Thread: Sensitive Soaps / Creams

Originally Posted by Tathra11

Hey Joseph, I have crappy sensitive skin. A mild case of rosacea to upper cheeks and chin. Many soaps and creams give me a burn of varying severity. Some leave my face feeling warm/hot to the touch for a couple hours after use. I've worked my way through a lot of soaps n creams to find products that won't give me burn or other irritation.

I find very strongly scented soaps n creams can tend to be problematic for me. Some soaps n creams that work for me are Saponificio Varesino, MdC, Castle Forbes, Esbjerg sensitive, Valobra, Tabac, Meissner Tremonia, Institut Karite soap and Provence Sante. Valobra and S.V are standouts for me.

Thanks Tath. I have never had a problem until i left them on my face for an extended period , making videos .. Only the A&E was unbearable from the start ..
I think my face need a holiday

If you're looking to avoid animal fats then WIckhams 1912 unscented would be a good bet. Assuming you get on ok with that one you could try out the fragranced options in the range.

Skin sensitivity can mean a lot of different things.

Some people are sensitive, or even allergic to specific ingredients used in soaps. If you have a nut allergy, soaps with unrefined nut oils might be an issue. Some people cannot tolerate lanolin. Then there are certain synthetic ingredients to which you might be sensitive.

For some people, scent can be an issue. I cannot tolerate soaps with high concentrations of lime, lemon, grapefruit, cinnamon, clove, peppermint and menthol, but I can tolerate low levels of these, so I look for complex scents where no specific scent dominates. Unscented soaps are available, but to me, the scent plays a large role in the enjoyment of the shave.

Sensitivity can also mean that you easily get razor burn. I have blue eyes, a fair complexion and Rosacea. I always look like I am sunburned, even in the middle of winter. I easily get sunburn, cold burn, wind burn and razor burn. My face is so sensitive to abrasion that I cannot face lather, even with a soft brush. I bowl lather and apply the lather to my face, minimizing face contact.

To avoid razor burn, I look for soaps that provide excellent primary and residual slickness and excellent cushion to provide a layer of protection between the blade and my skin.

Some soaps can be quite harsh on your skin, leaving your face feeling tight and dry after the shave because the strip your skin of its natural oils. A high quality soap will contain cosmetic grade ingredients that leave your skin feeling soft, moisturized and conditioned for many hours after the shave. When using a high quality soap, the only after-shave product I apply is witch hazel. Any alcohol based after-shave burns my face, especially if it contains menthol.

If you were looking for a tallow based soaps, I would have numerous suggestions, but specifying a vegetable based soap significantly narrows the options. One of the very best soaps available is a vegan soap, the Nai formula by Grooming Department. It has a long list of ingredients, somewhere around 55; but that means that the concentration of any single ingredient is fairly low. It contains numerous ingredients, including hyaluronic acid, designed to condition your skin. The Nai formula excels in slickness, cushion, and post-shave conditioning. Because it contains many exotic ingredients it is priced at $32 per 4 oz container. Even at that price, available quantities sell out quickly.

The only other vegan soap I recommend is Caties Bubbles luxury cream soap. It is quite good, but it does not measure up to Nai; it sells for less than half the price of Nai, so it is a good value.

There may be other vegan/vegetable sourced soaps that will work for you, but as someone with sensitive skin, I can vouch for the two I recommended. If you purchase a Nai formula soap and it irritates your face, I will gladly buy it from you at the price you paid for it.

Ray, have you considered using a virgin organic oil after your shave?
Oils are rich in fatty acids, antioxidants and other essential nutrients that help repair the skin barrier and lock in hydration, the list of benefits are endless.
Oils high in Oleic acid would be great for your type of skin.

Just a thought.

Cmot i will definitely get some Wickhams 1912 & Ray , thats all interesting stuff i will get some Nai..
I think that avoiding tallow soaps may be a bit tricky at the moment because i did notice that D.R.Harris are Tallow soaps & i have just purchased Oxford Cambridge Czech & Speake which is tallow based..

We are spoiled for choice really

Have same irritation issue but hard to pinpoint culprit. I reduced soaps to 1) Unscented and 2) with as few, natural ingredients as possible. The ones that do it for me are Valobra Unscented (not made at the moment), MdC Unscented, Meißner Tremonia Pure/Pots of Milk and the above-mentioned and excellent Wickham Unscented. A watch-out: my Wickham pot says Unscented on the front but the ingredients list on the back includes 'parfum' (which means perfume in French?). I could also smell a scent (albeit very faint/neutral) in T&H 'unscented' and Mühle Organic 'unscented' (I should add none of the last three irritated my face in any way).

I've also had irritation from scented after-shaves - again I now only use Meißner Tremonia Pure, which is unscented and causes me zero irritation (I haven't come across many other unscented after-shaves).

A side benefit for me from the above is that I'm using the money saved from scented soaps and aftershaves to buy a small number of high-end/expensive colognes for the end of the shave. For some reason I don't get irritation from colognes but then I only use a tiny amount.

You just have to try what works best for your face .

Having had a few disappointments with well regarded soaps I've started getting samples to try first. Shavedash are particularly good for this with a massive range. Connaught also do samples of most of what they sell. This also means that I'm not swayed by fancy packaging, just the soap performance and fragrance.

I have a sensitive skin. Tried many soaps and creams, always similar results. Then found out my after shave balm was to blame, stuff that I have been using my entire life (i.e. almost 30 years). It feels great when I slap it on my face but within half an hour my skin below the jawline starts to become red and irritated. Now I use Aveeno hand cream, no perfume, perfect results.

My face is intolerant of many soaps. Without knowing what ingredients or combinations thereof that cause me irritation it has been a hit or miss journey. Some thoughts to consider:

• Shower after your shave to remove all soap. I know this will frustrate many routines but it works for me.
• Scents can be the culprit. That’s not to say you have to use unscented soaps but just be aware of that variable. For instance: Maggard’s Lime burns me on contact (Note RayClem’s post above). Maggard’s London Barbershop is good to go.
• Use samples first!
• Glycerin- based soaps have been very forgiving for me.
• Be careful of the conclusions you come to. The first “premium” non-glycerin soap I tried was Tabac. Burned like it was something the German chemical industry developed. (huh?) Erroneously, I concluded I couldn’t tolerate tallow-based soaps and stuck with glycerin for a long time. Turns out I can use Stirling’s tallow-based soaps with no issues.