In praise of shaving oil

[doctorsimon]

I've been continuing my shaving exclusively with the same gear for the whole week. (B&B2006 Razor + Gillette, Kent BK4 + Penhaligons Blenheim Bouquet Soap, ASB, EDT.) It still continues to perform very nicely. No nicks, cuts, etc. Smooth cutting, close BBS finish.

Today, however, I noticed a bottle of T&H Ultimate Oil on top of the bathroom cabinet and couldn't resist. What a joy it was to use this stuff once again. The razor glided smoother, the finish was even closer.

I know that shaving oil is a YMMV thing, but personally every time I go back to oil I don't regret it. The stuff works. Try it and see.

[mikem]

I tried AOS pre shave oil for the first time today, and I didn't care for it. It didn't seem to help the shave any, and it made my hand greasy, which made my razor greasy. I might go back to it another time.

[RayH]

I have 2 shave oils I use for pre-shave. One is Shave Secret, which price wise is cheap but has a heavy clove smell. The other is L'Occitane en Provence Cade shaving oil which cost about $28. They both help some with smoothness in shaving but it is a YMMV thing.
Also the clove smell lingers after the shave irregardless of which shaving soap I use, so you may not like that. the Shave Secret I pair with Col. Conk's Amber and Williams. Plus I use it with Mama Bear's Dragon's Blood, Diogenes Club, and Bay Rum.
The Cade I pair with the Cade shaving soap (of course) but I also use it with C&E's Sandalwood shaving cream.

[riooso]

I use shaving oil only when my skin is kinda dry. I apply about 20 minutes before I shave then when I shower and soak with a hot towel most of it is gone, all that did not soak into my beard and skin. Works very well indeed. Try it!


Take Care,
Richard

[Ponce]

I use shaving oil only when my skin is kinda dry. I apply about 20 minutes before I shave then when I shower and soak with a hot towel most of it is gone, all that did not soak into my beard and skin. Works very well indeed. Try it!


Take Care,
Richard

So you apply before the shower?

[riooso]

Yes! and I let it soak in. Oil in you brush is probably not to good for it anyway.
I do not think you get all of it out anyway when you shower, just the stuff that has not soaked in.

R

[Ponce]

I'll have to try that method. Do you not wash that area with soap while showering though?

[riooso]

I'll have to try that method. Do you not wash that area with soap while showering though?

No I wash it but just don't try to scrub it all out like my life depended on it.


R

[boingk]

I use King of Shaves 'Alpha Oil' and it seems to work pretty well for me. I second the putting it on way before you shave notion, as even the instructions recommend that you wait for the oil to soak into your skin and stubble. I find it works quite well on the first pass and a tad on the second. If I go for a third, then it seems to have pretty much done a runner. Oh well, can't have it all hey?

Cheers - boingk

[riooso]

I use King of Shaves 'Alpha Oil' and it seems to work pretty well for me. I second the putting it on way before you shave notion, as even the instructions recommend that you wait for the oil to soak into your skin and stubble. I find it works quite well on the first pass and a tad on the second. If I go for a third, then it seems to have pretty much done a runner. Oh well, can't have it all hey?

Cheers - boingk


I shave with a straight. I still lather up using the usual soaps though. Do you shave without lather? If so that is interesting.


Thanks,
Richard

[airhead]

I like the Musgo Real shave oil I have, nice menthol effect and it does seem to make a difference on my neck.

[masonjarjar]

I got this Lavender/Vanilla calming massage oil from Bath & Bodyworks a few years ago for my wife.. I recently decided to try it out as a pre-shave oil and surprisingly it works really well. If you have anything like that laying around you might want to give it a try.

-Mason

[jkh]

I have been using the Shave Secret shave oil for my final ATG pass and it has working really well. Basically, I prep, lather up for WTG, re-lather for XTG, and then apply oil and re-lather for ATG. My skin feels a lot more healthy at the end of each shave.

I have had poor luck with using shave oil as prep because it seems to adversely affect the lather, but this is really an issue if the lather is only affected for the last pass. I doubt I would even need to re-lather for the oil pass, but I always have plenty of lather left so why not?

[Oldhope]

I've used lavender baby oil a couple of times (ingredients say it is mineral oil). It is supposed to be for moisturizing so I figured why not... Have never used any other kind of oil though, so can't really compare it performance wise. Made my skin slicker though.

[Jimbo]

I bought some King of Shaves last week and it works well, $6. I'm impressed.

[WestSideGuy]

For those of you who use pre-shave oil, do you find that it affects your shaving brush?

[doctorsimon]

I only use a few drops of the oil. The aim is not to create an oil slick that would endanger the lives of thousands of marine birds. I've never had a problem with difficulty in griping my razor, nor in affecting my lather/brush.

I also find that it is of no added benefit before a third pass, only a slight added benefit before a second pass, but it's noticeable affect if before the first pass.

I'll try other folks' suggestions of oiling pre-shower. I think that might work even better still.

The T&H oil has a lovely light/fresh/sweet smell that compliments many of the summer fragrances (such as Blenheim Bouquet and Arlington which are my two favourites) it certainly doesn't overpower like the thicker clove based TOBS oil.

Cheaper and synthetic oils such as the King of Shaves are great value if you want to try an oil without spending too much money. They are also useful in a travel bag should you need to pack very light as they occupy so little room and you can shave with oil and water, no lather required.

[Sebright]

I too have tried the T&H Ultimate Oil, great stuff and I like the smell. The razor was very smooth. I ran out of that a while back. I have AOS Unscented Shave Oil and like it as well, but the stuff sorts smells like olive oil, yet there is no Olive Oil in it. I don't like the smell of the AOS oil. Right now I also have the NB Pre-shave oil. I like the smell of the NB oil better and they both seem to do a very good job.