Redness/Rash in moustache area after shaving

Hi ripcurlksm!  You are very welcome and I am glad my post on page 3 could be of help.  I know first hand how distressing Seb Derm and Rosacea can be, not to mention how obsessed our lives can become, as our bathrooms become filled with creams, lotions, and potions, that clutter our bathrooms, gym bags, and shaving kits, in our desperate search to find a cure for this nagging condition.

Here are a few hodgepodge of tips I might add:

In glancing above, in csrocker101's post, I would like to mention that I totally agree with you in regards to your comment on the importance of shaving with the grain and not shaving an area more than once.   Personally, I made the decision long ago to give up "a closer shave" for "less-inflamed and red skin".  I go over the area once, or just enough to get the basic job done, and no more.  Then, always rinse with COLD water (as it is a vasoconstrictor, and helps to decrease redness by contracting the blood vessels, and it also has anti-inflammatory properties).  This leads me briefly on to the importance of babying your skin.  This is a concept that is not common for us, as men.

I would also like to update one recommendation, from my previous post on page 3:  Regarding the Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleanser, which is used to "wash your face with" everyday.  I now only recommend the Positively Radiant Cleansing Pads by Aveeno (not the cleanser in the bottle);  this is for several reasons:  1) people tend to think more is better and apply too much on their face; and 2) quite simply, the pads are outstanding (you can read the reviews about them on amazon for more information)- these pads are thick, big, and durable, even for a man's face: they have one abrasive side for the areas of your face that need exfoliating, and a soft side for the areas of your face that are sensitive and irritated.  Furthermore, because they are so easy to use, and so convenient to just grab one out of the round jar, I find that people tend to be more compliant with face-washing and this task becomes less dreaded, and less of a chore.  I think most would agree men are not always keen on "looking pretty" and may be more apt to neglect their skin.  So, this product may be worth a try.  It is a bit pricey, however. It can be bought in-store at Walmart; however, I have found that it is often "sold out" there.  One can also try Amazon.

Furthermore, I would like to mention, in general that I find that patients I have treated in the past have tended to use too much of everything on their face.  And the concept of "more is better" when it comes to shampoos and creams is not always true.

I would recommend say, bathing more often (i.e., twice daily) with a tiny amount of given product used, than one bath with a LOT of product used. Remember:   the skin needs to be treated with care and treated gently;  not with harsh detergents, etc.

I hope this helps.

I will try to check back to the forum more often and see if I can be of help.

I have the same problem... Redness on the upper lip and if/when it becomes dry, it begins to flake of like dandruff. Has anyone heard of anything new or tried products to help with this?

Follow up...

Hi all,
I have very similar skin issues as all described. I suffered acne rosacea as a teen, this was treated with anitbiotics and cortisone cream. Dr said i also suffer from psoriasis but reading the threads it sounds more like seborrheic dermatitis. It occurs on scalp, eyebrows and upper lip. Gave up trying different shaving techniques and creams etc, skin has cleared up quite a lot from not shaving (i trim beard regularly). Any form of face wash instantly dries my skin out and makes it flakier, if i then use a moisturiser it aggravates my rosacea. Any shampoo i use dries my scalp very badly causing terrible dandruff.

I now get IPL (intense pulsed light) treatment for Rosacea, had 3 treatments in 7 years and it has cleared the rosacea to the point that there is little to no redness. I rarely wash my hair and steer clear of all soap products, took about 3months for skin/scalp to adjust but now have much better ph balance. No i don't smell, nor am i a stinky hippy.

Will try the ketoconazole as i still have issues with my scalp.
Thanks for all the tips and advice. I feel better just knowing that others are also suffering the same thing.

Adam

Hello, I'm happy I've found this thread. I'm 26 years old male, study/work a lot, excersice a lot, and I have had same kind of problems about six years now. I've tried to shave extremely carefully etc. but nothing has helped except covering it up. After reading this I understood I may have not just sensitive skin, but something that could be medically cured.

Apart from this I'm healthy except I have had digestion problems since teenager. I visited doctor in the summer and she said it is most likely irritable bowel syndrome. I've also been very stressed and also anxious. Skin issues being one of the reasons causing it.

I decided to do what I can to treat skin problem. Here is what I have done during last month:

- I got Permethrin Cream and applied it to my moustache area
- A day after I started applying Nizoral Cream (Ketoconazole Cream 2%) 1 or 2 times a day. Its available without prescription here in Finland. I used it for three weeks. The skin may have got a little better but no drastic results.
- Yesterday I visited doctor who is specialized in skin disorders. I took a picture of my skin with me, since lights can make it look different. She knew two conditions that could cause this kind of rash (I think they were the same that are described in this thread by StevieMD). She prescribed me Elidel cream (primecrolimus 1%) and Nizoral shampoo. In case they don't work she also write a prescribtion for some antibiotics. I will use the cream for about ten days and if there is no results then use antibiotics.

If the antibiotics don't have effect I'll stop trying and grow a moustache. At least it will look more normal than the "moustache" I currently have.

ripcurlksm: I'd like to know how is it going with your treatment?

I've had this issue for years and I always wondered what it was. My face broke out recently with a red flaky dryness around the mustache area and I couldn't figure out what was causing it. I didn't shave after a couple days, I assume that's why my face got red. After I shaved I tried Nivia moisturizer, it didn't help, it only spread it more. I tried some other creams for eczema, it appeared to only get worse. I checked this site and it said it could be fungal (yeast). So I tried out some anti-fungal cream but that didn't work either.

My mom's friend recommended Quadriderm cream from Mexico, she said it works great. I checked its properties and it's anti-fungal. So I tried it and it worked wonders on me. After a couple days it went away completely! The generic brand is called "Gelmicin" with Betametasona, Clotrimazol, and Gentamicina. My doctor said that they haven't approved it here in the states. He wanted to give me 3 different cremes to combine to replicate it. Quadriderm worked for me, I recommend it to anyone looking for instant relief. It's the best!

I have suffered with the red blotch/rash issue around my moustache and beard most of my adult life. In my case it is seborrheic dermatitis, and there is no cure. One thing I have found over the years is that if I use any medicated creams or ointments too frequently, whether they help the symptoms or not, they will eventually cause some other problem that can be as bad or worse than the original rash. Cheap hydrocortisone cream used in moderation and Noxema work best for me, as well as washing only with olive oil based soaps (the black bars work best for some reason). If I do grow a moustache or beard extra strength Scalpicin liquid, again in moderation, helps with the itching and redness. It also works well for itchy eye brows, but be very careful not to get it in your eyes!

Hey I used to have the same problem and it got really bad, it looked like some sort of weird red moustache ! I also treid lots of different creams like sudofed and hydrocortisone. My friend recommend I switched razor and learned how to shave properly and it has made such a big difference! I would recommend getting a razor with a disposable head with as many blades as possible and investing in a really good shaving foam for sensitive skin, I would recommend staying away from cheap aerosols and investing in a good tin cream. Hope this helps ! 

I love that you say growing just a mustache is gross :D because it is

Just thought I would let you all know that I have been using Selsun Gold as instructed on the bottle for the treatment of these symptoms and it has cleared my skin right up! I have been living with this condition for over 9 years and like everyone else all sorts of treatments have been prescribed with little to no relief. 

I have had the same red, flakey rash on my mustache area as well. It started as a single red dot and spread across the whole mustache area within 8 months. I was told by a nurse that it might be impetigo but anibiotics didn't cure it. I have also noticed that shaving more often seems to minimize the rash but I like to grow my go-tee out. In any case the rash never completely leaves. I wonder if we are all using the same shaving equipment. Maybe the shaving cream has a new chemical in it that is causing this.

I use Barbasol shaving cream. What do you use? Anybody find a cure yet?

I think I have different problem that some of you in this thread, however, now I've started to get this in control. I found another thread somewhere in which this one skin care product was recommended. I decided to give it a try and after couple of weeks the redness on my moustache area has decreased considerably.

The product is Tend Skin Liquid (for unsightly Razor Bumbs, Ingrown Hairs and Razor Burn) and it contains Isopropyl, Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Asetalcalicylic Acid, Cyclomethicone, Glycerin, Diglycerin, and Polysorbate 80. I have applied it in the morning or after shave and every evening as well. The liquid has a very strong alcoholic odour. I ordered it from Amazon.com.

The antibiotics I were taking are almost finished also. This may be also because of them, but the healing started when I started applying this skin care product. I think it is getting better all the time. I will report about the progress in the future.

I feel very relieved walking on the streets again (after years). :)

Have any of you guys tried to pluck your moustache? I have and it clears everything up, the problem is that after 2 weeks once hair start coming out everything comes back. I feel like it has to do something with the hairs itself like some kind of infection inside hair pockets that starts to become visible once the skin is opened up by the hair.

Hey everyone. I have found a solution to this problem:

Clotrimazole cream.

Me: 36 year old male, shaves regularly 3 times a week for years then this mysterious 'condition' wildly appears...
I started with this skin condition a couple of months ago; my moustache area got red and flaky, especially so after shaving, which lasted a few days. Anyway, you all know what it's like. Horrible, Like a Ribena-tache but not in the middle. Weird.

Anyway, the internet (bless it's soul) directed me to the above-mentioned stuff.

It worked for me in 3 days.

It cost £2.50. (UK) Just walked in to a random pharmacy on the way home from work and asked for a cream with that big word in it.
No probs.

The ingredient in my cream is called: Clotrimazole BP 1% w/w. (Also contains blah blah normal stuff, no probs)

Maker is: Numark.

There it is. It works like a charm for me, i put it on once every couple of days or so and the problem hasn't come back at all. All that annoyance and worry for the sake of a bit of knowledge and a couple of quid.

For what it's worth, I tried the Selsun shampoo (stinks by the way).
it worked on my head, since shaving my head I noticed a similar intermittent rash, that's gone. So the shampoo worked there but not on the face.

OK, that's my lot.  I hope this post helps someone.

I'm going to take ONE guess here: All of you are cigarette (or weed) smokers. Correct?