Originally Posted by
captainboog
I'm trying to figure out a shave system that works for my skin, and I'm looking for advice. First let me explain my situation. Whereas my cheeks don't seem to care what I use, my neck is extremely sensitive. Back when I was using a Mach III,I would always end up with redness, burning and bumps all over my neck. I switched to a straight razor to improve the experience, and things are going quite well. I have not however resolved all my problems, and areas of my neck still suffer from irritation and redness. At least the bumps have all but disappeared. I've used a wide variety of stuff to shave with and have succeeded in confusing myself as to what seems to work and what doesn't.
First I started with some soap from Classic Shaving. I think it was citrus spice. I've tried this one at several different points and it always seems to irritate my skin. Next I tried some Classic Shaving menthol. It was a painless shave, but I noticed that although my skin wouldn't seem irritated at first, about 20 minutes after the shave my neck would turn red. I tried the Proraso shaving cream with the similar results but not as bad as the menthol soap. Just today I tried Mitchell's Wool Fat. It was the best yet with very little irritation, but I noticed that when I put it on, there was a slight buring sensation. Not sure if that's going to end up being a problem or not. I've got some Haslinger aloe on order that I'll try next.
Other products that I'm trying include Proraso pre/post shave conditioner and Proraso aftershave cream. The pre/post shave seems to do well on my skin, but the aftershave cream seems to cause additional irritation. Also, I've tried an alum block that really seems to make things worse. Anyway, I'm going to try to find some witch hazel locally tomorrow.
So, my question is basically what do people with really sensitive skin reccommend trying? Most of the things I've tried don't list the ingredients, so I'm having a hard time figuring out what is causing the irritation. I've thought about applying one product a night on my skin to test for reaction, but I think that without actually shaving, it'll be hard to tell. Thanks in advance.