A little confused... dry or oily - moisturize or not??
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Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:00 pm

Hi all. This is my first post here. I'm a male, early 30's, who has recently transitioned to traditional wet-shaving for my face & neck. Yes, that's right. I use a badger shaving brush, quality shaving soap/cream, and a vintage single edge razor. I'm getting the best shaves of my life now, but I'm confused about what I need to be doing post-shave. I'm not sure if my face is oily or dry? My skin tends to feel a bit greasy & I leave a noticeable face print when lying on face paper. However, I also notice that my face/neck feel tight very often & I'm prone to dry, cracked, & chapped lips in the winter. So from appearance I have oily skin but it can feel very dry. I've tried aftershave splashes (alcohol based - aqua velva & witch hazel) which leaves me feeling very tight. Lately I've decided to try moisturizing since the colder temps are moving in (using bio-oil) which initially is seeming to be better. Unfortunately though, I'm still confused & unsure about what I should really be doing after my daily removal of stubble & epidermis!

I look forward to your replies & expertise. Your willingness to help is greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
Brian

free skin care · Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:14 pm

For your lips, get Eucerin aquaphor and apply them at night. You can apply a lip balm underneath that if you'd like.

Stay away from anything alcohol-based. They will wreak havoc on your skin

I would stop using bio-oil too as a moisturizer. It's not really designed for that purpose and even when you do use it properly, it is mostly just mineral oil with a ton of fillers. I recommend CeraVe - it has a patented blend of ceramides that can restore the skin barrier. Oily and tight feeling can be pretty normal. It's just that your skin is really dry (tight feeling) and is overproducing oil to compensate. However, some skin just doesn't retain the oil so you can still feel like it's tightening. So yeah, I would try an actual facial moisturizer as opposed to bio-oil. If you are keen on using oil, olive, coconut, emu and argan oil are some good choices.

Are you using anything to exfoliate your skin after shaving? Shaving itself does give some nice exfolation, but you may need more if you're still getting ingrown hairs.

free skin care · Sat Nov 19, 2011 1:07 am

Hi there,

I'm not one of the experts on here but I did ask my skin therapist about whats great for men, in particular for my husbands skin.He is mainly oily tzone and normal to dry elsewhere. She recommended more hydrating gels, which are more lightweight and don't feel so heavy on the skin. Especially if you are prone to oiliness and dryness (which is how my skin gets in the winter too).I was told this was mainly due to my skin requiring hydration rather than oils. She recommended vitaman (great for after a shave), which he loves and he even likes the ultraceuticals hydration gel which I use too. He also likes using my dermalogica antioxidant face spritz for a bit of a hydration boost.

Hope that helps

Sat Nov 19, 2011 6:58 am

Thank you for the tips & advice so far. You have already confirmed what I was thinking about being so dry that I was overproducing oil. I'm not sure that I need to exfoliate anymore than my daily shave does. I have a very thick & coarse beard that only the most aggressive of razors can tame. When you pair that with fairly sensitive skin I get plenty in the means of scraping dead skin cells away! Wink

This morning I showered, shaved, and followed with my alum block & then California Baby Super Sensitive face lotion. It feels very nice on my face. I've used it before w/ great results but thought I had found something better. I look forward to continued advice & help with my post-shave regimen.

free skin care · Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:09 am

I think you mean your skin is dehydrated (not enough water) and oily simultaneously? That generally signifies irritation especially if it is a new phenomenon. Wet shaving strips the top layer of stratus corneum, alkaline soap destroys the protective acid mantle, more exfoliation with the bristle brush then the alum block is dehydrating. Crying or Very sad

Beards were more common in the past for good reason!! IMO you would be wise to choose a shaving cream that is slightly acidic and does not contain sulphate surfactants. Use a styptic pencil for individual cuts only. If you use a separate cleanser for the rest of your face you might consider the Oil Cleansing Method as this will help soften stubble and skin without irritation.

Hydrating ingredients to look for in a moisturiser include hyaluronic acid, olive squalane, urea (5%), lactic acid (max 5%), aloe vera, lanolin and allantoin. HA, squalane, urea and lactic acid are all the skin's natural hydrators; urea and lactic acid gently aid exfoliation which may help your shave without so much irritation. HA, allantoin and aloe vera also have scientifically proven healing properties so would be particularly valuable to you. Allantoin paired with calendula extract or aloe vera combined with unrefined shea butter are particularly good for wound healing. For lips - lanolin or unrefined shea butter are fantastic, but avoid petrolatum or mineral oil as recent research suggests they may increase dehydration!

Personal favourites that are not 'girly' include Weleda baby calendula face cream layered over OR emulsified in the hand with aloe vera gel. Alternatively Weleda produce a men's shaving cream, aftershave balm and their Skin Food which is a cult product! Weleda do use a little alcohol but this evaporates as you spread the product in your hands. For lips Lanolips Lemonaid is lovely (not super cheap but lasts months) or you could use Weleda Skin Food for face, lips, hands ... Wink

Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:42 am

Wow, very thorough reply. It will take me some time to look for products with those ingredients. Also, how can I find out if the soap/cream I'm using to shave with is acid or alkaline? Finally, this is not a new phenomenon since I started to wet-shave. My face has been like this since puberty, which is far longer ago than I like to admit... Very Happy

free skin care · Sat Nov 19, 2011 9:41 am

Forgot to mention that a great lip balm would be the Jack Black one that also contains SPF. It has really great reviews on sephora too and comes in some nice flavours

free skin care · Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:08 am

SharpSpine wrote:

Wow, very thorough reply. It will take me some time to look for products with those ingredients. Also, how can I find out if the soap/cream I'm using to shave with is acid or alkaline? Finally, this is not a new phenomenon since I started to wet-shave. My face has been like this since puberty, which is far longer ago than I like to admit... Very Happy

My six finger typing speed is pretty decent! Wink

Sensitive skin is more common than many people realise and damaged or broken skin is highly susceptible to further irritation because the barrier has been breached. Traditional wet shaving leaves more mechanical damage, but modern wet shaving exposes you to more chemical irritation. My male relatives have long since given up wet shaving; the females have mild eczema, mine reacts to shampoo bubbles running down my arm despite rinsing!

Some products may be labelled pH balanced or neutral, and I would expect companies such as Weleda to answer a swift e-mail. Traditional bar soaps will be alkaline, although you may find formulations that are less so. Anything you already own you can test with pH indicator strips (AKA litmus paper, try eBay) which are inexpensive and very easy to use. Be warned: some men find that sort of product addictive. Laughing

Be aware that pH is not a linear scale - every point away from neutral is 10x more acidic/ alkaline than the point before IYSWIM. Just to confuse you skin is acidic at ~5.5 but neutral is 7 so labels can be misleading.

Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:16 pm

Hi Brian,

How you would describe your pore size? I'm learning that skin with large pores tends to respond better to moisturizers that contain some kind of wax, and that skin with small pores would be better off without wax.

It sounds opposite of what I would think (to me, wax=acne). I guess the logic behind the theory is that if the pores are too small the wax pretty much gets in the way and prohibits the skin from absorbing all the good stuff. With large pores, the wax helps lubricate the skin so the good stuff can get in.

Also, I've read the best way to know if you're oily or dry is to wash you face with a neutral cleanser then wait about 20 minutes (don't put anything else on your skin after cleansing). If your skin feels tight it means you're dehydrated and if it feels oily then, well, you're oily.

I used think I had oily skin because I'd wake up and my face felt greasy. At the time I was using lots of acids, benzoil peroxide, gels, etc. because I break out and was paranoid of putting anything with oil on my face. When I stopped using drying products and started moisturizing, my face started feeling "normal" in the morning.

HTH,
Laurie
BTW, that is the coolest way to shave!

Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:03 pm

@Laurie: You should really look into this cool way of shaving for your legs & underarms. I'm getting much better shaves with almost zero irritation. It will be zero irritation once I get my post-shave figured out for my skin type.

@All: Please give me your feedback on my cleansing & moisturizing for tonight...
I cleansed w/ Noxzema original deep cleansing cream.
I moisturized w/ the California Baby super sensitive face & body lotion. I put some on my wet face after rinsing of the Noxzema. After massaging it in I patted off before adding another light coat of the lotion which soaked in nicely. Currently my skin does not feel tight, nor does it feel greasy. It actually feels very smooth (even with 14+ hours of beard growth) and soft.

Is this a good night time cleansing & moisturizing effort?

Tue Nov 22, 2011 11:58 am

Any thoughts/opinions on the Noxzema & California Baby products?

Thanks!

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