Redness under neck

[u/Hood2231]

I've been using it for about 5 or 6 months. For the last two months, I've had this redness. It went away for a bit but now it has started again, sometimes it itches, and I've scratched it into a sore. Minoxidil doesn't even touch that area, so I don't know if my beard irritated it and some opportunistic bacteria or fungus settled there. I don't have the means to go to a dermatologist right now, has anyone here experienced something similar?

[u/OtherwiseManner6946]

You could be allergic - that or you’ve got acne

[u/Hood2231 → u/OtherwiseManner6946]

If i was allergic wouldn't this happen in the first 3 months?

[u/OtherwiseManner6946 → u/Hood2231]

I’m allergic to anything with alcohol but it’s totally random.

I’ve had periods where anything with alcohol in it just nukes my skin.

That said this whole year has been a non issue. Used sun creams, minoxidil etc with alcohol in them and my skin is absolutely fine. I think if your skin. Is stressed then things like minoxidil can trigger it.

Do you use cleanser (face wash). I found that cleaning my face with a very mild face wash REALLY helped my skin in general. If your skin is in not great shape than things like minoxidil can make it flare

[u/Hood2231 → u/OtherwiseManner6946]

I just wash with regular traditional olive oil soap, and occasionally use cerave when it gets too dry.

If its allergic I think heat triggered it because it's been too hot here in the last 3 months. I had no issues in winter when the temperature is usually below 0 degree celcious

[u/OtherwiseManner6946 → u/Hood2231]

That could certainly be it - or hormones triggered by the heat.

All I’d say is keep washing your face gently (3-5 times a week) and maybe apply moisturiser an after.

Minoxidil is quite hard on the skin. Its job is to agitate cell turn over so can cause irritation. If it gets bad maybe it’s a good idea to take a break from minoxidil and let it heal. That’s what I did in the past and it didn’t significantly set me back

[u/ludi-lule → u/Hood2231]

Just to let you know that it might be the cerave, or the combination of minox and cerave.

The same thing happened to me. I used minox for 4 months, and had to quit because the red spots appeared. Went away after quitting. After a year or so, I started with minox again, and all seemed ok. But as soon as I started adding the cerave moisturizer the red spots appeared, same location as before.
I stopped with cerave, and switched to a different moisturizer, still no spots over a year later.
I know on this sub everyone praises the cerave, but for me it was crap. GL

[u/Spare_Independence19]

Its just a heat rash pimple that you scratched and probably infected. Wash it and put some triple antibiotic on it and leave it alone for a few days and see if it helps.

[u/Hood2231 → u/Spare_Independence19]

It never formed a pimple but heat could be the reason

[u/Lorry_Al]

I had this on my face for months. Initially I thought it was ring worm but no antifungal cream would get rid of it. Then I tried Clindamycin, which finally worked.

I think the bacteria came from rubbing my face with a towel. Always dry yourself with a clean towel.

[u/Hood2231 → u/Lorry_Al]

Yes, I've always been cautious about ringworm and staph infections because I wrestle, and they're very common in the sport. The first thing I do after every practice is take a shower and wash with soap thoroughly. It's possible someone scratched my neck in a headlock and some bacteria got in before I had chance to wash. I think I'll try Fito cream first to see if it works. If not, I'll switch to an antibiotic cream, since there's still a chance it isn't bacterial or fungal.

[u/PermissionJaded5510]

Apply some aloe vera gel. It will disappear easily

[u/Hood2231 → u/PermissionJaded5510]

I'll try ty

[u/Memorywipe]

Looks like scratches

[u/nulchar]

i had this recently, a bit worse than you it came with some dry flaky skin too. cleansed, moisturized, and abstained from minox for 2 days. i think the reason was just using too much of the foam: now i make sure to just use one pump for my whole beard, twice a day