Any dermatologists out there?

[TMurphy]

I find that an electric shaver is the best prep before playing for me. I'm one of those who cannot get a good seal when playing with stubble, and blades will often leave my skin a little too irritated to play right away. I also find that the electric shaver is comfortable enough to work "against the grain" without irritating the skin. For me, running the shaver around the mouthpiece contact areas an hour or two before playing is ideal.

That irritation you speak of is one of the many reasons I ditched cartridge shaving, and went to a double-edged safety razor. Despite what you'd think, it's much easier on the skin, and blades are way cheaper (I haven't bought blades in close to two years: I paid $10 for 100 of them!).

[Alex C]

double post

[Alex C]

This year, a student of mine has had a reaction like the OP's while playing on a gold-plated mouthpiece. The gold plating is in good shape and not worn but he is showing irritation and maybe zits. I thought gold was hypo-allergenic. This one is in progress.

A former student, now in college, had a dermatology issue but his symptom was severely chapped lips. This began to occur during the 10th grade. You have never seen lips as badly cracked and bleeding as his were.

We switched mouthpieces from silver to plastic with no improvement. He changed everything at one time or another: diet, toothpaste, foods, even laying off the horn... nothing worked. Eventually he got relief from A&D Ointment but a coating of the stuff does nothing to help your playing.

The best we can determine, he finally started to outgrow it. In his early college career, he now uses only a small amount of A&D when he plays. No clue what it was.

[Adam C.]

It could be that you have a situation with clogged pores with bacteria, cells, and oils from your face and mouthpiece spending too much time together after a playing session. Maybe try some cleansing pads after playing? I use regular Noxzema pads with salicylic acid. Seems to keep irritation down.

[ScotGJ]

I once had similar problems. It was solved by switching to an electric razor and washing my moupiece with soap and water everytime before I play. Now if I start having beginning signs of irriatation I use witch hazel and a cotton ball to clean where the mouthpiece touches before and after playing. Seems to work.

[csherman]

After a few weeks, I've found that just shaving with the grain instead of against has solved my problems (yes, it was that simple all along, but at least I found a mouthpiece I really like!). Thanks for all the input, everyone!

[derrenba]

I thought gold was hypo-allergenic.

Apparently, hypersensitivity to gold is fairly common (or at least more common than is popularly believed). The American Contact Dermatitis Society named gold the "Allergen of the Year" in 2001. (Nickel was named in 2008.)

An article published in the American Journal of Contact Dermatitis found that nearly 10% of tested subjects tested positive for gold, and that 15% of those who tested positive for gold did not test positive for other allergens.