a good soap for sensitive skin?

[papi]

Hello, I appreciate if anyone knows of a good soap for sensitive skin. I have been useing the cheep stuff, and it is burning my face. I may not be whiping enough too, but still I can feel the strong detergent. I have seen some asvertised, but before I send for it, I wanted to ask the forum. thanks again

[goby]

I don't know if Institute Karit extra gentle soap is good for sensitive skin, but it is a great soap. In fact, it is an amazing soap.

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/thumbnail.asp?file=assets/images/SS-INS-845.jpg&maxx=300&maxy=0

[tester]

You would probably want something with simple ingredients, low on the perfume. I have sensitive skin too and find glycerine soaps irritate the neck by cutting too close.

Best soap for sensitve skin...Cella. Stay with tallow shave soaps if you want lots of protection.

It gets slammed here big time, and it does clog the razor, but IMO Zirh shaving cream does protect the skin the best when shaving - slight menthol and lots of aloe. You won't get a close shave with Zirh, but it will protect your skin beyond imagination. It's a great way to get used to a DE razor without slashing up the face.

In DE technique is EVERYTHING. Practice your technique with Zirh, then go give Cella a try.

[oversaturn]

I don't know if Institute Karit extra gentle soap is good for sensitive skin, but it is a great soap. In fact, it is an amazing soap.

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/thumbnail.asp?file=assets/images/SS-INS-845.jpg&maxx=300&maxy=0

+1 on Institut Karité!

[tester]

I don't have Institute Karite...looks like I have to buy another soap.

Is it shea butter?

[Perished]

Proraso!!
A must for all 'sensitive' skin.

[Go West Young Man]

What is "the cheap stuff"?

[Geordon]

What is "the cheap stuff"?

+1. Gotta tell what you've tried before we can assist.

[cymric]

You would probably want something with simple ingredients, low on the perfume. I have sensitive skin too and find glycerine soaps irritate the neck by cutting too close.
Low on perfume, yes. Glycerin soaps do not cut close as a rule, nor does any soap. So that advice is not particularly useful.


Best soap for sensitve skin...Cella. Stay with tallow shave soaps if you want lots of protection.
Tallow does not offer protection on its own. There are soaps without tallow which are just as good—just think of nearly every shaving cream out there, and the various veggie soaps. That said, Cella is a good suggestion as it is very low on harmful ingredients.


It gets slammed here big time, and it does clog the razor, but IMO Zirh shaving cream does protect the skin the best when shaving - slight menthol and lots of aloe. You won't get a close shave with Zirh, but it will protect your skin beyond imagination. It's a great way to get used to a DE razor without slashing up the face.
Then Zirh is a bad choice. How on Earth can you judge technique when it clogs the razor and leaves you with stubble? Second, menthol does not protect the skin. Instead it numbs it, i.e. a bad idea for when you're learning to shave. (And even with knowledge of how to shave I still think it is monumentally stupid to shave with anything containing sufficient menthol to trigger the cold receptors in sufficient amounts to begin desensitising the skin.) On top of that it is hideously expensive. In other words: stay away from Zirh, and save the money for a styptic pen and a decent balm. That will be a more worthwhile investment than spending it on overpriced cactus extract.

Instead of going for a soap, you may want to search out a good cream instead of a soap, papi. Creams are easier to lather, eliminating one variable from the shaving process. Suggestions: TOBS, Bodyshop, Musgo Real, Arko, JM Frasers, La Toja. Stay away from traffic accidents like Proraso, Bigelow or Omega: you don't want menthol yet.

[Son]

Proraso!!
A must for all 'sensitive' skin.

Green Proraso is far from good for sensitive skin. Proraso White, otoh, is good for sensitive skin. So, it is important sometimes to be clear in recommendations.

Institute Carite is a good soap with it's generous shea butter presence.

My choice for soap for sensitive skin would be EJ/Muehle Sea Buckthorn or EJ/Muehle Aloe Vera. Speick stick is also very mild with it's valeriana celtica and lavender.

[LinuxMintyFresh]

Proraso!!
A must for all 'sensitive' skin.

Don't a lot of people have sensitivity issues with Proraso?

[tester]

Low on perfume, yes. Glycerin soaps do not cut close as a rule, nor does any soap. So that advice is not particularly useful.


Tallow does not offer protection on its own. There are soaps without tallow which are just as good—just think of nearly every shaving cream out there, and the various veggie soaps. That said, Cella is a good suggestion as it is very low on harmful ingredients.


Then Zirh is a bad choice. How on Earth can you judge technique when it clogs the razor and leaves you with stubble? Second, menthol does not protect the skin. Instead it numbs it, i.e. a bad idea for when you're learning to shave. (And even with knowledge of how to shave I still think it is monumentally stupid to shave with anything containing sufficient menthol to trigger the cold receptors in sufficient amounts to begin desensitising the skin.) On top of that it is hideously expensive. In other words: stay away from Zirh, and save the money for a styptic pen and a decent balm. That will be a more worthwhile investment than spending it on overpriced cactus extract.

Instead of going for a soap, you may want to search out a good cream instead of a soap, papi. Creams are easier to lather, eliminating one variable from the shaving process. Suggestions: TOBS, Bodyshop, Musgo Real, Arko, JM Frasers, La Toja. Stay away from traffic accidents like Proraso, Bigelow or Omega: you don't want menthol yet.

Wow...having a bad day dude?

[Obsessed]

Art of Shaving unscented.

[kingfisher]

Wow...having a bad day dude?

I think cymric is the kind of guy who tells it like it is. I don't think he's having a bad day.

[jasonGjordan]

Green Proraso is far from good for sensitive skin. Proraso White, is good for sensitive skin. So, it is important sometimes to be clear in recommendations.
.

This is a great soap. Loaded with Green Tea.. which is a antioxidant and helps sooth redness. This is your "cheap" go to soap. And it will last forever. This is what you looking for , no doubt.

[Dewaine]

No one has mentioned Van Der Hagen Deluxe. It is extremely mild, and very protective.

[Dennis]

I was going to suggest IK. Very high shea butter - 25%. Very protective, great, simple everyday soap. Other French soaps might work too like Pre de Provence or Provence Sante, but I think IK is what you are looking for.

[ackvil]

Hands down try Mama Bears Unscented Glycerin Shave Soap 100% Natural. I just tried it for the first time and it is excellent.:thumbup:

[LinuxMintyFresh]

I think cymric is the kind of guy who tells it like it is. I don't think he's having a bad day.
The response was a bit brazen though.

[Zepher]

Nothing wrong with my Zirh. As with any shave soap or cream, rinsing your blade is key to a comfortable shave. Nor is Zirh overpriced. I think it doesn't find much favour with DE nostalgists...so what. Is it a soap, is it a cream - I dunno, but it works for me and that's OK. If have it in my rotation and it is indeed very different and unique item to use. My skin looks and feels great afterwards and it performs better than the snooty, overhyped and overpriced new Pens English Fern IMO, but someone may find the new Pens a gift from the gods.

As previous posters mentioned, AoS unscented would be a fine choice. This is an expensive choice IMO, but if it works for you with sensitive skin then it will be worth it. The valobra stick is the kissin' cousin of AoS soaps, lightly scented and would make a great first soap.

Whatever soap works for you, its worth every penny. If it doesn't work for you, then you'll feel you overpaid. You'll have to buy several and you'll be the final judge. Keep it simple and don't spend a lot of money.

[papi]

What is "the cheap stuff"?

I have been using van der hagen, at $1.54 each.

[papi]

I will learn, tomorrow I am going to get a lot of lather and more water. I think I may be using too much soap, not enough suds. Your feedback is appreciated.

[papi]

Yea, the cheap stuff is van der hagen, and I dont mean to trash it. I know I read one reply where someone like it. I paid $1.54 at walmart for it. thats pretty cheap, and thats what I meant. As for it burning my face, thats my problem, maybe not the soap. Well any way, just for the record, just saying that I have been using vintage safty razors for about 40 years now. I never used anything but can shave cream. This is very new, but I think I know part of the problem. I have not made enough lather, but instead been rubbing too much soap into my skin. This is the first time I have used warm water, so my pores are open more too. I might go back to cold water, if I still could make lather with cold. I still want to buy a better soap, no ofense to someone who likes van der hagen. You only live once, what the hay he haw. best, papi.

[rambus007]

If you have sensitive skin then I would also recommend Proraso in the white tub. This is for sensitive skin. It contains tea tree oil (also known as melaleuca oil) which is a natural antiseptic and aloe. I have this and I use it about 4 out of 7 days of the week. I also have the pre-shave cream in white and green and I like the white more.

I find that sometimes my skin 'burns' too when I shave. For me I'm pretty sure it's because I didn't add enough water. I would recommend shaving with hot or warm water rather than cold.

When I shave and find that my lather has dried out, I will simply add a few drops of hot/warm water onto my brush and lather again on my face directly and this will eliminate the dryness and burning feeling. You can do the same thing with a puck of Williams soap which is also under $2 at Walmart. I usually soap my Williams for about 10 secs in hot water, then pour out the water before I begin to lather with my brush. My brush is also wet and I only pinch it to remove excess water; I don't flick it because I still need water in the brush. This is my method for creating lather and it seems to work fine for me. I also have been lucky enough to have found a pewter shaving bowl that holds heat well and it only cost me $5!

[Obsessed]

This is obviously a big YMMV situation, but I'm going to have to disagree about tea tree oil being good for sensitive skin. At least in my case, I find it very drying and irritating.

That said, I actually didn't know that the Proraso soap in the white tub contained tea tree oil; if it does, it's probably a low concentration since the soap did not bother my skin. I don't use it anymore, but only because I did not like the scent.

[Kenno]

are you sure you have sensitive skin?

not all lathers are equal. learn to make a proper lather. what most people think is an irratation from a soap or cream is razor burn after the fact you haven't used enough product and made a good lather. then once you've been bitten by a product just smelling it or looking at it will give you a red face. like a placebo effect.

soak ya brush and give her some good shakes so it's just damp, once you've loaded the brush enough (proraso soap takes me just over a minute) wet ya face and spread the soap all over ya face, then dip the brush around half an inch or so into some water. i don't go for this couple of drops of water bit as the lather ends up way too dry. you'll know the lather is gonna be good when the brush starts releasing gobs of lather around ya face, not just spreading a thin even coat, you want a pretty good thick covering. don't go overboard with the water, (after the first dip maybe just another small one and that should do ya) and build that lather for 3 mins.

most important is make sure you have enough soap or cream loaded. for your second pass if your not sure youve loaded enough grab so me more cream or soft soap, rub it on ya face and lather some more. with a hard soap load some more up on ya brush if ya gotta.

i thought i was having a reaction to some soaps and creams till i learnt how to make a proper lather and use enough product.

after you learn how to make a lather after shave splash or after shave will be a pleasure to use, instead of bracing yourself for the sting.

don't be cheap with something that is cheap.

[Go West Young Man]

Yah, VDH is pretty neutral, shouldn't be giving you any irritation just from using it.
Sounds more like you need to work on your lather and your prep a bit more, should be a fairly easy fix to make if you re-read the tutorials and think through your routine a bit.