The effect of 'shaving soap' on the skin

J

juice

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6
Has anyone noticed the effect of 'shaving soap' on the skin?
One morning whilst shaving, I accidently splashed shaving soap lather on the inside of my upper arm. After shaving I washed it off, but the soap had left a mark or a kind of stain on my skin. The stain was the same shape as the soap splash had been; the mark lasted for several days. I got the same result using a different shaving soap; it left a mark.
Try it for yourself...
I realized it was making my face look a lot paler after shaving.
Has anyone else noticed the 'just shaved look' on peoples faces?
Shaving with normal bath or hand soap has no effect - what is it in shaving soap that causes the blood vessels in the skin to shrink?

I would also like to know; is there a shaving soap out there without this 'ghost white pale' ingredient.

Cheers Juice.
 
Perhaps you have an allergy of some kind to one of the ingredients? Usually people get a rash of some kind if they are affected by a particular shaving soap. Which soaps have you tried?
 
Pig Cat said:
Perhaps you have an allergy of some kind to one of the ingredients? Usually people get a rash of some kind if they are affected by a particular shaving soap. Which soaps have you tried?
Click to expand...

Hi PC,
The reaction of blood vessels shrinking in skin to one of the ingredients in shaving soap is probably by design - which makes sense IE, to stop bleeding and ease razor burn.
I just wondered what this ingredient was so I can avoid it.
My skin is probably quite sensitive because the white paling effect of the shaving soap lasts.
My soaps: Wilkinson Sword blue bowl, Speick stick.

I have no such reaction using plain bath/hand soap.

Cheers Juice
 
Well Juice, I don't know what the ingredient would be (possibly the fragrance?), but you could try other soaps which are less likely to produce the reaction. If you've browsed the board you've probably come across Nanny's Soaps. I don't recall anybody having a problem with these so might be worth a go.

http://www.nannyssillysoap.com/ps/
 
Can't say I've noticed any gr8 probs with most "serious" shaving soaps, although once or twice some highly scented ones I've been given have given me a bit of a highly flushed and tingly skin.
Having had skin probs since my teens I did find that my skin really felt good & over the months I had fewer outbreaks on it once I discovered glycerin based soaps. My fave was Mama Bear's up until our own Prof B came on the scene & made up some glycerin soap, which I can't recommend highly enough. Artisan Soapmaker & our very own Nanny, as mentioned, also produce specialist soaps which are very gentle on the skin.

JohnnyO. \:icon_razz:
 
juice said:
Has anyone noticed the effect of 'shaving soap' on the skin?
One morning whilst shaving, I accidently splashed shaving soap lather on the inside of my upper arm. After shaving I washed it off, but the soap had left a mark or a kind of stain on my skin. The stain was the same shape as the soap splash had been; the mark lasted for several days. I got the same result using a different shaving soap; it left a mark.
Try it for yourself...
I realized it was making my face look a lot paler after shaving.
Has anyone else noticed the 'just shaved look' on peoples faces?
Shaving with normal bath or hand soap has no effect - what is it in shaving soap that causes the blood vessels in the skin to shrink?

I would also like to know; is there a shaving soap out there without this 'ghost white pale' ingredient.

Cheers Juice.
Click to expand...


which shaving soap was it ? or does it happen with all soaps you try ?
 
Pig Cat said:
Well Juice, I don't know what the ingredient would be (possibly the fragrance?), but you could try other soaps which are less likely to produce the reaction. If you've browsed the board you've probably come across Nanny's Soaps. I don't recall anybody having a problem with these so might be worth a go.

nannyssillysoap.com/ps/
Click to expand...

Thanks PC,
I'll give this Nannys soap a try.

Juice.

JohnnyO said:
Can't say I've noticed any gr8 probs with most "serious" shaving soaps, although once or twice some highly scented ones I've been given have given me a bit of a highly flushed and tingly skin.
Having had skin probs since my teens I did find that my skin really felt good & over the months I had fewer outbreaks on it once I discovered glycerin based soaps. My fave was Mama Bear's up until our own Prof B came on the scene & made up some glycerin soap, which I can't recommend highly enough. Artisan Soapmaker & our very own Nanny, as mentioned, also produce specialist soaps which are very gentle on the skin.

JohnnyO. \:icon_razz:
Click to expand...

Thanks JohnnyO,
I'll give Nannys a try.
Which one do you prefer?

Juice
 
I'd probs drop "Nanny" (or Sharon as she's also known) or Prof Blighty (Martin) a pm mentioning the unusual & unwanted reaction you're experiencing together with a list of the ingredients of a soap which causes those reactions. They can then make a suggestion as to what they'd recommend as the mildest soap they produce.
I'm reluctant to suggest any of my own faves as I have no background or knowledge in the ingredients which go into soaps & the soapmakers have experience & feedback which is fairly invaluable in making gentle products.

JohnnyO. \:icon_razz:
 
I would though avoid Nanny's 'Peach Bleach' soap at all costs. It's not for everyone and is her only product that gets poor write-ups. That is from the users who are physically able to write after using it. :s
 
Just a +1 on the above really. As a general rule, I can't use soaps as I get the burning red blotches previously mentioned, however, I can use both Sharon's (Nanny's) and Martin's (Blighty's) without any problems. I'd go for their stuff, you can't go wrong.
 
Can't say this bleached effect has ever appeared on me, but then I'm pale blue naturally :) Nor any blood vessel shrinkage (and I think that's not likely to happen from a topical application of soap - the temperature of the water is going to be a far more significant effect on the capilliaries in your skin than the ingredients of the soap anyway).

There's nothing in shaving soap that you won't find in a standard bar soap (assuming it's not a synthetic detergent bar as opposed to a traditional soap) - perhaps not in every example, but then not all ingredients will be in every shaving soap either...
 
hunnymonster said:
Can't say this bleached effect has ever appeared on me, but then I'm pale blue naturally :) Nor any blood vessel shrinkage (and I think that's not likely to happen from a topical application of soap - the temperature of the water is going to be a far more significant effect on the capilliaries in your skin than the ingredients of the soap anyway).

There's nothing in shaving soap that you won't find in a standard bar soap (assuming it's not a synthetic detergent bar as opposed to a traditional soap) - perhaps not in every example, but then not all ingredients will be in every shaving soap either...
Click to expand...

I had my suspicions.

 
I've never heard of this before. As has been pointed out, if you have an irritated reaction to an ingredient the usual reaction would be redness not whiteness. It's true some men can have a certain pallor after shaving, but I would put that down to exfoliation and a hint of dark beard growth.
Unless you use fake tan on your arm, and leaving soap on it for a long time in one spot has washed it off?
 
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