Major Head Bleeding

[Bizzle]

Hey Sly Guys,

Just joined up the site, pretty cool from what I've been seeing. Hope it's as great as a community as I've seen so far.

So, here's the story:

I have been bald and shaving for about a week running so far (lookin sharper than a... female dog), and it was pretty sweet for the first couple days. But, for the past couple of days, whenever I would shave my head, all of a sudden, my head would get filled with hundreds of little bleeding spots all across my skull. I hadn't been doing anything different than what I always did, and I used the same razor and shaving cream every time. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was cursed!

Maybe I am. Eh.

They go away after a couple of minutes, but it still bothers the hell out of me, and I was wondering if you guys knew what the problem might be or what I could do to stop it. They only started appearing recently, even when I use a new blade.

Daily Routine:
1. Take shower, use soap/shampoo/body wash on head
2. Put a couple drops of baby oil mixed with water on head and rub in
3. Take Barbasol shaving cream and apply to head and rub in
4. Take BIC Comfort 3 Advance blade and shave
5. Rinse head with soap and water in shower
6. Apply 1 teaspoon Witch Hazel and 1 teaspoon vinegar to head

What do you guys make of it?

~Bizzle

[tomgallagher]

Strange....skip step 2, re step 4 switch to a Mach 3 or Fusion razor., re step 6 skip the vinegar and increase the witch hazel. Good luck and welcome to the group.

[Bizzle]

Hey hey Tom,

Actually, using baby oil gives me less nicks. I remember reading before at headshavers.org that baby oil is a great shaving oil.

Ouch, really? Mach 3/Fusion? I'll check it out though, thanks.

Witch Hazel doesn't clean the bleeding as fast as Hazel + Vinegar. I'll try it though.

Thanks bro!

~Bizzle

[Tom McGarry.]

Hey Bizzle, first let me welcome you to the SBG family.

Seccond, I don't recomend useing regular soap, or body wash on your head, because regular soaps can dry your skin out and leave it feeling tight. Also do you expholiate before you shave your head? If not I would recomend trying that first before you shave, it will help to get rid of dry flakey skin and maybe little ingrown hairs that cause bumps, which is what may be makeing you bleed.

I would recomend that you find yourself some Bald Guyz products, see my review by the same name in the product review section, here is a link to their web site. www.baldguyz.com They make a Head Shampoo and Conditioner that also expholiates and work really well.

[Bizzle]

Ay-Yo Tom,

That makes sense. I'll check out the Bald Guyz stuff, I saw some at my local CVS. Although I'd like to find something else that could exfoliate besides Bald Guyz merchandise. Also, thanks for welcoming me. This looks like a pretty sweet place. I just might fit in well here.

With love and shrubbery,

Bizzle

[WannaBePadre]

Welcome!

For my $0.02, it's all about the blade.

Bleeding was the norm for me ... would soak a piece of paper towel in Listerine and let it soak up the bleeding spots.

No more! HeadBlade Sport with Triple blades = no more bleeding.

I wouldn't use regular shaving cream -- I've read that it's too thick and clogs the blades.

Try St. Ive's Apricot Scrub for exfoliating.

[Lucky]

I know nothing about the bic but I can say that there are better brands of razors out there then the good old bic.  If you are headed to the CVS then I recommend picking up the Headblade sport.

This is your head.  I truly recommend taking care of you head by spending money on decent blades.  I love Head Shed for ex foliating.

[Bizzle]

Hey guys,

Here's the thing though. I've always been using the bic blades, and the bleeding never happened when i used them until now. I replaced it and everything and it still does it. It seems a little fishy that all of a sudden a specific blade starts leaving a minefield of blood on my head for no apparent reason.

Confused,
Bizzle

[Tyler]

Bizzle, welcome to Sly Bald Guys!  I'm not too familiar with the Bic, but the three most popular head shaving razors are the HeadBlade, Fusion, and MachIII.  My guess is the bleeding is caused by either too much pressure on the blade or a dull blade that is pulling the hair out rather than cutting it.    I can't explain why a blade that you've been using successfully stopped working unless 1) you haven't changed the blade or 2) you got a bad batch of blades which can happen.

[Razor X]

Exfoliating can help a lot.  I started breaking out in red bumps suddenly after two years of daily shaving.  Witch hazel didn't help, nor did any other topical ointment.  I exfoliated, which seemed like the totally wrong thing to do since it can cause more irritation, but it really did help.  I did it every day for about a week, and it made a big difference.  Once it was healed, I cut back on the exfoliation.

You might also want to try a hypoallergenic shaving gel.  There might be an additive in what you're currently using that's bothering  you.  Even though you've been using it for a while, it may have been reformulated recently or maybe it just took this long to get enough of a build-up to trigger an allergic reaction.

Good luck.

[schro]

Hey Bizzle, welcome.

Do you shave every day? Maybe shaving every other day would relieve some of the irritation by giving your dome a chance to recoup. Are the Bic's the disposable razors with the yellow/orange handles? I know when I ever used a disposable on my face (even if the blade was new), I always nicked myself; just my experience. I think the handles are just too light.
Also, I think Tyler might be right, the amount of pressure you are applying might be a factor.

I've recently added a tiny bit of Barbasol cream to HeadBlade's Headslick for shaving. As much as I love the HeadSlick, I like something that foams up a bit more. The Barbasol is very cheap, and adds just a little bit of substance to the lather. Also, Headslick does clog the HeadBlade razor a bit, and the Barbasol actually cuts down on the clogging.

If you haven't tried the Headblade razor (Classic or Sport), it is awesome. Very easy to use, and I've only nicked myself maybe 3 or 4 times since January 2007 when I started shaving the dome, and those nicks were carelessness on my ears.

Also, are you a sink or shower shaver? I've done both, and the shower shaving actually makes for a better shave, IMHO.

Cheers,
Schro

[Asher]

i think tyler may have been right when he said you got a bad bunch of blades--that happened to me recently and i knew it immediately; actually trying to get my money back now (hey they're expensive).  you probably would have noticed increased drag on your skin or something else??  otherwise, i would guess that you might have made a trivial (to you) change in your routine.  whenever people break out in rashes or strangely/suddenly develop sensitive skin, it's nine times out of ten a reaction to a new shampoo/soap/detergent/perfume/whatever that causes it--and nine out of ten times when i ask them 'did you use any different whatevers?' they invariably think a second and say 'no...', then tell me two days later that yes, they in fact did, stopped using it, and the rash cleared up.  think about it--did you try anything new recently?  perhaps your scalp didn't like it.  if not, my only guess would be that you're rushing with overconfidence or changed your shaving pattern.  hope you clear it up bro. 

[warhawk]

bizzle.....1st of all welcome 2 the sly fraternity.  glad that ya found us.  well...the sly brahs have covered it pretty well.  however...i do want 2 echo the use of a quality razor.  like tyler mentioned.... THE BIG 3 razors of the sly fraternity is the fusion, mach3, & hb.  i use the fusion (manual) & it keeps my dome the smoooothest.   4 the most part...u have a good routine but i would eliminate the barbasol cream (replace it with headslick) &  shave in the shower.  anyways...keep us posted 2 your road 2 slyness.  and i'll c ya 'round the sly neighborhood.

WARHAWK

[Marz]

Welcome.

Sounds like you are re-irritating a case of razor burn by shaving over the inflamed little bumps.

I would stay away from washing your head with regular soap before shaving and either really dilute it with water first or use a small amount of a soap for your face on your head.

using a high quality shave cream and letting it sit for a minute on your head before your "dig in" will also help.

And like the others have said, good razors make all the difference. Your head is also far more sensitive than your face (especially for the first couple of months shaving).

Hang in there, it gets better and easier.

[Bizzle]

Yo Sly Guys,

Alright, alright, I got a lottalotta information from this topic. I'm heading out to CVS now, so I'm just gonna recap real quick to make sure I've got everything down:

First of all, I'm not too sure it's a problem with the blade, because the bleeding only started happening a couple days ago, and I've been using the Bic blades the whole time.

But, it seems the main things I should do are to:
 
1) Get some exfoliator (St. Ives, Bald Guyz, Head Shed) to open up my pores, and not use soap/body wash, as that would dry up and tighten my head.

2) Let the cream sink in for a minute before I start cutting, and try not to go all Freddy Kruger on my scalp.

3) It's not really needed to shave every day, every other day works as well, especially for sensitive scalps.

4) Check out other blades, especially the "HeadBlade", or whatever it's called. I think the Bics are doing fine for me, but I still should broaden my shaving... horizons, so to speak.


Wow, you guys are pretty freaking great! Thanks a million for your help, I think I just might like my new Sly jive.

Doing it Ving Rhames style,
Bizzle