Preshave Soap/Oil that you wash away

I'm looking for a good product to prepare my face. When in the shower, I've been hand lathering Musgo Real Glycerine soap. If I'm not taking a shower, I massage some Razorock Shave Gel (not pre-shave). I'm looking to see if some products would be better. I've been washing down the products to have fresh soap against skin.

The only reason why I have been washing off the products is that I don't want to delude either scents or performance for soaps that I've spent years buying/selling. I'm willing to give it a shot however (as opposed to the title of this thread).

The only oil that I'm not willing to try is AOS. This was the first oil that I had tried 3-4 years ago. It would not spread well on my face and it would clog the razor. It seemed that maybe because it was a bit cooler in the basement (at the time), that the viscosity was thicker.

I'm not limiting myself to the cheaper stuff. Whatever seems to work best.

No pre shave products for me.

To me , Whether I have the time for the perfect shave, or in a hurry and not showering first, I use a Stirling Pre Shave oil. Most of my soaps are Stirling, and the scents match anyway, OR I also have a bottle of unscented. It may very well be a placebo effect for all I care, but I enjoy them. I don't travel with them, and it seems my shaves are better at home. That could be for a variety of reasons, but it is just one more enjoyable factor in a good shave. I used to use plain olive oil, but for how cheap it is to buy them, the scents are nice.

I use Noxzema skin cream. I rub it into my whiskers and let it sit for a few minutes while I brush my teeth and make my lather. Then I rinse it off before applying lather. I can really feel the difference in my whiskers. It softens them up and makes the shave go smoother. Plus, the Noxzema reminds me of my dad, because that's what he used as shaving cream when I was a kid watching him shave.

In a pinch Corn Husker's Lotion works great as a preshave - just rub it in and then lather on top of it.

The Gentlemens Refinery Pre-Shave Oil
The Village Barber Shaving Oil
Crown Shaving Co Supreme Glide Pre-Shave Formula

These three work the best for me. Maybe not coincidentally, each was invented by a Master Barber.

I use either Trumpers skin food as a pre-shave, or wash my face with whole foods 365 brand glycerine soap and leave some soapy residue. The glycerine soap method is more cost efficient, both seem equally effective.

Fishertwin said:

I use Noxzema skin cream. I rub it into my whiskers and let it sit for a few minutes while I brush my teeth and make my lather. Then I rinse it off before applying lather. I can really feel the difference in my whiskers. It softens them up and makes the shave go smoother. Plus, the Noxzema reminds me of my dad, because that's what he used as shaving cream when I was a kid watching him shave.

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This. I hold a hot wet towel on my Noxzema-infused face, so it's not really rinsed, but there is no visible evidence of the cream, and I feel that the goodness remains on the beard.

And...I like the fragrance too...reminds me of the beach and (unfortunately) sunburn.

I've used both AOS preshave oil and Musgo Glyce soap. While the PSO is great, Nowadays tend to use the Glyce more. I'll rub the puck over stubble as if it were a shave stick, then lather it up with the badger brush and warm water. Partially rinse off with warm water. Then proceed with regular shave soap. Like it.

Fishertwin said:

I use Noxzema skin cream. I rub it into my whiskers and let it sit for a few minutes while I brush my teeth and make my lather. Then I rinse it off before applying lather. I can really feel the difference in my whiskers. It softens them up and makes the shave go smoother. Plus, the Noxzema reminds me of my dad, because that's what he used as shaving cream when I was a kid watching him shave.

Click to expand...

Shiloh said:

This. I hold a hot wet towel on my Noxzema-infused face, so it's not really rinsed, but there is no visible evidence of the cream, and I feel that the goodness remains on the beard.

And...I like the fragrance too...reminds me of the beach and (unfortunately) sunburn.

Click to expand...

This is what I had been doing. Got lazy lately and tried other approaches but going back to it tomorrow.

Seems like theres not a lot of love for the Proraso pre-shave cream. Personally I use it routinely, as I have problems with oil. I rub it in, let sit for several minutes, then wash out. The green is a little strong but doesnt over power the soap for me. I think the white will be milder

I should have mentioned that I'm not a big fan of mentholated products. I do have Proraso Blue. That's pretty much my limit for menthol. Would there maybe be a Nivea alternative to Noxzema?

Actually, the current version of Noxzema doesn't have menthol in it anymore. Some of the generic or store brand versions do, though.

My all-time favorite is EJ preshave lotion, but it's pricey. Close--very close--is Noxzema, and that's almost free. For either product, I wet my face, scoop up an almond-size lump of preshave and rub it on vigorously. The scent fades immediately. Then I make my lather and continue.

I've tried a few preshave oils but without much success. The T&H oil is nice, but I prefer the EJ lotion or Noxzema.

I use a mixture of castor, avacado and essential oils. I control the scent that way.

Depending on my mood and how fresh I am from the shower, I have a few different products (or combo thereof) that I use for prep:

• Proraso pre-shave cream
• Musgo Real Glycerin Soap
• Mr Natty pre-shave oil or Kukui nut oil into which I mix a drop or two of essential oil (sandalwood, lime, vanilla, etc)

The Musgo is a great soap if you're not fresh out of the shower. Rub the dry bar directly onto your face against the grain of the beard before lathering. Wash thoroughly then rinse it all off before spreading a few drops of pre-shave oil all over. The result is a well-prepared beard.

I use a blend of natural oils and they absorb into my skin before I shave. There are some recipes in the shave wiki that work fine and are a fraction of the cost of most pre shave oils that are essentially the same thing.

I make my own preshave oil, comes out to about $1.00 per ounce.

3oz sweet Almond oil
2oz caster oil
2tsp lemon oil

No clogging at all.

I use Neutrogena face soap (glycerin), I don't like oils as I think they interfere with my lather.

I never had the problem you describe with AoS oil but maybe it was the way I used it. I wet the face, put 2 drops on the fingers, smeared that very limited amount on the wet face, and worked it up the neck and cheeks. With the face being wet, it spread well. In any case, since soap is so much slicker than cream I do not use it with soap. The preshaves I use with cream when on the road are ShaveSecret and American Crew. They work much the same as AoS as far as I can tell. I apply them in the same way. I got ahold of some eShave lavender preshave but I have not used it yet. Some people have had good cheap luck with olive oil, apricot oil, or other various off-the-shelf oils.