Thread: Very sensitive skin/allergies, sensitive balsam.

Just something I've fully discovered which might help others in same boat. Been away from home a few weeks now, left my thayers breakable bottle and straights at home because don't like risking my strops travelling.

Been using de and supermarket own brand sensitive balsam, only one I could find without chamomile, I already knew was allergic to that. Upon application was noticing a tingle, thought nothing of it, used to thayers with alcohol, on second day looked as though had peeling sunburn, I'm also allergic to this 'sensitive' balsam. Used whiskey for a day or two, only thing in house and now using some cheap Axe alcohol based aftershave also problem free.

Just thought worth mentioning that though some of these things are marketed as for sensitive skin and hypoallergenic, it does Not mean it's true in every case.

Have fun shaving.

Rezdog, BobH and I used some Henri & Victoria that Rez piffed.

Rez had no problems and likes the soap
BobH had some "tingle" from the soap but no big deal.

OTOH, that stuff lit me up like a nest of fire ants. Two shaves and I was done.

Everyone has different skin and sensitivities!

Yes, you never really know if you will suffer a reaction, ranging from mild to severe, from any cosmetic product.

Bob

Also allergic to almond oil, tallow, lanolin and more I'm sure I'm unaware of. Think it's better to stay simple sometimes rather than supposedly sensitive formulas with long lists of chemical ingredients, you can never be sure what is getting you ��.

Martin de Candre has very few ingredients. It is non-tallow.

Stearic Acid
Water
Coconut Acid
Potassium Hydroxide
Glycerin
Scent

That may be one to try and it is a benchmark soap.

Found some very good ones with La Toja, Klar and Valobra Menthol already. Mdc is certainly on the list for when buying soaps again. Thanks

Same problem here. For example sensitive Nivea asb, Meissner Tremonia soaps, and Esbjerg resulted in skin shedding alla iguana. Unscented Valobra hard puck works, soft Valobra is not good. I've hear some have had issues with MdC, even those without particularly sensitive skins so I've stayed away from. Fortunately I've found a few that work well: unscented Valobra (already mentioned), sensitive Mystic Water, unscented Mike's, Tabac, Proraso, MWF, unscented CRSW (not 100% sure about this one), unscented P&B, unscented L&L and unscented Jabonman tallow.
Whiskey sounds promising. I'll put it on with my mouth open, maybe tongue out ...

Years ago, before the animal rights groups got involved, cosmetic companies used to do testing of their products on animals. Now it is the consumers who do the testing.

The thing about allergies/sensitivities are that no two people have the same issues.

If you have nut allergies, it is best to avoid almond, shea, jajoba, argan, coconut, etc. Even if you have not been sensitive in the past, it is always possible to develop sensitivities later in life.

If you have hay fever, various herbs might be an issue. I am sensitive to ecualyptus and allergic to gingko, for example.

By the way, tallow is a combination of several fatty acids including: oleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, myristic acid, as well several others. If you are allergic to tallow, you need to determine if you are sensitive to one of the major components, or perhaps only to one of the minor components. It is hard to find any soap that does not have one of these four fatty acids as it base. However, they can be derived either from plant or animal sources.


My skin is sensitive to lime oil, but lime juice is not a problem. Go figure.

If you have skin sensitivities, it is best to test new products on the inside of your arm near the elbow. That is better than trying one on your face and getting an embarrassing rash.