Last Updated on January 13, 2026 by Giorgia Guazzarotti
You’re probably here because someone told you aftershave kills bacteria so it must be good for acne, right? Or maybe you noticed your skin looked clearer after shaving and figured the aftershave was working some kind of magic. But here’s the reality: aftershave is designed to soothe your face after you’ve dragged a razor across it, not to treat breakouts, and using it as an acne treatment is honestly going to backfire on most people. Let me tell you what science actually says about this whole mess, because there’s a ton of confusion floating around and most of it is complete nonsense and war to use for your acne-prone skin instead.
What Aftershave Actually Is
When you drag a razor across your face, you’re scraping off dead skin cells and creating thousands of microscopic cuts that leave your skin raw and vulnerable (talk about rough exfoliation!). Aftershave was invented to disinfect those tiny wounds and calm down skin irritation, so your face doesn’t feel like you just attacked it with sandpaper. Original formulas were basically alcohol with fragrance, which is why they burned like hell, and apparently that sting made guys feel like they were properly taking care of themselves (go figure!). These days you’ve got lotions and balms and gels loaded with ingredients like witch hazel and tea tree oil and aloe vera and shea butter, with companies promising everything from preventing razor burn to fighting aging to clearing up acne, but the core purpose is still helping your skin recover after you’ve traumatized it with a blade.
Why People Think Aftershave Helps With Acne?
The big reason people think aftershave helps with acne is because it kills bacteria. Acne is partly caused by bacteria called P. acnes that lives in your pores, munches on your skin’s natural oils and causes inflammation and those angry red pimples. Most traditional aftershaves are loaded with alcohol (isopropyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol, to be exact), which kills bacteria on contact. So people figure if aftershave kills bacteria on your skin, it should kill the acne bacteria too and clear up breakouts. The other reason people think it works is because aftershaves dry out your skin, and if you’ve got oily acne-prone skin, drying it out sounds like exactly what you need since all that excess oil is what’s clogging your pores and causing problems in the first place. So far everything makes sense, right? There’s a catch…
Does Aftershave Actually Help With Acne? Here’s What Science Says
The short answer is no, and aftershave, by its nature, is not specifically formulated to prevent acne. Its job is to provide post-shave care (duh!). The bacteria-killing logic falls apart because yeah, the alcohol in aftershave kills bacteria, but it’s killing bacteria on the surface of your skin where it doesn’t matter for acne. The P. acnes bacteria that causes acne lives deep inside your pores where the alcohol can’t reach, so you’re killing the wrong bacteria in the wrong place. Big difference.
And here’s where the drying thing completely backfires: when you strip all the oil off your skin with alcohol, your skin doesn’t just stay dry and behave itself. Instead it goes into panic mode and starts producing even more oil to compensate for what you just stripped away, so now you’ve got more oil than you started with. All that extra oil mixes with dead skin cells and clogs your pores even worse, and dried skin causes more irritation while also increasing the likelihood of an acne breakout *sighs* You’ve literally made your acne worse while thinking you were treating it.
If you’ve got sensitive skin or existing inflammation, the alcohol just piles on more irritation and makes everything angrier, and since inflammation is one of the main drivers of acne, you’re actively sabotaging yourself.
What About Natural Ingredients in Modern Aftershaves?
So alcohol is a nightmare for acne, but what about these newer aftershaves packed with witch hazel and tea tree oil and aloe vera? Do those actually help or are companies just slapping “natural” on the label to charge you more? Some of this stuff does have real research backing it up:
- Witch hazel is everywhere in aftershave products now because it has astringent properties that tightens up pores. Plus, studies show that 10% distilled witch hazel helps treat inflammation from excessive sun exposure. The issue? It’s often distilled with alcohol and so it’s high on alcohol content. If you use it too much or too often, it can dry skin. Kinda defeats the purpose, right?
- Tea tree oil is in a bunch of aftershave balms because tea tree oil has natural anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that go after acne bacteria. The problem is you need it diluted properly or your skin’s going to hate you for it, so no dumping random essential oils on your face.
- Aloe vera is basically standard in every aftershave lotion at this point, and sure it feels nice and calms down redness, but it’s not doing anything about your actual acne. It’s just there to make your skin less angry after shaving.
But here’s where it gets annoying: witch hazel can reduce bacteria commonly found on the skin, but relatively ineffectively compared to benzoyl peroxide or other acne treatments. So yeah, aftershaves with these natural ingredients are miles better than the alcohol ones and they might help a tiny bit, but they’re nowhere near as good as stuff made specifically for acne.
What You Should Actually Use for Acne-Prone Skin
If you’re serious about clearing up your acne, aftershave isn’t going to cut it. You need actual acne treatments that were made specifically to deal with breakouts, not grooming products that were designed to disinfect small cuts and make you smell nice. Acne happens because of a whole mess of things going on at once – your genetics, your hormones going haywire, what you’re eating, how you’re taking care of your skin – so you need products that actually go after those root causes instead of just hoping that something meant for shaving irritation is magically going to fix everything.
Benzoyl peroxide is the real deal for killing acne bacteria. It gets deep into your pores where the P. acnes bacteria actually lives and murders it, plus it calms down inflammation and breaks up all the crap that’s clogging your pores. You can find it in 2.5%, 5%, or 10% concentrations, and here’s the thing – the lower concentrations work just as well as the high ones without being as harsh, so don’t go straight for 10% thinking stronger is better. Start with 2.5% or 5% and only bump up if you actually need to. The bacteria causing your acne is hanging out way down in your pores where alcohol from aftershave can’t reach it, so benzoyl peroxide actually targets the problem instead of just killing random surface bacteria that aren’t even causing your breakouts.
Salicylic acid is different from benzoyl peroxide because instead of killing bacteria, it gets inside your pores and dissolves all the dead skin cells and oil that are creating clogs. It’s lipid-soluble, which means it can cut through the oil in your pores instead of just sitting on top of your skin like water-based products do. This makes it really good for blackheads and whiteheads because it breaks up those plugs that are blocking everything. Most over-the-counter products have between 0.5% and 2% salicylic acid, and that’s plenty to get the job done without destroying your skin. Way more effective than just trying to dry out the surface of your skin with alcohol and crossing your fingers.
Retinoids like adapalene (which you can get over the counter now, it used to be prescription-only) or tretinoin (still needs a prescription) speed up how fast your skin cells turn over, which stops new clogs from forming in the first place. They also fade acne scars and make your overall skin texture better, so you’re getting multiple benefits. The downside is retinoids are irritating as hell when you first start using them – your skin gets red and dry and flaky and generally pissy – so you can’t just slap it on every night from day one. You need to ease into it, like using it every third night for the first couple weeks, then every other night, then eventually every night once your skin adjusts. And you absolutely must wear sunscreen during the day when you’re using retinoids because they make your skin way more sensitive to UV damage, and sun damage on top of acne is just asking for trouble.
Best Picks:
- Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant ($37.00): The gold standard for acne exfoliation, it has a tacky texture that heals and prevents pimples. Available at Dermstore, Paula’s Choice, Selfridges and SpaceNK
- The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution: The cheaper Salicylic Acid exfoliant out there. The texture isn’t too pleasant, but it does the job. Available at Asos, Beauty Bay, Cult Beauty, Sephora, The Ordinary and Ulta
- Differin 10% Benzoyl Peroxide Spot Treatment ($12.99): A spot treatment for severe breakouts. Available at Ulta
- Obagi Medical CLENZIderm M.D. Therapeutic Lotion ($95.00): A basic treatment with 5% Benzoyl Peroxide to treat mild to moderate acne. Available at Dermstore
FAQs
What’s the correct order for my post-shave routine?
Cold water rinse, pat with a clean towel, aftershave if you want, wait a minute, moisturizer. Acne treatments go on later when your skin’s not all raw from shaving because you’ve got tiny cuts everywhere and your skin barrier’s messed up. Don’t throw everything on at once, your skin’ll hate you.
How do I choose the right aftershave product for my skin type?
Oily skin can maybe deal with gels or light stuff but don’t use heavy oils like jojoba, you’ll clog up more. Dry skin skip alcohol completely, get a balm with hyaluronic acid and vitamin E. Sensitive or acne skin avoid harsh chemicals and fake fragrances, test it somewhere first. Best thing for acne though is just skip aftershave, use a lightweight moisturizer that won’t clog you.
Does aftershave actually close pores?
Nah, pores don’t open and close, they’re not doors. Aftershave tightens skin around them temporarily so they look smaller for a bit. Cold water does the same, makes blood vessels shrink. Want actually clean pores? Use salicylic acid that goes inside them, aftershave just sits there.
Do I need a hot towel before shaving to prevent acne?
Hot towel makes shaving easier and less irritating but doesn’t stop acne. Softens hair and opens follicles. Warm water wash, shave cream, let it sit, shave around breakouts, cold water rinse. How you shave matters way more than what goes on after.
The Bottom Line
Stop trying to make aftershave work for your acne because it’s not going to happen. Aftershave was made to disinfect cuts and calm irritation after you drag a blade across your face, not clear up breakouts. The alcohol in most of them just dries you out and makes your skin pump out more oil, witch hazel still has alcohol in it so same problem, and even the ones with tea tree oil aren’t strong enough to actually treat acne. If you want clear skin, get real acne treatments – benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, maybe retinoids if you need them – and build a proper routine with a gentle cleanser and lightweight moisturizer. Focus on shaving properly so you’re not making things worse, and stop hoping a grooming product is going to magically fix a skin condition it was never designed to handle.
