, and if I
don't shave daily, I look like an very unkempt homeless person. Now
I'm sure there are those that will find something wrong with this
answer, but this is what works for me, so here goes....

First of all, get rid of any Hi-tech razors you may have. The newer
ones simply get too close for your skin type. Get an old-tech double edge
like a Gilette "Good News".

Wash thoroughly with the hottest water you can realisticly tolerate, and rinse off. Apply some Gel type (Like EDGE) shaving cream, and shave in the direction of hair growth. The object is to just remove the bulk of the facial hair, and not get ultra close.

Rinse off with the hottest water youcan stand and reapply a THIN coat of the Edge (Gel type) shaving cream. Not too thick, or you will end up fighting trying to get through the cream. It should feel thin AND slippery.

Now, the most important thing is the technique, and it all depends on
angle and pressure. First, make sure the razor's face is laying flat
against your skin. Now imagine your beard has grown through a tissue
that was laid on your skin, and now that tissue is wet and very
fragile. Shave with a very light touch so that under NO CIRCUMSTANCES
will you break through that wet tissue. The number of strokes it takes
to clear an area is irrelevant, because until you get to skin level,
there will be no irritation or cuts. Now this is the part I can't
stress enough: While you are shaving, your first consideration should
be not breaking thorugh that wet tissue! Or another way: Always
remember, the shaving part takes a back seat to preserving that
tissue! Let us know how it works out....

I'm assuming that you are in the U.K. If they have a razor blade there called a "Bump Fighter", by all means try it. It's just the blades, not a disposable razor, so they mount an a seperate handle. They are marketed towards black men who get this problem a lot, beacuse their typically curly hair tends to curl into the skin if cut below the skin level.

As an extra precaution, I use Noesporin antibacterial creme as an aftershave. The creme is water based, much like HydroCortisone creme, and leaves your skin with a smooth slightly waxy feeling. It's quite effective at preventing infection.

In using this technique, you will not quite get that ultra smooth shave, and in your case, you don't want to - that is what causes the problem. But you can get a good shave that will not mess up your face.

Hope this helps
-Sarah

[Scotty]

I still get it a tad on my left chin from time to time.

For me it's if I use my Gillette Mach 3 turbo more than 3 times.

3 is the magic number then I toss it or use it on my pitts once or twice.

Then on top of that I went with a womans shaving gel as it's thinner, lasts longer.....I use Satin Care, dry skin formula, purple cap - try it as it goes on super thin....

Try a sharp razor each time.

It's frustrating, specially if they are deep....

[Jenni B]

Just a bit of an update.

Today i purchased Ingrow and go, its a lotion and cost £9.95.
The directions for use are try a test patch and leave for 24hrs. So i've put it all over. It smells like diluted vinegar. Use twice a day, once in the morning and once at night.

The picture on the box shows the before and the after in just three days.

I'll let you know how i go on. Heres hopeing.

[Sally24]

Electrolysis is always an option. It takes time and money, but once the hair is gone, no ingrown hairs!

Sally