Anyone else use shave soap for....?

[AngryIrish]

Anyone else use shave soaps/creams for facewash? It started for me when I got William's Mug and couldn't get a good shave from it, so I used it to wash my face, eventually I did get a good shave from it, and at that point I had Ingram cream that shaved terribly for me, but I loved the smell, so I started using it for a menthol morning-wake-up, and it performed so well that now my wife and I both use it AND we even bought another tube because we're almost out of the original. Usually I PIF, but with these soaps I just couldn't bear to let them go. Disclaimer: I am aware of the warnings that this can make you break out more or give you dry skin, neither my wife nor I have noticed that yet, and it's been several months, on the contrary, my skin breaks out more if I miss a few morning of no Ingram. Just curious to see what others' thoughts are!

 

[Boru62]

Anyone else use shave soaps/creams for facewash? It started for me when I got William's Mug and couldn't get a good shave from it, so I used it to wash my face, eventually I did get a good shave from it, and at that point I had Ingram cream that shaved terribly for me, but I loved the smell, so I started using it for a menthol morning-wake-up, and it performed so well that now my wife and I both use it AND we even bought another tube because we're almost out of the original. Usually I PIF, but with these soaps I just couldn't bear to let them go. Disclaimer: I am aware of the warnings that this can make you break out more or give you dry skin, neither my wife nor I have noticed that yet, and it's been several months, on the contrary, my skin breaks out more if I miss a few morning of no Ingram. Just curious to see what others' thoughts are!

I have used a couple of under performin soaps in the shower, WS Blue Bowl and Craptree & Evilling.
I can't see why shaving soap would make your face break out or be more drying than normal soap.

 

[AngryIrish]

That craptree name has me loling! I agree, but every time I mention, someone comes out of the woodwork lol.

 

[N_Architect]

I have been using hard shaving soap** consistently in the last 6-12 months in the shower/bath (for the body only).
My hands and arms show dryness after a shower, depending on the soap.

Never used shave soap for face wash though, as it will definitely dry the skin.
Can use moisturisers or whatnot afterwards but I suppose for better pH maintenance a soap specifically made for washing the face should better be used.

**that I have rejected as shave soap for a variety of reasons

 

[Boru62]

as it will definitely dry the skin.

Why?
There are plenty of fats/oils in there.

 

[N_Architect]

I think I got myself confused there, actually. Thanks for pointing that out.
Regular body soap may do what I wrote.
Shaving soap or cream may cause pimples to combination skin and can benefit dry skin.
But in all cases shave soap or cream does not contain enough cleaning agents for face wash.

 

[Boru62]

I think I got myself confused there, actually. Thanks for pointing that out.
Regular body soap may do what I wrote.
Shaving soap or cream may cause pimples to combination skin and can benefit dry skin.
But in all cases shave soap or cream does not contain enough cleaning agents for face wash.

You're welcome.
Over the last few months I've resumed using soap to cut down on plastic and have seen no detioration to my dry skin condition.
I can't comment on the "cleansing agents" remark but to say I'm dubious is being polite.

 

[AngryIrish]

I think dryness depends on the skin, also, what is in it that is different than regular soaps as far as cleaning. It seems to clean my face fairly well, at least it feels clean!

 

[AngryIrish]

Okay, update: I did some brief research, and it's seems people are split on weather you should or shouldn't, I'm going to look more into the science. It seems the main cleaning properties of body soaps come from the emulsifiers, and I think I'm going to have to look up specific shave soaps and creams to find out if they have those. More later!

 

[AngryIrish]

Wow, I feel enlightened. Finally, an answer! You were right, Architect, it seems that they do not have any emulsifiers, or at least the ones I checked. However, they seem very moisturizing! So, I think I will start using a regular face wash, and then finishing with the shave soap/cream as a moisturizer! Thank you!

 

[nervosa1901]

I'm using a crap puck of Blenheim Bouquet from the dark days following the first reformulation. It's actually quite moisturizing.

 

[Boru62]

Wow, I feel enlightened. Finally, an answer! You were right, Architect, it seems that they do not have any emulsifiers, or at least the ones I checked. However, they seem very moisturizing! So, I think I will start using a regular face wash, and then finishing with the shave soap/cream as a moisturizer! Thank you!

Thanks for the research.
Sorry for doubting you, @N_Architect

 

[Holyzeus]

I think I got myself confused there, actually. Thanks for pointing that out.
Regular body soap may do what I wrote.
Shaving soap or cream may cause pimples to combination skin and can benefit dry skin.
But in all cases shave soap or cream does not contain enough cleaning agents for face wash.

^^^ This
I’ve often thought about using unused shave soap in the shower rather than give it to @Wayne s bin man but although it’s designed to do a few things none of them is cleansing the skin

 

[Benz3ne]

Soap itself is an 'emulsifier'. The 'cleansing' ability is the property of a particular soap to allow mixture of oil and water. The more 'cleansing', i.e. the more a soap strips the subject of oils, the less soap is required to allow mixing of a set quantity of oil into a set quantity of water. Ergo, more oil can be solvated per gramme of soap.

Generally, the higher the amount of coconut oil-based soap the more 'stripping' the ability of the soap. This can be balanced by superfatting/free oil content which was alluded to earlier. I've used coconut oil soaps as a fairly typical example. The 'superfat' is the term for the non-saponified (not turned to soap) portion of oil within the soap.

The cleansing ability of shaving soap is clearly mitigated to some degree by the amount of superfat in there, as its considerably higher than body soaps. I.e. you're left with an oilier residue which undoes some of the cleansing of the skin. This works fine for me and a fair number of others but oily-prone skin might not fare quite so well (though there's a contradicting argument of 'your skin produces less sebum if you leave more oils on it' etc.).

I usually use any left-over lather to wash my face after a shave and have suffered no ill effects.

*an emulsion is a stable oil-water mixture, where the emulsifier acts as the stabiliser e.g. mayonnaise. Surfactants alter surface tensions, e.g. detergents... I won't get into the minutia of it with critical micelle concentrations, HLB values and suchlike! For everyday use, the term can be used interchangeably. In my degree (Chemistry, Masters) I couldn't.

 

[Benz3ne]

So, I think I will start using a regular face wash, and then finishing with the shave soap/cream as a moisturizer!

The only potential issue with this is the pH of shaving soap. It's far higher than skin typically is (5-6, regulated by sebum which is excreted by pores). I can see absolutely no harm using a shaving soap for washing your face, giving it a good rinse thereafter and using a moisturiser to cap things off.