Thread: Moisturizing?

So it's day 3 since my husband shaved my legs with a straight and although they are still pretty hairless I was wondering if any of you schooled straight ladies had any special secrets for keeping those legs silky smooth. Shaving wtih my old razor I used to just lotion. After my straight shave I used vitamin E oil which worked for a little while but my legs tend to get dry pretty easily. So let me know. Guys you are welcome to put in your comments too the more advice the better.

If you don't get any good suggestions on lotions, perhaps some traditional aftershave balm? Works well enough on my face, though the legs do present quite a bit more area to cover.

Not a lady, but my skin is as sensitive as it gets...

Ok, I won’t tell you what use, only what to stay away from: anything with petroleum products in it.
Now, to understand how tricky a process this is, round up all your favorite hand/skin creams and lotions and google or wiki the ingredients listed on their labels….

Chances are, all of your skin care products have some kind of petroleum products in them. Why, because petroleum products (the most common: petroleum jelly and mineral oil) are waste byproducts of gasoline production/distillation. In other words, petroleum products like Vaseline and baby oil are incredibly cheap waste products of making gasoline from crude oil.

Now, these products are excellent lubricants and sealants and initially this would be good news for people looking to lubricate or moisturize their skin. The down side is that these products don’t breath. The very same petroleum products used as skin lubricants/moisturizers are used as industrial lubricants/sealants. And that’s the problem, they are so good as sealants they don’t allow the skin to breathe. So, while you may initially find your skin to be softer and silkier, the truth is that you are actually drying out and damaging your skin. Take petroleum based lip balms for instance. Have you ever noticed that if you stop using chap stick after prolonged use, your lips initially are in worse shape after you stop using. Only when you allow your lips to heal do they start to become moist and soft again. For those who like using chap stick in the winter, try using a wax based lip balm like Burt’s bees.

I first discovered all this info on petroleum products while talking to a bunch of women on a cosmetics forum. I was trying to figure out how to heal my crappy skin and decided to ask for directions from women who knew what they were doing. They had all kinds of experiments showing how these petroleum products dry out skin. The most impressive was observing what Vaseline or baby oil does to hair. Needless to say, if you’re trying to dry out and destroy your hair, petroleum products are the best way to go.

I said I wouldn’t tell you what to use, so instead I’ll tell you what I use:


Sometimes I use moisturizers like Burt’s bees that have natural oils or waxes that breathe, but generally, I use high grade, extra virgin olive oil. People who live in the Mediterranean have been using olive oil as a skin moisturizer for thousands of years. Having bad skin myself, I’ve tried more skin lotions and creams than any human being should have to and none of them have worked as well as olive oil. In addition to being a good moisturizer, it is loaded with the natural fats that are good for skin. My skin is clearer and in better condition now than it has been since I was in my teens. Plus, you only need a very small amount of olive oil to cover a large area of skin. For my face I use about a dime sized amount of oil and it is more than enough for my entire face.

Burt’s bee’s makes some good skin creams, but I don’t care for the scent. You could try looking around, but trust me on this, even skin creams/body butters labeled as petroleum free and oil/wax based, tend to have some amount of petroleum products in them.

Happy hunting-

Hey Bear

As a general after shaving moisturiser I use Celestial by Lush -http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/face/moisturizers/celestial

Though it does say on your face it also works well on your pins too. When I want something a little bit special or after a few days in I use The Sanctuary Spa Mande Lular - http://www.thesanctuary.co.uk/mande-lular-sensuous-body-souffle-details.htm

I'm not sure if they deliver to the USA from here but they do have a Canadian distributor you can try as an alternative. They also do a cool range of pampering product for Mum's To Be - http://www.thesanctuary.co.uk/mum-to-be.htm though I haven't tried them yet they are on my Christmas wish list. I'll let you know how they work out.

Morganholda, thanks for taking time to post that very fascinating info! I'm going to try the olive oil tonight.

Razorette