My skin is so dry, help!

I have really dry skin as well.

I read a tip from Mantic59 that it can take up to 3 minutes to hydrate your face properly before you shave, so on days I shower before shaving, I let the water run over my face for a minute or two until I can feel the water hanging onto my facial hair. That really improved my shaves as well. I don't dry off my face when I get out of the shower. I then add more water to my face and use Lucky Tiger face wash to clean my face and prep for shaving.

Lately, I have been alternating using Razorock XXX and Razorock Don Marco soaps. I find that if I put the tip of my brush in water and lightly go over my lathered face that it makes the lather a have a little more slickness and adds a little more moisture to the mix.

After my shave, I rinse with water and use Thayers Unscented Alcohol-Free Witch Hazel Toner (not the unscented astringent which has a nearly identical label) to further remove and traces of shaving residue.

I find that if I don't immediately wash off the remaining soap residue when I finish shaving that the lather will dry on my face. The Don Marco will turn into white flakes and fall off my face, so I rinse my face quickly and apply the toner. I follow that up with Lucky Tiger After Shave and Face Tonic (after the toner dries). And finally I use Lucky Tiger Premium Facial Moisturizer.

I found that the face moisturizer is not too heavy on the face (like the Aveno I was previously using) but the scent did clash with the Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm so I started using the Lucky Tiger after shave instead of the balm.

That routine is working for me.

GloryUprising said:

Mystic water soaps are a fantastic hydrator.

+1 for any glycerin post shave (eg geo thumper skin food or Baxter post shave balm), be sure to put another layer of lotion on top so the glycerin has something to pull moisture from.

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444 para depois de barbear


and a humidifier

It's wintertime and you're going to dry out faster. You should be drinking more water to rehydrate the body.

If you're still feeling extra dry after that, then just apply some facial moisturizer.

My skin is extremely dry this time of year and will chap and burn if left unattended. I use Clinique Maximum Hydrator in their men's line. Good stuff, kinda pricey but man does it work. I put it on morning and night and it keeps my face feeling great. After a shave I will put it over AS and man does it make my face feel great.

Yes, drink more fluids.

I shave in the shower with lots of water flying around.
I use Noxzema as a preshave.
Thayers witch hazel, followed by Carmex Healing cream, then after brushing my teeth some AS - recently been using Barbasol Brisk.

This has worked great in dry, cold North Dakota.

Just a thought...I started shaving before I shower years ago, making sure to wet my face a couple of times and really work the lather in. Irritation went to zero. Something about a warm shower and then shave really bothers my face. Worth a try.

Strapps said:

Just a thought...I started shaving before I shower years ago, making sure to wet my face a couple of times and really work the lather in. Irritation went to zero. Something about a warm shower and then shave really bothers my face. Worth a try.

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Just the opposite for me. A nice warm shower beforehand gives me a much better shave.

Ironically, I've tried putting on pre-shave creams like Palmolive or Erasmic, brushing it up into a lather and letting it sit on my face while I shower, but this often results in MORE irritation and redness. I get the best results with just normal washing my face in the shower instead of putting on shave product. One exception to this is when I put Noxzema on my beard in the shower, but I usually only do this in the summertime, and even then, I don't do it every time.

me_ez said:

i had the exact same problem. I would use tons of AS balm and face lotion with little help. What I did was go back to basics - less pressure. I realize I was getting complacent and started using too much pressure especially on the checks and neck. Try lighting up on the pressure and go back to basic. I aslo found that Cetaphil Intensive moisturizing cream (w/ shea butter) is an awesome unscented lotion. Going back to extreme less presure solved a big portion of my problem. BTW I am an everyday shaver.

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Bingo.. I've had the same problem. Shaving strips the protective mantle off the skin, and the more pressure you use, the worse it gets. If you are used to using something like a Mach 3- they are pretty much designed to use some pressure. With a traditional razor you want almost no pressure at all.

I'd never use an alcohol-based AS that didn't at least have glycerin as an ingredient. The glycerin helps to replace that layer of skin and oil you just stripped off.

I use a stick of cocoa butter when I overdo it and my skin gets dry from shaving. Any heavier moisturizer will work.

I've also had good results shaving with cooler, lukewarm and cold water. Not hot. Warm water seems to encourage an inflammatory reaction that makes my skin feel dry.

Have you tried a shave soap with lanolin? I find that Barrister & Mann (and Stirling to a lesser degree) have a great post-shave feel where you almost don't need aftershave balms.

My favorite balm though is AoS sandalwood - moisturizing, soothing, and amazing scent.

nancy boy replenishing facial moisturizer is what i use after i splash on aftershave in the winter to keep my face from drying out

dpm802 said:

In addition, I put a small metal cup of Witch Hazel on my baseboard heater every night. It evaporates and fills the room and greatly helps to clear up my cold/flu symptoms. Runny nose, congestion, clogged sinuses, etc. And I've noticed an overall improvement in my skin, too. I had a lot of dryness this winter, up until about six weeks ago when I started this WH trick.

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That really sounds like something i should try because my indoor climate is so dry that I can actually feel it messing me up

In winter months my post shave consists of an AS (Shea moisture bump preventer, let dry), then ASB (nivea sensitive, let dry) , then PONDS facial moisturizer. So far through winter it has kept my face smooth and soft.
good luck!!

Last year I suffered from a dermatitis on my legs, this winter I am using bath soap from Soap Commander and have not dealt with any dry skin. Also lots of good ideas on this thread!

Topher415 said:

If you are having problems with dry skin try a preshave lotion or oil. That will help hydrate the skin before a shave, thus less irritation. For those days that my skin suffers from being dry I like to use my regular aftershave followed up with nivea or aveeno unscented ASB ten minutes or so after applying my AS.

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+1 Great advice
Try "Sliquid" preshave by Dandy Shaving Co. I personally love their soaps too but most any soap with lanolin should help.

Proraso red and sampsons all natural asb. Most moisturizing combination I've found. Sampsons is better than nivea IMO.

Rob G said:

Last year I suffered from a dermatitis on my legs, this winter I am using bath soap from Soap Commander and have not dealt with any dry skin. Also lots of good ideas on this thread!

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Which Soap Commander soap do you recommend?

I use various ASBs: Tabac, Speick, Floid, T&H Grafton; Stirling Bay Rum. All leave me moist all day.

GoodShave said:

Which Soap Commander soap do you recommend?

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All of the Soap Commanders hydrate well. It is the only vegan soap that really feels like a tallow, on my face anyway.

My personal favorite is Love, a rose soap. It is my only pure floral soap. Surprisingly, it is not feminine. Otherwise, I own two of their citrus soaps, Respect (lime/patchouli) and Inspiration (japanese grapefruit).


Fell in love with a beautiful blonde once. Drove me to drink. And I never had the decency to thank her.”
― W.C. Fields

I make my own preshave oil. It is really easy. It is simply a matter of mixing different carrier oils to get the consistency that you want. I use equal parts castor(heavy), avocado (medium), apricot (medium) and primrose (light) oils. To that I add some lavender and peppermint EOs and I am set. It takes very little EO to create a great scent.

Here is the thing: lately I have started to add liquid lanolin to my preshave. It is thick like molasses and has a terrible stink about it. No big surprise since it comes from the sebaceous glands of sheep. I would start with about 2.5% lanolin and add more as your nose permits. Great for the skin.


I spent half my money on gambling, alcohol and wild women. The other half I wasted.
― W.C. Fields

As people have said before, skin care on days when you are not shaving is essential.

For me, cleaning my face and moisturising in the evening before bed made a world of difference. Think 24 hour round the clock skin care!