My Beard is on Fire!

I have always been a clean-shaven guy but I about once a year I will grow my beard out for about a month.You can see all my prior posts on the fascinating topic of facial hair by clicking on this  Facial Hair Link. 

Over the last 15 years the color of my beard has changed and there is a lot more gray in it than there used to be. I don't mind the salt and pepper look, but  I'd rather have more of a solid color beard than look like a homeless old guy, As a result I have resorted to using some occasional beard dye.

This post is not meant to be a product review and I'm not trying to bash any company, but I have to share my most recent experience.  After a couple weeks of not shaving I usually brush in a little color. In the past I have used Just for Men Touch of Gray on my beard about every week or so to keep it from looking too gray. I have never had a problem with this product over the years until just recently. Last week I noticed that shortly after using it, my face was itching like crazy. I've experienced beard itch in the past when growing a beard, but nothing like this. As soon as I scratched my face I also noticed a red rash and it was accompanied by oozing. Yes I said oozing as in a clear fluid or even yellowish puss dripping from my face over time.

When using this product I followed the directions as I always have and I actually left it on for less than the recommended time so I had no idea what caused this reaction. It took me about four days of washing my face, applying lotion with lavender and coconut oil to sooth the pain and dabbing the moisture buildup with a tissue throughout the day. The hardest part was not scratching my face since it itched like crazy!

So this week it eventually got better and my skin finally returned back to normal. I thought the whole incident might just be a fluke and I actually made the dumb mistake of using Touch of Gray again. (Sometimes I will do dumb things like smell a couch cushion when someone tells me how bad it smells.) Anyway I did another application and after a few minutes guess who's face is on fire again?

While in my agony I went Online to see if others had experienced anything similar to what I was experiencing and I was surprised to see several sites with guys complaining of having used the product in the past with no problems but within the last year they started having crazy itching, rashes, and yes... oozing from their face. As gross as this sounds I was delighted to not be alone in my suffering. Reading some of these guys experiences was very therapeutic, especially when they described how bad it itched. I feel their pain...literally.

I'd like to devote a little more time to tell you how bad it itches. IT'S BAD! It reminds me of the scene in Poltetrgiest when the guy is washing his face in the bathroom sink and looks up in the mirror and starts to pick at his face and eventually starts digging hard and ends up pulling off chunks of skin. Yes, it feels like that.

I've considered shaving off my beard if it might help but my fear is that my complexion would look like I'm a meth addict if I didn't have the facial hair to cover up the unsightly rash, blisters, and scabs. I guess I forgot to put the disclaimer at the beginning of this post that it would be in the TMI category.

So if you need me I'll just be down in the basement trying not to scratch my face for the next 5 days. Also, from now on you can expect to see a lot more gray in any future beard I may grow since I have finally learned my lesson and am not going to "smell the couch cushion" for a third time.