Sensitive skin shavers - what soaps/creams/croaps give you the best shave?

[WindyShaver]

I am a sensitive skin shaver. My repertoire includes a glycerine face washing process in the shower, cold rinsing, and shave oil before I even get started. I also cold water shave.

I've found that Tabac soap, Razorock Napoleon's violet soap, Cella soap (all three lathered in a bowl) and Trumpers coconut cream (lathered on my hand) give me the best shave so far with limited burn and leave my skin moisturized ready for the next shave.

What soaps/croaps/creams do you love because they work the best with your skin?

 

[MrLara]

so far the nivea AS seems to be working rather nice.

 

[mchad21]

KMF unscented works for me as well. If I've had a rough shave the time before, I use some unrefined shea butter as a pre-shave. Helps with the glide.

 

[ike000000]

Any GFT soap or cream and Mikes. Especially the GFT almond soap and a cold shave

 

[AudioNut]

MWF and all the Proraso stuff work amazingly well for me.

 

[redbike]

Honeybee Spa Soaps.

 

[KCee]

I haven't tried a ton yet, but the Nancy Boy cream and Proraso Sensitive soap both work well for me. I liked the smells of many of the TOBS creams I tried (thanks to Garry's Sample Shop), but not sure the shaves were any better. Still a lot of things to try though.

 

[gunterbr]

In my experience, the best soaps for my face are
-Mystic Water (I used Bay Rum)
-Proraso Sensitive (White)
-Arko (ha ha yes Arko)

I didn't have much luck with Kiss My Face, Nancy Boy, C.O. Bigelow, or Bald Frog. YMMV. These creams/soaps were very nice and worked really well, but left me with that irritation and redness my sensitive skin gets when I use something that bothers it.

 

[grubsteak]

Proraso green for me. I know the menthol doesn't agree with some sensitive skins, but it doesn't bother me.

 

[Attila]

The best soap for protection and least amount of irritation (none) for me is Mike's natural shave soaps. All natural ingredients and the best skin protection with the slickest lather possible.

Compare Mike's ingredient list with the chemical shopping list of stuff in most shave soaps (especially the big name English brand ones) but sadly many other good shave soaps too:

Distilled water; saponified tallow and stearic acid; vegetable glycerin; saponified kokum butter, avocado oil, and shea butter; lanolin, fragrance and/or essential oil(s); saponified coconut oil; kaolin clay, vitamin E

Doesn't get much better than that...a full list of good for your skin/shave ingredients! I use Proraso on occasion too, the white as well as the red soap tub but for me it still isn't in the same class as Mike's.

Insert standard disclaimer of YMMV here...

 

[keith_hendrix]

Mystic Water Sensitive. The best by quite a distance.

 

[Nick Danger]

What soaps/croaps/creams do you love because they work the best with your skin?

I have very sensitive skin. If I use the wrong product, not only does it burn but it can also leave my face red and blotchy for hours. I'm very careful about the shaving products I use.

I avoid scented creams and soaps. I also look for soaps and creams that offer extra moisturizing ingredients and other things that are good for the skin. I have a very short list of products that I use, all of which give me a great shave with no irritation:

Spencer & Devon unscented cream: not one of the big names, but the best cream I've used. Lots of great ingredients, with aloe vera extract as the first ingredient instead of water. It also uses salicylic acid, which helps heal the skin and prevent break-outs.

Soaps: Mystic Waters Sensitive Skin, Mike's unscented and Queen Charlotte Soaps unscented. All three give me a great shave and have excellent ingredients. The QCS was a special order, but there is currently a B&B group buy that makes it much cheaper (I ordered another three pucks, if that's any indication of how much I like it.)

I do not use pre-shave or aftershave products, except for a bit of Thayer's alcohol-free witch hazel. It's cooling and doesn't irritate my skin. Other splashes and balms have either dried out my skin or caused break-outs.

Cold water shaving was a revelation for me. Glad you've discovered how well it works, too. Warm or hot water made my skin too puffy and prone to irritation.

I also do better with brushes that have fairly soft tips. My first brush, a cheap pure badger, was too rough on my face. I don't need the most expensive silvertip badger, but something reasonably soft like an SOC boar is comfortable without causing any irritation.

Nick

 

[vsingh]

I used Mitchell's Wool Fat or the very first time yesterday and it's highly like I wil neverl use any other soap again. My goodness it is good.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

VDH Scented Luxury Soap for me!

“Happiness is the [shaving soap]...that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart”. Mort Walker

 

[Buzz_Kill]

Arko has worked wonders for my face, and neck.