So I've been wet shaving for a little more then a year now and I've always used balms (even when I was using carts). I love my balms Nivia AOS Sandalwood Prosaro Trumpers skinfood I do one bayrum splash I use but I've always mixed in a drop on skinfood before applying. So as a experiment, yesterday after my shave and shower I applied my bumpstopper (man that stuff works) then I just applied Skin Bracer. Now what I noticed was initially it seemed very drying, but in about 1 hour my skin was smooth and soft! So I'm wondering, does the skin start to produce good oils after a shave and some alcohol AS as a reaction to have the oils removed? I guess I never noticed it with a balm since my face felt moist right after I applied it.
Not really an answer to your question, but it seems to me that alcohol splashes seal off the skin after shaving. Balms always leave me feeling a little irritated.
You know, I've always heard that alcohol based AS's are drying, but that is all I use. I've never had an issue. It may just be a matter of your individual skin type being able to tolerate it or not. Some people hear of other's experience and avoid unnecessarily in the attempt to keep from having a bad experience themselves. I say keep easing into it and maybe you are good with it or good with it now if you have never fully tried alcohol based AS before.
I find alcohol based AS a bit drying in the winter and fine for the warmer months. I still use them in the winter, but follow them with a moisturizing balm or milk.
Alcohol is drying because water binds to it. An automotive example: HEET gas treatment is alcohol and it is used to bind to water in the gas tank to allow the engine to burn the water off as an alcohol/water mix. As other have said, you can combat this by using a balm which will contain moisturizers, or you can splash some water on your face and pat it dry before using alcohol based products.
Yes it is drying... However your splash water on face. Maybe a balm or milk or cream. Then your skin produces oil and gets moisturized. I have used alcohol splashes before and never felt my face feeling really dry. Or bad because of how dry it was. If it ever got dry i could just add some balm. I use both usually now. just because i love layering menthol products.
Like already mentioned, when the alcohol evaporates it takes some water with it. Now if you are in a dry environment, this can be an issue, which is why it is more a problem for some of us in winter. And yes, your face will naturally replace the oils - but it isn't a fast process during a dry winter. In the summer during high humidity, the alcohol evaporating gives a nice cooling effect.
Thanks for all the replies, I do understand that alcohol displaces water but what I was getting at was the body's ability to produce oils to moisterize the face to compensate for what was lost. This might take an hour or more I guess. So I think what my original question should of asked was is it drying in the long run, say an hour or two after it's applied.
What is bumpstopper? What does it do and where can I get it? Sorry for interrupting the thread. Jerry
you can get similar products at most drug stores and places like Walmart. Most of those products are salicylic acid and sometimes alcohol or witch hazel. The witch hazel is an astringent and will help fight bacteria. The salicylic acid is the active ingredient in aspirin and will reduce the pain from ingrown hairs / razor bumps as well as help reduce the swelling. Mantic has a video on this, and includes the idea of just crushing your own aspirin tablets for the purpose. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJzk4QL6iME
CORRECTION: It's bump patrol. I used to get tendskin but at 50 bucks a pop it was way to much. Then I started making my own with asprin and witchhazel. But after awhile that stopped being very affective. Then I tried Bump Patrol. Stings a bit :shocked029 but man has my skin been smooth. You can find it at Target or Walgreens, usually in the "Ethnic" shave section. Anyway, I shave, shower, use the bump patrol followed by an aftershave and I'm good to go.
At one point a while ago I noticed that my skin felt a little tighter than usual if I just used an aftershave splash. The alcohol in the aftershave doesn't effect me now because I apply some aftershave balm and once it dries (mine doesn't smell at all after it dries on my face) I then add some aftershave. But the bodies ability to produce skin oils differs from person to person, so everybody is different as far as that goes.
As much as I hate to admit it (becaue I love splashes) I'm finding the alcohol in splashes to be very drying lately. Maybe it's because of the warm weather, I don't know. I have to apply a balm or lotion after using a splash now.
Depending on the properties of your own skin of course.... ... In the dim dark days of my youth, when I used an electric razor for convenience, it always irritated my face. So I would splash pure rubbing alcohol on afterwards. This worked ok, but since my skin was oily at that time, and rubbing alcohol contains a small amount of isopropylene (sp?), a light oil, I switched to spashing on pure methyl hydrate. That certainly did dry out my skin somewhat, which was what I was after, in addition to the disinfecting properties of the alcohol. The other reason for the alcohol was that I didn't want to wear scents at that time. Fast Forward to now... all my A/S is alcohol based. My skin is not nearly so oily as it was in my youth, but I still don't have any problems with drying, even in the winter. Oh, and I have embraced scented products as well. Ritual disclaimer: YMMV
Im more interested in the bumpstopper. Tell us how that is working out for you and what its like. I always wondered about that product.
The correct answer is... it depends. It depends what else is in the splash besides alcohol. I find that Aqua Velva leaves my skin very well protected and moisturized. It also depends on what you used to lather with. If your lather strips natural oils from your skin, then a balm my do more to replace oils at the surface, but the alcohol based splash may not have enough moisturizers and leave you thinking it was the AS that did the drying. Try letting your face dry for a little while to see how dry it is before applying aftershave. I have some lathering products that leave my face feeling very supple and no AS is necessary. Last night I shaved with Santa Maria Novella shave cream and finished with Santa Maria Novella lavender AS splash and my face felt like I was a young boy again.
It depends on your skin type My dad has oily skin so all he uses is Aqua Velva, regardless of the weather But I herited my mom's dryish skin, so alcohol is a big no no
