Pre-shave oil
- Thread starter DavidSeattleWA
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Just try a three pass shave with just oil and no soap and you may never use soap again. I started making my own shaving oil three years ago and found out then that you can get a BBS with oil alone. I wet my beard, and then rub the oil in. I do not reapply the oil between passes. The up side to oil shaving is that abrasions and weepers are non existent. I rinse my face with water and dry with a towel. You don't need any kind of aftershave. The oil acts a a natural barrier and healing agent. I always make sure that my oil recipe includes Peppermint (natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory) and eucalyptus (natural analgesic) oils.
I still enjoy a traditional shave but there are many reasons to use oil.
I still enjoy a traditional shave but there are many reasons to use oil.
I use just olive oil as pre shave oil and I can tell you it really works. You also can use olive oil only to shave with, so no soap at all. Works great.
I like to use it because it seems to me to help my first WTG pass. Whether it is the added slickness or the softening of the whiskers I don't know, but it works for me.
I just placed an order for pre-, cream, and after shave from Mickey Lee based on your post. The ingredients sound amazing.
i make my own, love the smell and, particularly with my head, helps prevent nicks. Nicks on the head can bleed like nobody's business.
I was using a PSO and really like it but hated the scum on my razor and sink. Switched to Proraso preshave cream and it works very well. It is definitely better than not using it before a lather.
im using olive oil, castor oil 3:1, 1 drop lavender eo per 2 oz. New at it but significantly closer shave on first pass, also prolongs blads life. I dont want the oil on my face all day, feels a little gunky so I started washing it off with neutrogena and going on to AS and or balm. The oil leaves slight gunk on razor, blade, i get it off with qtip. Im only using generic shaving foam out of a can since the choice of foam, soap now seems superfluous (only there as cushion and white foam tells me where I didnt yet shave) and dont want to gunk up brush. Wondering if others have same thought re shaving cream, soap. Some people just cut them out i think.
I did, then I didn't now I do again. Baby oil. It seems to cut down on the weepers and cuts.
+1. Not much help as a preshave IME.
However, when traveling I use Pacific Shaving Oil on my wet face (nothing else), then shave with my old M3. Perfectly acceptable shave, simply not near what I get at home!
If you make it, you are out some cheap ingredients and some of your time. If you buy it, the most expensive varieties can be had for $25 for a couple years' supply. With such low stakes it is worth trying for yourself.
I, for example, used it as a base this morning. With the usual many passes and touch-ups, I got BBS. I may have recollection of getting the same BBS without pre-shave. As a beginner, it was in the AoS kit and I used it. Despite daily BBS I do not get "razor burn" or any "sensitive skin" problems. Usually when shaving at home with creams, I apply it. Usually when shaving with soaps, which seem slick enough on their own, I do not. It seems to reduce that occasional feeling of razor tug, but I have gone several days without it and hardly missed it.
The hobby is about spending those few minutes of time experimenting, or not experimenting, as we each see fit. Those who use it and think they get something out of it, use it. Those who consider it a waste of time and material, don't.
I, for example, used it as a base this morning. With the usual many passes and touch-ups, I got BBS. I may have recollection of getting the same BBS without pre-shave. As a beginner, it was in the AoS kit and I used it. Despite daily BBS I do not get "razor burn" or any "sensitive skin" problems. Usually when shaving at home with creams, I apply it. Usually when shaving with soaps, which seem slick enough on their own, I do not. It seems to reduce that occasional feeling of razor tug, but I have gone several days without it and hardly missed it.
The hobby is about spending those few minutes of time experimenting, or not experimenting, as we each see fit. Those who use it and think they get something out of it, use it. Those who consider it a waste of time and material, don't.
I did a lot of experimenting with pre shave oils, skin oils, and after-shave oils in 2014. I concluded that pre shave oil is fantastic, but generally mis-used:
* Many shave soaps have a good deal of oil added - such as glycerin or essential oils. These play a small role like pre-shave oil and so this is adequate for plenty of folks who just wish to do a pre lather and not mess with pre-shave oils.
* Pre-shave oil applied to a warm water face has numerous effects, especially if applied 10-20 minutes before the shave. There is a huge benefit to softening the skin -- as you shave, you get fewer nicks and abrasions; the skin flexes out of the way and allows the razor to shave the hair.
* The beard hair softens, especially if applied some minutes before (e.g. before the shower or before a hot water cloth).
* Lubrication is a benefit that is often cited but is actually not the most important. If you have rough spots in your skin, however, this can be a big benefit of pre-shave oil. There is a small amount of exfoliation from any shave -- and if your rough spots or eczema spots are lubed, moisturized, and softened, then these spots will be great after a shave versus being scrapped with abrasion.
* Clogging the razor is an oft-cited problem, but I never have it because I use "thin" (high viscous) oils, I apply to a wet face, I use a good shave soap lather over top. Any trace is gone after your first pass and only some benefit remains. If you are using multiple lathers/passes and rinsing your razor as you go, this is a non-issue.
I use my own which is vastly cheaper than all store bought:
1. Grape Seed Oil
2. Aragon Oil
3. Glycerin
4. Whatever filler oil you like (e.g. Almond Oil, Olive Oil, Borage Oil, Safflower oil, Vitamin E oil, Chamomille Oil, etc. etc.)
[avoid high occlusive or high viscosity oil such as coconut oil, jojoba oil, lanolin oil, mineral oil (baby oil), etc.]
[I also think you should avoid oils and ingredients which tighten the skin - fruit and berry oils, eucalyptus, peppermint, witch-hazel, rose water, ethanol bases, etc. - these may be fine for after shaves, but not pre shave.]
* Many shave soaps have a good deal of oil added - such as glycerin or essential oils. These play a small role like pre-shave oil and so this is adequate for plenty of folks who just wish to do a pre lather and not mess with pre-shave oils.
* Pre-shave oil applied to a warm water face has numerous effects, especially if applied 10-20 minutes before the shave. There is a huge benefit to softening the skin -- as you shave, you get fewer nicks and abrasions; the skin flexes out of the way and allows the razor to shave the hair.
* The beard hair softens, especially if applied some minutes before (e.g. before the shower or before a hot water cloth).
* Lubrication is a benefit that is often cited but is actually not the most important. If you have rough spots in your skin, however, this can be a big benefit of pre-shave oil. There is a small amount of exfoliation from any shave -- and if your rough spots or eczema spots are lubed, moisturized, and softened, then these spots will be great after a shave versus being scrapped with abrasion.
* Clogging the razor is an oft-cited problem, but I never have it because I use "thin" (high viscous) oils, I apply to a wet face, I use a good shave soap lather over top. Any trace is gone after your first pass and only some benefit remains. If you are using multiple lathers/passes and rinsing your razor as you go, this is a non-issue.
I use my own which is vastly cheaper than all store bought:
1. Grape Seed Oil
2. Aragon Oil
3. Glycerin
4. Whatever filler oil you like (e.g. Almond Oil, Olive Oil, Borage Oil, Safflower oil, Vitamin E oil, Chamomille Oil, etc. etc.)
[avoid high occlusive or high viscosity oil such as coconut oil, jojoba oil, lanolin oil, mineral oil (baby oil), etc.]
[I also think you should avoid oils and ingredients which tighten the skin - fruit and berry oils, eucalyptus, peppermint, witch-hazel, rose water, ethanol bases, etc. - these may be fine for after shaves, but not pre shave.]
Castor oil is a well known lubricant. However, it will leave gunk in your razor. Try vegetable glycerin instead - an equal amount of lubrication, but much less viscous and won't gunk up your razor.
PSO is always a contentious topic. While I don't think it hurts to use it, I also don't think it's necessary to getting a good shave. Proper hydration and the use of a glycerine soap go a long way toward bestowing the same benefits. Personally, I don't use it anymore but when I did it was limited to those occasions when I was in a rush and didn't have enough time to properly hydrate my beard. As a cold water shaver, over time I've found that PSO was not necessary for me. While it softened the skin, making it less prone to cuts and razor burn, it actually undermines one of the important benefits of using cold water (maintains beard stiffness). I started using PSO less and less and found that it both saved time and created less mess, particularly with my shave brushes, in not using it. When I finally stopped with PSO altogether, I reconditioned my brushes and noticed an immediate improvement with their lathering.
David, I have a 1-oz bottle of AoS lemon pre-shave oil listed in the gentlemanly deals forum, I was trying to trade it for a couple packs of different brand blades (new to DE, was looking for blade variety). 4 days later, and 196 views, I've gotten zero responses. Apparently, those 196 people were as interested in it as I was.
Long story short, it's gathering dust here. If you'd like to try it, PM me your address and I'll send it off to you.
Ed
P.S. If anyone has any shipping advice on how to ship this tiny bottle most affordably and safely, I'd appreciate it.
Not to hijack the thread...but happy post #25,000!
I use oil or soap..never both together.
as has been said earlier in this thread, oil can and should be used all by itself.
I always took pre-shave to mean what you do before you shave, not pre-shave-pre-lather. applying soap over oil defeats the purpose of oil and makes it harder for soap to do what it does.
with soap I have to do a whole prep routine, with oil I am discovering that I can just splash water rub oil in and shave away.
I use about 4 drops or less of oil for my shave, with oil less is more.
as has been said earlier in this thread, oil can and should be used all by itself.
I always took pre-shave to mean what you do before you shave, not pre-shave-pre-lather. applying soap over oil defeats the purpose of oil and makes it harder for soap to do what it does.
with soap I have to do a whole prep routine, with oil I am discovering that I can just splash water rub oil in and shave away.
I use about 4 drops or less of oil for my shave, with oil less is more.
I saw on a Nic Shaves video with Howard from The Perfect Edge, Howard said he uses only Lush shave creme. Well I ordered the Dirty and tried it and it was ok with a DE but not a straight. It did leave my face very hydrated and feeling great. I then put the Dirty on, let it sit for a couple of minutes and lathered over it. Fantastic shave with a DE, SE or Straight. No problem with 3 passes. It's not cheap but lasts for months and it has a very soothing property that when there is a nic, it tends to heal quickly.
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