Alum, witchhazel, aftershave, do they all do the same thing?

I was joking. I know that people are growing these aloe vera plants in their houses. But I don't see myself doing that, and then ripping them up after a bad shave. Actually... I can see myself being all like "f**k this shave, that was awful... arghhhh", and then ripping off my plants. Yea. I'm gonna search for some aloe seeds.
 
SmurfK said:
I was joking. I know that people are growing these aloe vera plants in their houses. But I don't see myself doing that, and then ripping them up after a bad shave. Actually... I can see myself being all like "f**k this shave, that was awful... arghhhh", and then ripping off my plants. Yea. I'm gonna search for some aloe seeds.
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I'm with you on the aloe evangelists - the wife paid out a lot of money to go on an aloe based diet after giving birth where she had to drink aloe juice three times a day. The result - no weight loss apart from the £80 out of my overdraft and a blocked toilet.
The raw leaf juice does sooth a burn or skin irritation though. Been used for thousands of years for that purpose before the latest fads caught on Similar sort of thing to a dock leaf for nettle stings.
Or stick with nivea post shave balm.
 
Honk said:
I've been de shaving for a couple of months now and my usual routine is shave, cold water rinse then rub round with an alum block before having a shower, after the shower I usually apply some proraso pre/post shaving cream because I like the effect and occasionally some aftershave balm but I use the balm a lot less now as I don't feel I need it (either my technique has improved or my skin has adapted).
I have witch hazel but don't use it and some old aftershaves which have been knocking round the house for years, I'm not keen on the effect of these as seem to add heat to my face but I have some proraso aftershave on order.
My questions are if I use aftershave can I dispense with the alum? or when I use the alum do I need aftershave? Does the witch hazel have any properties the others don't have?
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Depends what your skin can take, Different strokes for different folks.
Personally, I can't use alum it dries out my skin. Aftershave does the same plus rash.
I do love Thayers alcohol free witch hazel mixed 50/50 with Nivea sensitive skin balm (dark blue box)
Any small nicks which are very rare are sorted by a quick dab of sceptic pencil. That's it for my dry sensitive skin. If I do need an additional moisture or sunscreen I wait 15mins after balm before applying.... job done simples!
 
Purbeck said:
The raw leaf juice does sooth a burn or skin irritation though. Been used for thousands of years for that purpose before the latest fads caught on Similar sort of thing to a dock leaf for nettle stings.
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I don't know if it's much more effective than a cold water compress.

I must say, I'm biased against anything that's "miraculous plant medicine" without too much scientific background, pretty much since my grandma tried to "fix" my broken leg with onions. Good thing that I reached the hospital soon enough, otherwise I would have risked some unnecessary surgery.

What is scientifically proven to work as anti-inflammatory, is chamomile. You can try applying a cold tea bag on the affected area. It should reduce the razor burn. There are also chamomile-based moisturizers that should work.
 
I use boots witch hazel and tea tree toner after the shave. I do have an alum block but realised I didn't need to use both. Nicer scent than the distilled witch hazel and really cheap. I got 2 bottles for 3 quid. Buy one get one free.
 
Godfather said:
Mrchick, which one do you use out of interest??
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I like this one. The scent is nice, but not overpowering and fades quickly. My face feels great afterwards.
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