I consider the skin on my face to be in what is often called the "normal" range. It's neither excessively oily or dry. However, sometimes after shaving, my face has a dry feel to it. The vast choices of creams and soaps, and the different compositions, have left me a bit confused as to which type would be best for me. Does anyone have a suggestion for a great shave soap/cream that both builds a great lather, and moisturizes?
English-made creams & soaps, for some reason, tend to be drying for most. So, those would be ones to avoid. Otherwise, it's down to individual soaps as to what works best for your skin. Tallow would be more toward non-drying, imho. While glycerine and shea butter would be more toward moisturizing. But, as always, YMMV and you'll have to experiment as to what works best for you. Another route would be to use some sort of after shave balm or cream lotion, then you can use whatever cream/soap you want.
I've been using Arko shave soap(tallow) with alot of success lately....As a postshave balm I use Nivea...They both work well for me and aren't expenisve....
I use soaps that contain tallow and shea butter and they all work well for me. However, I use a pre-shave oil so that may stack the deck. My skin never feels dry after shaving. Unless I do something careless and press too hard, my skin feels very comfortable after my shaves. As has been suggested, try a few to see what your skin likes. One of the beauty of the wet shaving community is that if you try something that doesn't suit your fancy, you can PIF or trade it with someone who would love it.
See the Tutorials forum. I make my own with equal parts olive oil and castor oil, plus a little scented essential oil just to make it smell nice.
I am a big fan of Shea butter for both pre and post-shave application. There is even a 'shave butter cream' (made by Shea Moisture) once can use in place of standard soap or cream lather. Shea butter is a wonderful natural nut fat that is harvested and when applied to the skin is readily absorbed. It does NOT clog pores, and leaves one's skin looking and feeling great. It's a fantastic salve for any shave irritations or rash. One note on using lanolin: it has wonderful emollient properties, and I use a homemade pre shave cream that contains both lanolin and shea butter. But I would not use lanolin personally for extended use on the face as it is one of those personal care products that always rates HIGH in the clinical scale for 'clogging pores' and high on the acne-causing scale. If you're a woolly sheep, it's ideal for softening your coat.
