Advice for a shave balm.

I use a lot of stirling & soap commander balms as well.

I'm not a huge fan of menthol myself and don't have any problems with the level of menthol in the soap commander balms.

Another “vote” for Soap Commander and Stirling Soap Company. Definitely worth it to check out their balm selection.

Sapone Di Paolo also makes a great balm. No unscented option at the moment, but for instance, Pulito is a fairly light, clean scent.

The best one I have ever tried is the XPEC balm (unscented), but it is quite expensive (although a little goes a long way).

Xpec is outstanding but find it like the SV and Speick Intensiv best deployed as a spot solution after using balms generally to cover the entire face. Simply place dabs of the aforementioned at particular hot spots. Good call though, few mention these super niche products!

I have been using Nivea for several years.  I tried three different balms, Aveeno (which is no longer made), Neutrogena and Nivea.  My requirements were, no fragrance, no oils and no alcohol (yes some balms use small amounts of alcohol as a filler).  Nivea was my choice because it alleviated any skin irritation and did not leave my face oily all day.  It comes in a 3.3 ounce bottle and costs about $5.99 (at Target) thats $1.82 per ounce.  

I few years ago I purchased a puck of L'OCCITANE shaving soap.  While there, the saleslady gave me several handfuls of samples of many products.  I gave my wife most of them but, she gave me enough aftershave balm samples to last over two weeks.  So for 17 days I used these samples and in the end my face felt or looked no different than than when I used Nivea.  The L'OCCITANE balm cost $34 for 2.5 ounces or $13.60 an ounce.  Something to think about.

The Nivea Sensitive balm cost about $4 to $5 at the pharmacies where I live. For that price you might as well pick one up and try it. I still like Soap Commander and Stirling for scented balms, but for an all around balm to wear anytime, Nivea is a great one to try.

Can't go wrong with Soap Commander balms.

...unless you want something with a scent & no menthol (the scented ones are pretty heavily mentholated).

+1 for Nivea, or if you want something thicker for winter Stirling Soap balms are good.

I guess it depends on what you consider heavily mentholated. I find SC to be very light on the menthol. For those who don't prefer menthol free they offer Integrity.

Fair point, I tend to avoid mentholated products these days. I wish SC made non-mentholated scented balms, I've got a couple that I occasionally use just for the scent.

...unless you want something with a scent & no menthol (the scented ones are pretty heavily mentholated).

+1 for Nivea, or if you want something thicker for winter Stirling Soap balms are good.

I guess it depends on what you consider heavily mentholated. I find SC to be very light on the menthol. For those who don't prefer menthol free they offer Integrity.

Fair point, I tend to avoid mentholated products these days. I wish SC made non-mentholated scented balms, I've got a couple that I occasionally use just for the scent.

Lol, and I wish they made them stronger. You might want to check out PAA for balms.

Hi dbarth68 , you're on the threshold of an incredibly enjoyable experience - there really are so many wonderful products out there that you will, I'm sure gradually discover. I think process is the most important thing when you're starting out with wet shaving. DanLaw's post is excellent in giving you a process that will ensure that your skin doesn't get inflamed and irritated . When i started out I made sure that I used the alum block after every shave to keep irritation down - followed with a cold rinse, pat dry and then post shave product, splash, toner or balm or all of them if you like. I don't use the alum all that much now a days except when I get a rough shave - I will reach for that alum. There are some excellent products on the market, my personal favourite post shave products are made by hawns of Chatillon Lux. So soothing and nourishing to the skin and awesome scent.

Enjoy

Nivea Sensitive
This is great stuff.

Pre de Provence. Great stuff. Use it every day.