Alcohol based aftershaves...

[Christoph]

Does anyone here ever use alcohol based aftershaves? I know that alcohol is the worst thing for your face after a close shave. I avoid them and never buy them. However, I have been given certain gifts - in the past couple of years - in the form of alcohol based aftershaves from my some of my favourite fragrances. While I would NEVER wear them on a daily basis, I do once in a while wear them. I can't just NEVER wear them. While I do love these scents I do recognize them as being bad for my skin. Does occaionaly use do any harm, I wonder?
Anyone else in this same prediciment?

[Jonnybc]

Hi Christoph, welcome to B&B.

You could treat tne aftershaves like Colognes or EDTs although aftershaves generally lack staying power. If you go through the usual shaving motions and use a cooling AS Balm you can then aply the aftershave on your neck, chest and behind your ears, at least you'll get to use them this way.

[superfly]

I know that alcohol is the worst thing for your face after a close shave. I avoid them and never buy them.

And if you know that only from TV, you should try some. No mater what composition is, aftershave should not burn after good shave.

[TomH]

Hi Christoph,

I use only in the cold times (autumn & winter) after shave balm, in the warmer time of the year, I prefer alcohol based after shaves like Swiss Pitralon (contains also Urea and more care giving ingredients) and I never had dry skin after use...:001_smile

Hope that helps.

Best regards from Germany

Thomas

[Scotto]

I think people have a knee-jerk reaction to hate aftershaves with alcohol. The reality is that there are many good ones out there that have some beneficial stuff for your skin. Are they as moisturizing or as gentle as a thick balm? Of course not. Should you avoid them like the plague? Not at all. I have many of them that I enjoy. The best ones don't burn that bad and have some goodies for your skin. Some examples are Musgo Real and the various Trumper and Taylor offerings, as well as the wonderful Eau des Bergers from L'Occitane.

If you want to try a nice combination in summer, an alcohol-based preparation plus some skin food after is a perfect post-shave treatment (if your skin can tolerate it).

Find out what works for you and you'll be fine.

[Drew]

my routine:
alcohol based aftershave immediately after shaving and a cold water splash
followed up by Nivea sensitive aftershave balm about 10 minutes later... this works great for me.

Drew

[Stauff]

I've read somewhere that alcohol in aftershaves restores the ph of your skin. Anybody know if this is true?

[joel]

I have, use, and love alcohol based a/s splashes. Not only are they easiest to apply, leave a great scent to enjoy for 30-40 minutes (sometimes a little longer) feel invigorating, and thwart razor burn faster than any other aftershaving preperation, but they also fight ingrown hairs. Dunno why, dunno how - as I tend to not care about the "method" as much as the end result, but I have heard literally dozens of times guys thwarting in grown hairs by using an alcohol based splash daily, and I have tried it myself and noticed it works quite well for me when used daily for about a week.

If you get the right a/s splash - they are more moisturizing than you'd think.... try Musgo Real A/S Splash, not only does it impart a bit of moisture, but it smells out of this world amazing!

[madmedic]

I would prefer an A/S Splash with a VERY neutral fragrance.....so as not to interfere with the Colognes I use......any suggestions?

Regards
Brian

[joel]

I would prefer an A/S Splash with a VERY neutral fragrance.....so as not to interfere with the Colognes I use......any suggestions?

Regards
Brian

Brian,
Proraso a/s splash has a "scent" to it, but it is VERY light, and at least on me, fades in a matter of minutes. Proraso splash is also decent stuff, and it is mighty inexpensive - it would be a superb splash to get you started :cool:

[madmedic]

Think I can get some of that......I did use some in the past....but that was only with other Proraso products. If I recall correctly it smells a little "medicinal" !!

Brian

[jdavis54]

I have some Trumper West Indian Limes aftershave splash on the way, and from what I heard the scent lasts all of 10 minutes. I'll re-post once I get a chance to try it.

Jordan

[mrob]

But, what a great 10 minutes they are!:biggrin:

The stuff smells just great. . .mmmmm.

[Jonnybc]

I have some Trumper West Indian Limes aftershave splash on the way, and from what I heard the scent lasts all of 10 minutes. I'll re-post once I get a chance to try it.

Jordan

Yes, that's true. The Cologne lasts a bit longer though.

[jdavis54]

I would prefer an A/S Splash with a VERY neutral fragrance.....so as not to interfere with the Colognes I use......any suggestions?

Regards
Brian

I just tried the Trumper West Indian Limes, and while it's fairly strong for the first 10 minutes, it fades to practically nothing very quickly. This could be a good choice if you want something without too much scent.

Jordan

[Suzuki]

I'll vouch for the Proraso - also, Addidas has a new line out that is actually pretty good for the price (even cheaper than Proraso) and some of their scents are pretty light and fast fading.

As with the Proraso, the Addidas has some witch hazel in it, which I like and helps with razor burn.

I enjoy the alcohol based splashes and use them daily.

[EL Alamein]

I agree, the alcohol based aftershaves are a favorite of mine. I especially like the Dominica Bay Rum line. Very good on the skin.

Chris

[Rik]

I too favor alcohol-based after shave splashes with my regular being Proraso. I find it tightens up the skin. In drier months or climates I usually follow up with a moisturizer like Proraso cream or CARs. I then top it off with skin food or Aloe80 to lock it in. More humid months or climates I usually leave out the last two steps.

[Drew]

I agree, the alcohol based aftershaves are a favorite of mine. I especially like the Dominica Bay Rum line. Very good on the skin.

Chris

I agree. This aftershave is quickly becoming one of my favorites, primarily due to it's soothing properties. It has 55% alcohol, which to me sounds like a lot. However, the stuff is quite soothing, and the scent is refreshing, but fleeting. Often times I'd rather not smell of strong cologne/aftershave. Given it's subtle scent, you can really load up on the stuff, and not worry about it being overpowering.

Drew

[vontech]

Jordan, may I ask where you got your Trumper West Indian Limes aftershave splash?

[jdavis54]

Jordan, may I ask where you got your Trumper West Indian Limes aftershave splash?


Either one of these sites will work:

http://www.emsplace.com/grooming/geo_f_trumper_toiletries.aspx

http://www.enchanteonline.com/pages/shaveculture/trumper/trumperaftershave.htm

[madmedic]

Found the remnants of a bottle of Proraso....it works well....so I have ordered more on Ebay from my Italian source.

Many Thanks
Brian

[Suzuki]

Hi Christoph,

I use only in the cold times (autumn & winter) after shave balm, in the warmer time of the year, I prefer alcohol based after shaves like Swiss Pitralon (contains also Urea and more care giving ingredients) and I never had dry skin after use...:001_smile

Hope that helps.

Best regards from Germany

Thomas

Thomas - what's the Pitralon like - I'm going to be in Belgium (and possibly Amsterdam and Dusseldorf) next week and am looking for recommendations for local products (good drug store type products - Nivea, Palmolive, etc.) and the Pitralon looks like it fits into the category.

I have a separate thread in the General section and would very much appreciate your suggestions.

[gundog]

Maybe I don't have a much of a taste in after shave, but I do enjoy Old Spice and it certainly is affordable. I use the high end creams but have never ventured into the high end after shave stuff. One of these days I might.

Bud

[MJB]

Maybe I don't have a much of a taste in after shave, but I do enjoy Old Spice and it certainly is affordable. I use the high end creams but have never ventured into the high end after shave stuff. One of these days I might.

Bud
You are not alone in liking Old Spice products on this forum.

MJB

[ilyailya]

I actually picked up a new bottle of old Spice after shave (cool) I think it smells better then the original. I remamber using one 3 years ago, and it would make my face feel cold for few seconds and then go to normal. The smell is pretty nice and face would feel smooth. And no irritation. Going to try it out and see. I see a lot of people on this forum using other stuff which I might try later on as well.

[Aky007]

Old spice was my first aftershave, and to tell you the truth i still love it today. Its got that classic scent.

[Mama Bear]

I have been working on aftershaves and colognes to go with my shaving soap scents, but I was bound and determined to make an aftershave without alcohol, allowing men to skip the moisturizing stage but still tightening the skin, closing the pores and soothing any razor burn (Maybe with Menthol......?) and a matching cologne (with alcohol) to follow up with. I believe I have just about done that, but it turns out that most men prefer alcohol based after shaves... or so it seems to me.

I would love more information on what you all want out of an aftershave, other than the fragrance of course which is not that strong and more fleeting. Does the alcohol do something for you. It does work as a good preservative when making natural products, but it just sounds like something I would not want on my face.... but I'm a girl...lol

Who likes alcohol and who doesn't and why? I am intrigued by Joel's point about the ingrown hairs.. who would have known!?

Bear Hugs to all..

Mama Bear

[madmedic]

Just out of interest.......How lingering is the scent from L'Occitane Cade Eau de Bergers?

Regards
Brian

[Scotto]

Just out of interest.......How lingering is the scent from L'Occitane Cade Eau de Bergers?

Regards
Brian
Not very.

[gzb10]

I use aftershaves in the hot months and balms in the cooler months. Perhaps I'm a masochist but I like the burn after a good shave; makes me think that the face is being sterilized. Smooth as a baby's bottom and clean enough to kiss!

[icecow]

I'm a HRN-Highly Resourceful Noob new to the elaborate shaving scene.

I can not tell you anything based on years of experience, but I can point out some observations.

My skin is sensitive to alcohol based aftershaves (burns), though I do like the tightened skin effect.

The other day I shaved and went to the mall to re-sample a face moisturizer(from a tester container). I tried the same moisturizer a week before and it seemed to be great so wanted to re-sample to make sure.

Anyway, after I used it I went to another store and saw some witches hazel I had tried roughly a week ago also. A week ago when I tried it it tightened my skin and felt great after the initial worrisome burning.


So I'm staring at the witches hazel with moisturizer already on my face and thought 'why not'. I splashed the witches hazel on my face over the moisturizer. I felt a sort of a strong warmth instead of a burning. My face tightened up some, not fully like when I used the witches hazel straight. And to top it off, the moisturizer's slightly creaminess seemed to congeal, leaving my face tactless.

It seemed to be the best of both worlds. My theory is the moisturizer filled the most sensitive (burning) pores, then the witches hazel penitrated to the top skin and also congealed the moisturizer.

I'm going to experiment with the moisturizer/afteshave ---> witches hazel combo more over time.

[Drew]

Sue-
I really like the alcohol based aftershaves (ABAS). I too like the feel of it right after a shave. I can't completely corroberate Joel's assertion, but there might be some truth to it. I used to get bad ingrowns when I used cartridge razors. Ever since shaving with a straight, that problem has been all but eradicated. Every now and again I will get one, but the problem is significantly better. I will say this, though, ABAS certainly do not seem to promote ingrowns, as has been claimed in various shaving related articles. Hot or cold weather, I always follow up my ABAS splash with a moisturizing balm several minutes later.

I think there is something to be said for ABAS sterilizing the face, and ridding any bacteria that may want to cause an ingrown. But what do I know? I work in finance.

Drew

[guenron]

Think I can get some of that......I did use some in the past....but that was only with other Proraso products. If I recall correctly it smells a little "medicinal" !!

Brian
Menthol? Eucalyptus? Aloe? Medicinal!:tongue_sm But pleasant and fleeting!

[gundog]

my routine:
alcohol based aftershave immediately after shaving and a cold water splash
followed up by Nivea sensitive aftershave balm about 10 minutes later... this works great for me.

Drew

Hey, that is my routine, with the exception I don't wait 10 minutes. I apply the after shave immediately after shaving then clean up the sink and put things away, which only takes a few minutes, then I apply the Nivea. This Works great for me. The after shave is really refreshing and an enjoyable part of the shave but my skin also needs the Nivea for Sensitive skin to really feel good and smooth.

Bud