Thread: New to aftershaves

I am new to the straight razor shave, and loving it. Have had a bumpy road but have come a long way with my technique. Currently I am using nothing but a small rotation of very fine shaving soaps. No pre shave or after shave. I must admit that my face, especially neck area is getting pretty beat up from the abuse. Seems like it might be time to entertain the thought of an aftershave. I have never used aftershave and tend to shy away from colognes and strong smelling products. but, I must admit that I do love the smell of some of the soaps I am using, especially the Strop shop baker street. Any suggestions as to an AS that might break a scent shy newbie in?

Another thing you may want to think of using is Thayer's Witch Hazel with Aloe, there are several variants, cucumber, rose, etc.,....

The WH has the disinfecting properties of alcohol and the aloe soothes the skin, and it doesn't dry your skin out. If you look at many of the SOTD's, you'll see many of the members use the Thayers...I have both the Rose and the Cucumber, and the stuff is awesome on the skin, leaves it feeling refreshed and clean.

Give it a try....

I use plain Witch Hazel. Works fine for me. Real cheap too at the drug store. Some people say it smells too medicinally but it doesn't last. I also use Nivea sensitive aftershave balm but that is just me.


Mike

Bay Rum! I love it, and the smell dissipates quickly. For me that sucks but for you it may be perfect. +1 for Witch Hazel Thayers, and Dickinson in that order too....

Witch Hazel as pointed out above is a "God send" to your face. My experience with most aftershaves (Stetson, Aqua Velva, Nivea) is that the scent isn't made to last anyways and is gone within a half hour. Much like shaving soap scents. They smell good while you are shaving but an hour later and there is little to no scent left on your skin. Then again you have some aftershaves that will stick with you most of the day.

I'm new to all this stuff also. I too didn't use anything other than soap for a while. As you state my face was feeling the pain somewhat. Sometimes I shave in the am and again at night just to try a different soap or something. That's two shaves on some days. I opted to use a pre-shave first and went with Castle Forbes. That stuff really helps reduce any razor burn or negative feeling. Makes the razor glide much better. I also have some Shave Secret pre-shave on order. The Castle Forbes seemed a bit expensive but I've compared a few based on fl. oz. and the price. It seems the Castle Forbes isn't really that much more and I know it works. But for a better feeling face I figured a pre-shave might prevent damage instead of trying to fix damage with an after shave.

Now I'm looking into aftershaves as well. My first question is choosing between liquid or cream. I have some Proraso pre/post shave cream that feels good. It's menthol. I also got some Neutrogena post shave lotion. I really like this stuff. Makes any sensitivity go away immediately. Helps a bunch for me. I would like to hear different opinions on using liquid vs cream or lotion after shaves. For healing I'm thinking a lotion might work better but I may be wrong. For a fragrance, maybe the liquids are better.

I'll bet, just like a lot of questions or subjects the answer is you need to experiment and learn what works best on your face and skin. I'll be following this thread since I'm in the same boat of not using an after shave until the past week or two. Due to suggestions on this forum I tried Castle Forbes pre shave. It was the first one I tried and love it. Hopefully, I can stumble upon an after shave like that. I hate trying a bunch of stuff until something strikes my fancy. Then I'd have a bunch of bottles sitting around gathering dust. If I can find 2-4 different ones to use for variety that would be nice also. For now I'm more concerned about healing and comfort than I am fragrance.

For face repair the Thayers superhazel is the best burn antidote I can think of.

If you don't like strong scents you should start with an AS that fades. Bay Rum has a nice scent but quickly dissipates. Castle Forbes AS Balm is mild and pretty nice stuff too.

I use Thayers Witch Hazel with Aloe after every shave. Really feels good!! I then follow with a scent. Today: Tabac!

I have reached a point were I am able to shave every day without nicks/cuts. I purchased a bottle of Clubman original and have used it for three days straight. very soothing and seems to dramatically reduce my slight razor burn, but it definitely has a drying quality after three days of use. I will pick up some Thayers witch hazel with aloe next and post my results.

Originally Posted by Straightandproud

I have reached a point were I am able to shave every day without nicks/cuts. I purchased a bottle of Clubman original and have used it for three days straight. very soothing and seems to dramatically reduce my slight razor burn, but it definitely has a drying quality after three days of use. I will pick up some Thayers witch hazel with aloe next and post my results.

HOLY COW!!!
From using nothing to Clubman (The strongest juice going) thats a huge step forward.
Well Done, I'm proud of you.