Thread: Best Moisturising Aftershave Balm

For years I’ve always preferred Ems balm. I still do. But I’ve recently discovered Razorock’s after shave wax. I like the 888. It has a eucalyptus scent that blows off in minutes. It has a slight cooling effect and leaves the face feeling great. Ems is still the gold standard for me.

Geo. F. Trumper's skin foods and Castle Forbes balms; I would be shocked to find anything that performs better for moisturizing and soothing.

Only recently did I add in a splash of witch hazel prior to applying the post-shave, and I soon discovered that this extends balm "mileage" quite dramatically.

The other day my wife went grocery shopping. She brought home some Duke Cannon after shave balm. She said it was on sale.....
Anyway, tried it and believe it not, I find it better than anything that I have tried that has been store bought. It just beats out the high end, overpriced, over rated, big names by a huge margin. Who would have thought?

Works for me and that's really all that matters. Try it, you may be surprised!

I only use balms on very cold winter days where I'm going to be working outdoors.

My go to balm is Floris, in #89 or Santal flavor.

I like the Rocky Mountain Sandalwood aftershave balm.

Makes my face feel great after my shave, very moisturizing, dries fast and smells lovely.

Steve

I prefer using Mango Butter after shaving. It smells nice and my skin is really soft afterwards.

Originally Posted by BoJack

I prefer using Mango Butter after shaving. It smells nice and my skin is really soft afterwards.

I am going to have to try that!

No product recommendations from me since I just use whatever hand lotion my wife keeps in the bathroom. But here’s a few pseudo-scientific musings on what could make for a good product.

Firstly: lots of water. Soap/lather residue can irritate the skin so rinse well with water of a comfortable temperature.

Your post-shave face, at best, is very dry from having its natural oils and skin scrapped away. At worst, your face is nicked, cut, and abraded. A good product would address the full spectrum of post shaving issues by restoring moisture and oils while soothing irritation.

I can’t imagine anything alcohol-based being desirable. Ditto menthol, wintergreen, &c, yet these are big sellers.

Witch hazel has a lot to recommend it. It soothes irritation, slows bleeding, and is mildly antibacterial.

Glycerin acts as a humectant- drawing moisture from the air and holding it on the skin. But glycerin can be painful in cuts because it starts to draw moisture out of you.

A barrier against moisture loss and something to cover agitated nerve endings would be good. Bee’s wax, petrolatum, lecithin, olive oil, &c would do the trick at the potential price of being greasy. I would imagine various aloe products marketed for sunburn would be good on the post shave face but again at the risk of being greasy.

Some sort of sunblock has long been recommended for daily use but it’s now known that the chemicals in sunblock are absorbed into the blood stream even after limited use. This has not been proven to be a bad thing. Consider the theoretical risks versus known benefits- skin cancer is a thing.

Topical hydrocortisone is not recommended for long term use. It can cause skin thinning and folliculitis.

Vitamins A, D. and E are added to aftershave balms but there is little evidence to support their use. Any efficacy from using these products is probably from the carrier oil/lotion. B3 or niacinamide has shown some promise in very small trials funded by the cosmetic industry in promoting the nebulous term “skin healing.” Niacinamide can be found in some high-end beauty ointments marketed to women which is ironic in that male skin tends to heal slower than a woman’s. A good rule of thumb to follow is that vitamins are good at treating vitamin deficiencies and little more.

I remain &c
LG Roy

I recently discovered Thayers witch hazel and aloe and am loving it. Before that, I would sometimes use a splash of Jovan Musk aftershave, or Nivea balm if I had it. I've been known to use a smidgen of Cetaphil hand lotion, but that was after a rough shave where I should've changed the blade in my Merkur DE but didn't.

In my experience, nothing has moisturized better then D.R. Harris Atershave Milk. Incredible stuff.