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Shaving cream for sensitive skin

Hello everyone,

I would like to get your take on some good creams for sensitive skin. What are your suggestions? I've been using Proraso white pre-shave + shave, and lavera post-shave. I've heard that ironically Proraso red / green is actually better than white, so I'm definitely interested in trying those out.

I've also heard that fragrances can affect sensitive skin, so if there are any nice brands that have unscented I think that would be a plus.

Lastly if anyone has any experience with brands that have more natural ingredients I would certainly be interested. I recently bought some "shaving butter" from Shea Moisture, but that was a mistake as it's a ready made cream to apply directly to the face, and quite frankly didn't seem to work to well with DE shaving...
 
Noone can tell you which creams will be best for your skin. A hundred members on the forum can point you to a particular cream. Then you buy it and it turns out it is not your thing, or you get irritation from a certain component. Also in some brands the Sensitive version is thinner, more water containing which might lead to more irritation again with some users.
 
It helps to know what you mean by "sensitive". Do you have eczema or psoriasis? Do you suffer from dermatitis? Do you have fragrance allergies?

These things usually go hand in hand but not necessarily.

If you stick to fragrance-free, artisan produced soaps with no unusual additives then you should rule out a lot of potential issues. Plenty to choose from, but ultimately you just have to suck it and see.

I always recommend Signature Soaps Capra from the UK, specifically formulated for people with skin complaints. It's great soap. Might not be so easy to acquire in the US but I believe Pasteurs is a stockist.
 
It helps to know what you mean by "sensitive". Do you have eczema or psoriasis? Do you suffer from dermatitis? Do you have fragrance allergies?

These things usually go hand in hand but not necessarily.

If you stick to fragrance-free, artisan produced soaps with no unusual additives then you should rule out a lot of potential issues. Plenty to choose from, but ultimately you just have to suck it and see.

I always recommend Signature Soaps Capra from the UK, specifically formulated for people with skin complaints. It's great soap. Might not be so easy to acquire in the US but I believe Pasteurs is a stockist.
By sensitive I don't mean anything too severe. Usually just constant redness and razor bumps on my neck. As for fragrance allergies I'm not sure, I don't think so. I'll definitely give your Signature Soap recommendation a shot. Thanks!
 
Thank you everyone for the suggestions, I will start checking them all out. I just got Weleda shave cream and Speick shave cream. Will see how these two will go.
 
By sensitive I don't mean anything too severe. Usually just constant redness and razor bumps on my neck.

That could be exacerbated by a soap issue and a natural pre-disposition (sensitive skin, curly hair, etc), but razor technique is usually a contributor in neck problems. Too much pressure. Too many passes. Going ATG. Blade not sharp enough, etc. By all means try other products, but also look at your shave routine and technique to see if you can make improvements there too. There's so many variables, you just have to change one thing at a time until you get results, and appreciate that it might take time to find the solution.
 
I tried the Speick shaving cream today, and I liked it quite a bit. I tried the regular one in the blue tube, not the red active. I like how it doesn't have a "cooling" effect which I get with Proraso white. I have a feeling that might be part of the problem. Unfortunately I don't currently have access to a pre-shave so my results aren't 100% accurate...
 

CzechCzar

Use the Fat, Luke!
I tried the Speick shaving cream today, and I liked it quite a bit. I tried the regular one in the blue tube, not the red active. I like how it doesn't have a "cooling" effect which I get with Proraso white. I have a feeling that might be part of the problem. Unfortunately I don't currently have access to a pre-shave so my results aren't 100% accurate...
Glad you liked it. You will dial it in as you keep using it. Gradual progress!
 
Stirling has the nice Unscented Beeswax. It is a good performer and has beeswax instead of lanolin. I quite like it.

It is really hard to recommend anything without knowing the cause. It could be your razor or blades or technique. Fragrances are a very common irritant in soaps, so I'd stick with those using mild essential oils for scent. The only way to know is to remove all variables and then add them back one at a time. If you already know soaps that irritate you, make a list and compare ingredients. You might be able to narrow it down.
 
Your irritation could be anything but likely fragrance, soap in general or friction from either the razor or brush.

You might want to try a completely soap free and brushless product like Jack Black Beard Lube. It is a largely natural oil emulsion. That is what I use and my skin is not sensitive at all. It is very easy on your skin due to its insane slickness and conditioning oils.

If you are unfamiliar with Jack Black it is a high end grooming company in the US.
 
Hello everyone,

I would like to get your take on some good creams for sensitive skin. What are your suggestions? I've been using Proraso white pre-shave + shave, and lavera post-shave. I've heard that ironically Proraso red / green is actually better than white, so I'm definitely interested in trying those out.

I've also heard that fragrances can affect sensitive skin, so if there are any nice brands that have unscented I think that would be a plus.

Lastly if anyone has any experience with brands that have more natural ingredients I would certainly be interested. I recently bought some "shaving butter" from Shea Moisture, but that was a mistake as it's a ready made cream to apply directly to the face, and quite frankly didn't seem to work to well with DE shaving...
How long have you been wet shaving? I used to think I had sensitive skin and I tried a myriad of products to help.

None did.

In my personal experience it came down to finding the correct razor/soap/blade combination, with more weight given to the razor and blade.

I no longer need any products specifically made for sensitive skin.

My set up is typically a Gillette New with a Nacet blade. I'm currently using Tabac soap. Zero issues with sensitivity.

p.s. chasing BBS isn't worth it.
 
as far as natural formulations go, Speick is pretty much the only readily available product on the market. The rest mostly all have very synthetic ingredient lists.
 
Hello everyone,

I would like to get your take on some good creams for sensitive skin. What are your suggestions? I've been using Proraso white pre-shave + shave, and lavera post-shave. I've heard that ironically Proraso red / green is actually better than white, so I'm definitely interested in trying those out.

I've also heard that fragrances can affect sensitive skin, so if there are any nice brands that have unscented I think that would be a plus.

Lastly if anyone has any experience with brands that have more natural ingredients I would certainly be interested. I recently bought some "shaving butter" from Shea Moisture, but that was a mistake as it's a ready made cream to apply directly to the face, and quite frankly didn't seem to work to well with DE shaving...


First you need figure out of you sensitive skin is flaring up from Razor, Blade Choice, or Shave Soap. I have long list of things I can not eat, be around the smell of, or use like simple bandaids. Allergic to both the Latex, and Adhesive, in 3 - 4 hour if I use standard bandaid, I get severe rash were bandaid was.

Keep a log of you shaving routing, and what you use, could be Razor, Blade, or Soap.
 
First you need figure out of you sensitive skin is flaring up from Razor, Blade Choice, or Shave Soap. I have long list of things I can not eat, be around the smell of, or use like simple bandaids. Allergic to both the Latex, and Adhesive, in 3 - 4 hour if I use standard bandaid, I get severe rash were bandaid was.

Keep a log of you shaving routing, and what you use, could be Razor, Blade, or Soap.
Yes, it could even be the coating on the blade. There are people with metal allergies used to coat razors (nickel and gold come to mind), as well as things used to coat razor blades.
 
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