Using a soap lather as a balm

[ohansen]

Thanks for the information. I wonder about the answer to the question you ask. I understand that regular soap ends up with a pH of 9-10. But does shaving soap end up with that high of a pH too? I wonder if shaving soaps may end up with a lower pH due to more fats/fatty acids being added to the lye, and if there is a significant difference among various shaving soap formulas. Don't know the answer, but with all the knowledge on this forum some members might be able to inform on this.

Because KOH and NaOH have alkaline properties, shaving soaps containing these ingredients need to retain their alkalinity. An excess of superfatting may lead to a soap texture that is too soft and mushy. It won't be a soap anymore.

Soaps with lower PH will go bad.

 

[cvac]

For the most part, I prefer to use products as intended.

That means, shaving soap or cream for shaving. An alcohol based AS as an antiseptic. Then gentle facial moisturizer to moisturize my face.

 

[bmiller3230]

If you want something more mild and don't want an alcohol based aftershave, try something like Lucky Tiger (no alcohol--its witch hazel and botanicals, with a very mild Mandarin orange scent--good stuff) and/or Nivea Men-Soothing Shave Balm (I use both on the entire face, both as an aftershave and the Lucky tiger as a face tonic and the Nivea as a moisturizer as well). Both have witch hazel, but you don't smell it.

I have very sensitive skin, and both have been fantastic. Neither are heavily scented and what scent they do have dissipates quickly, so they won't interfere with any cologne you want to use.

My routine after shaving has been:

• Osma Block--potassium alum to take care of the very few weepers and ward off razor burn
• Lucky Tiger as an aftershave and face tonic
• Nivea Men-Soothing Shave Balm as a face moisturizer and additional aftershave protection

It has worked really, really well

 

[DrStrange]

I often use left over lather for a face wash. But today I thought I'd try just rubbing that lather into the skin without actually washing it off. It was HC&C Gunslinger, has excellent properties for the skin, but the same can be said for lots of good shaving soaps. Just wondering how many have tried this- not just using the left over lather as a wash, but actually massaging it into the skin like a balm without washing it off. If so, curious what soap you used and how it felt afterward. My little experiment actually left my face feeling quite nice.

I wash my face before I lather.

When I'm finished shaving,
I wipe the left over lather off with a cloth instead of washing it off.

I don't deliberately rub it in.

Been doing that for years.

Then I apply the aftershave.

 

[JKaboom]

I always rinse then use the appropriate post shave products. IMO soap needs to be rinsed off. But I will also agree with the OP and think we all know that good soaps certainly leave behind some great nourishing though.

 

[Mitzie]

I don’t understand this post at all

Shaving soaps and creams contain moisturizing properties

 

[musicman1951]

I have dry skin, so this would be a horrible idea for me. I do appreciate that some soaps have additives that help with the post shave feel, but I would rather use a quality moisturizer for that task.

But do what makes you happy. I'm not looking in your bathroom, so I won't know one way or the other. I have a hard time believing this is good for anyone's skin, but you're in your skin all day, so I'll take your word for it if you say it works for you.

 

[kingfisher]

Shaving soaps and creams contain moisturizing properties

To the extent that they do, the beneficial stuff remains on the face after rinsing. You can feel how your skin is after the rinse.

If you don't rinse, though, you are also leaving on the stuff that isn't beneficial.

By all means, use as nourishing a shaving soap formula as you like, but rinse off the soap when you are done. Lanolin and superfats will likely already have been absorbed into your skin anyway, so rinsing isn't going to take away those benefits.

 

[Ravenonrock]

I always rinse all the soap off my face after shaving. Some soaps, particularly Mitchell’s Wool Fat for me, leave behind elements that don’t completely rinse off as evident in the sheen it imparts on my skin afterwards. A few other soaps also have this quality in the feel they impart, so despite rinsing, there is still some residual goodness being left behind.

 

[GoodOutcome]

Instead of rinsing the leftover lather in the brush, I put it on the face while cleaning everything.
After finishing cleaning, I rinse the face and put a proper balm.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Some interesting instructions on the rear of this Barbasol tube - "After the Barbasol shave, rinse the face or not as you prefer. Many men like to rub the Barbasol that remains into the skin. No after shaving lotions or talcum powder are needed". I believe this is a brushless, non lathering cream.

The best advice, which we would all do well to note, is right at the end - "Don't attempt to make it complicated"

 

[Barbarian80]

Use a high quality shave soap. Proceed to shave with it. Keep the remaining lather on your face and rinse your razor, brush, clean up the area. Now, rinse the lather off your face. That's all you need. Face is moisturized and supple and ready to go. Aftershave splash is optional. Only if it's zero degrees out and windy would i entertain using a moisturizing balm.

 

[JPO]

If you apply some leftover lather and rinse off with cold water, some of the oil and/or fat will remain on the skin.
Try washing off oil with cold water.
This will wash away the soap and leave some of the oils and moisturisers on the skin.

 

[Brutus]

Uh, no

+1 for reasons already mentioned.
I am curious to know what kind of thinking was involved behind that idea.

Maybe someone might want to experiment with using leftover lather for brushing one’s teeth.
Toothpaste is expensive these days and in supermarket aisles there are only the same few boring pastes to choose from…
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to do it because I brush my teeth before shaving.


B.

 

[Ron R]

From my wanderings on this forum over the years I came across a thread talking about PH levels of shave soaps and this fellow took litmus paper for testing PH levels of his different soaps and they seemed slightly higher> than 7 (7=neutral) on his indications that help soften the beard + to clean the beard area.
A good balm should be just be slightly close to 6-7 reading (7 is neutral) to help moisturize the skin back to your normal PH level. That is the jest of the testing he did for testing soaps. PH scale is 1-14 (7 is neutral) where 1-6 readings are more acidic and 8-14 readings are more alkaline. Some soaps that leave your face dry feeling are more than likely more alkaline IMO!
CeraVe moisturizer lotion is around 6 on the PH scale to off set the shave soap cleaning alkaline side on PH scale.
Almost to scientific for me when it comes to shaving!

 

[Quaznoid]

I still don’t understand this post

 

[Ron R]

I still don’t understand this post

What post do you not understand?

 

[Brutus]

I still don’t understand this post

What post do you not understand?

If Quaznoid should think in any way along the lines that I think, what I don’t get is why anyone would use alkaline shaving soap lather (Ph more than 7) as skin balm when what our skin really needs is a slightly acidic product, around the skin’s own Ph of 5.5, that protects the skin’s so-called acid mantle.

Less Ph than 5.5 (i.a.w. more acidic) can make the skin red, inflamed, painful to touch and even lead to acne; more Ph than 5.5, even more so with a PH of more than 7 (i.a.w. alkaline), will make the skin dry, sensitive and may lead to the development of eczema.

In a nutshell:
Alkaline, like shaving soap lather, means a Ph of more than 7.
Acidic, like the skin’s protective mantle, means a Ph of less than 7.
What works best for our skin are products that have a similar (5.5) Ph as our skin’s protective mantle.

Why anybody would want to rub alkaline soap residue into his skin after a shave is therefore beyond me and the idea is (to me at least) beyond daft…


B.

 

[Brutus]

Yeah; nice whatever makes them sell more of that stuff…

Do you notice how they wrote “Many men like to rub…” without actually recommending it, most likely to protect themselves from litigation should people develop eczemas by following what many men using Barbasol apparently like to do?


Many men smoke, drink too much, or do other stupid stuff…
Does that mean I have to do it too (notwithstanding the fact that I may have done it already at one time or another )?


B.

 

[Ron R]

If Quaznoid should think in any way along the lines that I think, what I don’t get is why anyone would use alkaline shaving soap lather (Ph more than 7) as skin balm when what our skin really needs is a slightly acidic product, around the skin’s own Ph of 5.5, that protects the skin’s so-called acid mantle.

Less Ph than 5.5 (i.a.w. more acidic) can make the skin red, inflamed, painful to touch and even lead to acne; more Ph than 5.5, even more so with a PH of more than 7 (i.a.w. alkaline), will make the skin dry, sensitive and may lead to the development of eczema.

In a nutshell:
Alkaline, like shaving soap lather, means a Ph of more than 7.
Acidic, like the skin’s protective mantle, means a Ph of less than 7.
What works best for our skin are products that have a similar (5.5) Ph as our skin’s protective mantle.

Why anybody would want to rub alkaline soap residue into his skin after a shave is therefore beyond me and the idea is (to me at least) beyond daft…


B.

You are correct, a balm or moisturizer around a 5.5-6 should do more good than any harm IMO. Soaps are on the alkaline side
mostly. This scale should help what we are talking about.

Have some great shaves!