Grow a beard - tired of rosacea, razor rash, heat rash, allergy rash

[soistalker]

Shave before bed or when you are not going outside that day.

 

I have very sensitive skin. If I shave in the morning, and then exercise or walk around in the heat and humidity, my face will become irritated and red. 

I use a Gillette wet battery powered elecric razor and sensitive skin shaving lotion by Aveeno (available only overseas). Nivia sensitive shaving foam in the white bottle works perfectly well and is available in Thailand. 

After shaving, liberally spread oil of olay on your face. Olay moisturizing lotion is available in Thailand, but the kind that is sensitive skin is not. But buy it anyways.

If I follow this protocol, I have no problems. Also, I shave every other day, NEVER two days in a row.

[simon43]

Balo, yes I was very surprised that Aloe Vera irritated my face...

 

JonnyMoz, thanks for your post - I will try to order Dermalex Rosacea from Boots Online.

[xtrnuno41]

Even places you dont shave. maybe then have trouble with the water or the soap, or soap used for your towel cleaning, or aftershave. Could be allergy to perfumes or other ingredients in soaps . 

[Mavideol]

13 hours ago, faraday said:

Boots.

 

????

thks, appreciate

[xylophone]

On ‎11‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 10:58 AM, choff56 said:

Have you ever tried emu oil? 

Wanted to but couldn't catch the bloody thing!

[lumply]

Good idea just to stop shaving altogether and wear a short beard. A beard trimmer will keep your whiskers in check, simples

[Kerryd]

I was wandering around TukCom (Pattaya) yesterday and there was a small vendor near the front that had a variety of hair clippers and beard trimmers. The beard trimmers were going for as low as 450 baht. 

Another option would be a local barbershop. If I recall, most of them do a proper beard trim for a really cheap price. (Something like 60 baht or so ?)

Might help to also keep track of when you have a flare up and try to see if there is something you do each time (i.e. it shows up the day after you go swimming or eat at a certain place or mow the lawn, etc, etc). Might help to track down what it causing the flare ups though from what I've seen (in my limited searching) there isn't any kind of cure.

Most articles I read make it sound like something that "just happens" and may, or may not, go away on its own. Eventually. Maybe.

[simon43]

Try Clindalin clear gel.

 

Thanks for the tip.  This gel did sooth my red, peeling skin and I saw some improvement.  But my face is still blotchy red and the skin peeling in those areas, albeit not as bad as previously.

 

Although I had occasional flare-ups whilst living in Myanmar, since returning to Thailand 6 weeks ago, the red face/peeling has been almost on a daily basis.

 

What factors have changed to cause this?

 

Well, my lifestyle has changed only slightly.  The climate is similar and I run 5 Km every day, as I did in Myanmar.  In truth, the only thing that has really changed has been my diet.

 

In Myanmar, I drank very little alcohol - now I drink 1 bottle of beer per day ????  I can stop that and see if my face condition improves.

 

The biggest change is that I'm eating a Pad Thai every evening.  Perhaps that meal has MSG or some other ingredient that I'm allergic to?

 

I'm pretty sure that this redness and peeling is caused by an allergy, and checking my lifestyle etc, it would seem to suggest a food allergy.

 

I need to stop eating Thai food for a week and see what happens...

[Tweedle dee]

Years ago i had similar probs and seems it was because of drinking cider, the it returned when i came to Thailand with Chang beer ..... hnuky dory these days spirits only ???? TD.

[hugocnx]

Anybody ever had some side effects from Sudocrem?

 

[xylophone]

19 hours ago, hugocnx said:

Anybody ever had some side effects from Sudocrem?

 

Have used it but no side effects for (Zinc oxide I believe).

[simon43]

Well, 2 days with no alcohol and no Thai food, and my face is just as red...

 

This is so frustrating!  The red blotches are not just in my shaving region (I use a Mach Sensitive razor).  There are regular areas of red blotch in my nasiofold region and on my forehead centre above my eyes.

 

I have visited skin specialists in Bangkok, and not one of them has identified the reason why my face breaks out like this.  They have prescribed various antiseptic skin creams, all of which cause my face to sting, feel hot and go further red......

 

I'm reduced to using a concealer stick from Eucerin, which seems to be able to mask the redness to a reasonable degree.

 

Any more suggestions?  I thought a food allergy might be the cause, but now I'm not so sure.

 

 

[SheungWan]

On 11/29/2018 at 4:58 PM, pehice said:

just shave at night when you won't go out right after and stay in aircon to heal the skin.

Of course shaving in the morning and going out in the heat is plain stupid.

Not complicated.

Not a bad idea. I might try this.

[xylophone]

3 hours ago, simon43 said:

Well, 2 days with no alcohol and no Thai food, and my face is just as red...

 

This is so frustrating!  The red blotches are not just in my shaving region (I use a Mach Sensitive razor).  There are regular areas of red blotch in my nasiofold region and on my forehead centre above my eyes.

 

I have visited skin specialists in Bangkok, and not one of them has identified the reason why my face breaks out like this.  They have prescribed various antiseptic skin creams, all of which cause my face to sting, feel hot and go further red......

 

I'm reduced to using a concealer stick from Eucerin, which seems to be able to mask the redness to a reasonable degree.

 

Any more suggestions?  I thought a food allergy might be the cause, but now I'm not so sure.

 

 

Have a look at this site.........

 

https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/rosacea-more-than-red-face#1  

[hugocnx]

32 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Have a look at this site.........

 

https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/rosacea-more-than-red-face#1  

Some 'good' treatments on this site, but IMO it is something you have to live with.

I don't care anymore what people think. The Thai look at my face and think I had a couple to much. With their tanned skins they probably never catch rosacea let alone they know what it is.

I believe for many expats it is all about UV and it's hard to avoid that in the tropics.

[xylophone]

6 hours ago, hugocnx said:

Some 'good' treatments on this site, but IMO it is something you have to live with.

I don't care anymore what people think. The Thai look at my face and think I had a couple to much. With their tanned skins they probably never catch rosacea let alone they know what it is.

I believe for many expats it is all about UV and it's hard to avoid that in the tropics.

Yes there was some mention of antibiotics and or antibiotic creams, which may well be worth a try and as you imply, it really does revolve around how comfortable one feels with that situation.

 

Completely out of left field for the original poster (Simon), a few months ago I started to have some red blotches on my face which would stay for quite some time and occasionally would break into some sort of spot.

 

I use an electric razor and a couple of things which I found worked were that I purchased a small shaker of Ponds Magic Powder (talcum powder, which contains a couple of useful ingredients) and firstly I would wash my face with a Neutrogena acne face wash (even though it wasn't acne) and leave the soap on for a minute or two before washing off, then dry my face and put on the talcum powder and then use the electric shaver.......and I look like new again (yeah right!).

 

I have no idea what the cause was, however after using the above treatment it's not there anymore.

[lemonjelly]

Looks like facial eczema 

[simon43]

Quote

 

I'm pretty sure that this redness and peeling is caused by an allergy, and checking my lifestyle etc, it would seem to suggest a food allergy.
 

 

 

Just an update to this thread.  I think I finally found out what was causing my face rash!

 

My skin does seem rather sensitive, and it is necessary to use a new razor and shaving foam.  But the underlying cause of this rash does seem to be a food allergy.

 

While living in Myanmar, I started to regularly eat tinned tuna, because it was difficult to locate fresh fish in Naypyitaw, and eating tinned tuna was recommended by Dr Google as a good source of minerals/vitamins etc.

 

Since leaving Myanmar, I continued to eat tinned tuna.  I never linked tuna to my face rash until a month or so ago when I exhibited a rapid allergic reaction after consuming a tin of tuna in Thailand.  My face became red within a few minutes of eating the tuna.....

 

I Googled this problem and found links to a bacteria (Scombroid poisoning) that can be found in tuna if it is not kept sufficiently cold prior to the canning process, and this bacteria also survives that canning process.  Allergic reaction includes hives...

 

https://www.acsh.org/news/2017/08/09/toxic-tuna-its-not-mercury-11656

 

So, I stopped eating tinned tuna for a few weeks.  My face rash cleared up completely and the red skin coloration on my cheeks has greatly reduced ????

 

Now I no longer eat tinned tuna.  I do eat fresh fish in restaurants (now I live in Laos by the Mekong river, with plenty of fresh fish available). I don't get any allergic reaction from eating these fish.

 

So it looks like either I am allergic to tinned tuna, or that this bacteria that causes the allergic reaction is often present in Thai tinned tuna.... (which is rather worrying, since it suggests that the processing of tuna prior to the canning process is not up to scratch).

[xylophone]

2 hours ago, simon43 said:

So it looks like either I am allergic to tinned tuna, or that this bacteria that causes the allergic reaction is often present in Thai tinned tuna.... (which is rather worrying, since it suggests that the processing of tuna prior to the canning process is not up to scratch).

Pleased to hear that you found the cause Simon and also pleased that you reported back on it....good man.

[Mexlark]

I reckon it is connected to heavy monosodium glutamate usage. Also Bangkok air pollution. Certainly, I have the problem less often since I mostly gave up on eating local wedding food. I have also found that a beard only hides and exacerbates the problem. Shaving too often is also a problem. So I reckon to shave about twice a week, with a combination of hair clippers and a cheap Panasonic battery rotary razor. The face is best washed with something simple like Parrot brand soap. Boots UV Cucumber moisturising cream seems to help. and it's often on 2 for 1 promotion or card discount. You can use it in very small quantities, and it soon disappears into the skin. Elomet Cream was suggested by a Boots pharmacist on Sukhumvit. It does help to clear it up, but having done that it is then best to use the preventive measures above. Locally-produced Olive Oil also helps, and can also be used on the clippers and the razor head after they have been cleaned. I also use 70% blue Ethyl alcohol to clean the razor head, and let it dry. Wipe with a tissue or cotton wool, and then lightly apply Olive Oil.

[IvorBiggun2]

Go for the beard. I did about 2 years ago. Okay it looks kinda scruffy in the beginning and itches. But, excuse the pun, it grows on you. I can't go back to shaving now. And once you have a beard just go to a barbers once a month and get him to trim and shape it for you. 30-40 Baht.

[sherwood]

I have the same red blotches after drinking Diet sodas the ones with Aspartaine in them.

So if Aspartaine is included in your diet it could also be half the problem, glad you are on the mend.

[wgdanson]

On 11/28/2018 at 8:17 AM, faraday said:

Have you tried using Sudocrem, it does reduce redness, & it's only about 300 baht?

It works wonders on baby's bottoms!   LOL

[xylophone]

17 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Go for the beard. I did about 2 years ago. Okay it looks kinda scruffy in the beginning and itches. But, excuse the pun, it grows on you. I can't go back to shaving now. And once you have a beard just go to a barbers once a month and get him to trim and shape it for you. 30-40 Baht.

I would love to do that again as I once grew a beard and liked it (pic below) as it hid shaver rash etc, but as I got older it started to turn grey and made me look TOO OLD, so off it came.......not sure that a grey beard would make me a "hansum man" here!!

 

 

 

 

 

[spidermike007]

Beards are absolutely horrendous. They are so "hip' these days, and the vast majority of guys who have them, really do not have a clue as to how silly they look. If you want to emulate an Oregon lumberjack, go for it.

 

I had a beard for many years decades ago. When I moved to NYC, a very attractive friend of mine asked me very directly, "so what is the deal with that horrendous thing on your face?" I said you mean my beard? She said yes. I asked her what is wrong with it. She said it looked beyond stupid, and that I had no chance whatsoever of getting any action in NYC, with that thing. I shaved the next day! And got alot of action after that. 

 

Beards are like a do not disturb sign. Keep away please! Not interested! 

 

Some guys can pull it off. But most cannot. And here, you had better be married, or be a celibate, as Thai women do not like even going near a guy with a beard. Facial hair here is not considered the tiniest bit hip.

 

 

[xylophone]

3 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Beards are absolutely horrendous. They are so "hip' these days, and the vast majority of guys who have them, really do not have a clue as to how silly they look. If you want to emulate an Oregon lumberjack, go for it.

 

I had a beard for many years decades ago. When I moved to NYC, a very attractive friend of mine asked me very directly, "so what is the deal with that horrendous thing on your face?" I said you mean my beard? She said yes. I asked her what is wrong with it. She said it looked beyond stupid, and that I had no chance whatsoever of getting any action in NYC, with that thing. I shaved the next day! And got alot of action after that. 

 

Beards are like a do not disturb sign. Keep away please! Not interested! 

 

Some guys can pull it off. But most cannot. And here, you had better be married, or be a celibate, as Thai women do not like even going near a guy with a beard. Facial hair here is not considered the tiniest bit hip.

 

 

But Mike.......there's beards and there's beards!!

 

These look like they could contain and rear livestock in them!!

[spidermike007]

14 minutes ago, xylophone said:

But Mike.......there's beards and there's beards!!

 

These look like they could contain and rear livestock in them!!

Yes I agree. Beyond ridiculous. 

[HLover]

2 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Yes I agree. Beyond ridiculous. 

But humourous when the user eats and food, spittle and tissue paper is stuck in the beard.

[HLover]

Nice models with beards but realistically....

[HLover]

1 minute ago, vinniekintana said:

Beards have their own issues

Scratching like a flea-ridden dog is my personal deal-breaker.

They are also fugly imo

Not only your opinion. Not many things scream d-bag more than a beard in the tropics. 

Good laughs though.