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Shave Secret Oil

www.shavesecret.com

I picked it up at Walmart (around $4 for 18ml) a few days ago, and gave it a try last night, following the directions. I used nothing else for lather, but I did wash my face really well first (Nivea Double-Acting Face Wash) and left my face wet, then applied the oil.

I will say this, it performs as advertised. I got an excellent shave in one pass with a little touch-up here and there. No burn, no irritation, as close as anything else I've tried. And my skin looked and felt great.

The down-side? It clogs up your razor (Merkur 34G with a fresh, house-branded ASR blade.) No amount of rinsing would clean it off, so I had to dispose of the blade and put in a fresh one all over again.

Also, it seems like it would get a little expensive if used every day. Although one bottle is only $4 at Walmart, I could see going through 2~3 bottles a month if used daily.

Today, I tried a different test of Shave Secret. I shaved again with Proraso and a fresh blade, got a DFS result with 2.5 passes. Then, I applied Bigelow's #1200 ASB with about 5 drops of Shave Secret Oil mixed in. My skin felt very smooth, much more so than using the #1200 by itself. And my skin looks better, too, much healthier and with a shiny glow to it this time around.

So the jury is still out on Shave Secret Oil. I haven't made up my mind on this one. I will probably keep it in the rotation for once or twice a month, but I doubt it will ever become one of my "go-to" products. I intend to try it a few more times before I make a decision.

Has anyone else tried this, and if so, what did you think of it?
 
I use the Shave Secret as a pre-shave oil. I hadn't thought of using it mixed with Bigelow's ASB 1200. How does the clove smell work with the ASB? I've noticed that it lingers after my shave irregardless of what soap or cream I use.
 
I love this stuff. Dirt cheap and available locally. I use this as a pre-shave oil while taking a hot shower. After a couple of minutes in the steamy shower I rub in 4-5 drops and then rinse with water just before exiting the shower. Makes a huge difference in the comfort level of my shaves. I like the clove scent too.

:thumbsup:
 
I use the Shave Secret as a pre-shave oil. I hadn't thought of using it mixed with Bigelow's ASB 1200. How does the clove smell work with the ASB? I've noticed that it lingers after my shave irregardless of what soap or cream I use.

The clove smell remains only for an hour or so ... you can notice it, but its not at all unpleasant.

Here it is about 15 hours after my shave (Secret Oil mixed with #1200) and my skin still feels smooth. I can feel a little stubble coming back, but I'm still quite presentable.
 
I love this stuff. Dirt cheap and available locally. I use this as a pre-shave oil while taking a hot shower. After a couple of minutes in the steamy shower I rub in 4-5 drops and then rinse with water just before exiting the shower. Makes a huge difference in the comfort level of my shaves. I like the clove scent too.:thumbsup:

That will be my experiment for tomorrow. Using it as a post face-scrub, pre-shave oil, followed by Proraso and my default HDG with an ASR blade.

For the sake of experimentation, I'll just use the Bigelow ASB #1200 by itself ... although I really liked combining it with the Oil like I did on Saturday.

I'll keep you all posted on how it turns out.
 
That will be my experiment for tomorrow. Using it as a post face-scrub, pre-shave oil, followed by Proraso and my default HDG with an ASR blade.

For the sake of experimentation, I'll just use the Bigelow ASB #1200 by itself ... although I really liked combining it with the Oil like I did on Saturday.

I'll keep you all posted on how it turns out.

Well, I just finished shave #3 using the oil, and I think I'm finally starting to figure out how to use this stuff.

Today, I washed with Nivea as usual, then squeezed out about a finger's worth of Proraso (a little more than I usually use.) I ran some water over the Proraso to loosen it up, then I added three drops of Shave Secret Oil, mixed it all together, and proceeded to apply it by hand.

I let it soak in to my skin for a minute, like I usually do. I noticed that the lather was shinier than normal, and also appeared a bit thicker and creamier.

When I started to shave, (Merkur HD-G with an ASR blade) I could tell it was very smooth, no tugging or burn, no irritation. And I was getting BETTER than a DFS result, but not quite BBS. I went for a 1.5 pass, with touch-ups on the neck.

After shaving, I rubbed the remaining lather around and let it sit for another minute or two. In the meantime, I had to pay extra attention to rinsing the blade. As I said, the oil tends to gum up the razor, but not as badly this time as using the oil by itself.

Finally, I rinsed off the lather with cold water, and applied Bigelow #1200 ASB with 3 drops of Secret Shave Oil mixed in. The ASB is drying as I type this, and the smell of clove from the oil is very nice.

So I'm starting to think I may keep this stuff around. It definitely adds a nice result to every shave I've tried so far. The oil's only drawback is that you have to spend more time rinsing the razor, and make sure the rinse water is as hot as you can get it.

Once I'm done with trying out all the variations of technique, I may just dump the entire bottle of Shave Secret Oil into the bottle of Bigelow ASB, since the two seem to work so well together.

Can anybody think of any other ways to use this stuff? I've tried it as a stand-alone lather, as a post-shave balm, mixed it with cream, mixed it with ASB ... anything else I can do with it?

BTW, I found a good source for other, high-end brands of shaving oil ... check out the selection from The Trafalgar Shop. In the meantime, you can always try out the basic stuff from Walmart (and other local retailers) for about $4 per 18ml.
 
I use it as a last pass. Mix 1 to 1 with extra virgin olive oil and after your normal 2-3 passes WTG, XTG, ATG you can apply this to the problem areas and blade buff, This is the only hope I have for BBS. Have fun.
 
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