Well, I'm back for a while (I hope)... I've had a rough spring and summer between work and things going on at home. I figured I'd post a bit due to some of the shaving related content. Since late May to early June I have been fighting major break outs with incessant itching and even some water blisters on my face and neck area. I have found out now after quite a few visits to my dermatologist that this is due to an otherwise benign chemical that is used commonly as a preservative in many soaps, detergents, and yes to date even my preshave. The chemical and it's derivatives can be found by doing a web search for cl+ me- isothiazolinone. I have now thrown away my shampoo, hand wash, body wash, laundry detergent, and after hearing from one of our UK friends I am throwing away my preshave. This makes me sad but, what to do if you're breaking out and itching so bad??? I am also allergic to dyes and some scents (non natural chemical versions). This is making it difficult for me to find products to use. I also mourned the death of my beloved first razor. My DE-89 started giving me issues by causing major razor burn over a few weeks and then one morning as I replaced the blade and snugged up the head it just sheered off at the handle. I never torque down on this. I always just snug it up with my thumb and index finger. I had to even throw away the awesome barley handle as the threaded shaft from the top cap was now flush inside the handle. I'm guessing that the razor burn was caused from the metal weakening and making the blade angle to be more and more flattened as shaft fatigued before breaking. I went to my new back up DE-89 and I've now ordered a Above the Tie 7 piece kit. How's that for RAD? Well, I'm still fighting the horrid allergy and getting my razor woes straight but, to be quite honest I've just realized that I haven't nicked myself or had any other issues except the razor burn due to the failing razor. I'm actually quite pleased considering that I've had to shave over all sorts of bumps and blisters and odd skin issues. I've been going for two to three days between shaves whenever possible and it's made me focus on my technique more when I do shave. Ok, so I've got to get to work but, I'll share more later. Happy Shaves Folks! Jonathan
Glad that you found the cause of your issue. I did look for some natural products a short while after starting to wet shave since I had tons of irritation and in-growns. Didn't know if it was allergies or not, but some natural creams and balms are really worth it regardless. Speick comes to mind but you'd have to cross-check the ingredient list. As for the razor head breaking off, I am quite surprised considering how remarkable reviews the EJ89 usually gets. It is my only razor now and I hope it lasts me a lifetime. Speaking of which, I don't know if it has any kind of warranty, but in your case it might be worth bringing it up with customer service and see if there is anything they can do about it.
Believe me, I'm terribly happy I figured it out too. I have looked like I had some horrible disease and having the itching so bad that I have had it wake me from a dead sleep thinking that I had bugs crawling on me. Apparently, that chemical is a fairly common preservative and 99% of the time doesn't cause any reaction. I guess once again I'm just the exception to the rule... Some of our UK friends graciously emailed me back and now I've got to find not only a new preshave but, a new aftershave balm as well. I'm mourning my beloved preshave and aftershave balm now. Having sensitivities to dyes, strong perfumes, and now a fairly common preservative is making this difficult at best. Unfortunately, as for my DE-89 I just chucked it when it broke. I really didn't want the hassle at the time to go through checking on warranties and then following up on all of that stuff. I had way too much going on otherwise to deal with it. Plus, it gave me a good excuse to feed the RAD bug. Onward with my search for products that I'm not allergic to...
Sorry to hear about your allergies and the untimely demise of your EJ89..I've had many a "wonderful" shave with mine...I am "VERY" happy however that you we're able to replace it with an "Above the Tie" 7 piece kit... Now to find a fix for your allergies...Have to ever considered emailing the various soap makers and see if one of them could make you a soap and/or preshave that you wouldn't be allergic to??
Maybe you need unscented soaps, creams, balms, and things like that. Most soap makers have an unscented brand of soap in their inventory.
I have to say that a rep from T&H has been very kind and sent me as many ingredient lists as I asked for. He told me that they are coming out with a line of "hypoallergenic" products before the end of the year that will eliminate any of these chemicals. Thankfully I can continue using my Ultimate Comfort Cream as it doesn't have the offenders in it. However, my EJ Hydrating Preshave is gone as is my T&H Ultimate Comfort Aftershave Balm. I also got a nice note from the guy at Crown Shaving Co. telling me that he would send me lists of ingredients for all of his products. I love their Hair and Body Wash and it's free of the offending substance as well. The T&H guy suggested the No 10 preshave so I'll give that a try and then all I need is the aftershave balm. I'm ok until it gets colder as I seem to do ok with my witch hazel.
Sorry to read about your problems. But it got me thinking about pure shea butter as an aftershave balm. It is affordable and supposed to be very good for the skin. I am using a shea butter product myself and absolutely love it. And I imagine that the pure, unscented and unrefined shea butter might even be better.
You can make a pre-shave oil very easily, using things that do not irritate your skin. (See Tutorials)
Johnathan, The broken screw could have been removed from the handle quite easily, ask me how I know. If you still have access to it let me know. Andy
The Shave Den soaps, creams, aftershaves, skin milks, and preshave creams are made without preservatives. Ask JoAnna (Queen of Blades) for the ingredient list or you can just check them out for yourself. They are listed in the product descriptions.
^^^Great advice^^^ I now have used 6 different products from The Shave Den Shop, and every one is top shelf quality.
@AKASL, I know that I could have removed the screw. I actually have a screw pull set. It just made me mad when I looked and it seemed to be pot metal. I'm sorry but, I threw it out in my disgust. On another note I got a Tradere SB in the end of the week and it's really nice. I'm having a bit of a time adjusting to the more aggressive nature of it on my neck though. I may try a slim adjustable to see if my problem is that I need a more mild shave on my neck area. No nicks or cuts but, on my neck I have a difficult time not getting some razor burn.
