O.K. I'm new to this way of shaving so I started with my old standby shave cream, Barbasol. I've used it since the early 80's. Decided to try Cremo Sandalwood. Love the slickness - hate the smell. Then I decided to try some better shave cream and a brush. I got a tub of TOOBS St James Collection and love the smell, the ease of lather and the slickness. BUT, it burns my cheeks around my cheek bones. No place else. I have a Perfecto badger hair brush and was wondering if maybe it the brush. I've only brushed on maybe 3 or 4 - 3 pass shaves. Could I just not be use to using the brush. It's not turning my face red like a chemical reaction. Should I just nut up and keep using it for a while or try something else?
There's a test that works for soap and post shave products. Apply some to the inside of your elbow. Leave it there for 15-30 minutes, then rinse and look for irritation or inflammation. That thin skin that will show if you are reacting to the ingredients. Usually it's the scent, concentrated essential oils. Sometimes lanolin can cause irritation. Do you have any allergies? Ingredients. Aqua, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Coconut Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Triethanolamine, Parfum, Sodium Hydroxide, Methylparaben, Propylparaben. It'll take a few minutes, but you can look up each ingredient. They are all very specific except for "Parfum". From another source I found; "Contains lemon oil, patchouli oil, and spearmint oil" Citrus oils can be irritating to some folks. Patchouli is a member of the mint family - another potential irritant. You can read more about that in This Article.
No allergies and the only place that feels like it's burning is my cheek bones. I put some on the inside of my elbow to see what happens. I really hope I'm not allergic to this cream because it smells so good. I really hope it just that I'm not use to using a brush. Thanks for the info.
Just shaved with TOOBS, went a little easier with the brush on my cheekbones, no burning sensation. I guess I'm just gonna have to get use to a brush. Thanks again.
Early on, I once tried to face lather with a cheap badger brush. The result was a bright fluorescent pink neck and face. After replacing the badger with a Maggard synth, and switching to bowl lathering, I had no problems with that soap, or almost any other. I was told on some forum that "A cheap badger will tear your face up." You'd be better off with a boar from Omega or Semogue, or a synth from Maggard, Stirling or Razorock. All of those are cheaper than the Perfecto you have. Maggard, Stirling and West Coast Shaving all have good badgers at decent prices, but they'll cost 2-3 times as much as the boars and synths I mentioned. I assume you got the Perfecto from Amazon. Amazon carries a lot of good stuff, but they carry 10 times as much crap. The reviews aren't much help with all the "astro-turfing".
I did get my brush on Amazon. I'm gonna try this brush a couple a more times and like brit said, may just need a little time to get use to it. I tested the cream on my arm and got no irritation. I wrote down all the brushes you mentioned and am thinking I may go ahead and get a synth for just in case. I did find a old Burma-Shave brush and mug at my moms today. I'm thinking that would be a really cheap synth brush but I could be wrong. Thanks for the info.
Regarding synths, I should have specified Plisson-style synths - they're REALLY soft. If the Burma-shave handle is cream colored with a red base (those are the ones I see most often), then it would be a cheap boar.
I could be wrong but reading the first message in this thread, it sounded to me like OP had been getting decent DE shaves with Barbasol applied with his fingers. The burning sensation started when he switched creams and application method. That would suggest the problem lies with either the TOBS or the Perfecto. Personal experience taught me that too vigorous (too hard or too long) an attempt at face-lathering with a cheap badger can result in brush burn. I will agree with you that for most new DE shavers, too much pressure with the razor is the more likely cause.
Create a lather in a bowl, but it on your face and leave it for the length of your shave. If it still burns, its the soap. If not, its the equipment and technique
Got it. We need to hear from the OP. (I have used the cheapest boar and never experienced an issue, but I guess it could be similar to rug burn)
I've never had any similar problem with any boar or synth I've ever tried,either, only with a badger.
I never had any kind of problem with can shave cream. Cremo either. When I switched to TOOBS and a brush was when it started. I've never had a reaction to any type of soap or cologne. Poison Ivy is about the only thing I can think of that I have a reaction to. I think its too much pressure trying to build the lather. I will try a bowl and ease up on the brush the next time. Thanks for the guidance. I did learn the hard way about using too much pressure on the razor. Now I pretty much just use the weight of the razor. A very light touch.
Just saw this. I bought a Perfecto brush on Amazon before I knew anything. The first few times I used it it ripped up my face a little and I thought about binning it. Then decided to try breaking it in a little more. It may not be the best brush in the world but IMO it’s better than its reputation. At this stage, it almost performs on par with the E&J Super Badger I have that cost 3X as much. The Perfecto has more backbone but isn’t as soft. Frankly, neither brush is all that great, and they’ll go to my son soon and I’ll trade up. But they are both serviceable and delivering good shaves. I could use them forever if I had to and be fine. I also have one of those cheap red/cream handled boar brushes. Mine came with a Colgate soap pick 20 years ago. That brush has broken in pretty nicely too. 100% different than any other brush I own and kinda hard to dial in, IMO. It’s not as good as my badgers and I look forward to the day I own a better boar brush. For the record, I also own inexpensive synthetics from Stirling and Maggards. Finally, in my early days of DE shaving, I also experienced terrible face burn with Glyce Lime face soap and Stirling’s Barbershop products. This turned out to be a result - mostly - of how I was scraping the crap out of my face with poor shaving technique. My face was beat up and was more sensitive than usual to the lime of the soap and some of the ingredients in the Barbershop. Now I use the Glyce Lime soap regularly with no irritation. So a lot of factors go into irritation issues. Mostly bad shaving technique. That can include rushing it and having a bad shave. Or being hung over and having a bad shave. I’ve done both! Too many times... Be patient when determining what doesn’t work for you. And give different things - tools, techniques - time to prove themselves. Until you don't feel like it any more!
I've been switching back and forth between both brushes and using a bowl and face lathering. Both brushes are starting to come around and I'm not sure I don't like the El Cheapo brush more. It's starting to get pretty soft and it's about 3/4 of the way down before the bristles are stiff again. Since I've been switching back and forth, no more face burning. I think I was just trying to use too much pressure on the brush face lathering. I'm still learning and trying quite a few things.
Most shaving creams will work ‘brushless’ (heresy!) so why not apply the cream with your fingers, work it in well and shave? See if that makes a difference.