Looking for a new post-shave

I'm currently looking for a more natural alternative to what I'm using but even these seem to have synthetic additives. I almost bought the Naissance aloe vera gel but it had a few not so good reviews, saying there were a few 'nasties' in the mix. I don't know. I've used Weleda a lot and like it. Homemade might be the way to go?
 
I'll second the Nivea as I used it for years. However Executive Shaving do one that can be used as an all over face moisturiser. My friend got me some as I hadn't had any of their products before. Not that cheap but if you moisturise this could work well.
 
Late to reply here (unless I replied before!) but I would +1 on Nivea sensitive for price and quality.
Proraso green (Eucalyptus and menthol) is superb and I think perhaps the most refreshing of all balms.
BUT...my absolute number 1 post-shave (and works well as a pre-shave too) is Geo. F. Trumper's West Indian Limes Skin Food.

It may seem quite pricey but you only need a very small amount so a bottle lasts for ages. It's completely non-greasy and absorbs quickly, with a long-lasting 'face-feel' that I reckon is second to none. It also has a very low-level scent which is refreshing to put on but works really well and doesn't clash with any aftershave splash or EDT etc.

I can't recommend this stuff highly enough...and there are samples out there if you want to try it!
 
Shave to the grave said:
As an after thought, I've just noticed the pesky 'yellow5' is in there...:eek:
Still, I'll take a look.
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You know what, STTG, I hadn't really paid much attention to the Tartrazine content, but it is definitely a concern. Effectively, it's only included as a colourant as far as I know, so I don't know why they bother including it. i'm sure it would be just as good as a balm without it. I'm going to check out the ingredients of the other Skin foods...maybe one of them is as good or better! Glad you flagged that up;):)

Addendum...just checked a few other GFT ingredients and it seems many contain questionable compounds etc, but they are common in other skin care products too. WTF is worth using?, i ask myself more and more often!:eek::rolleyes::confused: I might just stick to Nivea and Proraso Green...do they contain any shit?

Addendum 2... Just decided that as my favourite pre-shave is Proraso Green Cream, and my favourite AS splash is Proraso Green as well, I might play it safe and stick with Proraso green AS Balm too. As I mentioned earlier, it's in my all time top 3 anyway...but you really got me thinking about the ingredients in GFT Skin Food. love the stuff, but there is quite a bit of evidence about the potential effects of Tartrazine. (Bugger and damn!):rolleyes::confused::D

Final edit...STTG...I would go by your own instinct rather than my recommendation on GFT...maybe go with Proraso Green?
 
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Greybeard said:
You know what, STTG, I hadn't really paid much attention to the Tartrazine content, but it is definitely a concern. Effectively, it's only included as a colourant as far as I know, so I don't know why they bother including it. i'm sure it would be just as good as a balm without it. I'm going to check out the ingredients of the other Skin foods...maybe one of them is as good or better! Glad you flagged that up;):)

Addendum...just checked a few other GFT ingredients and it seems many contain questionable compounds etc, but they are common in other skin care products too. WTF is worth using?, i ask myself more and more often!:eek::rolleyes::confused: I might just stick to Nivea and Proraso Green...do they contain any shit?

Addendum 2... Just decided that as my favourite pre-shave is Proraso Green Cream, and my favourite AS splash is Proraso Green as well, I might play it safe and stick with Proraso green AS Balm too. As I mentioned earlier, it's in my all time top 3 anyway...but you really got me thinking about the ingredients in GFT Skin Food. love the stuff, but there is quite a bit of evidence about the potential effects of Tartrazine. (Bugger and damn!):rolleyes::confused::D

Final edit...STTG...I would go by your own instinct rather than my recommendation on GFT...maybe go with Proraso Green?
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Good post there GB,thanks. With the exception of the White Proraso, I think the others all have that classic Ye Olde world barbershop scent & they smell great. I've almost finished one of their balms & the green one was next. They do work well. I've been using the green splash and yes, it's got a lovely scent etc. I had about a third of a bottle left but binned it a few days ago...:eek:. I think you'd be surprised at the ingredient list re the splashes, particularly the new red one. Amongst other things, tartrazine is present. Many people,myself included, have to avoid any foods that are artificially coloured yellow or orange. Coldrinks, fruit juices etc. I'm not sure I'd want to slap it on my face either. As you rightly say, why do they use it at all? I suppose it makes the product look better. Even the Aloe Vera gels,creams
etc claiming to be natural and organic, have synthetic additives. They have to. They're on the shelves a long time!
The thing is this, each time we shave we're essentially removing a very thin layer of skin. Fresh skin is exposed & then we pour, for the most part, chemicals onto it. It's ironic really that we wet shave because we know it's better for our skin, yet we finish the shave with a few not so healthy chemicals...:confused:. I think it's important we take more notice of the ingredients & then make a decision as to whether we want to use them. As for which one to use, who knows...
Just as a PS... back in the day, aftershaves were au natural, rum & water...feel the burn...:D.
They used it to disinfect the many cuts they suffered whilst shaving.
 
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Shave to the grave said:
Good post there GB,thanks. With the exception of the White Proraso, I think the others all have that classic Ye Olde world barbershop scent & they smell great. I've almost finished one of their balms & the green one was next. They do work well. I've been using the green splash and yes, it's got a lovely scent etc. I had about a third of a bottle left but binned it a few days ago...:eek:. I think you'd be surprised at the ingredient list re the splashes, particularly the new red one. Amongst other things, tartrazine is present. Many people,myself included, have to avoid any foods that are artificially coloured yellow or orange. Coldrinks, fruit juices etc. I'm not sure I'd want to slap it on my face either. As you rightly say, why do they use it at all? I suppose it makes the product look better. Even the Aloe Vera gels,creams
etc claiming to be natural and organic, have synthetic additives. They have to. They're on the shelves a long time!
The thing is this, each time we shave we're essentially removing a very thin layer of skin. Fresh skin is exposed & then we pour, for the most part, chemicals onto it. It's ironic really that we wet shave because we know it's better for our skin, yet we finish the shave with a few not so healthy chemicals...:confused:. I think it's important we take more notice of the ingredients & then make a decision as to whether we want to use them. As for which one to use, who knows...
Just as a PS... back in the day, aftershaves were au natural, rum & water...feel the burn...:D.
They used it to disinfect the many cuts they suffered whilst shaving.
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I'm going to be paying a little more attention to ingredients in future, but in the meantime I would probably recommend Fine AS splashes for minimalist ingredients (I'm sure I could be wrong about them too though!). ;)
 
Greybeard said:
I'm going to be paying a little more attention to ingredients in future, but in the meantime I would probably recommend Fine AS splashes for minimalist ingredients (I'm sure I could be wrong about them too though!). ;)
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At first glance, the Fine does look like a good contender & I've thought I should try it. As we all know, the 'additives' are virtually impossible to avoid, they are in absolutely everything. We can just do our best to avoid them as much as possible.
Fine market their product as containing only four ingredients, alcohol, water, fragrance & menthol. Now, I'm not suggesting you do this, but if you have got a bit of time on your hands, check out 'fragrances'. It's interesting,very...:D
I can't get the link but you can google 'what you need to know about fragrances well+good'.
 
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Shave to the grave said:
At first glance, the Fine does look like a good contender & I've thought I should try it. As we all know, the 'additives' are virtually impossible to avoid, they are in absolutely everything. We can just do our best to avoid them as much as possible.
Fine market their product as containing only four ingredients, alcohol, water, fragrance & menthol. Now, I'm not suggesting you do this, but if you have got a bit of time on your hands, check out 'fragrances'. It's interesting,very...:D
I can't get the link but you can google 'what you need to know about fragrances well+good'.
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Yup...even as I was typing my post about Fine AS, it occurred to me that to achieve any scent requires many individual ingredients. BTW, what was the ingredient that made you bin the Proraso Green splash?

Edit: Ah...I see, it has Yellow 5 in it as well! Aaaaaaaagh! That's a real bummer!
 
Greybeard said:
Yup...even as I was typing my post about Fine AS, it occurred to me that to achieve any scent requires many individual ingredients. BTW, what was the ingredient that made you bin the Proraso Green splash?

Edit: Ah...I see, it has Yellow 5 in it as well! Aaaaaaaagh! That's a real bummer!
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Ha ha, it sure is. I think I might try a bit of post shave DIY soon. Finally, two words which could change the way you think about aftershaves forever. Urine therapy...:eek:
 
Shave to the grave said:
Ha ha, it sure is. I think I might try a bit of post shave DIY soon. Finally, two words which could change the way you think about aftershaves forever. Urine therapy...:eek:
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I won't ask! I will however say that you have opened my old ignorant eyes on this topic and I've decided, after some initial research, that I am going to review my complete shaving set up and routine. I already stopped using alum a week or so ago, but I think I'm going to switch to non-coloured AS splash and more natural ones.
Any suggestions?
 
Greybeard said:
I won't ask! I will however say that you have opened my old ignorant eyes on this topic and I've decided, after some initial research, that I am going to review my complete shaving set up and routine. I already stopped using alum a week or so ago, but I think I'm going to switch to non-coloured AS splash and more natural ones.
Any suggestions?
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Yes. I've used Weleda a/s balm on & off for years & am currently using the Speick a/s splash. I would use the Weleda a/s water if I could just get hold of it! Speick is the closest I could get to 'user friendly'. They do a very,very good shave stick.
 
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