Proraso Irritating

[Jblanke]

This is strange. I have been using Proraso Green and Red in the tubs for almost 5 years. Shave every day....same regimen....never a problem. All of a sudden, my face began breaking out like crazy after every shave. Thought it might be the Proraso red....so I stopped it. Interrupted use of the green......no change. Wound up at the dermatologist and using two different prescription ointments and an oral anti-biotic to heal the carnage.

Went several days without a shave, which I simply can't abide. In desperation, I visited the shaving counter at the local drug store and bought an aerosol can of very ordinary Shave Cream. Prepped my face as usual in the shower....hot water towels, etc. Applied the contents of the canned shave cream.....Totally shocked, I got great shaves with no problems for the past 4-5 days ........ and my issue has cleared up totally.

At this point, I am convinced it was the Proraso......But why after 5 years of bragging on it and recommending it to so many others??? Still using my same blades and same razors. But I no longer resemble Scar Face on Halloween night, and I am back to daily close shaves that are painless and satisfying.

Anybody wanna weigh in on this one?? But, after years of wet shaving and even urging others to try it, I am back to "Gas Can Shaving Cream!!" And I still can't believe it or unscramble what happened!

 

[shupey]

I had a similar reaction the first time i used Proraso Green and Razorock XXX. No issues at all the second time using them.

 

[Clay S]

This is strange. I have been using Proraso Green and Red in the tubs for almost 5 years. Shave every day....same regimen....never a problem. All of a sudden, my face began breaking out like crazy after every shave. Thought it might be the Proraso red....so I stopped it. Interrupted use of the green......no change. Wound up at the dermatologist and using two different prescription ointments and an oral anti-biotic to heal the carnage.

Went several days without a shave, which I simply can't abide. In desperation, I visited the shaving counter at the local drug store and bought an aerosol can of very ordinary Shave Cream. Prepped my face as usual in the shower....hot water towels, etc. Applied the contents of the canned shave cream.....Totally shocked, I got great shaves with no problems for the past 4-5 days ........ and my issue has cleared up totally.

At this point, I am convinced it was the Proraso......But why after 5 years of bragging on it and recommending it to so many others??? Still using my same blades and same razors. But I no longer resemble Scar Face on Halloween night, and I am back to daily close shaves that are painless and satisfying.

Anybody wanna weigh in on this one?? But, after years of wet shaving and even urging others to try it, I am back to "Gas Can Shaving Cream!!" And I still can't believe it or unscramble what happened!

My guess would be your brush got contaminated.

 

[MM879]

Proraso products are "Testato Dermatologicamente"
MM879

 

[andromeda673]

Could it be a product change to the ingredients that has not been disclosed or discovered? Williams had that product change, then the mfg denied it and a few guys figured out what was missing/changed.

I had bad razor burn when I first started using the proraso white and then an itchy neck using the balm, but it would itch like 8 hours after shaving. After changing technique and using less pressure the issues went away. I have a co worker that swears by proraso red and he doesn’t have a single problem.

 

[czyzczyz]

Just to add a data point -- proraso shave soap irritated my skin a ton. I gave it away and switched back to a block of Col. Conk Rum.

 

[ftrez]

Proraso White, the sensitive skin variety, surprisingly irritates my face.

 

[dieselfuel79]

No issues with any of the Proraso line over here. I usually find it actually calms my skin if I use something else that irritates my skin from the previous shave.

 

[shavefan]

Back when I started DE shaving, about a dozen years ago, I tried Proraso Green cream and it irritated my face. I used it for a couple weeks then finally gave it away to my friend that recommended it to me. Since then I've used products with menthol, eucalyptus, lanolin, camphor, etc. etc... and none irritate my skin the way Proraso green did. Go figure. I use Proraso green AS and Single Blade products without issue.

 

[steveclarkus]

Has anyone experienced severe irritation with Proraso shave cream? I've used AOS Sandalwood, TOBS Almond, Florena as well as other menthol creams such as Kiss My Face Cool Mint and Zirh with no problem.

However, I used Proraso for the first time yesterday and my face got extremely swollen and red. I rubbed it with lavender oil and took an anti-histamine and it slowly went away but its still very sensitive and dry.

Previously I also used the Proraso after shave balm with no problems and this is the first time that my face has reacted like this. I'm wondering the following:

Anyone know what ingredient could be causing this that the other menthol creams don't have?

I read that some people get irritation with TOBS Avocado and I'm planning on buying it as my next cream but I'd rather not waste $20 if I'm also going to have a reaction to it. Are those who react to Proraso also prone to react to TOBS Avocado and vice versa?

Thanks for any help. It's not really a big deal for me since honestly I liked the smell and feel of the Kiss My Face Cool Mint better but I'm just surprised and confused that this happened.

I have - not severe but irritating. I started reacting to Tabac as well. It makes my face start itching after a few hours. Too bad because I really liked Tabac. On the other hand, Proraso was no great loss

 

[Z-2]

I can`t use Proraso as well - irritation and itchy.

 

[FireDragon76]

Back when I started DE shaving, about a dozen years ago, I tried Proraso Green cream and it irritated my face. I used it for a couple weeks then finally gave it away to my friend that recommended it to me. Since then I've used products with menthol, eucalyptus, lanolin, camphor, etc. etc... and none irritate my skin the way Proraso green did. Go figure. I use Proraso green AS and Single Blade products without issue.

I can't use the green either. It simply has too much eucalyptus for my skin to handle. This is a product obviously meant for young, thick, oily skin.

 

[RayClem]

Proraso products may have once contained lanolin, but current formulations are vegan based. That means no animal sourced ingredients, including lanolin. Here is the list of ingeredients for the Proraso Red tub:

Aqua (water), Stearic Acid, cocos nucifera (coconut) Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Lactic Acid, Parfum (fragrance), butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Hydroxyethlcellulose, citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Coumarin, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Santalum album (Sandalwood) Oil.

There are a number of ingredients to which people may be sensitive, but Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate is a likely possibility. It is used as an anti-oxidant/preservative in the formula. Although it is considered safe for use in cosmetics, since it is derived from cinnamon, some individuals might be sensitive to it. Other possibilities are citronellol, geraniol, limonene and linalool, but they are at lesser concentrations.

 

[Bill_G]

Bringing this thread back.

Add me to the list. The only other creams I've used that burn my face was Gillette Pure. Tried it twice & gave it to my oldest son. Recently bought the White since the Green was leaving my face/lips a bit tingly. But after using the White today it was worse on my face than the Green by a mile! I couldn't even use after shave because my face was burning! I don't think I have sensitive skin since I can shave every day with no issues except when I use one of these creams. Although I can shave again the next day with no issues provided I use a different cream. Thinking it’s a problem with an ingredient such as menthol or peppermint. But I'm still SHOCKED the White which is supposed to be sensitive was much worse on my skin than the Green!

Also for a point of reference I have used the following inexpensive Creams/Foams in the past with no issues!
Cremo, Neutorgena Shave Cream, Van Der Hagen Shave Butter, Trader Joe’s Shave Cream, Barbasol Foam, Gillette Foam, Nivea Foam.

I also have a Palmolive Sensitive Cream I bought recently & I tried it today for the first time & it also burned my face. But to be fair my face was already on FIRE from the Proraso White.

 

[Brutus]

Yep, I had that experience with Proraso pre-shave.

Don’t really care enough about this brand to debate with someone whether Proraso is an “artificial” product, suffice to say that it dropped out of my rotation years ago, I never really missed it, can’t share the hype about it, and found much better - if you like more natural feeling - alternatives that do not cost much more.

But as I said before, using their green 1948 post-war shaving cream or soap at least once seems to be almost a rite of passage so you can experience how an early 1950’s shave in Italy may have felt like.
But after that it’s - like with an old American shaving soap that I will no longer name - time to move on.


B

 

[Green manalishi]

I have noticed that if I get a bad shave (lots of irritation)It doesn’t really matter what soap I use next…I WILL have a reaction to it..Usually I’m the form of burning uncomfortable feeling..
Maybe those who have a bad reaction to a favorite soap could just be experiencing a reaction to unseen irritation for the prior shave..It happens to me from time to time
(Less now that I’m straight razor shaving).
That being said my favorite soap for awhile now is proraso green.

 

[Bill_G]

My face was fine the day before I used Proraso. But I will revisit these creams again since I can't return the green & was issued a refund for the white but told not to ship it back.

 

[Burundian Hawk]

For the gentlemen that have irritation with various versions of Proraso. If you apply Proraso on your face and your face burns even without shaving, then you have allergy towards Proraso, no doubt!

However, if you only have irritation only after shaving, then your problem is with the Proraso lather and mainly with the not so great cushion. In this case, i strongly advice to make a thicker lather and try again. IMHO there is a huge difference in cushion between a watery Proraso lather and a thick Proraso lather. And the cream by itself is rather watery compared to other, more concentrated creams. So be generous.

In my case, the white is the most skin calming product i have used. To the point that i say that there is no reason to buy anything more expensive, if not for having different scent and more glide. But otherwise, it is phenomenal against irritation for such a cheap product.

Happy shaves and YMMV.

 

[RenoRichard]

Old thread. So here's an old timer's take: The formulation of the Proraso creams has changed over the life of this thread; some would say for the better; some would say for the worse. No matter really as, after 13 years or so, there are plenty of finer options today that were not available, or even conceived, when this thread started. IMHO the choices today are just so diverse and amazing; choices back in 2007 in the US were sort of limited.

If you want something Italian and safely mild, the Cella Extra Extra Bio soap or cream may well best meet your needs; in use it seems more protective than the Proraso varieties. Even the white Proraso for sensitive skin has seemed a little harsh to me, much so when compared to the Cella EEB. Proraso soaps in my den don't get reached for often. Proraso AS splashes remain competitive products that I'll continue to enjoy, and have replaced as needed.

 

[Cesare]

If you want something Italian and safely mild, the Cella Extra Extra Bio soap or cream may well best meet your needs

+1 try Cella Extra Extra Bio.

I had the opposite reaction, though. Proraso doesn’t irritate my skin. Cella Bio did. HOWEVER, for the couple of times I used it, I found the scent, latherability and performance to be quite good.

I keep the green “just because” (first DE cream, etc, etc) and really like the scent of the Red. Performance is ok. Not so sure if it is really that cheap on a cost per shave basis (just gut/tube feeling, not a realiable, proper evaluation).