What's the purpose of men's aftershave?

IMHO after shave will only exacerbate your situation. Pimples at 55 mean something in you is amiss and your skin is a bell weather that you are reacting to something. Experimenting with aftershave IMO is the last thing you should do. Find a dermatologist to get to the bottom of this issue.

What Cruiser said. Though if you’ve been eating a lot of sweet or fatty, oily food, that might be it.

I’ve never used aftershave either, but I understand it’s for use after shaving with razors, to help relieve the skin from having been abraded, and/or to add some perfume.

Yeah..same like @Zaku said..it helps in reliving minor abrasions during shaving which is less likely though with modern shaving kits available these days..I’m little surprised to hear you haven’t applied all your life!!

There’s usually alcohol in aftershave lotions that will prevent those little white heads.

I think you should try it. Some aftershaves have alcohol, some don’t. Men tend to slap it on in a fairly random way and think of it more like a cologne, but it has specific ingredients for immediately after a shave.

What I think is more effective is when you feel a zit first coming on put some alcohol on the area right away. Sometimes it stops it in it’s tracks. Sometimes I need to do it twice, as soon as I feel it, and then again that night or the next morning. It depends what is causing the breakouts. The alcohol is drying obviously, so if you need to do it a lot you might also need to moisturized the area. Again, I’m just putting it in the area that I feel the pimple coming on. I’m not wiping my whole face with alcohol.

Where on your face are your pimples? Chin? Cheek? Forehead? If they are on your chin primarily, or cheek, consider that a phone might be causing it if you have been talking on the phone recently.

They quit making the disposable razors I’d used for 15–20 years, and I thought maybe that change was calling for aftershave, @Cruiser, @imrainmaker.
I’ve always shaved with a disposable razor, and it’s only in the past several years that I started using lubricant/soap, @Zaku.

Cheeks, mainly, and I too apply rubbing alcohol when I feel a pimple coming on, @JLeslie.

My metabolism has been cycling fairly drastically lately, but I don’t have health insurance for any kind of long term view. Hard for me to tell the cart from the horse – anxiety or metabolism.

I thought the razor bumps @stanleybmanly mentioned might be morphing into zits, was why I was wondering about after shave.

If you suspect razor bumps being the cause then I recommend making sure you only use very sharp razors, which basically means you need to not use a blade very long. I probably am telling you things you already know, because most men know a lot about shaving, but I’ll continue anyway. If you get razor bumps, or what seems like an infection (foliculitis) the treatment is to not shave for about a week and use an antiseptic like hydrogen peroxide (remember it can stain clothing and towels) morning and night, and if it has calmed down then use a sharp/new razor to try to begin shaving again. You can use alcohol too, but it is very drying and can sting, and because it is more irritating can leave your skin red. If it doesn’t work you can be prescribed topical antibiotics, but I personally favor antiseptics if they work.

Also, remember to shave immediately after a shower while your skin is still warm and the hairs are completely saturated. Use a shaving cream to shave.

You know me so this answer will not be unexpected.
Try an experiment. Do one half of your face with after shave and the other without. Try it for a week and see what happens.
Does irritation get better or worse?
Do women chase after you or not?

Would just plain rubbing alcohol work?
I really don’t want to smell any prettier.

Why don’t they make aftershave for women?

I wondered that, @Dutchess_III.

Surely there’s some goo you put on your legs after shaving?
Don’t try it on your pits, it will give you crusty patches. Trust me.

Well, no. Not anything in particular. Just whatever body lotion, if I feel like it, which is usually in the winter months when it’s so dry. But it goes on my arms and all over too, not just on my legs.

I don’t think they offer any special shaving products for women, other than actual shavers.

Maybe it’s because the face has so many contours and is so exposed to the elements? @Dutchess_III

Well you have to consider that the top layers of skin are just plain paradise for all sorts of pathogens and the slightest knick signals “opportunity” for millions.

Well, @ibstubro, most women shave closest and more carefully when people are going to see their legs, that is, in spring and summer. The legs have a lot more exposed skin than the face, so that isn’t a valid reason why there are no “special” shaving products for women.

@stanleybmanly, I assume your response is the answer to the question “What is the purpose for aftershave,” and I ask you the same question. Why is there no “aftershave” for women? We get “nicks” too.

So, go figure!

I know my face gets a lot more exposure to the elements than my legs, @Dutchess_III.

Women’s aftershave.

I think on average facial hair is a little thicker than leg hair. Women have trouble with bikini line and under arm shaving sometimes, so we don’t get off trouble free.

@JLeslie That’s a good point.