Which order? Alum/AS/Balm/Cologne?

U

Umar

Joined
Wednesday April 10, 2013
What order do you apply any treatments to your face after a shave?

I'm currently doing the following

Alum
Balm
Cologne

I'm waiting for some goodies to arrive in the post and so it might be

Alum
Arko Oily cream
Aftershave

I'm thinking aftershave later as it will close the pores.

Is there a "correct" order?
 
For me it is just a splash like Bay Rum, or straight for an After Shave.

I don't use Alum as it dries my face too much, but if I did use it then that would be first.

I would never put cologne on my face post shave, it is too strong.
 
I have no idea what is "correct" but my post shave goes as follows:

Alum
Witch Hazel
Aftershave lotion (splash)
Balm or moisturising cream.

Works well for me. The alum and witch hazel are astringents I believe, which means they close the pores.
 
Only use alum for nicks, don't use balm it's only ASL

Will put some astral on if I've a really dry day
 
Lose the beard said:
For me it is just a splash like Bay Rum, or straight for an After Shave.

I don't use Alum as it dries my face too much, but if I did use it then that would be first.

I would never put cologne on my face post shave, it is too strong.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Good point about the cologne - now I know why I get that "sting"

SmallBeard said:
I have no idea what is "correct" but my post shave goes as follows:

Alum
Witch Hazel
Aftershave lotion (splash)
Balm or moisturising cream.

Works well for me. The alum and witch hazel are astringents I believe, which means they close the pores.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I might get some Witch Hazel. I'm desperately trying to avoid RAD and all purchases razor related but I think resistance is futile :)
 
Umar said:
Lose the beard said:
For me it is just a splash like Bay Rum, or straight for an After Shave.

I don't use Alum as it dries my face too much, but if I did use it then that would be first.

I would never put cologne on my face post shave, it is too strong.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Good point about the cologne - now I know why I get that "sting"

SmallBeard said:
I have no idea what is "correct" but my post shave goes as follows:

Alum
Witch Hazel
Aftershave lotion (splash)
Balm or moisturising cream.

Works well for me. The alum and witch hazel are astringents I believe, which means they close the pores.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I might get some Witch Hazel. I'm desperately trying to avoid RAD and all purchases razor related but I think resistance is futile :)
Click to expand...


Haha, the more you fight it the worse it is, you just have to accept it!

I use just ordinary distilled Witch Hazel, £1.59 from sainsburies, but if you want a fancy and nice smelling one (it doesn't smell too pleasant on it's own!) then have a look for Thayers.
 
You might want to consider using Thayers after shave witch hazel either on its own or after alum. This way you don't need a balm so much as a moisturiser and you can also go for a non alcoholic one as the Thayers A/S has that in.

Alternatively, if you go for an ordinary witch hazel as an astringent then a balm/moisturiser with alcohol may also help.

Either way, I like to have something with alcohol as it gets the blood circulating and leaves you with a warm glow.

If I ever use both a balm and scented A/S I use them in that order but that comes down to pure preference - I can't see that the other way round would make a great difference. Some people say you should not apply A/S to the shaved area but at the base on neck and around ears etc. Don't see the point of that myself.
 
Alum dries out my facial skin so I use it as an anti-perspirant instead. Very effective it is too.

Typically, after my shave it will be an alcohol based AS then Astral cream. I seem to need the alcohol splash to seal the pores and I like the freshening glow it gives me. The alcohol does dry my already finicky skin so some Astral rubbed in sorts me out. Without the alcohol AS, my face get's itchy and blotchy later on. I have tried just using balm and while some work well, none give me the face feel and rich moisturizing of an alcohol AS plus Astral. I couldn't give a shite if folk reckon Astral is just for women - trust me, I ain't no shrinking violet! There is a simple formula to my approach: if it works, I use it. Within the confines of my budget, naturally. Different strokes for different folks though.
 
Thanks for the tips. I'm waiting for some Proraso Pre/Post cream to arrive, along with some of their aftershave. I've also got myself some Arko Cream (with beeswax) and I'll get some Hazelwitch and some girly Astral cream.

The joy of this hobby is the experimentation to find out what works.

So much for being cheaper than a Fusion blade ...

:)
 
The Proraso is great stuff, been using it for two weeks now and love it. I do the same as Gairdner with the Alum though, the skin on my face hates it and it makes me itch like mad even though I rinse it off after a few minutes. Makes a great deoderant/anti-perspirant though. A lot of people like it and you will just have to see if you get on with it. Arko cream is also fantastic IMO, not quite sure on the witchhazel yet and never tried the Astral. If you wanted to try another that is very cheap, easy to find and does wonders for dry/sore skin get yourself some Sudocreme from chemist or in the babies/nappy section in a supermarket. Big tub that lasts for years for a few quid and is really good to the skin after a bad shave.

My normal routine over the last couple of weeks is the Proraso pre and post (less is more where post shave is concerned!)
Let it sink in for a few minutes then apply sudocreme, again less is more or you end up looking like a ghost.
Again let it soak into the skin for a wee while then some AS like Barbershop Bay Rum or Speick.

Don't apply cologne to the face, AS is ok but not cologne. I never realised before joining here that there is a difference between clogne, EDT, and AS. I thought they were all different names for the same thing. There is a write-up somewhere on the differences and when/where they should be applied

And as for it being cheaper? Well it most certainly is! If you can stick to one razor, one soap, one AS, one pack of blades. But nobody ever does and I am quite happy that I don't :)
 
I only use After shave balm, after the shave, I don't put anything else on my face, just sometimes an Axe aftershave for the nice scent that my girlfriend likes, but mostly just after shave balm from Nivea.
 
daz said:
Don't apply cologne to the face, AS is ok but not cologne. I never realised before joining here that there is a difference between clogne, EDT, and AS. I thought they were all different names for the same thing. There is a write-up somewhere on the differences and when/where they should be applied
Click to expand...

It's the thread in the "sticky" section at the top of the sub-forum we're posting in!:icon_lol::icon_cheesygrin::p Here's the direct link:

http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/forum/thread-4699.html
 
alum, aftershave, balm, cologne
in general most liquid to most oily for shaving things. cologne is smell and not skin so after oily balm.
 
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