Allergic to Tabac

[bakerbk73]

So a couple of months ago I got my order of Shark blades in and I thought I'd celebrate by opening my puck of Tabac that I had been saving until my other soap ran out. Everything went well except I noticed that I had apparently gotten too close on my neck. I noticed some redness and itching and thought it was razor burn.

I was sure I had forgotten how to shave myself, for two months I have dealt with "razor burn" on my neck, no matter what blade, what razor, what technique I use to try to avoid it. I even went back to my Weishi in an effort to stop tearing my neck to pieces every time I shave. Nothing seemed to work. No matter how careful I was I always ended up itching from my shave, then it occured to me... I'm allergic to Tabac!

So I stopped using it and I'm on the mend now. I included some pictures of my neck, it's healing up now but you can still see where the skin is recovering from the reaction it was having. I've been using colonal conk's bay rum for the past week and am finally back to getting an irritation free shave. I should have zeroed in on the soap a little quicker, but I was sure that it was razor burn. I guess we live and learn.

 

[burntraven]

Sorry to hear about the bad experience with Tabac. I would think either its simply not right for your skin or your allergic. I havent had a burn like that since my first "wet shave" where I tried to use Williams and a chipped brush I got at antique store. Simply through that time found out that I cant use chipped hair and Williams doesnt work for me (no cushion/no slickness). But there are always more soaps and creams to try. Glad to hear that your healing up well.

(And my own personal side note, hoping to get a puck of Tabac in my birthday order, just hope I am lucky and it works well)

 

[Jefebadskin]

Whoa 2 months?? You must have a high threshold for itch/pain/torture. That is definitely an allergy.

 

[Greg1911]

You can send it to me for disposal...

 

[bakerbk73]

I work two days, take two days off... so I ended up not shaving half the time. It almost drove me back to cartridges because I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. It just didn't occur to me to look at the soap as the problem. Thank God that's over, it was hard to explain to people why I like DE's over anything else when I'm scratching my neck all the time.

 

[bakerbk73]

You can send it to me for disposal...

Thanks, I already have the offending puck given away though. I'm not sure if it's a favor or not.

 

[burntraven]

Thanks, I already have the offending puck given away though. I'm not sure if it's a favor or not.

Well not to piggyback on someone else's idea but I would gladly take it from ya too. I havent tried Tabac yet and am pretty curious about this soap.

 

[u56rh]

I actually had a problem with shark blades giving me a rash. Are you sure it was the Tabac?

 

[bakerbk73]

Well not to piggyback on someone else's idea but I would gladly take it from ya too. I havent tried Tabac yet and am pretty curious about this soap.

While I would gladly have the puck drawn and quartered and have the pieces sent to the four corners of the earth, I am sadly no longer the owner of the cursed soap.

 

[bakerbk73]

I actually had a problem with shark blades giving me a rash. Are you sure it was the Tabac?

I am quite certain it was the Tabac, the blades are still in use with no problems to report. There is a dramatic difference between my skin now and when I was using the soap. I can do multiple passes without irritation again, something that wasn't possible with the Tabac. If I had to guess what was happening, I'd say that the places that normally take more abuse (the spots where hair grows in funny directions) the skin will have micro-abrasions that aren't normally noticed until you put aftershave on. If the soap was irritating just those areas it would seem a lot like razor burn. That's why it was so confusing, I seriously thought that I had lost my touch when it comes to shaving myself.

 

[delamain]

It's pretty heavily scented so maybe there is a fragrance ingredient that you are allergic to...

 

[bakerbk73]

This is a definite possibility, the smell was really off-putting at first. If the wife didn't like the smell so much, I doubt I would've used it past the first couple of days. I've got some MWF that I'm going to try, hopefully I'll tolerate it better, if not I'll just stick with veggie soaps.

It's pretty heavily scented so maybe there is a fragrance ingredient that you are allergic to...

 

[ShavePick]

This is a definite possibility, the smell was really off-putting at first. If the wife didn't like the smell so much, I doubt I would've used it past the first couple of days. I've got some MWF that I'm going to try, hopefully I'll tolerate it better, if not I'll just stick with veggie soaps.

That looks like my neck after shaving with Tabec and MWF. I'm so sad, as I really loved the way MWF lathered and smelled.

 

[bakerbk73]

That looks like my neck after shaving with Tabec and MWF. I'm so sad, as I really loved the way MWF lathered and smelled.

Ok, I can add MWF to my list of soaps that I'm allergic to as well... just started having a reaction to it a few days ago.

 

[ThomasB98908]

You could try sticking with the glycerin soaps like the Col. Conks (unscented or lightly scented) for a while and see how that works till you completely heal up. I like to use VDH glycerin soap and have never had a problem with it. Sorry to hear that the MWF didn't work for you either.

 

[mharris127]

I actually had a problem with shark blades giving me a rash. Are you sure it was the Tabac?

I had the same problem with a Shark blade. I blamed it on a dull blade but quality control at the manufacturer may be amiss.

As for irritation try some Hydrocortisone 1.0% cream. This cream should bring your irritation down after one or two applications. I find it even works on shaving irritation. The cream is available OTC in the US and Canada at almost any pharmacy or Wal-Mart.

I just learned that I am allergic to the scent in Derby puck soap. I started using it and my asthma kicked in high gear every time I used the bathroom. I had no problems shaving with it, so I have it airing out in the medicine cabinet and will probably be able to use it in a month or so when the scenting agents air out of the soap (that is how I air out Tabac as well, no allergy in that case but it stings on any nicks until it is aired out for a month or so). As for the soap itself it is extremely thirsty but is very slick and protective once you figure out that it requires twice the water of any other soap to lather properly.

 

[Sobriquet]

I was allergic to my puck of Tabac when I first got it. I shelved it for over a year, and on a whim, I took it back out. A lot of the offending smell from when it was new had mellowed and I found that it didn't irritate my skin anymore.

 

[Attila]

If you aren't already, I would stay away from going ATG on your neck. Especially lower neck. That always gave me irritation no matter what soap or equipment I used. You don't need BBS on your neck, right? Good luck sir.

 

[lowjax]

Sorry to hear of your struggles with those 2 soaps. I haven't tried either, but they are always talked alot about and seem quite popular.

 

[bakerbk73]

You could try sticking with the glycerin soaps like the Col. Conks (unscented or lightly scented) for a while and see how that works till you completely heal up. I like to use VDH glycerin soap and have never had a problem with it. Sorry to hear that the MWF didn't work for you either.

This is the plan, at least for a while. I've got a stockpile of the VDH soap and it works fairly well for me. I only tried the others because of the love they get on here. I don't feel like I'm missing all that much using the melt and pour stuff.