moisturising

[Bobby]

Hey, Guys well it's been about 3 months since i've started this adventure, after firstly trying dickson hazel wood i then bought an alum block. I used to use Nivea sensitive aftershave balm straight after shaving, but i've recently found that towards late evening my neck area becomes very irritated again. So i'm having to re-moisturise again. Just wondering if anyone else finds they have to do this too. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to use Alum block and witch hazel, or maybe just one or the other. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MrT]

Hey mate. I usually use either witch hazel or alum, but not both.

I also use Nivea sensitive ASB. Haven't noticed that I need to reapply in the evening.

In term of other things you can buy off the shelf, have you tried L'Oreal Hydra Sensitive ASB? It is much thicker than the Nivea, like a cream more than a balm really. It sits on the face for much of the day. I like it too. Maybe try some of that?

It could just be that you have dry skin and need to moisturise more often...

 

[MrT]

The irritation could also be more to do with shaving technique rather than your balm. I have to be very careful on my neck. Never ATG, and rarely XTG. If I do try multiple passes on my neck in different directions, I get lots of irritation, and once the irritation starts it can take a while to go away, which makes future shaves difficult. It's a vicious circle. Also, if I shave with a rubbish lather that hasn't much glide or cushion, I suffer on my neck too.

 

[Bobby]

I find that it's only really one section on my neck that seems to get irritated almost every time i shave. That's the area where i frequently get a little razor burn. But the other side of the neck looks fine with no irritation that can be seen, but it starts to tingle again late evening. Its a real pain as my hair grows E-W(left-side) on one side and W-E(right side) on the other.

 

[MrT]

It's pretty normal to have some pretty crazy hair directions on your neck. Mine is all over the shop.

Study your hair direction well, and only shave WTG. Be kind to your neck. You may need to experiment with blades too. Or shaving every second day. Or only one pass on your neck. Or...

In the end, you need to find what works for you. No two faces are the same (perhaps maybe identical twins, but even then there are probably differences).

 

[Bobby]

you also bring up a valid point about rubbish lather, i also think that might be a problem with the irritation, have you tried applying shaving oil on your neck to add that little extra slick??

 

[MrT]

Nah. Haven't experimented much with oil. I find that if I get a decent soap, and lather it well, that is usually enough. Load up well at the start, and go easy on the water. Just keep dipping the tips of the brush in, or adding drops of water to the bowl, until the consistency is right. If the lather is running out by the third pass, don't be afraid to go back to the soap puck for a bit more.

 

[Drubbing]

Hey, Guys well it's been about 3 months since i've started this adventure, after firstly trying dickson hazel wood i then bought an alum block. I used to use Nivea sensitive aftershave balm straight after shaving, but i've recently found that towards late evening my neck area becomes very irritated again. So i'm having to re-moisturise again. Just wondering if anyone else finds they have to do this too. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to use Alum block and witch hazel, or maybe just one or the other. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

WH and alum are much the same thing, you don't get a double dip using both.

Moisturising/balms DON'T fix irritation. It simply adds moisture. I'd look at your shave technique first, as everything else is just soothing a symptom, not the cause. If it's the one spot, you might be shaving ATG and it doesn't like it.

I'd suggest Proraso green aftershave. Nothing soothes irritation better IMO.

 

[stillshunter]

If I've done it rough shave-wise then I always reach for the Speick AS lotion, just having a gander at the ingredients soothes you (and it may even go to show that @Drubbing can (albeit ever so rarely) be wrong as it contains both witchhazel and alum). This stuff cannot be bested for repair work…well that's not entirely true the Myrsol Metilsol gives the Speick a run for its money but only available overseas.

However, very sound advice from @MrT , focus on the cause of the irritation and this will be down to technique, preparation, etc. But shit happens and sometimes you need to reach for some assistance and a good lotion will serve you better than a balm.

For my money a balm is more about adding moisture and any repair is down to ingredients found better concentrated in a lotion - so hitting you hard when you need it most rather than slowly seeping through a thicker medium - which can introduce a host of other problems. If you have very dry skin, you might add a quality moisturiser after the lotion has done its work - but, again, it sounds like we are addressing two different problems here and I've not found balms to succeed at doing the work of both.

All just my opinion but...