Oh, my flaking beard... Dandruff Questions

After extended time in dry Colorado, being frozen in the Siberian wastes, and now two months of exposure to the waterlogged air of Taiwan, my skin has come to hate me.

My face is as zitty as it has been since high school, but the skin under my beard is flaky… Dandruffy, almost, even as it is zitty. Oh yes, and itchy, too. As a redhead, my first suspect was the soap; my skin is ultra sensitive. Sadly, a half dozen soaps later trusty dove unscented seems to still be the kindest of them all. I have tried lotion on the beard, which oddly did not seem to fix the flakiness, but did yeild a bumper crop of zits. I have tried three different face cleansers, all of which nicely reduce the zits, but when used on my beard double the flakiness. I have tried washing only with water, which makes me zittier and flakier overall.

After noticing myself scratching in the middle of a date, and then noticing that my black shirt had gone salt and pepper… I realized I need help. I have also started noticing white guys like myself on the MRT and the street who seem to have the same problem in a much nastier way; guys who’s beards seem to be growing out of flaky, irritated patches of rash… Blaugh.

Shaving. btw, is not a solution. After a shave I sweat on my newly shaved skin and turn it into a mass of nasty red bumps. It’s not pretty, and no amount of ultra sensitive skin shaving creams and lotions help.

So, any advice? Have I caught Taiwanese Beard Rot? Pug Itch? Is all that estrogen in the oyster sauce causing my problems? Do I just need to wait for my skin to adapt. Guys? You had these problems?

It could be the beard itself causing a heat rash. There is a powder they sell here that cools down your skin. Very cheap.

I’m no expert on the zitty thing but if you only touch your face with your elbows and the exception being hands that are frshly antiseptic clean then it may solve a lot of those problems. Good luck with the other areas.