What To Do About Beard Acne (And Other Shaving Gripes)
Effective skincare is fundamentally the same, whichever gender you identify with. But when facial hair is thrown into the mix, there are added concerns to contend with.
Whether you like to sport a full beard, are never without a goatee or prefer being completely clean shaven, the ability to grow facial hair can cause all manner of nasties for your skin. We’re talking anything from gnarly pimples to a dry, itchy chin rash. And we’d bet neither of these are ever going to score high on your skincare wishes.
But all is not lost, because most shave-related skincare concerns are easily resolved with a few smart skincare choices. So, if your beard is causing you to breakout or your ‘stache is giving you the itch, it’s time to hone your grooming skills.
Here's how...
The Problem: Beard Acne
What Causes It: Breakouts around beard hair is a very common problem and comes mostly down to hygiene. How so? Because, even if you’re fairly vigilant about cleansing the skin on your face, grooming your beard often gets forgotten about. Massive mistake. Beard hair collects dirt, dust, grime and all sorts throughout the day, which, if left to their own devices breed bad bacteria and aggravate your skin, causing blocked pores and unwanted acne flare-ups.
The Solution: Make sure you cleanse your face, chin and neck thoroughly, morning and night. But don’t be fooled into buying oil-stripping cleansers that suck all the life out of your skin as these will make it way oilier which could lead to further breakouts. Instead, choose a mild, but effective face wash like our Skin Clearing Charcoal Face Wash. This combines activated coconut charcoal which draws out bacteria and toxins from the skin, while aloe vera and lavender help soothe and heal.
The Problem: Razor Rash
What Causes It: Anyone with slightly sensitive skin knows that feeling of burning, red raw skin you get after shaving. Things like shaving your skin while it’s dry is terrible for aggravating your skin and causing razor rash (aka razor burn), because it strips away the top layer of your skin. Using a crappy blade that’s been around longer than your toothbrush is also asking for trouble.
The Solution: Soak your skin with warm water for a good couple of minutes before shaving to soften both your skin and hair, and swap out your razor blade often to make sure you only ever shave with a sharp blade. Exactly how often will depend entirely on how frequently you shave, but if your razor starts to pull at your skin or feels rough or snaggy when you use it, that’s a sign right there.
The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) also recommends downsizing your tool to just a single- or double-blade razor as multi-blades can sometimes be a tad too efficient, especially if you have sensitive or dry skin.
After shaving, always finish with a gentle moisturizing serum or lotion to preserve moisture and protect your natural barrier function. Our awesome Hyaluronic Acid Serum will take care of business nicely.
The Problem: Crazy Dry Skin
What Causes It: Shaving inevitably exfoliates your skin by removing the top layers as you glide your razor across your face and neck. And while gentle exfoliation is generally a good thing, shaving every day can be too much and may end up compromising your skin’s natural barrier which is important for keeping toxins and irritants out, while sealing moisture in.
The Solution: Dry, sensitive skin is mostly genetic, but if you employ a few simple shaving solutions you'll easily avoid exacerbating the situation. Your best bets are to keep well away from shaving foams, creams or gels that contain known skin irritants such as fragrance, alcohol and dyes; don’t be heavy-handed with your razor and try a single- or double-blade for a kinder shave.
Of course you must also moisturize, moisturize and maybe moisturize a wee bit more. Even better, moisturize when your skin is still slightly damp after shaving to help seal in water and keep your skin soft and supple for longer. Try our Vitamin C Daily Facial Moisturizer which contains jojoba oil and shea butter for next-level moisturization, minus any of that sticky residue many moisturizers often leave behind. Just remember, as with all new skincare products, perform a patch test first – especially if you have super sensitive skin.
The Problem: Ingrown Hairs
What Causes It: If you’re often plagued with painful, red bumps on your neck or jawline, you’ll hear us when we say how annoying ingrown hairs are. Well, if it’s any consolation (probably not), they happen to almost everyone. However, they’re especially common for those with wavy or curly hair. They occur when a hair that’s been shaven, plucked or even waxed does not leave the follicle, but grows back into the skin and under the surface. This often causes inflammation in the follicle which results in red, skin-colored or dark (depending on your hair color) bumps that are often mistaken for pimples. Ingrown hairs can also become itchy, but scratching and picking at them will just cause further infection and hyperpigmentation. So, don’t do that.
The Solution: Practising smart shaving is paramount so, as with razor rash, always shave after soaking your skin in warm water for a few minutes and never use anything less than a sharp blade. The Mayo Clinic also advises you avoid pulling your skin taut while you shave because this encourages hairs to grow inwards rather than out.
Keeping your skin soft, exfoliated and well moisturized is super important with this one because dry, dead skin cells block your pores, causing further issues with ingrown hairs. Try applying our Tea Tree Clear Skin Super Serum regularly which contains salicylic acid and retinol to encourage cell turnover, as well as anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory tea tree oil.
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![5 Unusual Things That Can Trigger Breakouts]()
No idea why you’re getting an influx of acne right now? Many lifestyle habits can trigger your breakouts – and sometimes they’re found in the most unsuspecting places.
As you know, acne is caused by one thing and one thing alone: an excess of sebum that causes your pores to become blocked with oil, dead skin cells, bacteria and other impurities. Eating too much chocolate doesn’t give you pimples. Neither does moisturizer. Sure, they can trigger breakouts if you’re genetically susceptible to them, but acne isn’t caused by uncleanliness, a poor diet or crummy skincare routine. It’s caused by blocked pores. End of.
OK, so this begs the question: why bother trying to cure them if your breakouts are totally out of your control? Well, here’s the thing. You can’t change your genes, that’s for certain. However, what you can do is keep acne-triggering factors under control to help lessen the blow. Sleeping well, reducing emotional stress and eating a healthy, well-balanced diet; all these things are important for maintaining balanced sebum and therefore reducing the likelihood of you breaking out week after week.
But there are also some less obvious reasons why you face might be suffering with regular breakouts. So if you’ve already dispensed with things like smoking, poor cleansing and too much exfoliation, but you’re still getting pimples on the reg, it might be time to look at some of the more unexpected areas of your life.
On that note, read on for five slightly more unusual causes for your breakouts.
1. Your Pillowcase
Getting enough beauty sleep is crucial for the health of your skin, but if you’re sleeping on a dirty pillowcase for a solid eight hours every night dirt and bacteria is inevitably going to build up and irritate your pores. This is especially true if you sleep on a synthetic pillowcase because man-made fibers don’t absorb sweat as effectively as natural fibres like cotton or linen.
The answer? Go natural all the way, for starters. Also, cleanse and moisturize your skin before bed to reduce the amount of grime getting on your pillowcase. Tea Tree Super Cleanser+ is a great acne-fighting cleanser that balances and clarifies your pores. Follow this with Retinol Moisturizer to lightly hydrate and moisturize your skin while boosting cellular turnover to keep your pores free of dead skin cells.
Finally, wash your pillowcase every three or four days. And ditto, your face towel. Old, dirty towels that are used by the whole family for drying their hands and who-knows-what-else are another breeding ground for germs and bacteria. Do you really want to be swiping this all over your freshly cleansed skin? Thought not. So, invest in a couple of cotton face towels for you and you alone and wash them every other day.
2. Your Makeup & Hair Products
Your skincare routine might be spot on, but what about your makeup and hair products? Rich hair conditioners, for example, are notorious for containing heavy ingredients like cocoa butter and coconut oil which, granted, are incredible for moisturizing your precious locks, but are not so great for acne-prone skin. Of course, we know you’re not smothering your face with conditioner but still, it can settle on your face when you rinse your hair so always cleanse your skin after, never before conditioning.
Makeup can similarly clog up your pores, especially if you use formulations that contain oil. So don’t do that. Instead, look out for noncomedogenic products (this means they’re less likely to block pores) and use powder rather than liquid formulations whenever possible.
3. Your Workout Routine
Do you love to get a good sweat on when you’re working out? High fives to you. However, allow all that sweat and grime to sit on your skin and your pores are going to clog up quicker than your instructor can say ‘hit the floor for ten push-ups.’
Cleanse your skin thoroughly and swiftly after exercising (the longer you leave your skin doused in sweat and grimy workout gear, the more bacteria is likely to breed), and always use a mild but effective cleanser that helps to detoxify your skin without drying it out. Our Charcoal Clarifying Cleanser is a goodie as it harnesses the powers of coconut-derived activated charcoal which destroys skin-smothering impurities to offer a deep, gently purifying clean every time.
4. Your Winter Cover-Ups
Any fabric that rubs against your skin can lead to unwanted issues in the long-term. Remember how face masks were causing ‘maskne’ back in the pandemic? This was all due to friction from the mask combining with the obvious culprits of sweat, dirt, oil, bacteria and humidity which caused dryness, irritation and pimples.
Thankfully, for most of us, the days of having to wear a mask 24/7 are over. However, if you spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter and like to wrap yourself up in woollen hats and thick, heavy scarves, these can cause similar problems, trapping sweat and increasing friction around your chin, jaw, neck and forehead.
To help reduce breakouts caused by beanies, scarves (and even turtleneck sweaters), avoid synthetic fabrics and launder your winter cover-ups regularly. Weekly, at least.
5. Your Laundry Detergent
Speaking of laundry, your choice of detergent is also imperative. Just like your beauty routine, certain ingredients in your laundry detergent can be super irritating – especially if you have extremely sensitive or acne-prone skin. Fragrance, for example, can be a real Debbie Downer, as can harsh dyes, essentials oils, strong surfactants and preservatives.
To reduce the likelihood of your laundry detergent triggering those pesky breakouts, first up, choose liquid over powder detergents. Why? Because these leave behind less residue on your clothes and fabrics (who knew?!). Also, never use more detergent than is recommended on the label, avoid fabric softeners and try double rinsing your laundry after washing to remove as much residue as possible.
5 Unusual Things That Can Trigger Breakouts
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