Thread: Fragranced soap? Brush irritation?

I recently started wetshaving and find that I am starting to break out. Im thinking this could be my sensitivity to fragranced soap and/or the irritation of lathering up directly on my face.

Anybody else hear of any problems with this?

Clam,

How long since you started, and in relation to that, when did you begin to break out? Since you started, have you changed soaps or creams? I would suggest going with a fragrance-free soap or cream, and continue to use the brush. Or, go back to what you used in the beginning, and stick with it for a bit.

RT

since i started i have been using fragranced soaps. i started breaking out perhaps 3-4 days after i started

What sort of bristle does your brush have? I find that plastic bristles irritate my skin more than badger when using some more aggressive soaps.

What brand of soap are you using?


Terry

It could most certainly be your soap. I know someone who got a horrible reaction from T&H's Trafalgar, for example.

ToOBS has a hypoallergenic cream (classicshaving.com has it) that you might try.

I doubt it's your brush, unless you have some sort of allgery to boar or badger? Try changing the cream and if that doesn't work, then it might be something else.

First its important to figure out if you are breaking out due to irritation from the shaving or due to irritation from the soap. Often people who have sensitive skin use lavender soap because it is much less irritating, but if you are allergic to fragrence, dyes, or certain chemicals that is a whole other story. Chances are though you would know ahead of time if it was an allergy because it would effect you when you wore colognes, or aftershaves, shaving cream, shampoo, or often detergents. You could go with a hypo allergenic soap as was mentioned previously, but chances are its either your technique or a particular brand of soap you are using. If you didnt want to go hypoallergenic you could try a high quality soap with all natural ingredients, or a pure lavender soap which is very good for sensitive skin.

Probably the scientific way to figure it out is replace the components of your shave one by one and see what happens. Since your a newbee I would suggest (oh the pain) wetshaving with a DE or other razor and keep everything else the same. It could very well be irritation from the straight due to your technique or maybe the razor needs some more work. If that doesn't appear to be the case then you can go back to the straight and start eliminating other things.

i have badger hair (super badger i think) and i used col. ichabod conk lime scented soap

The brush is not the culprit then. Citrus based soaps do make your skin extra-sensitive to sunlight. However, now I think the most likely culprit will be the razor. If it's dull and you need to press to get a good shave, you will have issues with irritation.