Spots

Anatori

New Member
Ok I've had this issue ever since i've started shaving. My hair is pretty think and when i shave both under my arms and on my legs, when I finish up, there are red spots where the hair grows. Now its not razor burn. I've checked with people on that. And it doesn't burn or itch, its just very unattractive. I have friends that when they shave their skin ends up looking like nothing grew there to begin with, you can't see the folicles, pores, or anything. I've tried making sure I have lotion on my legs to keep em moisturized, different loofahs in the shower and different washes for exfoliating thinking that could be the issue, nothing helps. Is it normal? Is it hopeless? Should I start saving up to do waxing every 6weeks or so? Any tips?
 
I have EXACTLY the same thing. It's like you can see every single pore on your leg where you have shaved. I am not sure if it is down to being dark haired with fair skin or whether it is irritation inside the folicle, although like you, mine doesn't itch. I have a common skin condition called KP and I am wondering if it is all part and parcel of that.
I thoguht of trying tea tree gel after shaving or salicylic acid solution (isn't as weird or harsha s it sounds, it's a spot treatment mainly) but haven't got round to it yet.
Would love to find out if you ahve tried anything and how you get on x
 

Strumpet

New Member
Hi there,

I think what you're describing may be ingrown hairs? They look like red spots, and sometimes they're raised and sometimes they're not. It's from when the hair gets trapped on its way back out. If that's what it is, Tend Skin works really well. It's kind of like a toner you apply after shaving or waxing.

If not, hope you find a solution!
 

Lily13

New Member
Sounds like keratosis pilaris to me! The ingrown hairs go along with this condition because excess keratin builds up. I've had this my entire life (they say it is genetic) and unfortunately there isn't much you can do about it other than exfoliate your skin often and keep it moist. It's always worse in the winter and better in the summer time.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/keratosis-pilaris/DS00769
 

Anatori

New Member
Hmmm Lily that does look familiar I may have a small case of that but it only appears on my arms and its just the bumps its not really red there. And if I use lotion, those tend to go away. So maybe...but I'm not completely sure. On my legs though they aren't bumps. just red spots where my folicles are. I do occasionally get those and take care of them pronto. Maybe the tea tree stuff might work. If this is part of KP though...i'm not entirely sure what to do. The site you linked says use a humidifier, and use lactic acid. so maybe i'll look for stuff like that. Cuz anything I can do to get rid f these would be amazing. Maybe I should just go around wearing leggings. skin toned, and what not would hide them. lol
 

Lily13

New Member
The picture in the mayo clinic article doesn't really do it justice. It's too far way to really see what is going on. You can do a google search and check the images. Those are usually a better representation of it.

I could take a pic of my own leg if that would be helpful. I can see every single hair follicle because of the redness.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-PgnOUOfIb7s/TYT5oieVlhI/AAAAAAAAASw/LtHwppL_g-E/s1600/Keratosis+pilaris.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-uYtpqAtpR5M/TYT5o7FM9qI/AAAAAAAAAS0/hQPj25CHQbA/s1600/Keratosis+pilaris+close+up.jpg

Those are pics of my arm. It is actually quite common to be on the back of your arms. My legs look a little bit different though. Less bumpy and just a lot of redness where there are hair follicles. There are entire forums dedicated to getting rid of KP and there really isn't much that you can do. I find getting a little bit of sun helps, but it is always there to some degree.

Edit: Added picture of my leg. Hope this helps.
 

Attachments

  • KP on leg 1.jpg
    KP on leg 1.jpg
    41.9 KB · Views: 479

Anatori

New Member
Fantastic. Yup thats my leg. So there's nothing I can do to get rid of it? No amount of moisturizer can fix it? Thats kinda depressing...
 
If it is KP then there are things you can do to relieve the situation but it can't be cured as such. i.e if you stop treating it, it will come back. I am a member of the KP forum there is a lot of useful information on there that you might find helps.

www.keratosispilaris.org
 

Anatori

New Member
so body cream to moisturize, exfoliate with my cleanser, and accept, once again, that i'm not perfect and there are milions of others with this same thing. At least its not life threatening right? On one hand, I'm glad I figured out what this is. On the other hand...not excited to find out it wasnt just dry skin and in fact an incurable disease. I'm making it sound worse than it is. I'm sorry for that, But its still very depressing.
 
Well, people think it is nothing unless they have it. I felt disfurged with it as a teenager, it was terribly obvious and many people were very unkind. It has faded as I have aged, which is one bonus of getting older I suppose!
I find the sunshine helps a lot, you know - not too much. i am not an advocate of tanning at all but a little fresh aiir and sunshine sure improves it. So, with summer well and truly on it's way you may find little relief.
Careful with moisturiser after you have exfoliated, although it is a good treatment for the condition on a long term basis in the short term it can make things a lot redder.

Best of luck with it
x
 

Lily13

New Member
Yeah I get depressed about the KP at times, but it is VERY common and most people don't even notice it. My husband has it too, so if we ever have kids they will likely have it as well. :( At times mine gets really really bad and I have to pull out the ingrown hairs or they get infected. I can pull out an inch long wound up hair from some of these KP bumps! For me the best thing I can do is shave every single day (even twice a day works). It helps to scrape off the layers of dead skin, so the hair can poke out from the skin and grow normally. In that picture I haven't been too good with keeping up with it and have been using an electric razor, so it looks bad.

I agree with flatty_natty, get some sun on your skin is very good too. The back of my calves are always the worse (that's where the pic was taken) and I have crazy thick hair on my legs. That makes it so much harder to take care of. If your hair is thinner, then the ingrown hairs might not be such an issue.

The sun is good for you, don't be fooled by some doctors. Google for some articles on this. Just don't get burned because that is bad!
 

Anatori

New Member
So question about the KP that doesnt seem to be mentioned in the forums that i've seen, maybe i jsut haven't gone far enough in. It said that it is caused by too much Keratin in the skin which is a protein. Fish oil is supposed to help with protein breakdown or something right? wouldnt that help clear it up along with help your body in other ways too? I don't see it mentioned anywhere... Am I just reaching here?
 

ezri84

New Member
I know this is an old thread, but in case someone looks at it and needs help with the red itchy spots, especially after shaving, use Aveeno skin relief intense moisture. Don't scratch it. I had to go to the doctors from scratching it open and getting infected. They give a steroid cream which really helps, but I haven't had a problem since using this aveeno.
 
Top