Thread: a medical reason for a pre-shave prep of a "lather and rinse" with soap and water

I wash before every shave just to remove surface grime and to soften the whiskers. It is a pre shave ritual I have done for going on 40 years. I disinfect after with a high alcohol AS. Put in on heavy and let it evaporate on its own. Then balm up.

What is the acronym AS stand for. I am not familiar with many of the acronyms used here.

Originally Posted by Glock27

What is the acronym AS stand for. I am not familiar with many of the acronyms used here.

AS = Aftershave

Thank you....I use the Nivia cream. The other stuff has too much alcohol in it and burns my face.

Originally Posted by Glock27

Thank you....I use the Nivia cream. The other stuff has too much alcohol in it and burns my face.

Are you using Nivea's Sensitive Post Shave Balm? If so, I recommend rubbing your face with an alum block right after you've finished your shave and rinsed your face with cold water. Once you've rubbed your face with the alum, wait a minute or two, and then apply your post shave balm. If you prefer, you can rinse off the alum before you apply the post shave balm.

Alum has the astringent and antibacterial properties of alcohol, but lacks alcohol's drying and irritating side effects—making it, in my opinion, superior to any aftershave containing alcohol. As a bonus, alum also does a good job at stopping nicks from bleeding (although a styptic pencil is even better).

I am familiar with alum as a pickling agent in powder form but have never noted it in "block form". I am making a presumption that it is found at some shaving emporium. Would witch hazel do the same. I have not tried it. I use to use Mennen after shave, but as I said, it burns and I just got tired of it. I would use a cold water cloth for a few moments and forget it. I am not one to get into much detail, I rarely if ever use a cologne. I am pretty much a fundamentalist in areas of this nature. The less I have to spend the happier I am, just too many unforeseen incidents along the road of life. Recently I had to dump $10,000 into having my leaking basement repaired. After that has just kept raining down unforseen's left and right.. It is six a.m. now and I will check into the alum blocks.
Yeh, I could not go without a styptic pencil. Don't nick myself much anymore, but when you do the pencil is better than a bit of toilet paper to wear on your face for awhile.

Many people use witch hazel and it will work.

Any good shaving shop should stock alum blocks. They typically last for months, or even years, and I've seen them as low as USD $3. You can usually get them cheap at "ethnic" markets, such as a small Middle Eastern or Indian convenience store (the kind that sell groceries as well as cigarettes, personal care items etc.).

I've never used witch hazel, so I've no clue whether it does the same things for your skin. Maybe someone who has experience with witch hazel and alum could chime in.

Another advantage (or, possibly, disadvantage) I forgot to mention is that your face will sting after applying the alum block only when your shave was not smooth, i.e. there are microscopic nicks on your face with no visible blood. I like this a lot because it gives me immediate feedback on my prep, blade, and technique. If one of those three variables is performing poorly, your alum block will alert you. The more it stings, the worse one of—or any combination of—those variables is.

I always hand wash my face vigorously with Ivory soap and then rinse off prior to lathering. I never thought of the bacteria removing aspect of it; I've been doing it for years as my pre-shave prep to soften my beard. Glad to know it has another beneficial side effect.

Originally Posted by Sxot

Yes but you aren't using a disinfectant. I would agree the world, thanks to hype marketing, has gone stupid for disinfectant products and the world is a worse place for it. Plain soap on the other hand is excellent and should be used regularly to prevent illness/infection.

Soap doesn't actually kill bugs, all it does is make it easy to wash/wipe them off. Simply using a regular soap pre-shave, and properly drying your face (drying is key) "removes" many bacteria but certainly does not sterilize.

care to explain why drying is key? i always shave after showering, taking care to wash my face and neck well with regular soap, and before applying my shaving soap i use a hot rag to soften the hairs(which works really well i think) and then apply soap while still moderately wet from the rag.

i do have problems with ingrown hairs and am looking for solutions, hence the reason im asking about drying?


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