SJoL causing irritation?

[Eben Stone]

Except for weepers, I don't usually get a lot of irritation. Occasionally I get some redness on my neck, but it usually vanishes after my post shave shower.

I've noticed the last 2 times I've used SJoL I had more redness on my neck than usual and it lasts a few hours. Today the alum burn was intense but no visual signs of irritation, except for the redness on my neck. 12 hours later and the redness is gone but my skin does not feel very good. Not sure if it was the blade, the soap, or my technique.

I really hope SJoL isn't the cause of the irritation, because I love this soap. Great slickness great cushion and great scents. I have all the scents, but luckily they are all samplers.

I'm considering using SJoL on only have my face to try to determine if it's really the cause of the irritation. Has anyone else had this issue? Any suggestions besides, obviously, not using it?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

St James of London is great on my skin, and the best performing cream I've used to date. The post save for me is excellent.

 

[Icebear]

There can be 2 reasons for irritation by a shave cream (given all other factors were the same: razor, blade, brush, water):

1. allergic reaction to any of the ingredients of the cream or the fragrance.
2. lack of protection because of the formula of the cream -> not providing a slick film the blade can ride on and therefore scraping of the skin happens and not only cutting of the whiskers.

Difficult to really find out ultimately what the reason is. Possibly try other variants (scents) of SJoL, if your skin doesn't show any irritation, it might be the particular scent.

 

[sarimento1]

Except for weepers, I don't usually get a lot of irritation. Occasionally I get some redness on my neck, but it usually vanishes after my post shave shower.

I've noticed the last 2 times I've used SJoL I had more redness on my neck than usual and it lasts a few hours. Today the alum burn was intense but no visual signs of irritation, except for the redness on my neck. 12 hours later and the redness is gone but my skin does not feel very good. Not sure if it was the blade, the soap, or my technique.

I really hope SJoL isn't the cause of the irritation, because I love this soap. Great slickness great cushion and great scents. I have all the scents, but luckily they are all samplers.

I'm considering using SJoL on only have my face to try to determine if it's really the cause of the irritation. Has anyone else had this issue? Any suggestions besides, obviously, not using it?

Welcome to B&B, Sir Eben Stone!
St James of London boasts that its products are very skin friendly!
Although they are well-scented.
My suggestion, skip the SJ samples for a week and see if the problem persists or clears.
Keep us posted!

 

[Earl_Grey]

Could be the Triethanolamine - it's a known irritant and all the English creams contain it. Which is why I give them a wide berth.

As a general rule: don't fall for what the product claims to be, take a close look at what actually is in it.

 

[Furex]

I have had problems with some creams irritating my skin, but in that case I could feel discomfort growing as the shave went on, simply by virtue of lather sitting on my face.

TBH this sounds like the root cause of the problem is elsewhere: weepers, irritation points towards too aggressive a combo, chasing BBS, technique not up to scratch, and so on.

 

[Eben Stone]

I have had problems with some creams irritating my skin, but in that case I could feel discomfort growing as the shave went on, simply by virtue of lather sitting on my face.

TBH this sounds like the root cause of the problem is elsewhere: weepers, irritation points towards too aggressive a combo, chasing BBS, technique not up to scratch, and so on.

You are correct in that I typically use aggressive razors, sometimes the R41 comb bites me, and I chase BBS every shave.

I've only been DE shaving for 3 months, so I have no idea if my technique is good or bad. I can get great shaves with an R41 or gillette tech, but I have yet to achieve a true BBS shave.

My last 3 shaves were with a gillette tech, soaps other than SJoL, and I got zero irritation. So I guess my next step is to shave with the Tech and SJoL and see what happens. Any maybe try an extra thick layer of lather on the neck and let it sit there for an extra minute, just to be sure.

 

[Eben Stone]

Prior 3 shaves with a Tech using soaps other than SJoL resulted in zero irritation on my neck. 2 of those shaves were with a Bic blade. So today I shaved with a Tech + Bic + SJoL and there was a very small amount of redness/irritation on my neck (looks like maybe razor burn or maybe a rash).

I think it's still too soon to make any final conclusion, but I think a few more shaves using the Tech + Bic + SJoL should give me an answer.

 

[pierrelortie44]

And what is the conclusion?

 

[Eben Stone]

And what is the conclusion?

I didn't go about testing things very scientifically. But it seems the cause of the irritation is not SJoL because I can use SJoL Sandalwood and Bergamot without any issues. Maybe specific scents cause me irritation, I don't know, I don't have any more samplers to test with.

 

[Chandu]

You are correct in that I typically use aggressive razors, sometimes the R41 comb bites me, and I chase BBS every shave.

I've only been DE shaving for 3 months, so I have no idea if my technique is good or bad. I can get great shaves with an R41 or gillette tech, but I have yet to achieve a true BBS shave.

You technique is probably at least decent if you are using the R41 on a regular basis seeking BBS and not getting bitten too often. Just pay attention to what you are doing when it bites. I use that razor as well and it only bites if I try to go ATG on my upper lip and don't use the lightest touch. Realistically it's not even worth doing anything but wtg and xtg on my upper lip as the R41 leaves it as smooth as any other razor I own that can go atg on the upper lip.

I like SJOL scent Cederwood Clary sage. I don't break out from the soap, but using it I always feel by the time the shave is over, I'm ready to rinse it off well. So I enjoy it but I try not to have it linger. It's a great cream for the R41 because I don't need a lot of passes. When it's gone, I probably won't rebuy. It's a shame because I really like the scent.