I have tried several non-alcoholic balms for sensitive skin like the Nivea white bottle and Thayers witch hazel. One thing I noticed was I actually got more ingrown hairs when applying these after a shave. Would a aftershave with a good amount of alcohol actually help reduce ingrowns because of the antiseptic properties?
Do alcohol aftershaves reduce ingrown hairs?
- Thread starter CoolGuy90
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I don't really see how, but maybe for you the alcohol actually reduces irritation? YMMV after all!
Ingrown hairs are usually due to poor shaving technique. Use an Alum block after a cool water rinse. If it stings, your technique is off. Alum also works as an astringent and antiseptic. Follow the alum with witch hazel. Witch hazel is soothing to irritated skin. An alcohol based AS will also sting if the skin is irritated and may have some antiseptic properties as well.
I am having no ingrown hairs since starting DE shaving. Not sure what is the ultimate cause, but I'm happy!
- Thread starter
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Any specific witch hazel?
reduce burn after a shave..ingrowns are caused for different reasons..might wanna ask an MD
I think Thayers alcohol free witch hazel can very effective against ingrowns. Many guys also fail to wash and rinse the neck area post shave.
After your shave, pat dry, don't rub. Apply witch hazel, wait until it dries, then apply aftershave. This is my routine and no ingrown hairs since I started using a DE.
I use Thayers alcohol free Witch Hazel with aloe vera...works very well...would highly recommend it
You might want to read up on what they are and what causes them. An antiseptic may reduce symptoms (of the infection) but it's not a preventative solution for ingrowns.
I think that's there's a root cause that you need to find. What type of razor are you using and how many passes? Do you exfoliate at all (rough scrub or face lathering)? The reason I ask is that I believe ingrown hairs are caused by the hair not being able to grown back through it's natural opening (i.e. - took a detour into your skin instead of finding daylight). This can be from either shaving the hair to below the surface or having dead skin cells blocking the opening. I used to get them when I used the 4 blade Gillette razors that would actually cut the hair so short it couldn't find it's way back out. With DE shaving 1 or 2 passes, I might not get a below the skin closeness but I don't get ingrown hairs either.
+1
just use speick splash when in doubt
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I've never had ingrown hairs since I started shaving with a DE razor and using Aqua Velva. Coincidence? I dunno.
