male hyperpigmentation in beard area from shaving

proscons said:

dw man i know what your going through and btw the 5oclock shadow doesnt look all that bad.
Im not a skin lightening expert but the best marketed cream out there would be meladerm civant skin care
google it
ive never tried the cream but plan on trying it this october andd people in this forum believe hydroquine works well, i have also never tried it
but they say it works! Message Ondine she is currently using it

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I've been following your posts for nearly a week and see that you are frustrated because of the lack of responses. Of course, I can only speak for myself, but maybe (some of the) others feel the way I do. I look at the photos that you have posted and see a good looking young man who happens to have a heavy beard. This is not unusual among men in your culture and mediterranean ones. The fact that it was not an issue 5 years ago just says to me that perhaps your beard was not fully grown in yet. You still look very young, so perhaps you are now getting more of an adult beard.

So I agree with your mother, I guess, in that the incremental darkness that you see is just hair below the surface of the skin. And no amount of shaving or skin lightening is going to change that. In fact, skin lightening may make the "problem" worse because then you will have a dark heavy beard against even lighter skin. So the reason I quoted the above posting is because I disagree with the advice. Ever see an Italian man with black hair and light skin - it looks like he never shaves at all.

If it were a purple or green tinge to the skin, well then I would say that it is not a skin care issue but an imbalance of some sort that you should see a medical doctor about. In other words, it is not a skin care issue at all.

If people are making fun of you in the way that you described, I would say that they are not your friends and that you should find yourself a different group of people to hang out with. Maybe they are even doing it because they know that it upsets you.

So - I think that you are are naturally good looking and have beautiful skin (no scars, blemishes). If it is not a medical issue (as I noted above) I hope that you can get past this - distract yourself if you have to with something else. This is all I can say - maybe others will contribute more.

Well if it really is just discolored skin maybe the skin lighteners would help. In my opinion, that should just be a temporary fix. If the problem recurs you really should see a doctor - I would hate to think that you would use those chemicals on your face for the rest of your life. I suppose other adult male members of your family would be a guide to what "normal" would be for skin color in that part of your face. I hope that it works out for you.

live1 said:

temporary ?should i find e dermatologist

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First of all, hydroquinone 4% and Retin-A 0.1% are prescription drugs, so you will need to see a doctor, preferably a dermatologist for a prescription. You can get the prescription filled at a local drug store, or buy it on-line (which is cheaper).

You can also get both of these drugs on-line from overseas distributors without a prescription, but you are assuming alot of risk and need to be better informed about these substances - in my opinion. There is a reason why these drugs are sold by prescription only. It is not so that the medical establishment can make more money. It is so that innocent folks do not use these drugs and harm themselves inadvertently.

Folks on this board that are using these drugs without a prescription have educated themselves on the risks and are using the drug prudently. Many of them have family members who have used them over long periods of time without difficulty. That is their choice - and respect them for it.

But if you read up about these drugs, you will learn that there are concerns about hydroquinone, especially the long term use of this drug. I am not saying that you will have problems, you should just become more educated about them before you use them, or see a physician, preferably a dermatologist. If the problem is as serious as you say it is, then I would think that you would want to know what is causing it and how to get rid of it.

An anonymous chat board like this one is not the place to seek medical advice. It is dangerous to think that you can - and dangerous for any of us to attempt to do so.

fawnie said:

Live1, Yes, please let us know if this works so others may learn from your experience here. We like to help each other as much as possible. Best of luck to you.

And BTW, you ARE nice-looking =)

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Yes. I am looking at the photos at the "ugly", "blemished" - and I'm thinking, huh? He has beautiful skin, smooth, no scars or wrinkles or creases or anything, perfect skin around nice big eyes. Hmmmm. He isn't happy at the moment with some discoloration, but hmmmmm - I think that all of these "friends" that are teasing him might be a bit jealous.