My Aftershave Confusion.

[m139]

First off, I gotta say thank you to everyone here who has chimed in on my threads and offered feedback. I've learned a great deal here and it has only lead me to great shaves and great starts to my day.

With that said, I feel that I've finally found my perfect pre-shave prep & razor/blade combo. (My Post).

My particular question is about aftershave balms and moisturizers. I've always had oily skin so I've always avoided moisturizing, however since being on B&B I've learned that moisturizing is a good way to keep skin supple and keep ingrown hairs away (not to mention using a DE instead of the cartridge). With that said, my post shave routine has been cold water rinse, alum block, Thayer's WH, AOS Sandalwood AFB. I love the scent but by 11am, my face is an oil slick! I tried using Menscience oil-free moisturizer instead of the AOS AFB and it seemed to keep oil to a minimum throughout the day. However, I hate the medicine scent and I'm fond of leaving the house with a nice manly scent without being overpowering. This is why I love AOS Sandalwood AFB, but I hate the oily feeling. Do you guys have a recommendation? I understand AOS also makes an AF Gel, but has anyone tried it? Thank you.

 

[cnichol3]

I have somewhat oily skin, and it is exaggerated by balms and lotions. Nivea Sensitive ASB is a good one IMO without leaving your face greasy. I typically use a splash instead of balm in the morning before I go to work. Since moisturizing is important, I only moisturize at night before bed.

 

[m139]

I have somewhat oily skin, and it is exaggerated by balms and lotions. Nivea Sensitive ASB is a good one IMO without leaving your face greasy. I typically use a splash instead of balm in the morning before I go to work. Since moisturizing is important, I only moisturize at night before bed.

Thank you. Can I use a splash after I moisturize or does that defeat the purpose? I'm thinking of using the MS oil-free lotion instead of AOS AFB. Then before I head out the door, using a splash AF or the AOS AS gel.

 

[John Von Wuggz]

I have oily skin, use AS instead of balms, problem solved. No ingrown hairs as my shave technique improved. I also do cold water shaves now.

 

[jrward2]

Personally I just use a splash as my post shave. Leaves my face feeling great all day long and it doesn't leave it greasy at all. You can do one or the other or both. Some people like the initial sting of a splash and then follow it up with an ASB

 

[cnichol3]

From what Ive read on B&B, the thinner the product the earlier your apply it. Hence, you always apply a splash before a balm. However, the balm often eliminates the scent of the splash. Are you mainly wanting to have the scent of the splash? If so, give it a shot. You got nothing to lose, right?

 

[Moondoggie]

Maybe look into and research the various carrier oils such as grape seed, sweet almond, jojoba, etc. (there are a bunch of them) and try the different ones separate and/or create your own custom blend. I used to be a grease slick by lunch but did a lot of reading on the different oils and came up with a blend that keeps me dry but soft all day. The stuff is cheap to buy and virtually unscented if you don't want to mask your aftershave splash. Health food stores and drug stores carry most all of them. I even put a few drops of my essential oils into a batch so it would match my home made bay rum splash on the days I use it. My wife and kids have all noticed the difference in my skin in just a week... I now make several oil blends for my wife after she tried some of my samples.

I based my personal blend on grape seed oil because I read that is is mildly astringent and can help with oily skin. My wife's blend is completely different. For what its worth, this worked for me...

Good luck!

 

[Macbreezy]

I will only use a balm if my face gets dry. I have combination skin so sometimes oily and sometimes dry. When I do use a balm I use very little of it so as to cut down on my skin getting to oily. This mostly happens in the winter and my skin will still get a bit oily anytime I use a balm so I try not to use one unless I have too. I use the Nivea sensitive skin balm when my face calls for it. Other than that I use a nice A/S. I have a few I rotate through right now. Aqua Velva, Pinuad Clubman, and Old Spice. Hoping to add Proraso green soon.

The other thing you can do is after using your Witch Hazel you can then apply an aftershave splash. If you want the scent to stick with you for a while dab a little around your neck and right behind your ears. This works pretty well for me as I use witch hazel after my cold water rinse as well.

 

[m139]

Thanks all for the good feedback. I guess my main/only reason for wanting to moisturize is to keep ingrown hairs at bay. I read that moisturizing and keeping skin soft makes it much easier for the hair to grow back through the skin. Is this true?

If so, then it's not really important to moisturize directly following a shave because the hair is not anywhere near growing. It's probably best to moisturize later in the day and before bed. In the morning, I'll just go with my normal routine except use an A/S splash in lieu of the balm and leave the house with a dry clean face. At night, I'll use a high end moisturizer with AHA (like Menscience). Any thoughts?

 

[cnichol3]

Thats what I would do if I were you. But you never know what works best for you until you try it. Try some different combinations and see how it goes.

 

[FlatFork]

My skin is also oily and when I use a balm I wet my face pretty good before applying the balm to cut the thickness of it down and that seems to help me. During the summer months I use splashes only, its just too humid for a balm to go on my face during the heat of the summer.

 

[oldtrout]

I have oily skin, use AS instead of balms, problem solved. No ingrown hairs as my shave technique improved. I also do cold water shaves now.

+1 on the AS.
You should experiment and try just an AS. The first time I used Floid Blue I did this and was quite taken with the "face feel" that morning. Sometimes less is more for me.

And then try something else.

I'm sure your "perfect pre-shave prep & razor/blade combo" was trial and error derived.
I'd be interested in reading about your post-shave "Eureka" combo should it be forthcoming.

 

[m139]

What about the AOS A/S Gel? Has anyone used this stuff? I just ordered a bottle of Proraso A/S splash (green bottle) and I plan to use it instead of balm for a full week and see how it goes.

Post shave would be cold water rinse, alum block, WH, Proraso A/S. That's it. Once I get more information on the AOS A/S gel, I may incorporate it instead of the Proraso since the WH has a little alcohol anyway.

I can moisturize using Menscience and Neutrogena in the evenings when it's really needed... when the hair starts growing back. I'll report back.

 

[John Von Wuggz]

Post shave would be cold water rinse, alum block, WH, Proraso A/S. That's it. Once I get more information on the AOS A/S gel, I may incorporate it instead of the Proraso since the WH has a little alcohol anyway.

Little follow-up thought for you here. I have very oily skin as well and have found that if I have too many products in the rotation my skin tries to fight back to equilibrium by producing more oil. If your pulling too much moisture out of the skin with alum, WH, and AS you can try cutting it down a bit.

As my shaves got better I tried to lower the amount of harsh products in my post-shave routine and my skin has thanked me. My CWS post-shave routine is to rinse with warm water to clean all particles out, cold water rinse to tightening the skin back down, and then finish with an AS.

Lastly, I've cut back on the total number of times I clean my face each day/week. I only do a complete morning cleaning if I am not shaving that day and I follow-up my nighttime cleaning with a light moisturizer instead of laying on harsh astringents. Overall, I've noticed that by not trying to "cure" my oily skin problem I have less oil produced which has resulted in a much clearer, smoother complexion.

 

[m139]

Little follow-up thought for you here. I have very oily skin as well and have found that if I have too many products in the rotation my skin tries to fight back to equilibrium by producing more oil. If your pulling too much moisture out of the skin with alum, WH, and AS you can try cutting it down a bit.

As my shaves got better I tried to lower the amount of harsh products in my post-shave routine and my skin has thanked me. My CWS post-shave routine is to rinse with warm water to clean all particles out, cold water rinse to tightening the skin back down, and then finish with an AS.

Lastly, I've cut back on the total number of times I clean my face each day/week. I only do a complete morning cleaning if I am not shaving that day and I follow-up my nighttime cleaning with a light moisturizer instead of laying on harsh astringents. Overall, I've noticed that by not trying to "cure" my oily skin problem I have less oil produced which has resulted in a much clearer, smoother complexion.

It makes sense but it's a little different with me. I may cut back for a week and see what happens. Thanks.

 

[mistercitizen]

I haven't read everyone else's recommendations above so forgive me if I am repetitious..... but I've been using Baxter of California Oil Free Moisturizer for the past few weeks with great success and it has no scent. I don't exactly have oily skin like you, I'm more or less "normal to dry" leaning towards "dry" during the cold Ohio winters.... but I can't imagine the BOC Oil Free Moisturizer causing oily skin. It seems to absorb very well and, as I said, leaves no trace of a scent. As for adding a nice scent to your day.... just find a cologne that you enjoy and go with it.

Ben

 

[m139]

Thanks all for your help. Today, I took a slightly different route... I followed shaving with cold water rinse, alum block, WH (alcohol-free) and instead of ASB, I splashed on Proraso A/S (green) and that's it. It's been 8 hours since I shaved and used the Proraso and my face still feels clean and dry. I think I'll just stick to moisturizing later in the evening/night unless my skin is particularly dry on any given morning. Thanks.

 

[Luminose]

I was wondering isn't the alum block followed by witch hazel kinda doubling up since they both do similar things?

For the most part the post shave combo I found was the best was a cold water rinse, alcohol based AS splash followed by a good quality fragrance free face cream moisturizer.

I think an actual face moisturizer works better than balms since I can enjoy an AS splash and not have any of the oily after effect from the balms I've tried. The "First Aid Beauty" moisturizer my wife got me soaks in fast, has no smell and doesn't make your skin oily at all.

 

[m139]

Today is the second day I've used Proraso A/S splash and it's fantastic! No more balms for me! A/S splash in the morning and moisturize with high quality product in the afternoon & evening. Done!

I'll post in the General area about this morning's shave... with another experiment.

 

[Wingnut]

You know, for more than 30 years, all I ever used post-shave was a balm--AFTA by Mennen. It worked fine, smelled OK,and was good enough that I never looked for anything more. It wasn't until I found B&B that I ever tried a splash, and boy am I ever glad that I did!

Proraso is just great stuff, isn't it?!