Used some soap recently with menthol. Really irritated my face, and I don't really have sensitive skin. I face lathered it, so maybe I just left it on too long or the brush agitation coupled with menthol was too much. Anyone else have this issue?
Menthol Soap and Skin Irritation
- Thread starter PALORAZOR
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I had it. In the past. Every time I used menthol I had skin reaction, few bumps similar to mosquito bites, and itching. For unrelated reasons I had to stop wet shaving for a couple of years, and started again one year ago. I tried using menthol again and for whatever reason it does not bother me anymore, even in generous quantities. So, apparently it is not forever.
I have same issues with heavily mentholated soaps and aftershaves. Solution I found was to not use em.
Not so much with menthol but I have had a skin reaction to some soaps and creams. Cremo being one, tried it about 5 or 6 years ago and that stuff felt like put a blow torch to my face, washing it off didn't even help, I had a face rash for at least 12 hours. I reported it to Cremo and they even sent me a new tube of a new scent they had at that time and it was the same. I bought 2 different WSP soap scents and again that soap left me with an irritation once I applied it to my face, took less than a minute and had to rinse it off. There were one or two others but off the top of my head I can't remember which, I think Tabac was another one. I remember writing down every ingredient of each of those soaps/creams and no single ingredient stuck out, most of the soaps I get along with had the same ingredients. I come to the conclusion it had something to do with the scent oils or whatever was used to scent the soaps.
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The soap I always seem to go back to is Cella Red. Great smell, lather, cushion, and no irritation at all.
I don't mind menthol myself but not too strong though, I like Captain's Choice Nor' Easter.
As for what soaps agree with me, a lot of them. I will try and list most of them. This is going to get long.
-Proraso Red, just received the Single blade Cypress and Vetyver but haven't tried it yet.
-Palmolive - green tube
-Coate's Superior Shave Cream(no longer can be found) One of the best creams I have found, too bad it isn't still made.
-Saponficio Varesino, have Felce Aromatica, 70th Anniversary and Cosmo.
-Trufitt and Hill West Indian Limes cream, just finished using it up last week.
-Barrister and Mann Spice, haven't tried any other scents
-Razorock, used up both The Stallion and Emperor
-Geo F Trumper Lime cream, not that great of performance for me but it does get used. Only scent I have or will try.
-Captain's Choice, soaps- majority of the scents and creams just 2, Italia and Nor'Easter lather isn't great in hard water
-Pre de Provence - only tried #63, ranked at the top with my SV soaps.
-Le Pere Lucian - only tried Rose
-Van der Hagen luxury scented
-Maggard Razor - Lilac - made by Through the Fire fine Craft
-St, James of London Madarin and Patchouli
-Castle Forbes - 1445, I also tried Cedarwood and Sandalwood
-Soap Commander - Endurance
-D.R. Harris - Arlington shave cream, nice scent but I think it lacked performance, used it up a couple years ago and not buying the brand again.
-Taylor of Old Bond Street - Traditional shave soap(too hard to get a decent lather) and Mr. Taylors shave cream, another not so decent underperforming lather and won't but the brand again.
Some others that didn't lather so good I either sold, traded, gave to my friend, used for shower soap or tossed are, Speick, Mitchell's Wool Fat, Williams(new version and tossed it) New Old Spice cream in a tube, Wilkinson Sword in the blue bowl(too hard to lather), Arko(I don't know if this one I got a reaction from or just didn't like it), MdC Fougere, Xpec, Cooper and French 2 scents(I think I got a reaction from them), Godrej(not a good latherer). Two scents by K Shave Worx, one was grapelicious and another one and that was one I couldn't remember that I got a reaction from. Don't think they are even I business not.
There are a few more I can't remember the names of from when I started in 2016 that I got rid of. I get along with most soaps that I have tried. In the last 3 to 4 years I have curbed my buying creams/soaps and limiting it to 1 at most a year so I can use up a lot of what I have. Considering how many I have bought and some that I got rid of with the main reason either performance or I didn't like the scent only 3 maybe four I got a reaction from out of 60 maybe 70 soaps and creams I have bought over the years. So I can't be certain what I get the reaction from and since it seems random I think it is the essential oil or whatever is used for scent in those soaps/creams I react from. Cremo was absolutely a nightmare, the few others I reacted to were really mild and the irritation doesn't last. I do have one soap I can't bring myself to get rid of that I can feel a slight ting of a reaction to and that is the "Soap for Hope" from the 2018 Sue Moore fundraiser. I have used it twice and just sealed it in a baggy and put it on the bookcase. I should put it back on the auction so someone else could maybe use it since I think it will just sit here.
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Wow. That is quite a list. Interesting!
That list is small in comparison to some on here. But yes, I have been through a lot of soaps and creams in 8 years. I would guess between 50 to 60 in that time that I have tried. There are a few I can't remember names of from the beginning. I am working on whittling it down and with the recent Proraso purchase that makes 20 now. I should have stopped buying after I found SV soaps, those are at the top of my list for soaps.
I'll have to look into SV, $50 is a little high, but maybe for a luxury purchase.
It has gone up a quite bit since I last bought, I think it used to be something like $35 a can but that has been 5-6 years at least. It does last a long time and it is a top notch soap. I want to try some of the newer scents they have but with the amount of soaps and creams I have now I just can't bring myself to buy more, price wouldn't stop me.
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