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Sensitive skin, getting irritation from soap any ideas? - Badger & Blade
I have highly sensitive skin, and EO's/FO's and some chemical additives cause me to get itchy rashes thus why I need unscented.
I was using Van Der Hagen, well I wasn't getting any irritation with shaving, the perfume and or ingredients was causing me to break out in rashes.
Moving forward I purchased an unscented puck from Ogallala, I'm finding the soap to be a bit drying and in turn causing some slight irritation (more itchy feeling, then burning, so I don't think it's razor burn).
I'm not sure if it's the Benonite clay, or what could be causing it.
I don't see much of anything that could bother my skin in the ingredient list.
I spoke with John of Ogallala and he isn't to sure either, he said if it was the clay, on my next purchase he can omit the ingredient in the soap for me.
Should I maybe think about trying a pre-shave lube, or is there something else I'm missing.
My prep work consists of a hot shower, and hot towel on the face after I build my lather up.
I have been only doing 2 passes: with the grain, across the grain on the face, and with the grain and against the grain on my neck.
My blade of choice is the feather, I have a coarse beard and no other blade I've tried comes close.
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Dennis --
Shift over to the HoneyBee_Spa soaps and don't look back.
In addition to a superb shave, HBS soaps provide great skin care.
Honey_Sue offers an unscented soap, and a large variety of scented soaps using FO's and EO's.
Contact her and see what she recommends for a shaver with sensitivities.
-- John Gehman
edit: Feathers can be rough for some guys, try another brand blade.
Your prep sounds good, and your passes sound right.
I suspect oil won't do much for you, but I guess everyone needs to try it.
I'd still try the HBS soap first, though.
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Yea I know some have issues with the feathers, but there really not that bad.
If you have a coarse tough beard there is really only one blade that will work.
When I get some more money, I'll try to pick up some Honey Bee's and see how my face does on that.
The ingredients are pretty similar though except Honey Bee's has hemp oil and uses Kaolin as opposed to Benonite clay.
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My brother John beat me to the recommendation of the Un-scented HBS.
Another option is Mitchell's wool fat soap.
Good luck, keep us posted on your progress.
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+1 on Honeybee Spa.Great soap,great scent
great service.
Rocket
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Dennis,
You only mention your experience with one shave soap.
What others have you tried?
Have you tried lathering with soaps without shaving to see if you have allergic or sensitive skin reaction after leaving the soap on your skin for five to ten minutes?
I have found that skin allergy and scent issues are very subjective.
I read labels and avoid ingredients I have associated with facial skin burning sensations such as dyes, menthol, and eucalyptus.
I much prefer lighter floral scents to cologne scents.
In my experience, fragrance versus essential oil is not a reliable indicator for me as to whether I may experience a problem.
Williams Mug Shave soap and Tabac Shave Soap agree very well with my skin.
I do not recall many posts complaining about skin compatibility issues with Williams or Tabac - only more complaints about dryness (Williams) or scent (Tabac).
I believe that many of the skin dryness posts with Williams are due to the fact that the soap is not thoroughly rinsed from the skin.
I usually shave before a shower when using Williams.
Based on all the negative posts about the Tabac scent, I was fairly convinced that I would not like the scent or the soap.
While the scent is initially strong in a new soap, it becomes much less intense after a couple of weeks and it is much milder during the shave and disappears after about two hours if the soap is thoroughly rinsed off.
Shaves with the Tabac soap are phenomenal - it is so far my favorite shave experience.
I find the C&E Sienna Shave Soap to have a stronger and more lasting scent than the Tabac.
I much prefer the Tabac shave soap to the C&E Sienna shave soap.
I also like Tom's of Maine shave creams which have the best claim to being all natural based on their ingredients and are very moisturizing.
The mint can be a bit tingly if you have sensitive skin but it is no where near as tingly as Proraso green tube shave cream.
My favorite is the Calendula Shave Cream which has a mild scent with no facial skin tingle at all.
The Tom's of Maine shave creams provide a nice shave but not of the same caliber as the Tabac Shave Soap.
You can try Tom's of Maine bath soap at your local Wal-Mart.
Try the Calendula bath bar to experience the scent - you get a 4 ounce bar for $2.46 at Wal-Mart.
I have about ten bars under the sink.
All ingredients are listed at the Tom's of Maine web site.
I also thought that the Nancy Boy Shave Cream provided a very protective consistent shave with a pleasing scent.
The product was very compatible with my skin.
I liked the aftershave too although I no longer use aftershaves.
You will have to read the ingredient list at www.nancyboy.com to assess your compatibility with the product.
Try experimenting some more.
You may find that unscented products are not your only solution.
I have had fewer skin problems with shave soaps than creams.
Good luck.
JimT
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Quote: : Dennis,
You only mention your experience with one shave soap.
What others have you tried?
JimT Well the main problem is finances, been out of work for a while lol..the soaps I've tried
- Toms Of Maine Calendula scent: Soon as I put it on my face, my face started burning.
I washed it off it and my face was a nice shade of red, so that was a no go.
The mint really burns my face, almost like I shaved raw then threw a bottle of aqua velva on my face then stuck my face in a bucket of ice water.
- C&E Sweet Almond Cream: This stuff is pretty awesome (well not the scent so much) but I can't use it more then a couple days in a row with out breaking out from it.
Shaves are great and irritation free though.
- SCS Bay Rum: Build up a nice lather in the bowl, apply to face, lather disappears faster then I can shave, thus resulting in irritation.
I messed with soap to water ratios, I can't figure this one out.
- Em's Place: Her cream is really good, but the soap didn't feel slick enough, razor seemed to tug and drag allot.
- Van Der Hagen: Lathered great (due to SLS used) was very smooth shaving, but definitely allergic to it.
Also FWIW I'm very sensitive to other things in general I have to use unscented laundry detergent, unscented shampoos, unscented deodorants (right now using crystal rock) and I can't use any hair products with out aggravating my scalp.
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One of the mildest things you can shave with is a glycerin soap.
There are many to choose from, but one without any dyes or scents would be the mildest of the mild.
Em's place has a nice selection of pure glycerin shaving soap and cream.
it might be just what you're looking for...
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I have very sensitive skin and have used Honeybee Spa Soap about half of the time since joining B&B last September..Great product..Great vendor..
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Dennis,
You are the second case of facial skin reaction to Tom's of Maine Calendula shave cream I have seen in shave forum posts.
Natural ingredients were supposed to eliminate this issue.
Clearly my experiences are not applicable to your situation.
I have only one last suggestion which may be useful and it did not shave very well for me although others have tried it and that is the unscented Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Soap.
For me, the lather didn't last and the lather was thin but it worked well as a shower soap.
JimT
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Quote: : one of the mildest things you can shave with is a glycerin soap.
There are many to choose from, but one without any dyes or scents would be the mildest of the mild.
Em's place has a nice selection of pure glycerin shaving soap and cream.
it might be just what you're looking for...
I find this to be true.
I have rosacea, and find most non glycerin based soaps irritating including VDH select.
The glycerin based VDH I dont have problems with.
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Quote: : I have very sensitive skin and have used Honeybee Spa Soap about half of the time since joining B&B last September..Great product..Great vendor..
The only thing that bothers me about her soap, when I got the ingredients from here she lists "cosmetic coloring" I'll have to pm or email her and see if she can omit them if I order it.
Quote: : Dennis,
I have only one last suggestion which may be useful and it did not shave very well for me although others have tried it and that is the unscented Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Soap.
For me, the lather didn't last and the lather was thin but it worked well as a shower soap.
JimT I used to have that soap in the shower, never tried to shaving with it, I wish I would of before I threw it out.
I threw it out because it was a slimy mess and turned my shower into a slimy mess as well
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Quote: : conk I find this to be true.
I have rosacea, and find most non glycerin based soaps irritating including VDH select.
The glycerin based VDH I dont have problems with.
I really wanted to like Em's place soap as she was super nice, and sent me a sample of the unscented soap and didn't charge me a thing, I would of expected to at least to cover shipping.
My problem with it, it had a citrusy scent kind of like Bergamont, and it wasn't very slick so I did get some razor burn and some itching as well.
That was back when I was using Merkur blades not the Feathers.
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I would look into the T&H hard soap.
It is one of the gentlest soaps I've tried.
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I have very sensitive skin, so I really understand the problem.
GoldDachs {Rivivage??] is working so far
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Another suggestion would be to try The Body Shop Shaving Cream...
I find it to protect and lather very well with no irritation...
Some people don't like the scent..
But to me it kinda smells like Bananas so I don't mind it myself...
Stop in The Body Shop and they will give you a free sample which you should be able to get about 2 shaves out of
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Quote: : I have very sensitive skin, so I really understand the problem.
GoldDachs {Rivivage??] is working so far Thanks I haven't herd of that one, a bit pricey, I just emailed Honey Bee Spa to find out more about her soap.
Thanks everyone so far for the suggestions, it's greatly appreciated.
Quote: : Stop in The Body Shop and they will give you a free sample which you should be able to get about 2 shaves out of I wish there was one of those local to me, I live in the middle of nowhere the closest bodyshop is about an hour and a half South, but if I'm ever down there Ill check it out.
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I wouldn't go the pre shave oil route.
Some swear buy it but it causes others irritation - and some find it doesn't help the shave at all.
Your risk would be irritation.
A soap to think about the the Truefit & Hill Ultimate Comfort.
Course you got twenty other suggestions in this thread - not a bad place to be - good luck!
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AOS Unscented soap or their cream
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Thanks for all the help everyone it's greatly appreciated I went ahead and ordered from Honey Bee Spa, as for my concern with the colorings in the soap she advised me she doesn't use them in the unscented.
I'll post back once I get the puck and try it out.
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