My Shaving Nightmare

I have been meaning to come to some experts about this for a long time, so any good advice is well appreciated in advance. For most of my shaving life I've been frustrated. I have one of the thickest and quickest growing beards EVER, and always looked for new ways to obtain great shaves. I became a lot better over the years, but was never truly satisfied. Most of the time it was just me trying new blades, whether that be the Mach 3, the Fusion, etc.

A year ago I finally switched from my ordinary boring Gilette mostly unscented Foam to "Noxzema" (strong scented) shaving cream and soon began breaking out in what looked like little hives all over my face and neck. It didn't even hit me until two months in that it was definitely the cream. I was clearly allergic in some way. The Noxzema has a strong fragrance in it and I thought it could be that. Still, I wanted to improve my shave in any way and started looking at some of these luxury type shaving creams for sale online. In comes the classic green tube of PRORASO back in October. It was a dream come true (I thought). Along with a quality shaving brush also purchased with it, I began getting the absolute most AMAZING shaves of my entire life. The cream was a dream. The only other thing besides the cream I would use is Gilette's after shave gel, the green little tube. My face felt amazing after every shave and my confidence was at an all time high. Finally, I thought I had found my way with getting a perfect shave.

After about ONE month and maybe a total of 7 or 8 shaves total, I began noticing something. My face again started getting acne or small red bumps here and there. I didn't panic, but instead thought it was just something with my technique. I just couldn't imagine that I too was somewhat "Allergic" to this shaving cream. I would continue to use the cream in denial until yup, it got worse. Finally, after one shave, I had gotten two HUGE hives on my neck that were so hidious that I gave up on Proraso finally right then and there. I knew this was no shaving burn/irritation. This was an allergy of some form. I was devastated. Still, I moved onto "Taylor of Old Bond" shaving cream to give that a try. Again, like with many of these great creams, the lather and the overall shave was just WONDERFUL. I can't stress that enough. With this cream, it was after the second shave that I was done for. Again, red bumps and swelling, mostly around the chin area, but on the face as well. At this point I was very upset and called my allergist. He told me to do the "Self allergy" test where you put a drop of the cream on your arm overnight and see if it turns red. He also mentioned how the most common allergy is to the scent, the fragrance. I did this with both the Taylor of Old Bond and Proraso and wouldn't you know it, upon removing the band aid, a little red spot!!!! I was officially allergic.

I took his advice and tried ONE more time to get this right. I purchased TWO, yes TWO totally unscented creams that had "no allergens and no parabens" in them. They were the unscented version of Taylor of Old Bond and then the unscented "Art of Shaving" shaving cream. In the meantime, I for the first time in what seems like forever, reverted back to the original Gillette shaving cream, and my God what a difference in quality it is. The cream is basically GARBAGE compared to the likes of Proraso, Taylor of Old Bond, and some of these other brands. Its unreal. So the two creams arrived in the mail a week later and as heartbreaking as it was not having that amazing smell while using the cream, I tried the Taylor of Old bond unscented first. Would you believe that only 24 hours I AGAIN had acne on my chin and redness on my neck!?!?!?

What a nightmare this was. Month after month after month of dealing with redness/bumps/acne all over my chin and face at 28. I was SICK of it. Here I was back in October, finally thinking I found the answer to my shaving woes with some of these luxury shaving creams, getting a tease by being able to use the Proraso for a bit and then apparently everything going down hill from there. I did the allergy test again with BOTH unscented creams and AGAIN, REDNESS on my arm! UNREAL! So NOW I was concerned. What in the world was I allergic to in these creams I thought??? I went to the allergist and he said the only thing he thought it could be is the coconut acid which is found in ALL the creams. The test came back NEGATIVE.

I have recently gone back to him via phone and told him of the other common ingredients in all the creams which may be the answer. They are Stearic Acid, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide and Potassium Hydroxide. He claims that those things are not ones that would cause an allergic reaction. I told him well, all i know is that there is SOMETHING that is irritating my skin and badly in these creams. He asked me to fax him over ALL the ingredients and that he will look them over.

In the meantime I have become so nervous about using cream again that I have simply just been using regular SOAP while shaving. My question to some of you guys is, what in the world is going on here? What in the world could I possibly be allergic to? Is it possible that I have developed an allergy to certain creams? I am lost, I am upset, and I am devastated.

Thank you for taking your time to read my story.

 

First, welcome to the Den.
Be sure to sign up for the May Newbie Give-Away.

If you're not breaking out while using soap, why not try an unscented shave soap?

 

Good point. So far you have just tried creams.

 

Welcome to TSD! I feel you man, I took me a while to find creams that I could use without reaction. When I was younger I used to have to give myself allergy shots. There are some sites that let you purchase samples of their scented creams. Maybe get a sample pack and before even trying any do the overnight bandaid test you mentioned.

 

Thanks man. I appreciate it. For now I'm going to give it one more try with an unscented shave SOAP as mentioned above.

 

Do you use a badger brush, boar, horse, or synthetic brush? It is possible you could be allergic to the animal hair in the brush, maybe try switching to a synthetic.

 

Welcome to the Den! So sorry to hear about your problem. As Sara-s asked, have you only tried creams? If so how about trying an all natural shaving soap? Go to this link http://www.va-soaps.com/vss_020.htm This soap in ALL natural, containing palm, olive, coconut, soy and castor oils. I've used in and it's good stuff.

 

Unless he used the brush on his arm during his testing.

 

The Proraso white tub (sensitive) soap, not cream, is very mild. I have a bit left in my tub. I could send it to you. Not sure about the ingredients, though.

 

It could still definitely be a factor, especially if he is allergic to products that easily. Just trying to put any ideas out there.

 

Thank you for all the advice so far guys. @FacialCarnage you make a good point, but.... seeing as how I did the self allergy test with the CREAM and it gave me a reaction, that pretty much tells me that the creams are the culprit here.

@Med. Cheese, as far as the Proraso White Tub sensitive soap goes, I have looked into that before too (and all Proraso products). I am just not sure. All the ingredients look the same when compared to the regular proraso shaving cream. I just can't imagine that wouldn't give me trouble. Is it unscented??

Lets not forget that I had trouble with TWO shaving creams as stated in my original post. I just don't see what the big difference would be with this

 

Have you tried Kiss My Face fragrance free cream?

 

No I haven't, but I did try two totally unscented creams and had problems with them believe it or not. That's the big issue here. I don't think i'm allergic to the fragrances, but instead one or some of the chemicals/ingredients in the creams.

 

I have very bad allergies. Before my DE days I would actually have to switch razor brands every once in a while because I would become sensitive to the metal itself, or the blade coatings or something. For a while I couldn't even wash with ivory soap. I can not generally use one product for too long because with repeated use I actually BECOME sensitive to it. Something that was irritation free for a while will become unbearable after a couple of months. It is a testament to the quality of traditional shaving that I can use scented products at all. If you are using a safety razor then you have a huge variety of blades to choose from, so change it up every once in a while. Same with soaps. The products that seem to be the best for me are Vergulde Hand, Speick (in the stick), Col. Conk lime. It has been quite a few years, but I remember Williams working out quite well too. Good luck! Hopefully you find something that works, but if you have to keep changing it up, at least you have an excuse to collect lots of shaving stuff!

 

Hi Powerhouse and welcome to the SD. Many, if not most shaving lubes these days, contain high amounts of artificially produced chemicals including Proraso, which some skin types cannot tolerate. I have issues with the face, so I use a soap which has no artificial chemical additives what so ever, including oxides, an additive used to make the soap appear opaque. I've had to learn to carefully read the list of ingredients. The good news is that these days there seems to be an ever increasing supply of all natural stuff around on the shaving market, so you might want to look there, now that you're getting on to the brush thing. Just for starters, Richgem told me about this one http://mikesnaturalsoaps.com/Mikes_Natural_Soaps/Tallow_&_Lanolin_Hard_Bar_2.html and there's http://www.malaspinasoapfactory.ca/ up here in Canada. I'm not sure but the Den Store may also have an AN choice as well...

 

I would reccomend trying some of the shave den shave soaps, they're great and all natural.

 

Mike's Natural Soap is all natural and great on sensitive skin. Try the unscented version.

 

Two shaving creams I've used with success are CO Bigalow and Herbs of Bulgaria Lavender cream. Have you ever tried Rays of Colorado unscented Goat shave soap? Again I've had good luck with Ray's products....

 

Thanks again guys. The Mike's Natural Shaving Soaps look like they are worth a shot. I'm also going to try Van Der Hagens unscented soap for now too. Not sure how a soap will be all so different from a cream, but its worth a try i suppose. Holding out hope here still.

 

Creams, by definition, need emulsifying agents, while soaps do not. That is another possible culprit.