Man, my face bugs me. Well, more correctly said it irritates me. Even MORE correctly said, stuff I put ON my face irritates me. I never knew how sensitive my skin was until I started smearing stuff on it and scraping it off with a sharpened piece of metal.
I've blogged about this before...but my face is a bit of a pain. It has reacted badly to quite a few products, and I can't seem to predict what or why. There's another to add to the list, TOBS Avocado Cream. Hurt like the dickens, and it makes me sad because the scent is so fresh and clean...Sigh.
Well, I'm giving up. No more new things, unless I get a sample first. Too many shattered hopes and dreams on that road...too many broken hearts and broken lives...
But at least it gave me a clean shave.
So I'm starting a list: Shit I can't use, and why.
Here it is!
Feather Blades (Too rough and sharp)
Mentholated Medicated Shave Cream (Menthol)
Milk Brand Shave Cream (Menthol)
Institut Karite Shave Soap (??)
Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna Shave Soap (??)
Musgo Real Shave Cream (Menthol)
TOBS Avocado Shave Cream (??)
Ingram Shave Cream (Menthol)
See any patterns emerging?
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On the straight razor front, I have begun my first dive into honing, sort of. I have a strop pasted with Chromium Oxide, which is a micro-particle abrasive. This very slightly wears away the steel in a straight razor, "refreshing" an edge dulled by use. It isn't real honing, it can only make the edge a touch sharper between trips to the stone, but it definitely improved the edge of the Kropp I messed up in my ignorance.
You live, you learn! And once my REAL stones get here (BBW/Coticule Combo, and a Vintage Barber Hone) I'll be rocking and rolling, baby! I can smell another AD coming on!!!
6 comments:
I'll trade you the Sienna soap for a bunch of 1805 samples I have. :)
If I still had it, I would SO take you up on that. I traded it away for something...I think it was a Valobra stick.
Crap!
That's OK. I'll send you a couple samples if you're still interested in trying 1805.
I thought my face was sensitive to some of my products, too. Turns out it was my prep. I shave after my shower, which is fine, but if I wash my face with any scrubbing cleanser, my shave kills me after my shave. Red, irritated, weepers. I threw out the prep stuff and now I use Dove soap (bar form), and no scrubbing.
Rather than looking for patterns in what you cannot use, maybe it would be better to look for patterns in the shaving combinations (razor, blade, soap/cream, prep, etc.) that do work well for you?
Hey guys, thanks for reading and commenting!
First Anonymous guy, I know that my technique is not perfect--I still have some problems. But I don't scrub my face before shaving, and I only have problems with certain products.
Second anonymous guy, that's a good point, it is important to find out what does work. For example, I know I can get a good shave with my futur loaded with a Gillette 7 O'Clock, lathering with my Omega professional and using MWF, Valobra stick, Cella, or any number of products.
However, my goal is not only to get a good shave, but also to try all kinds of good products; enjoying the scents, feels and differing nuances of each products is a big part of it. If I don't identify the specific causes of irritation--in this case, contact dermatitis is the term, I believe--then I can't predict what will or won't hurt me.
I've done this with mentholated products...I can't use them. Left on my face for more than 30 seconds or so, they will leave me in serious pain.
If I can't do this with other chemicals, I'm apt (almost guaranteed, in fact) to encounter these problems again.
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