Pseudofolliculitis barbae, more known to us brothas as, “razor bumps”, arise on the faces of men with coarse, wiry, curly hair. Around fifty and eighty percent of Black men live with the issue of ingrown hairs and razor bumps, every day.
Razor bumps appear when beard hairs, more often 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 a great deal better than blades. But, some depilatories, if not used correctly, may irritate the skin.
Some creams are able to help for some time, but sooner or later side effects for long term use catch up.
How Ingrown hairs begin
Both sexes suffer from ingrown hairs. But men tend to undergo the most because of the coarseness, or thickness of the hair follicles on the face and neck. Ingrown hairs build after the hair has been cut or otherwise removed below the skin surface. As your hair grows, it curls over inside the follicle and doesn’t make it to the surface. The result is an unsightly, “bump” on the skin.
A few razor bumps moreover form when a growing hair exits the follicle and bends back towards the skin surface. When these sharp, shaved edges of coarse hair reach the skin surface, they burrow back into the skin producing puffy, pimple like bumps to appear.
Solving Ingrown Hairs
A good number of men have found that the only solution to the dilema is tweezers. Most of us know it isn’t the best sensation, but african american men haven’t found a better solution.
Below are 8 shaving tips that may help ease some of the pain and more importantly, save your face:
Using a shaving lotion after shaving should lessen the appearance of redness. This goes for the ladies too. You can use this technique for legs, bikini lines and underarms.
Be sure to always use a clean blade when shaving with a razor. This can be properly achieved by only using new blades and throwing away ones that have been previously used three or more times.
For those of you who use electric shavers, remember to replace the rotary blades or foil after a couple of 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 are priced more than half of what the whole razor is worth.
While shaving with a handheld razor, always shave in the direction of hair growth. The majority of men’s face hair slant downward, so be sure to shave in that direction. This is also critical 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.
Never stretch your skin while shaving. Pulling your cheeks, chin or neck while shaving in order to get a closer shave, may cause darkness and discoloration of underlying skin tissue. This is very true for light and fair-skinned Black men who have dark, coarse hair.
Watch what you eat. Many skin irritations may subside if certain foods are avoided. Fatty foods, foods containing oils, cholesterol and sodium, can make your skin more propense to damage when shaving.
Depilatories got the work done fast, but its not a dream come true. Like razors, it can leave you redness and some irritation. Remember never to use an alcohol based cream after using a depilatory. Unless you want to feel like your face is on fire.
Grow a beard. This may not be the right solution for those required to shave daily, such as the military and other business professions. But if you can handle this style, go for it! You will totally eliminate the razor bump worries and ingrown hair issues. Even better, you can get rid of those sharp blades!
Read more of our articles on men skin care at
http://www.menskincaretips.com
By: Joqtan Anicama
There are tons of resources for men skin care available, along with products made for men. Skin care has been part of many men’s daily regimen thanks to the benefits of great, fresh and young looking skin.
But what about men of color? Black men or Hispanic men? The truth is there is only a limited amount of resources that focus on skin care for Black men, which makes us wonder: does darker skin need different care?
The answer is yes. In African-American men skin there tends to be more razor bumps and burn and ingrown hairs. This is due to the different type of facial hair.
Also men of color can suffer from dark spots and hyper pigmentation which causes the skin to have an uneven tone.
So in order to address these issues a couple of companies and sites have created a special section for Black men skin care which is much needed. I’ve also seen a couple of skin care products for Black men available that work wonders.
Products such as Barc and African Male by men essentials are great examples of products made for Black men.
But of course proper skin care is the same for all men. No matter what your skin color or age, men should always follow a skin care regimen to help maintain a young and healthy looking skin.
Especially in for men with darker skin color, using a facial scrub/exfoliate and skin toner is essential to eliminating or keeping away from dark spots and hyper pigmentation.
Using the right shaving cream and after shave will also help reduce and alleviate razor burn and stop razor bumps.
Use the right skin care products for men and you will definitely keep your skin looking healthy, toned, young and overall attractive.
By: Victor Anicama
When we’re young we long for the day our first whiskers will start to show. As soon as it appears we adventure on the journey to manhood… Every freaking day! Little did we know that those whiskers would multiply into thousands all over our face and most men have to shave daily to keep them tamed!
So what’s it like putting up a blade to your face everyday? Well irritating I guess. Not emotionally, besides the fact that you have to shave fast enough or you’ll be late to work, but a man’s skin is also irritated from constant shaving. So even though most people think it’s woman who have delicate skin, it’s actually men who have the most delicate skin.
A while ago, when man’s face got irritated or such, we’d go to the local store and look for some product so ease the pain, and only see an aisle filled with women’s skin care products and we didn’t want to take that pink bottled cream to the cash register. But finally with time razor blade companies and skin care companies have seen the shout for help of all men who suffer from a skin care problem and they’ve come out with a whole market filled with products made just for us, men skin care products.
Going back to the blades, the blades manufactured today have been given more thought and are now safer and precise as each year passes. Gillette’s latest triple blade technology is a life saver for all men, especially those with sensitive skin.
But that’s not all, then came Gillette’s Mach3Turbo. This advanced razor system targets young men who are beginning to shave and also focuses on black men skin care, since African American men tend to develop razor bumps. Now that is coming of age. Black men have always struggled with a way to diminish razor bumps, and Mach3Turbo is just what was needed. Not only that, but because Mach3Turbo is such a precise shaving products, young men who are just starting to shave won’t have to suffer as much irritation due to their “inexperienced” sensitive skin.
By far, Gillette offers a great line of men skin care products. Sure disposable blades maybe cheaper, but you’ll end up looking like a tomato if you use those. Gillette offers you products made just for men and out sensitive skin. We’ll get the clean “picture perfect” shave that women love to touch!
By: Joqtan Anicama