Gentlemen,
For my 500th post, I thought I would submit my amateur findings in relation to various conditions observed in relation to my shaving which I may have hereinbefore erroneously blamed on irritant shaving creams.
In some of my earlier posts, I mentioned that I developed inflammation and/or contact dermatitis from certain toothpaste (like Marvis cinnamon, Tom's of Maine Cinnamon/Clove and so on).
It was my belief that the cause of the irritation was an allergic reaction to cinnamic aldehyde (or cinnamal or any of another of other names this synthetic is known by).
Yet I have just learned that a tube of Elgydium whitening has caused the exact same issue for me - and this product does not specifically name cinnamic aldehyde (although it could be buried within the vague epithet of "flavour").
My experience was a stinging at the corner of the mouth, followed by a painful splitting/breakout and an awful sensitivity within the mouth. I'm no medico, but I'm led to believe this is chelitis, contact dermatitis, stomatitis, urticaria, etc.
Cinnamal/cinnamic aldehyde/etc has been implicated in other studies (but I cannot be certain it is my allergen of choice because products apparently without it have been OK, and products with it have not apparently caused any issues):
Ceasing use of the suspicious product leads to eventual clear-up and immense relief.
Importantly...
Ultimately, I will need a proper allergen test, but I wanted to share my observation that where I thought I was allergic to certain creams or even had a bad blade, I may well have been suffering from the aforedescribed allergic reactions to an ingredient in my toothpaste or mouthwash.
In hindsight, I now believe that some of my recent less-desirable irritating shaves have been less about technique, blade quality, prep or shaving product, and possibly linked to intra-oral allergens. I may well be wrong, but I realised I had an issue when I started "reacting" to my Musgo Real (to which I never previously did). I changed my dental regime and now the Musgo is back to normal. I have also retried the CF Lavender (which generally gives me a red reaction) and I have been really fine with it (so much so, that I may have to recant my earlier dubious opinion of it).
I present this as a sort-of epiphany, and I would urge those with irritation issues to reconsider their position in light of the possible application of these observations to themselves. You may well have "sensitive skin", but not necessarily for the reasons you first thought.
I welcome your views, comments, objections, professional opinions, comparisons et al.
For my 500th post, I thought I would submit my amateur findings in relation to various conditions observed in relation to my shaving which I may have hereinbefore erroneously blamed on irritant shaving creams.
In some of my earlier posts, I mentioned that I developed inflammation and/or contact dermatitis from certain toothpaste (like Marvis cinnamon, Tom's of Maine Cinnamon/Clove and so on).
It was my belief that the cause of the irritation was an allergic reaction to cinnamic aldehyde (or cinnamal or any of another of other names this synthetic is known by).
Yet I have just learned that a tube of Elgydium whitening has caused the exact same issue for me - and this product does not specifically name cinnamic aldehyde (although it could be buried within the vague epithet of "flavour").
My experience was a stinging at the corner of the mouth, followed by a painful splitting/breakout and an awful sensitivity within the mouth. I'm no medico, but I'm led to believe this is chelitis, contact dermatitis, stomatitis, urticaria, etc.
Cinnamal/cinnamic aldehyde/etc has been implicated in other studies (but I cannot be certain it is my allergen of choice because products apparently without it have been OK, and products with it have not apparently caused any issues):
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2922711/
- http://www.dermnetnz.org/reactions/toothpaste-reactions.html
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19178409
- http://www.worldallergy.org/public/allergic_diseases_center/contactdermatitis/
Ceasing use of the suspicious product leads to eventual clear-up and immense relief.
Importantly...
Ultimately, I will need a proper allergen test, but I wanted to share my observation that where I thought I was allergic to certain creams or even had a bad blade, I may well have been suffering from the aforedescribed allergic reactions to an ingredient in my toothpaste or mouthwash.
In hindsight, I now believe that some of my recent less-desirable irritating shaves have been less about technique, blade quality, prep or shaving product, and possibly linked to intra-oral allergens. I may well be wrong, but I realised I had an issue when I started "reacting" to my Musgo Real (to which I never previously did). I changed my dental regime and now the Musgo is back to normal. I have also retried the CF Lavender (which generally gives me a red reaction) and I have been really fine with it (so much so, that I may have to recant my earlier dubious opinion of it).
I present this as a sort-of epiphany, and I would urge those with irritation issues to reconsider their position in light of the possible application of these observations to themselves. You may well have "sensitive skin", but not necessarily for the reasons you first thought.
I welcome your views, comments, objections, professional opinions, comparisons et al.
