Aftershave products - Do you really need them?

cubert

cubert

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Pasties.
When I shaved with a multiblade razor and a can of shaving foam the result was a burning face which I couldn't bare to be touched, my answer was to cake on every aftershave balm, moisturiser, bottle of WD40 I had in the house.

Since becoming proficient DE shaving, that immediate irritation has stopped. Which then allowed me to use a raft of wonderful alcohol based splashes. More for the scent than anything else. But I had no irritation afterwards.

Then it was witch hazel on its own. No irritation after a shave.

I then moved on to trying just alum, it worked, no irritation.

Then, I tried nothing. Nothing but a cold water rinse to clean up. The result? No irritation.

So, the question. Do you think aftershave products are a necessity, just a luxury or a hangover from days when you had problem shaves?
 
For me: I could do without After Shave some days (far from all), but it's nice, so I use them. I almost never use balms or such (oily skin).
 
For me it depends on the shave. Because I chop and change my razor, blades and creams (usually daily) I get differing qualities of shave. This morning I got a very close shave but was a tiny bit sore (New + Nacet stainless with Palmolive cream versus Slim Adjustable on 5 and 3 with 7 o'clock Sharp Edge and Boots Freshwood soap) so I used cold water rather than aftershave splash or eau de toilette. I could have used Proraso which is my preferred method of soothing razor burn but it wasn't severe and didn't have a lot of time this morning.

I too find balms a bit too oily in the main, plus they tend to sting quite a bit at first before easing the razor burn.
 
Growing up shaving in the 1960s aftershaves & splashes were quite a luxury, limited in number and seldom used by any guys in everyday life. In fact you only really shaved daily if you were in "white collar" work such as sales or public services. Manual workers tendede to just shave or have a barbershop shave once or twice a week. So I certainly don't believe that many of our highly scented & pungent balms & unguents are vital. They just can add a touch of glamour (in our own minds at least) and individuality in our everyday lives. Oh yes .......... and some of them really can assist pre and soothe after the skin scraping process.

JohnnyO. \:icon_razz:
 
what surprises me.. is peoples confusion over afteshave and eau de toilette. The second post in this thread suggests that the user wouldnt use an EDT because of an irritated shave?

but an EDT is just a fragrance, which shoudlnt be used anywhere near your face. It contains no moisturisers or additives which make it suitable for a face, and indeed the perfumed oil content in the average EDT could actually cause irritation to even an unshaved face if directly applied.

perhaps i've just mis-understood how the OP uses this product, but an EDT should have no relation to shaving whatsoever, apart from the fact that I often match my aftershave to my EDT/Cologne.

However, back to the original point... i vary.. if its been a rough shave, i'll just use witch hazel, which never stings, but still tightens up the pores and leaves the skin feeling smooth, after that i'll apply a little taylors jermyn face cream, which has aloe vera in it. This tends to sort things out.

on a good day when the shave has gone well, i like a good aftershave splash. It tightens my skin, closes the pores, removes any excess oils and leaves a good smell.
 
I don't think that you really need aftershave products. I go without when I am away from home, and my face hasn't caught fire or anything.

It's a thick line between 'need' and 'want'. The right balance is in there somewhere, but peoples needs and wants will vary depending on the person.
 
shrink said:
what surprises me.. is peoples confusion over afteshave and eau de toilette. The second post in this thread suggests that the user wouldnt use an EDT because of an irritated shave?

but an EDT is just a fragrance, which shoudlnt be used anywhere near your face. It contains no moisturisers or additives which make it suitable for a face, and indeed the perfumed oil content in the average EDT could actually cause irritation to even an unshaved face if directly applied.

perhaps i've just mis-understood how the OP uses this product, but an EDT should have no relation to shaving whatsoever, apart from the fact that I often match my aftershave to my EDT/Cologne.

However, back to the original point... i vary.. if its been a rough shave, i'll just use witch hazel, which never stings, but still tightens up the pores and leaves the skin feeling smooth, after that i'll apply a little taylors jermyn face cream, which has aloe vera in it. This tends to sort things out.

on a good day when the shave has gone well, i like a good aftershave splash. It tightens my skin, closes the pores, removes any excess oils and leaves a good smell.
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I think you've read it wrong.

There's no confusion about the difference between an aftershave and eau de toilette, infact there's no reference to EDT in this thread, nor is there to not using one due to an irritated shave.

By alcohol based splashes, I mean Floid blue, Aqua Velva, Proraso splash and the like. None of which I would have put near my melted blotchy burning pre-DE shaved face, but now use for their scent value only, as I've found for myself an aftershave product (splash/balm/alum/witch hazel) isn't a necessity. Hence the original question.
 
I don't always need an aftershave product but I like them. It's part of my routine which I very much enjoy and look forward to. With a large selection to go at, choosing one is part of the fun.
 
cubert said:
There's no confusion about the difference between an aftershave and eau de toilette, infact there's no reference to EDT in this thread, nor is there to not using one due to an irritated shave.
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Not by your perhaps...

NotTheStig said:
... so I used cold water rather than aftershave splash or eau de toilette.
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My confusion came because it's in the third post not the second :icon_mrgreen:
 
After each shave I use either a Witch Hazel or a Bay Rum product. If I'm going out I use Nivea 'Protective Lotion'. It's non greasy and has a SPF of 15. I use it both for my face and hands.
 
NotTheStig said:
Where should one apply an EDT then? I tend to use them on my face if I haven't shaved that day.
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I can't see how that would be wrong, but I'd say traditional places to apply scent is on the pulse points of the wrists and around the neck. I usually spray on my chest and tummy :)blush: :icon_rolleyes: ) before putting on a shirt, which apparently gives more of a slow-release action to the fragrance.
 
EDT/cologne should have a greater perfume content than AS so it's really not suitable for splashing on raw skin, as PC has inadvertantly suggested it's a bit of a waste sticking it on your face rather than pulse points because it will evaporate far too quickly.
 
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