Good Evening Gents,
Since my teens (now 27), I have had problematic "combination" skin that is dry in some areas, oily in others, complexion a bit iffy and unfortunately prone to the odd pimple whilst incredibly prone to the ingrown hair - quite a challenge!
I figured aged 18 that a badger and blade was the only way I'd ever be able to shave to avoid ingrown hairs. As a result, I set about trying to find a cream or soap that could be used with a brush that would also not clog my pores and leave me with pimples a day or two later.
It has been quite a journey and I have tried many many creams and quite a few soaps. Lessons learnt to date:
Of course, you can always go to great effort to wash your face post shave to rid yourself of any of the above but for those of you with sensitive/oily skin - you will know that excessive washing can sometimes exasperate rather than solve the problem.
So I set about finding myself a shaving cream that was as "oil-free" as possible, could be used with a brush, readily availble, and decent enough to give me a slick shaving surface that minimised my chances of getting an ingrown hair.
Based on all the above, can I please recommend Erasmic's shave cream - the "New Formula" version which no longer uses coconut oil and has a pretty simple set of ingredients with no added oils. I have found the trick is to use quite a bit of the product to give you enough for 3 passes but boy can you make some slick slick lather... (!) I also find it leaves little or no residue which my skin has thanked me for over the long term.
I've now been using this cream for the best part of 12 months paired with an alum block and a bit of skin food during the colder months - nothing else. No face washes of any type and NO balms or moisturisers. I cannot stress the transformation in my skin during this time - particularly to my complexion.
All of the above is probably not relevant to 99% of you here who have no problems with what you put on your skin. However, just in case you think you may be in my boat, please please please give this cream a try and see how you get on. It has taken me a while to work this all out !
All my best
Niko
Since my teens (now 27), I have had problematic "combination" skin that is dry in some areas, oily in others, complexion a bit iffy and unfortunately prone to the odd pimple whilst incredibly prone to the ingrown hair - quite a challenge!
I figured aged 18 that a badger and blade was the only way I'd ever be able to shave to avoid ingrown hairs. As a result, I set about trying to find a cream or soap that could be used with a brush that would also not clog my pores and leave me with pimples a day or two later.
It has been quite a journey and I have tried many many creams and quite a few soaps. Lessons learnt to date:
- Avoid coconut oil (Cocos nucifera) as it can be highly "comedogenic" - unfortunately present in very many of the best creams including all Proraso creams
- Be wary of derivatives of the coconut - i.e. Coconut acid present in all the 3Ts as well as "Cococates" present in many hard soaps
- Soaps in general tend to be derived from palm oil (e.g. Floris), coconut oil (e.g C&E) or even olive oil - all 3 of which can be pore blocking if applied to the wrong skin type
Of course, you can always go to great effort to wash your face post shave to rid yourself of any of the above but for those of you with sensitive/oily skin - you will know that excessive washing can sometimes exasperate rather than solve the problem.
So I set about finding myself a shaving cream that was as "oil-free" as possible, could be used with a brush, readily availble, and decent enough to give me a slick shaving surface that minimised my chances of getting an ingrown hair.
Based on all the above, can I please recommend Erasmic's shave cream - the "New Formula" version which no longer uses coconut oil and has a pretty simple set of ingredients with no added oils. I have found the trick is to use quite a bit of the product to give you enough for 3 passes but boy can you make some slick slick lather... (!) I also find it leaves little or no residue which my skin has thanked me for over the long term.
I've now been using this cream for the best part of 12 months paired with an alum block and a bit of skin food during the colder months - nothing else. No face washes of any type and NO balms or moisturisers. I cannot stress the transformation in my skin during this time - particularly to my complexion.
All of the above is probably not relevant to 99% of you here who have no problems with what you put on your skin. However, just in case you think you may be in my boat, please please please give this cream a try and see how you get on. It has taken me a while to work this all out !
All my best
Niko
