Tips & Information
How to get rid of pimples after shaving?
Aftershave pimples are a real pain for many men. It is not a question of age, far from it, pimples after shave concern all men today. I'm talking about a wound because for some men their presence, on the whole face, can be a real social embarrassment. Aftershave pimples are not at all aesthetic, often bright red or even white due to stink. The pimples after shave thus give the sensation of facing a man who does not take care of himself, of his skin. Even to have a bad living condition. And yet, the reasons are very different, and it has absolutely nothing to do with a lack of skin care.
Here are my tips to avoid the appearance of pimples after shaving, or how to make pimples disappear after shaving.
You can also find at the bottom of this article a video in which I give my advice to avoid pimples in the beard.
How do pimples happen after shaving?
When we talk about pimples after shaving, we have to know what we are talking about. Because in fact, there are different kinds of pimples after shave.
Pimples after shave because of the razor blade
Some pimples after shaving are linked to the shaving blade used: if it is damaged, grated or poorly maintained, an allergy can occur after shaving which will cause the pimple or pimples to grow. Indeed, the blade will damage the skin during its passage and thus create micro-cuts, small lesions. So, if your razor blade was in a not very clean place, bacteria may be present on the blade. Thus, with the lesions, the bacteria could engulf and be the cause of pimples after shaving.
Pimples after shave due to ingrown hairs
Other pimples after shave are more related to ingrown hairs. If the beard hair is badly cut, especially because the razor blade is damaged, then when it grows back, it will bend. It will thus grow inside the hair follicle itself, under the dermis. The latter will swell and form an outgrowth like a red pimple. This is typically the main reason for pimples after shave.
Aftershave pimples linked to your skin type
But pimples after shave are also due to your skin type:
Of course I am thinking of people with sensitive skin, for whom the slightest passage of a blade on the skin, even new, can be perceived as an aggression for the skin and cause allergies (and therefore after-shave pimples).
People who also have dry skin are more prone to having pimples after shaving because, in addition to their skin, their beard hair is also dry and therefore harder. They will have to pass the razor blade more frequently over the hair to cut it and sensitize their skin even more. What's more, skin that lacks hydration is skin that is not protected, and therefore more sensitive to attacks. And the razor blade will slide less easily on the skin.
Finally, men who have acne-prone skin are also strongly affected by pimples after shaving. Acne in men can be a real hassle when it comes to shaving. Because the razor blade will slice the pimple. This will not only aggravate the pimple already in place but also disperse the bacteria to the clean skin next to it, thus creating pimples after shaving.
How to avoid the appearance of pimples after shaving?
Since above we have identified how aftershave pimples appear, the solutions to prevent their appearance or even make aftershave pimples disappear are relatively obvious:
A good blade to avoid aftershave pimples
Have a good shaving blade, perfectly sharp. This involves changing your razor blade regularly and not, as many men do, waiting until the blade no longer cuts or very badly to change it.
Skin prepared to avoid after-shave pimples
To avoid ingrown hairs, prepare your skin: you can either exfoliate your face or take a hot steam bath to open the pores of your skin and make the hair smooth. If you don't have time for a steam bath, you can apply a hot towel to the area you're going to shave.
Tighten pores to prevent pimples after shave
After shaving, I advise you to apply very cold water to the shaved area to tighten the dilated pores of the skin and prevent them from remaining dilated. The fact that it is dilated promotes the regrowth of hair in the hair follicle and thus create a pimple. To do this, I advise you to pass for example a cold ice cube on the face.
After shaving, avoid any shaving care containing alcohol. Alcohol will indeed accelerate the drying of the skin (and therefore the hair).
How to treat pimples after shaving?
Unfortunately if you have pimples after shave, it will take some time to treat them. At first, avoid shaving on the area affected by these aftershave pimples.
One of the main solutions to treat pimples after shaving is to exfoliate your face gently. This will get out some ingrown hairs. But it is not guaranteed.
Otherwise, you can use tweezers or a comedone extractor to try to push out the ingrown hairs. You have to be very gentle in this action. Do not forget to apply an antiseptic on the product which will allow you to remove the ingrown hair. Blood or stink could also come out of the button, remember to disinfect it well afterwards.
Use treatments based on salicylic or glycolic acid. If you don't have a salicylic acid-based skincare product at home, you can take some aspirin and crush it in a bowl, adding a little water. Aspirin does contain salicylic acid. Then apply the paste thus created on your face and leave for a few minutes.
You can buy commercial anti-pimple products
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