High End vs. Old School. which one is BETTER FOR YOUR SKIN?

[m139]

Just like the title says....

We all have so many choices for after shave treatment and there are so many different routines one can take that I'm not going to even attempt to list the different combinations.

However, for the purpose of this post I'm just talking about after shave lotion (splash).

It goes without saying that B&B members love witch hazel but also we see a lot of respect for Proraso, Speick, AdP, Penhaligon's, Clubman, etc, etc...

So, if I'm comparing a high end product like AdP vs something with WH like Proraso or even plain Thayers WH, what exactly am I paying for when buying AdP or another high end A/S like Penhaligon's etc?

Am I just paying for the scent or do these actually have quality ingredients? My guess is the scent and that's why so many splash WH first then follow with their favorite AS.

But then in my mind why the extra step? Or maybe WH is not that important... I'm going to duck and cover now!

 

[Daiku]

My wife doesn't like the scent, but my skin really reacted well to Clubman. Always clear and blemish-free. Really, the best results I've had from any AS at any cost.

Lucky Tiger is another story. Works great if used every few days, but too moisturizing for me to use every day.

 

[Marco]

I love Old School barbershop lotions: Pinaud Clubman, Italian Floids and Spanish Floids. They simply work great and smell fantastic.

 

[striker6]

I've been quite pleased with aftershaves like Aqua Velva Ice Blue, Old Spice, Clubman, Proraso and such that I see no reason to jump to the more 'premium' lotions. I do use Thayer's W/H with every shave and that stuff is so healing. I would consider more expensive products if the scent impressed me enough and offered a bit more longevity throughout the day.

I did recently purchase La Toja Manatiales splash ($30) and I do like the scent (similar to Proraso) and performance.

 

[Beerhunter]

Just like the title says....

We all have so many choices for after shave treatment and there are so many different routines one can take that I'm not going to even attempt to list the different combinations.

However, for the purpose of this post I'm just talking about after shave lotion (splash).

It goes without saying that B&B members love witch hazel but also we see a lot of respect for Proraso, Speick, AdP, Penhaligon's, Clubman, etc, etc...

So, if I'm comparing a high end product like AdP vs something with WH like Proraso or even plain Thayers WH, what exactly am I paying for when buying AdP or another high end A/S like Penhaligon's etc?

Am I just paying for the scent or do these actually have quality ingredients? My guess is the scent and that's why so many splash WH first then follow with their favorite AS.

But then in my mind why the extra step? Or maybe WH is not that important... I'm going to duck and cover now!

High End vs. Old School. which one is BETTER FOR YOUR SKIN?
Cue: ymmv
I think it comes down to preference. I have a feather asd1 I use the ikon oc baseplate yes I use it and like it,
Works wonders. But I do l prefer my vintage gillette's
Red tip, New standard, super speed,flair tip. Either open comb or TTO. But that's just me. I would think that soaps and technique would come into play here also bad harsh soaps and too much pressure could harm the skin. Either way with me I have been told that my skin looks better than when I shaved w/ the crappy carts & cheap shave cream.
Cheers

 

[Wingnut]

For me, there's VERY little relationship between price and quality when it comes to AS splashes. I have everything form Barbasol Brisk ($1.69) to Musgo ($25.00 +), and while there are good ones and bad ones, price is no indicator of quality--at least in my experience.

 

[Dave_D]

It was fun to experience the fancy stuff but the cheap old school items work great for me. AV is hard to beat along with 4711 and a few of the other classics.

 

[Beerhunter]

I also second Marco but floid comes comes first then poraso green then the club.

 

[Galhatz]

I found that for me, a squart of Aveeno mixed with pretty much any of my alcohol based aftershaves/cologne that populated my shelf over the years, works best. I get the best of both worlds: Aveeno's calms my skin and hydrates it without being oily and i am free to choose a scent to my liking. Aveeno is very cheap, we use it at home all the time. All my colognes were gifts and they last for ever...

 

[Ron Scott]

There are some exceptions but for most shave products I do not see a real correlation between price and quality. Aftershave is like that…

 

[Handy]

Just like the title says....

We all have so many choices for after shave treatment and there are so many different routines one can take that I'm not going to even attempt to list the different combinations.

However, for the purpose of this post I'm just talking about after shave lotion (splash).

It goes without saying that B&B members love witch hazel but also we see a lot of respect for Proraso, Speick, AdP, Penhaligon's, Clubman, etc, etc...

So, if I'm comparing a high end product like AdP vs something with WH like Proraso or even plain Thayers WH, what exactly am I paying for when buying AdP or another high end A/S like Penhaligon's etc?

Am I just paying for the scent or do these actually have quality ingredients? My guess is the scent and that's why so many splash WH first then follow with their favorite

I group aftershaves by themselves and I try not to think of them as a EDP or EDT. Aftershaves are exactly what the name describes. Throw some on, mend the wounds, have a nice scent that last a bit. If you want a scent to last you use EDT or EDP on your body and not your face. Many aftershaves are just alcohol and fragrance oil, cheap. When you start getting into essential oils and extracts you are going to pay much more. Some essential oils can be very expensive, check out the price for rose absolute or orange flower absolute. This is one of the reasons some EDP or EDT are big bucks.

 

[Niles]

I love Old School barbershop lotions: Pinaud Clubman, Italian Floids and Spanish Floids. They simply work great and smell fantastic.

I share Marco's opinion, as well.

 

[takeshi]

High End vs. Old School. which one is BETTER FOR YOUR SKIN?

It's going to vary from person to person (i.e. YMMV) as everyone doesn't have the same skin. I don't find this basis for comparison to be of much use. There are good products for my skin in both categories and the categories are too broad to make a sweeping generalization even for me.

It goes without saying that B&B members love witch hazel

Actually, it does not. Some use witch hazel. Some do not. I don't.

 

[m139]

OK Gents, it appears that maybe my initial question was not worded perfectly so let me clarify. I'm asking if in your experience (and YMMV) the higher end products that cost more actually contain higher quality ingredients that are good for your skin than the less expensive products or are you paying for the scent, brand, and perhaps bottle?

I'll site one of my experiences: I have a bottle of Proraso green at $10, a TOBS Sandalwood at $35, and a Terre D'Hermes at $65. My findings is that the Proraso has much better ingredients on paper than the other two but to me they all feel the same on the face. I love the Terre D'Hermes scent and bottle but other than that I can't see it costing six times the bottle of Proraso if my goal is to provide after shave relief only.

That's my take and I wanted to hear what others think. Thanks.

 

[Jim]

You have touched on a topic that is a little more complex and harder to break down than you would at first think.

Witch hazel is a plant hydrosol, the leftovers from steaming the fragrance oils (which are used for perfume)out of plant matter. Rose water, lavender water and sandalwood are some others that you can find.

(Arguably) a good aftershave contains several components that individually are inexpensive. Alcohol, glycerin, plant extracts like witch hazel or grapefruit seed extract, menthol and small amounts of waxes or oils.

When you go down the road of a scented aftershave you are paying for the name and the propriety of the particular scent. The scent adds nothing to the skincare of the product.

If you like you can make your own aftershave for a few bucks a gallon. A couple of High performance aftershaves that are of lower cost are Saint Charles Shave splashes and Saint Lucia Bay rum.

Many of our B&B vendors make a good performing product.

 

[Shaving_CHENG]

I think as long as the product is not imminently harmful, it is completely a personal choice matter. If your Hermes and Proraso do the same job and feel the same on your face, essentially eliminating performance as a factor, then it comes down to priorities of scent versus cost.

 

[m139]

Thanks for the feedback and to dig a little bit deeper into my motive for asking....

I love colognes and I happen to be a bit anal so I've been trying to match colognes to aftershave to shaving cream and so on but I finally gave up because I have realized (with lots of trial and error) there there isn't a single vendor that provides all the products I like in one package (i.e. I love TOBS creams but not the scent of the AS and I love Hermes scents but they don't make a shaving product). So, I'm trying to eliminate one more expensive thing from the lineup and hence my next step was to use up whatever I have left of my expensive after shaves (i.e. Hermes, Dolce) but not replenish them. If I enjoy the scent, I can just use the EDT which I also have.

That's really the reason I was asking if the higher end stuff has "higher quality" ingredients not found in the Proraso, Speick, AV, Clubman, etc. I think I got my answer. Thanks.

 

[JCinPA]

You have touched on a topic that is a little more complex and harder to break down than you would at first think.

Witch hazel is a plant hydrosol, the leftovers from steaming the fragrance oils (which are used for perfume)out of plant matter. Rose water, lavender water and sandalwood are some others that you can find.

(Arguably) a good aftershave contains several components that individually are inexpensive. Alcohol, glycerin, plant extracts like witch hazel or grapefruit seed extract, menthol and small amounts of waxes or oils.

When you go down the road of a scented aftershave you are paying for the name and the propriety of the particular scent. The scent adds nothing to the skincare of the product.

If you like you can make your own aftershave for a few bucks a gallon. A couple of High performance aftershaves that are of lower cost are Saint Charles Shave splashes and Saint Lucia Bay rum.

Many of our B&B vendors make a good performing product.

Wow, I just learned something! And I just responded to a post in General that I hadn't learned something in a while!

I like the feel I get from after shaves like Aqua Velva and noticed they have glycerin in them. So does Old Spice, I believe. The Pinauds do not. So when I get a new bottle of Pinaud, I add about 1.5 - 2 drops of plain glycerin per ounce to them. They feel great!

If you look at the ingredients in your after shave and glycerin is not one of them, you can get it at Walgreens or CVS or any pharmacy, one bottle will be lifetime supply, for sure. Add a little to your favorite AS that does not list it and see what you think.

 

[m139]

Wow, I just learned something! And I just responded to a post in General that I hadn't learned something in a while!

I like the feel I get from after shaves like Aqua Velva and noticed they have glycerin in them. So does Old Spice, I believe. The Pinauds do not. So when I get a new bottle of Pinaud, I add about 1.5 - 2 drops of plain glycerin per ounce to them. They feel great!

If you look at the ingredients in your after shave and glycerin is not one of them, you can get it at Walgreens or CVS or any pharmacy, one bottle will be lifetime supply, for sure. Add a little to your favorite AS that does not list it and see what you think.

Funny you mentioned this because last night I thought I'd experiment a bit, though not with glycerin. In an old empty and clean TOBS glass bottle, I mixed 1 ounce each of D&G The One aftershave and Thayers AF witch hazel. The results made me feel like I was in high school chemistry class.... the mixture turned opaque pink!!! No good.

 

[Chaloney]

Aqua Velva works the best for me. Love the way my skin feels.

Adding glycerin to the pinaud line has made them MUCH less drying for me. I've done 2 drops per ounce with good success