This may seem like a silly question. I use a witchhazel/isopropyl alcohol blend after I shave. I then put an aftershave balm on to soothe my skin. I have some Avon Wild Country aftershave. I splashed some of that on post shave and felt like the kid in "Home Alone". It hurt. So I figure I won't try that again. Did I do it wrong. Should I continue my morning routine and put it on last thing? Should I use the witch hazel/IPA and then the Wild Country AS. The balms really help soothe my skin. But in the summer heat and humidty I find them to be to much. I had high hopes when I discovered the Wild Country AS in my stash. Thanks, Phil
I use alcohol based splashes as a gauge to see how well my shave went. Generally, I feel no burn from alcohol based splashes - a great shave! When I do get some localized stinging (nicks) or burning (an all-over razor burn) I know my shave wasn't quite as good. Of course, haha, I usually know that before applying the splash! To get that much pain, something's not quite right with your shaves.... And when I didn't have as much shave knowledge as I do now (canned crap, too much pressure, multi-bladed contraptions, zero prep, etc...) I was completely unable to use any form of an alcohol based splash because they dried my face out horribly, and caused all sorts of stinging and burning....
Phil, Thayers makes several types of non alcohol witch hazel with aloe vera. They are very good and all you need to finish a shave. If you want to use an AS with a fragrance or an EdT, wait several minutes to give the final cold water rinse and the witch hazel a chance to do their job and close your pores. That should help quite a bit. If you are still getting a lot of sting then perhaps you should reconsider your shaving technique. Just my 2¢.
I am not able to use alcohol based lotions, I 'll try to mix them with tonic... "Gin Floinic" or with cola "Cubelva Libre" :eatdrink047 happy102 maybe this way ...... Definitely I am not an alcohol lotion user, I am anti-velva, anti-floid, anti-speick....I can´t.....
I am not really a fan of any of the strong alcohol based aftershaves. It dries out the skin skin too much. Prefer a nice balm. Good for moisturizing the skin.
You also might want to try a alcohol splash with extra goodies in it. As mentioned before, thayers is really nice( I love the lemon w/ alcohol). Aqua Velva has added glycerine which really makes for a great experience. Musgo Real is an absolute dream IMO. TSD AS splash is amazing as well which is alcohol based but has a whole bunch of goodies. I use to use balms but have switched to mainly splashes.
You should be ok putting the AS on after witch hazel, as long as your shave has been good. If your shaves are good & your having the same results i would try changing out the the wild country AS for aqua velva or proraso or musgo real AS. If you still have issues but still want the cooling effect try mixing a little bit of 444 ASB with your witch hazel before applying. Fozz
I have to use witch hazel before I do a splash with any of the alcohol AS. If I don't, its major burn.
Definitely some technique and/or prep issues if you're getting that much burn. That said, I'd recommend TSD splashes or any other splash with "goodies" except Aqua Velva (which if you by some strange reason can stand the scent I guess might be OK). These will help you heal faster if you do have a bad shave. TSD splashes work great for me. In particular they are wonderful on my head, which takes a delicate balance to avoid getting oily or dried out. My face isn't very sensitive, but I'm noticing the products that work for my head are the same as the ones that work on guys with sensitive faces.
Even when I have a perfect, no irritation shave its like that. My face is just sensitive to the alcohol but that doesn't stop me from using it. FYI- other people have the same reaction to alcohol in AS....
I'll have to take your word on this one, never seen it happen after an irritation-free shave. People have sensitivities to just about everything else and I've read enough of your posts here to know you undertand what an irritation free shave really means, so I trust your right. I do see aftershave products as being a very personal choice, similar to blades. Everyones face is different and different products work better with different faces. I personally can't use any balms as they leave my face oily and most of the time cause acne break outs. Thanks for setting me straight. To the OP, we've stated what we think is LIKELY. Try a few things and only continue using what works for you. Good luck.
Rinse ALL of your shave product (soap or cream) off with warm water. Then splash some cold water on your face and then.............. apply the aftershave. This will help the sting and alcohol is good.....er, um I mean good for your skin, that is
I go with Truckman's replay 100%. If your after shaveing routine hurts then you didn't shave properly. Either you are bearing down to hard with your razor or you are holding the handle to far from your face. Remember that this is about shaving reduction through using 3 or 4 passes. Not removing all your face hairs with one pass of the blade.
Avon Wild Country AS experimentation Well after two weeks of experimenting I have some usable data. I did not believe my shave routine is flawed. But I tried "lightening up" but still had burn. I applied my trusty witch hazel first still got a burn. I changed my routine. Finish up in the bathroom. Go and get dressed. Make my lunch and ge all set to go to work. Go back to the bathroom and apply the AS. Still a burn. This is a good 20 minutes after I shaved. Tried shaving and then showering. Still a burn. I recently started using Old Spice cologne. I really like the scent. So I purchased some OS AS. Did my normal original routine. Applied OS AS and it no burn. I like the way my skin felt afterwards. I was a little greasy later in the day but most of my balms (except Nivea AS Balm for sensitive skin) leave me feeling that way. Thanks for the input. Phil
