Excuse my pessimism but due to the lack of activity on this forum would it be fair to say that like myself, most people who ACTUALLY suffer from PFB have given up hope in finding a cure. Before you pass judgement on me, let me say that I speak from experience.
Depressed long time sufferer who is losing hope rapidly !
There have actially been some great advances in recent years. Check out the darker skin issues forum for some recent articles on laser for PFB on darker skin tones. I’m also going to move a Premium article on the topic last year to the main forum. Hang on!
this is somethign which is realtively new to me.
i do have sensitive skin.very pale.
the only times i encountered issues like this in the past were when i tried shaving the bikin line.
so i stopped that method.but as times gone on and things have beocme worse, i looked at other mehtods besides depilatory reams which are what id always used in the past.
waxing was the first one i tried.this was done myself at home.little success.took too long,found it far too painfull and laborious a thing to undertake for the results i got.
shaving- went back to that after i stopped the waxing.
prior to waxing i had never,ever had any issues except for the odd time when id tried to shave and as a result had a temporary red saving rash from it.
after waxing ( for what cant have been more than 6 times tops), i found big problems.i started to get spots.genuine red spots which id never encountered in my life.
not a rash.actual spots.not teeny little ones either.raised red angry lumps.which seemed to either be infected.
i found i always seemed to have them.in one area or another and ive not been free of one spot or several for months and months and months ( since i had tried the waxing in fact).
more often than not these are large,red,and seemed to be pores that become enlarged due to being filled with a clear fluid.nothing which you would associate with an actual infection.no nasty stuff insde the pore.just fluidy stuff.excessive fluid stuff.but when these happen, they dont go for months.
more often than not to allieviate them they need to be constantly treated with antiseptic liquid and on a weekly/bi weekly basis they need to them be “bled”.
once is never enough in the cases of the larger ones as they seem to either fill back up or are generating more of the same fluid within itself.
and when one has been dealt with.( i.e. its no longer a raised angry red lump ,pore is drained and empty).there is a purple/red mark left on the area which fades slowly after several months.
when i noticed this hapeneing i stopped shaving too.
started using a body bruch to scrub twice a day.began using an antibacterial soap and went back to depilatory creams.
have to say the ingrown issue has not eased.
theres a lot of them,considering i only waxed for half a dozen times at most,and havent been long term shaving.
the number and frequency of these red spots has decreased a little.
this is some 3-4 months down the line from stopping the shaving/waxing,reverting back to the old method id previously used and twice daily treating the area completely with a body scrub and anti bacterial cleaning too.
its a distressing thing to contend with.disheartening to still be getting these sideeffects months down the line still and at times i wonder if im ever going to be free of them at all.or if ive inadvertantly done damage to my skin and am going to be contending with this for the rest of my life.
Have you considered laser hair removal at all? The laser will actually destroy the follicle from under the skin’s surface so you will not experience those ingrowns or irritation.
i have looked at laser treatment a few times myself over the years.
from what i understand of the process, im not an ideal candidate having fair skin and red hair which means trying it out when there is a strong chance it wont e successfull for me.
its also very expensive here in the UK and aside from this relatively recent issue i do have problems with hair growth in other areas too.
like a lot of people , a compromise has to be reached due to economics,and although ideally trying laser removal would appeal to me as something which might work ( so would be worth trying) the reality is it costs too much especially when the likelihood of it working effectively on me isnt the best odds possible to justify the exopense.
what is happening in this specific area is that after trying waxing and shaving for a short period of time, this seems to have over sesitised the folicles? prior to the waxing i never had the issue of raised red spots ever.
the proprtion of ingrown hairs probably,on balance isnt that high, but whats happening often is as one grows its creating a red,raised lump.which takes motnhs to get rid of no matter how its treated.
its not the same site each time,and i go to lengths to ensure im doing all i can using antibacterial cleanser,a body brush to scrub twice per day etc.
but seems as a hair growns to the point where it would normally start to be seen above the skin, its becoming ingrown which is the beginning of the raised lump.which then becomes a red lump and nothing i can ( or dont do) eliminates this when it appears.
tried removing the ingrown with little success because often its impossible to see where it is.tried applying antiseptic to the area,tried using a prescription cream i have from my doctor thats to dry up spots,an so on.
nothing irradicates one when it comes up.no matter whats done, it dosnt alieviate it and clear it up .ive got it for months befre it goes away completely.
am going to persevere with going back to the original way i removed the hair which was dipilatory creams as this at least hasnt made it worse,and to a lesser extent has reduced the number i have at any one time.
i had originally expected it would take a few months once id returned to the depilatory cream, for the red lumps/spots to stop.but perhaps its something which will take longer than a few months to sort itself out and i was over optimistic.
am also going torequest a referall to a dermatolagist from m Doctor when i next see him too.it certainly cannot do any harm, and could bring to light maybe something which could alleviate or prevent whats happening with these red lumps.
Unlike LASER, electrolysis can permanently remove any color of hair on any color of skin. Unless your hair roots are dark, LASER will not affect a change for the better.
If you’re lucky enough to have a skilled electrologist in your locale, get a consult and get a sample treatment. As the ingrowns come closer to the surface of your skin, he/she can release them and go in with the probe to destroy the hair so it is permanently gone. With the hair gone, there is no irritant to inflame the area ever again. Some ingrowns are not in the growing phase, so you will have to be patient and wait for the hair to return to do it in for good. Meanwhile, you can have all the other hair treated and look forward to a smooth future with no skin irritation from waxing or shaving. You may have some temporary skin marks on the bikini area after treatment, but all fades nicely with time.
Electrolysis would be a great choice to clear up this “mess” forever, if you have that option where you live.
Dee
I am assuming that you have tried everything like the Tendskin, bump patrol, magic shave, different razors, clippers etc.
Let me know what you have tried.
I had the problem since the first day that I shaved. It was only recently that I discovered Tend skin and products with Salycilic acid really work. These products are awsome. They will get rid of the bumps. But for me there was still the problem of the dark patches left behind. I now have two tone skin. My face is one color and my beard line is another darker color.
There are products for that which I am trying now with some success.
Have you tried the Facial Mapping Guide? You can find it on Ebay. It offers some excellent advice on shaving for African American men. Just do an ebay search for Facial Mapping.
Let me know what else you have used in the past, I really want to help. I got rid of my bumps after a long time and I believe that I can help you. My email is: strkyr100@yahoo.com
Good Luck