understanding after shave

Hi all, im relatively new to this and am trying to understand the diff and adv/disadv of aftershave and post shave balms, having just read the proraso thread, which is the next cream/balm combo i waana buy, im trying to understnad what to go for?

cheers
james

What an aftershave is depends on what you want an aftershave to be. Some are not much more than alcohol and fragrance, some have ingredients to moisturize, tighten skin, soothe razor burn, or otherwise nourish your skin with or without alcohol.

In general alcohol based aftershaves are more about scent and sterilizing open wounds. Witch hazel based aftershaves tighten skin. Balms do a better job at soothing. Of course this doesn't always apply, doing the research is 1/2 the fun of buying new products.

It took me a while to figure out that usually an aftershave "lotion" is usually a alcohol based splash (color tinted transparent liquid like Proraso.)
=lotion.


A balm is usually a creamier aftershave, usually without alcohol.
=balm/cream

I thought lotions and balms would both be thicker and creamy. This is a generalization and I'm sure there are exceptions to these definitions.

my experience:
spalsh: thin liquid, often slight sting due to alcohol. refreshing and toning but not overly moisturizing. good for warm weather.
balm: thicker consistency, more soothing and moisturizing, better for cooler weather

I know there are some colognes that are similar to AS and visa versa

jamespriestley said:

Hi all, im relatively new to this and am trying to understand the diff and adv/disadv of aftershave and post shave balms, having just read the proraso thread, which is the next cream/balm combo i waana buy, im trying to understnad what to go for?

cheers
james

Click to expand...

I would suggest trying both to see what works best for you. Chances are, you'll prefer one but still use the other occasionally.

Check out the wiki:

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Aftershaves

It includes reviews of different as for various skin types/purposes.

I use an alcohol based AS clubman. I find it disinfects my skin after shaving, it seems to keep ingrowns at bay. Sometimes, I use a moisturizing balm after the clubman has evaporated. 90% ofthe time, I just splash on the clubman though. It's good stuff.