Hmm. In retrospect that probably wasn’t such a good idea.
I’ve gotten really sick of having to shave all the time, so I thought I’d try a couple alternative methods. I tried waxing, but couldn’t really get that to work (I don’t know if I’m just incompetent or I bought a bad brand. Probably the former). So, the natural next step was to try a chemical depilatory (Specifically I used Nair). 24 hour spot test, no allergic reaction. Excellent, all is good. First application, quite a lot of hair comes off, though there was still a lot left. So I repeat. In retrospect I probably used it too many times in relatively quick succession, but it didn’t seem to cause any problems.
Until this morning… I figured I’d do one application just to get the last bits off. Put it on, came to check the SDMB and other stuff. Went back to wash it off after the right amount of time had past and had a severe :eek: moment - There was freaking blood on parts of my face. Not a lot, but this worried me. Rapid washing off of the Nair, there wasn’t too much actual bleeding at what there was stopped almost immediately, but the skin was damned sore.
So… Here I am, with two great big bright red chemical burns on my face. It doesn’t hurt much unless I touch it, but I feel and look very silly. I’m almost afraid to leave my room because then I’ll have to explain to people what happened. :wally
ahhhh, foolish man - you can never hope to understand the intricacies of the female toiletries world!
Let that be a lesson to you!
Sounds painful though… poor bunny… 
Tell people you tried a new aftershave/shaving cream and had an allergic reaction.
And grow a beard!
Synnic: Bah. 
I will understand them if it kills me! Which it could very well do… Still, I only have a small fraction of the female toiletries world to understand. 
It’s not that bad. It hurt a lot for the first 10 minutes or so, but now it’s just a vague tingling feeling.
Galen: Nah. If they ask I’ll tell the truth. I won’t lie to save myself from embarassment. But fortunately no one’s asked so far… And the problem with growing a beard is that I really really hate having facial hair. That’s also one of my problems with shaving - It doesn’t last very long.
I wonder if this laser hair removal is usable. The cost would probably be horrendous.
Next time, try Nads. I’ve heard Nads on your face feels pretty good.
Of course, that was coming from one of my gay friends, and I don’t recall if hair removal was part of the conversation…hmmmm…
Galen: I haven’t really looked into it, but I’m almost certain laser hair removal is well outside my price range (my price range being somewhat limited).
I had that happen on my leg from Epil-Stop. I had barely scraped my leg through my pants leg the day before, such that no marks were left the following day, no red areas, etc. I put the stuff on and got distracted by things going on around the apartment that I had to take care of, so only when the timer went off did I notice that it tingled somewhat painfully in one area - which I only realized later was the spot I’d scraped. The area was red and had sores on it, and my leg is still scarred from it. :mad:
If you’re going to be doing any hair removal on your face, use the type specifically made for facial hair, not the regular version intended for legs. It’s more gentle, though I assume probably not as effective.
hmmmm…ya know…this is one of the best examples of GUY MOMENT that I have ever read.
…
There’s a type made specifically for facial hair? Now I feel stupid. Thanks, I’ll look into it.
Come to think of it, the skin might have been slightly damaged in places, which could account for where it actually started bleeding.
I think this whole incident is going to go down in my book of “The sillier things David has done.”
Fortunately still no comments. I don’t know if it’s just because people are unobservant, or because they think my cheeks are naturally this shade of red.
Yeah, if they don’t have it near the regular Nair, then look near the facial cleansing/etc. products for a facial ‘depilatory’ product. Mind you, it’s intended for women’s facial hair, which should be a lot thinner than men’s. I have no idea if that’d make a difference in how hard it is to get the stuff to come out, though.
Hmm. Come to think of it that’s a good point. It could even explain why I’m having such trouble getting the damned stuff to work - Having shaved on a regular basis for the past 4-5 years (Maybe more, I don’t remember exactly) my facial hair is a lot tougher, and there’s more of it I think, than what Nair would normally be used on. Still, I will escape the horror of shaving… This particular setback was just a consequence of me being stupid, not an inherent problem with the idea. Thanks for your help.
Swampbear: Guy moment how? You mean in the sense of being somewhat clueless about various female things?
Incidentally, people finally noticed. They didn’t laugh quite as hard as I expected.
Anytime you’re going to use a new chemical product on your face, test it first on somewhere less obvious…it may hurt, but you won’t have to share the reason for your pain with anyone.
I did test it. The problem isn’t an allergic reaction to the stuff, I think it’s that I used it too many times in fairly quick succesion. I’d used it several times before, over a period of about 2 days, without any negative side effects, it just hadn’t got rid of all the hair, so I used it once more. It’s also possible I did something stupid when using it this morning - Maybe I left it on too long, but I don’t think so.
kitarak, I know how you feel. I detest shaving because I have sensitive skin. That means that if I shave less than every 3 days, I’ll bleed like a sieve. Not big cuts unless I’m sloppy with the blade, but a bunch of little ones. And the left side of my neck will always become very red and irritated. It’s to the point where if I have a big occasion coming up (weddings, first dates, holidays, etc.), I’ll hold off shaving for a week so my skin can heal as much as possible.
This is compounded by the fact that I have a 5 o’ clock shadow at noon on most days. In reality I should be shaving every other day, but I just can’t.
There was a thread awhile back in which one of the more esteemed Dopers listed a bunch of shaving tips that worked really well and reduced my bleeding considerably. I don’t remember which one it was, but a search for “shaving” in the archives pulls up many threads on shaving, including areas other than your face. 
Also, I get most of my cuts on the way up, so that Mach III Turbo blade might be the ticket for me… even if I have to take out a loan to pay for the blades. :mad:
But if I can ever afford to get laser hair removal on my face, I’m doing it. I have no blemishes on my face to hide and a nice, square jawline, so I don’t ever see myself growing a beard.
Have you thought about waxing?
Or snort Nads? Hehehehehe…I said ‘nads’!
It could be worse. Much, much worse. Someone I know (and I’m NOT naming names. I’ll call him L) decided to try Nair. I was playing a computer game with a group of people, and L decided to go to the bathroom, which was across the hall. About 30 minutes went by, but no one noticed he was gone until we started to smell something horrible… really awful chemical smell. Like hair dye, but much worse.
After about 45 minutes we were all becoming concerned, and the smell wasn’t getting any better. He finally walked out of the bathroom, and his girlfriend went to go see what was the matter. He’d seen the Nair in the bathroom, and decided to try it… below the waist. I’d imagine he got a pretty nasty burn and a new respect for razors.
Guin: Yeah. Tried it, can’t get it to work. I think as a consequence of having shaved for so long my facial hair is too tough to wax properly. Either that or I’m merely incompetent, which is certainly a possibility. I’ll think about giving Nads a try once this chemical burn heals. (It doesn’t hurt any more, but there’s still a bright red area there and the skin feels slightly weird). Until then, back to shaving. ::grumbles::
Joyful: Umm… OUCH. That seems a slightly sensitive area to try without an allergy check first…