Thread: face/skin science, pores, astringents, and some thoughts from Nancy Boy founder

I was corresponding with Eric Roos, one of the two founders of Nancy Boy products (Nancy Boy, Inc.) and he said a few things I thought might be of interest to you all. I was asking him about the interaction of various post-shave products, particularly astringents, moisturizers, and the like:


He writes: "the anti-razor bump lotion. By unclear, I mean that I think this product is unneeded. If you experience razor bumps that would be due to either 1) bad shave cream or 2) crappy blades or 3) bad technique or 4) bad genes. We know you use good products and a straight razor, you probably shave correctly and finally, if you have bad genes that make you particularly predisposed to razor bumps (curly hair is generally the culprit) a post shave lotion isn't going to do a thing about it. In my book, it's a "faux" product.

The witch hazel astringent, as long as there is no alcohol in it, is as much as you need to do but as I say, there is no miracle product for razor bumps--they are mostly the result of bad shaving. And while I'm on my soapbox, one thing to consider regarding the astringent step is that you really do want it to be mild (which is why you don't want alcohol--at all). The reason why is that any strong astringent action closes the pores--that's the point of astringency.

That's fine, except that the next step in the regimen is moisturizing. When we apply moisturizer to pores that are closed, the moisturizer (obviously!) doesn't absorb very well and hangs out on the skin, attracting dirt and other environmental pollutants. Then, later in the day as the pores slowly open, they entrap that dirty gunk and that's how breakouts and what we might think are razor bumps form. It's nasty. So the key in that "astringent" step is to use something effective but extremely mild. That's why we developed our Balancing Facial Toner. <http://www.nancyboy.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_20&produc ts_id=85> Don't know if you tried it but it's insanely popular....
One of the great things about the toner is that it actually prepares your skin for the application of moisturizer by helping to open the pores. So it's a natural part of the regimen. But I don't want to seem like I'm selling you something though of course I am. If you stick with your current regimen, I'd just drop the Kiehl's and ensure that the astringent step is non-alcohol and not closing your pores. In that way when you apply the replenishing facial moisturizer you'll be good to go."

Interesting stuff, to me at least. What I dont quite understand is that I thought that after shaving you *want* to close the pores - with cold water, an astringent, etc. Is the idea that if you have oily skin, you want to do that, but if you have dry skin and need the moisturizer, you need to skip the astringent, skip the cold water, keep the pores open, and apply moistrurizer? I've sort of been trying to have it both ways - the nice refreshing/closing up of the cold water and astringent, *and* the moisturizer afterward.

Also, what he says about the moisturizer attracting stuff would also seem to be a mark against creams that leave too much of a residue and against applying too much of something, so that it sticks around and attracts gunk.

And, for what it's worth, no matter what I do if I want to get a reasonably close shave on certain parts of my neck, I just cannot avoid some razor bumps. Used tend skin for years which works fairly well, but decided it was too harsh. Other than that I think he's write about razor bump solutions - though they are useful when you are working out new techniques and doing a bit of damage.

Curious what you all think/know about these things. We need a good primer on face science in the wiki or something.

Cheers

Witch hazel is actually a very strong astringent, but the hydrosol that most people are familiar with is quite dilute. Some do contain alcohol as a preservative, but that is also quite dilute as well. Witch Hazel hydrosols that do not contain alcohol contain other preservatives, most of which can be quite irritating (tocopherol, ascorbic acid, citric acid).

Moisturizers do not actually moisturize, they prevent the loss of moisture. They are essentially some type of oil, usually in an emulsion with water. The oil works to hold moisture in your skin. Some oils are easily absorbed and some are not. This is what determines whether a particular moisturizer leaves a greasy feeling. Astringents only close the pores for a brief time, and once you start rubbing a moisturizer on your face, the friction will reopen the pores. Even so, if you use a moisturizer that contains a poorly absorbed oil, it is going to remain on the surface and feel greasy no matter how open your pores are.

Good combination of right product and right procedure in shaving will lessen the result of razor bump. Just search for products that suit you skin. Just be careful when shaving. And also with astringent and moisturizer, just product that is not harmful to your skin. Products that is mild with the type of skin you have.