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Your face deserves better
As if you didn't already know this, shaving is brutal to your face. Even in the best circumstances -- using plenty of lubricating shaving cream and a super sharp razor on a warm, softened beard -- you're always dangerously close to cutting yourself, causing skin abrasions and rashes, creating clogged pores, ingrown hairs, and infection. That's why preshave and aftershave were invented, to protect and tone very sensitive skin, before and after a shave. Love your face and others will, too.
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There's More to Shaving Than Cutting
- Most preshave lotions are made for use before an electric shave. Because they often have alcohol, which can dry your skin, and chemicals that disperse water, it's best not to use them before shaving with a handle razor.
- The best preshave ritual for a handle razor is a hot shower, where the warmth and steam soften your beard and moisturize your face.
- Aftershave lotions usually consist of an astringent that disinfects and soothes irritated skin and tightens pores. They fall into two categories:
- Alcoholic: generally antiseptic and cooling, with ingredients like menthol, glycerin, and allantoin.
- Nonalcoholic: often soothing and hydrating formulas with ingredients like stearic acid, triethanolamine, and lanolin.
- You can use astringents like witch hazel as aftershave toners. Some contain aloe, which is very soothing.
- The comfort factor of an aftershave can be enhanced by all sorts of emollients and other ingredients like fats, waxes, vegetable oils, and antiseptics (allantoin, alum, witch hazel). Look for products with ingredients you like and watch out for allergies.
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Evaporating agents
These agents serve to disperse oil and have mild antimicrobial activity. They evaporate quickly from the skin, producing a cooling effect. As they evaporate from your skin, they leave a tingling sensation.
Emollients
Emollients work by forming a protective layer over your skin, keeping in the moisture. They are all oily or oil-like chemicals. In fact, olive oil and other plant oils are very effective emollients. Mineral or silicon oils are also great emollients. They can be very water-repellant like petrolatum and lanolin, which is good because they can keep moisture in your skin. Emollients soften skin and ease the pain of dryness.
Astringents
Astringents pull proteins and irritants out of sweat, blood, and other liquids. This can have a soothing effect on irritated skin and help razor nicks clot faster. They can produce a mild tightening effect on skin, but cannot shrink pores.
Counterirritants
Counterirritants distract from feelings of pain by creating cooling and warming sensations. No one is sure how this is accomplished, but it is thought that either the sensation produced from counterirritants masks pain or stimulates neurons to lower the capacity to feel pain.
Antiseptics
Antiseptics help keep microbes in check on your skin's surface. They should only be used on unbroken uninfected skin.
Surfactants
Surfactants allow you to combine oil and water. They are used in shaving lotions to keep all the various chemicals mixed. Surfactants also act as cleaning agents at higher concentrations.
| Evaporating Agents | Ingredient | Description |
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| Alcohol | ? | Leaves the skin tingling. In large amounts, it's harmful to your health. | | Emollients | Ingredient | Description |
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| Allantoin | ? | Soothes and helps minor cuts heal faster and promotes growth of healthy skin cells. | | Plant oils | ? | Coming from various plants (olives, corn, sunflower), they help prevent dehydration and retain water. | | Fatty acids | ? | Important for healthy skin growth. | | Fatty alcohols | ? | Included in shaving creams to keep the skin moist. | | Astringents | Ingredient | Description |
|---|
| Aluminum acetate | ? | An aluminum salt that helps stop bleeding from razor cuts and soothes irritated skin. It also has antiseptic properties. | | Aluminum sulfate | ? | A type of aluminum salt, it helps stop bleeding from razor cuts and soothes irritated skin. It has antiseptic properties. | | Hamamelis water NF XI (witch hazel) | ? | An extract from hamamelis virginiana, it helps stop bleeding from razor cuts and soothes irritated skin. It has anesthetic properties. | | Aluminum chloride hexahydrate | ? | An aluminum salt that helps stop bleeding from razor cuts, it also soothes irritated skin. It has antiseptic properties and may cause irritation to the skin. | | Tannic acid | ? | Helps stop bleeding from razor cuts and soothes irritated skin. However, its overuse may result in irritation to the skin. | | Counterirritants | Ingredient | Description |
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| Camphor | ? | A pleasant smelling and effective counterirritant, it leaves the skin cool and can act as a preservative. | | Menthol | ? | A minty smelling counterirritant that is effective in relieving discomfort due to its cooling sensation and anesthetic properties. At high concentrations, it can affect the mucous membranes. | | Antiseptics | Ingredient | Description |
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| Aluminum phenolsulfonate | ? | Often found in powdered form, it's an effective antimicrobial agent with antiseptic properties. | | Surfactants | Ingredient | Description |
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| Triethanolamine | ? | Helps hold the various ingredients in the product together. It can cause irritations. |
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Appropriate Uses
Preshave lotion
Tightens facial skin so that it's easier to use an electric shaver.
Aftershave lotion
Soothes skin irritated from shaving, and, when it contains allantoin, promotes the healing of minor cuts.
Pamper Your Face
- If you're using an electric shaver, a preshave lotion will help prepare your beard.
- Soften your face and beard with a hot shower before shaving with a razor.
- Afterward, rinse your face with cool water and apply a soothing aftershave.
- If you have sensitive skin, you may want to use a nonalcohol-based cream or gel aftershave.
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Aftershave Can Hurt
- Alcohol-based aftershave will irritate sensitive skin.
- Do not use if you are allergic to any ingredient in the product.
- Product is poisonous. If ingested, seek medical attention.
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Websites, Organizations & Manufacturers
Sources & Further Reading
Books
- 1. Winter, R.A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients. Random House, Ince. New York 1994.
- 2. Michalun, N and MV Michalun.Skin Care and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary. Milday Pub. Co. Albany, NY 1994.
Find more books on health and wellness at  barnesandnoble.com.
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