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Splash-on burn

I had my 4th DE Shave. (King C Gilette razor with a Vodhosk blade).

Normally I use Nivea Maximum Hydration post shave balm, but today I would figure I'd go with one of my dad's old school aftershaves.

I've used splash on after shave before. (Chaps before it was discontinued and Adidas Moves after Chaps went away.)

I was expecting the slight tingle, which isn't exactly pleasant but not painful, like with Chaps or Moves

Dad's aftershave is called Wild Country and has kind of a Chaps vibe going on.

When I applied it, it was like someone doused my face with kerosene and lit a match. 🔥🔥🔥🔥Seriously it was like Kevin Arnold in Home Alone. There were also certain points of intense pain. That felt almost as bad as when my dad would treat a scraped knee with iodine. It may have been as bad but we're tiny spots instead of my entire knee cap. I thought I may have gotten a few nicks but the skin was not broken, and there was no blood.

So an I doing something wrong or is hydrochloric acid an ingredient in Wild Country?
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
Wild Country is a fantastic Avon scent which is still made today and it one of their most successful having first been produced in 1967. As with most scents the vintage Avon bottles are better than the new reformulations and will probably burn more. I love vintage Avon scents as they are easily found, they are cheap, they smell great, and..... I love the burn 👍 If you do not then perhaps try some alum before you apply the splash to close up the pores and reduce the burn. Or perhaps you are shaving too closely or would benefit from better prep or a milder razor/blade combination.
 
If you want the fragrance without the burn, don't apply the aftershave immediately following the shave. Try the alum as EclipseRedRing suggested and/or a cold water rinse to help close your pores. You could even use an unscented balm to help soothe the skin. Wait a few minutes before you use the aftershave and the amount of burn should be reduced. You may still want to address your preparation and technique, but allowing your pores to close and skin to recover should reduce the discomfort. Good luck.
 
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As other's have said, the burn can come from the alcohol in the AS or from a rougher shave than you thought you had. Another option to fight the burn is to apply the AS to yours hands and then wait 30 seconds or so to let some of the alcohol dissipate before you put it on your face.

FWIW I love the burn.
 
You don't necessarily need to draw blood to have razor burn. I usually end up with a touch of razor burn when and the use of alcohol based AS gives a slight burn and I don't mind it as long as I did not go overboard while trying to get to BBS.

It is possible you may have had a reaction to something in the AS.

My usual routine when I am done shaving is to rinse with cold water, I rarely use the alum block. I don't apply the AS right away, I clean up around the sink, I then brush my teeth, apply deodorant and do whatever I need to do, it lets my face dry then I apply AS. This time of year once the AS is applied I will apply a moisturizer to the freshly shaved areas. I use Cremo face moisturizer since it is unscented as I want to smell the scent of the AS I use. If I feel I went overboard I will use balm instead of AS. That way I avoid the "face on fire" feeling.
 

ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
I am not a fan of the burn. I much prefer Aftershave Balms and then a spray Cologne. You will work out what is best for you in time and then you can go with that. It is fun to explore... most of the time.
 
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Before you abandon your fathers after shave work on dialing in your lather. As cryhavoc and skibik said your don't need to cut yourself up to irritate your skin.

Had the same problem with the one and only cream I've ever tried, a standard among creams La Toja. Found the solution to a blissful shave, water.

Have a tube of the red. Nice lather, easy to build, but zero protection. AS splash burned like nothing else after shaving with this stuff. A Tech with an Astra SP for pete's sakes, about as mild as it gets. A waste of money and time. Until yesterday.

Thinking about this for a bit it's La Toja, can't be that bad. Maybe I'm running it dry fooled by the copious, effortless lather. Seems to be common with good soaps, MdC for instance. Did I, an habitual sheen dude, fall into the trap. Paying attention hydrated it up to a nice sheen and had, well an exceptional La Toja-esque shave. Slick, protective, clean, neutral PSF. Beautiful! A fine, fine cream.
 
I enjoy my alcohol splashes after most shaves.

However, after a ‘rough’ shave I go with Lucky Tiger which contains no alcohol. :a29:
 
Before you abandon your fathers after shave work on dialing in your lather. As cryhavoc and skibik said your don't need to cut yourself up to irritate your skin.

Had the same problem with the one and only cream I've ever tried, a standard among creams La Toja. Found the solution to a blissful shave, water.

You mention creams and I remember my go around with Cremo cream. I picked some up at Walmart about the time I started DE shaving 5 years ago for use for a quicker shave on workdays. Yikes, that stuff turned my face into an inferno after the shave. My face didn't turn red nor did I get a rash but it took a few hours and a number of visits to the bathroom splashing cold water on my face until it finally calmed down. Cremo has a wonderful customer department, since I had signed up for notifications on there site for new products they sent me an email about the new face moisturizing cream. I replied saying if it was anything like there shave cream they could keep it. I was totally shocked when I got a response inquiring what my problem was. I explained it to them, to make it right they sent me a tube of there other cream(not the original that I had but the other one, cooling I think) and that was just as bad. After another email stating that had the same reaction they literally wanted to refund my money and I declined since they went above and beyond already and wasn't necessary. They did send me a bottle, or a coupon for a bottle, of that face moisturizer that the original email was about. I am still using it for winter months and running low and I will buy more of that same stuff just because of how they treated me.
 
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