The first aftershave (or post shave) anything I used was Clinique for Men Maximum Hydrator Activated Water-Gel Concentrate. It came in a starter kit that I bought at Target for $15 at the same time I got the Van Der Hagen razor. Included in the kit was a face wash and a cream shave (that didn’t work that well, to be honest).
Well, let’s be clear here: I recall trying a Gillette or Aqua Velva aftershave back in high school. And it stung like crazy, now that I’m thinking about it. I didn’t like the scent nor all-encompassing stinging that it brought with it for the minutes following a shave. Plus, well, high school, which meant I was also using a couple of anti-acne face washes or scrubs, so my face was probably just crying out for a break.
Anyway, to be fair, the Clinique hydrator wasn’t an aftershave, but I loved it because it really did a great job of moisturizing my face and just made it feel better and softer and smoother after shaving. And since those early shaves with the VDH were rough and uncomfortable, it helped ease that discomfort. As a moisturizer, it was great. But based on its price, it must be made out of angel’s wings. Or unicorn breath. Or Donald Trump’s bathroom gold plating. Or something. A full container of the stuff is $51. And I’m not gonna pay that.
At some point after that I got my first “real” aftershave balm…lotion…cream…whatever. At my grocery store, I found the Dollar Shave Club Post Shave Cream. For the $8 or whatever I spent, it worked really well: it moisturized very well, helped ease some of the razor burn I’d experienced, and didn’t have much of a fragrance. My skin loved it, especially my neck, where it would help ease some of the razor burn, but really was in it for the long haul of making sure the skin was moisturized and healthy and healing after a shave.
I was beginning to learn what my face wanted.
A while after that, after reading all of the great things about the Nivea Sensitive Skin shave gel and aftershave balm, I picked some up, again from the grocery store or maybe the pharmacy. The aftershave is the perfect compliment to the shave gel, and my face loved it. It had a slightly stronger scent and is thinner than the Dollar Shave Club cream, but I will argue that it’s about the best I have at moisturizing after a shave.
Then came the Proraso white products, also purchased because of comments online, and purchased with the Henson razor, three sample soaps from Razor Emporium, the Razor Emporium pre-shave, and a blade sampler (which included the Bic and Dorco blades I love). Just as an FYI, that was the single largest purchase I’ve made for shaving at $125.
The Proraso white balm is labelled as anti-irritation, just like the rest of the Proraso white line. It’s designed for sensitive skin and anti-irritation. And let me just say again how good it is at it. This balm is thicker, but still a pourable lotion. It has less fragrance than the Nivea, but performs just about as well.
By now, I’d learned the importance of following up a shave with moisturizers. But I was reading about toners, witch hazel, aftershave splashes and liquid lotions that were alcohol, aloe, or witch hazel-based.
With an order from Stirling Soap, I got some witch hazel and some aftershave toners. After realizing the scented ones were way too strong for me, I found the unscented weren’t awful, but my face just doesn’t like the drying effect of any of those types of products. I kind of like the tightening feel it gives the skin, but ultimately, there’s a sting or itch that lingers that I just don’t find comfortable.
So I kept on with the balms (and cream) that I already had. I rounded out the stable after reading about and seeing videos on the Barbasol 1919 shave cream and balm, and one day at the grocery store, there they were, on sale. The balm has a pretty classic shave-related scent that I appreciate and really like. Initially, I thought it was too strong, but have since realized it’s fine as it is.
Let’s talk about nomenclature because it kind of drives me nuts. What’s the difference anyway, between an aftershave lotion, cream, balm, and serum? Some aftershave lotions are called lotions even though they’re really alcohol-based liquids that you basically splash on your face.
Lotions, to my mind and as I’m finding in some definitions online, are (and I like this terminology) “low viscosity.” A lotion that you can splash on your face doesn’t seem like a lotion. But, moving on…
A balm, according to most sources on the interwebs, is basically some sort of emulsion or preparation that helps moisturize and heal the skin. That’s what I want after my shave. Some moisture-rich fluid that does its best to heal my skin after I’ve just dragged a sharpened piece of metal across it.
Serums and creams are kind of ambiguous terms. I’d say the Dollar Shave Club cream is thicker than either the Proraso or Nivea balms. It’s more like a lotion as I think about it, and gets rubbed in much like a lotion. Okay, I rub in the balms too, but they sit on my skin for a bit like a film. But my first experience with a serum (the Zingari Man unscented aftershave serum) just made me think “huh, lotion.”
So there you go. More proof that in the shaving world words are almost useless.
Finally, let’s address use. Since discovering that my face and neck really likes being moisturized, I will never fail to use an aftershave balm or lotion or cream. And I learned that it’s always better to use too much than not enough. As it’s being absorbed into the skin, the surface will start to dry out, and if there isn’t enough, the surface will just feel dry. putting a lot on (and by this, I’m probably meaning 1/2 teaspoon or something like that?) just makes sure there’s enough there to keep the surface moisturized too. And then it’s all happy.
I do, on some non-shaving days, use an aftershave balm as a moisturizer, and that works well. I’ve since found an Aveeno face cleanser and lotion that works well for me, so I mostly use that. But the lesson I’ve learned since starting with balms is that if I treat my skin well even when not shaving, it helps to deliver a better shave in the end.
