Hair softener?

Hi all. I have been working on my shaving soap (For my use) and was wandering if you know of anything that would actually soften the hair better than hot water? I have seen shaving lotions that advertise that the ingredients actively soften the hair and make it easer to cut, so why not use something like that in our shaving soaps? Do you know of something that would work?

Mason

I noticed that olive oil does a good job. But am not sure about this. Works for me though...

A couple people on the forums said that leaving hair conditioner on your face during a shower works well. I tried it, and it does.

I think glycerin would do this too. The label on mine says that it is an emollient, so...there ya go .

surfanimal said:

A couple people on the forums said that leaving hair conditioner on your face during a shower works well. I tried it, and it does.

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I tried this for the first time yesterday, with some cheap hotel shampoo/ conditioner combo. Shaved with proraso green.

I kid you not, this was the best shave I can remember: effortless and BBS, I mean smooooooth. I'm just now starting to stubble up over 24hrs later.

Maybe a fluke, but I'm now a believer in conditioner!

Hair conditioner makes a huge difference for me. I've tried it the last 2 days and had the two best shaves I can remember. I'm definately going to do this every day from now on.

Just one thing to note: If your skin is acne prone, hair conditioner should not be used.

I also use hair conditioner as a pre-shave. It works very well, for me.

Tim

GeeQue said:

Just one thing to note: If your skin is acne prone, hair conditioner should not be used.

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I'm just curious, but is that simply your experience or do you have some sort of "evidence" (for a lack of a better term)?

GeeQue said:

Just one thing to note: If your skin is acne prone, hair conditioner should not be used.

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Too true! Up until a few years ago, I've had pretty bad acne and the day after I tried the conditioner as a pre-shave, I broke out pretty bad. I didn't repeat and I'm back on track with a relatively clear complexion.

i think regular soap works for me,
I think the fact that it has a high pH (basic) softens the hair (by breaking the hydrogen and disulfide bonds in the hair or something like that). i leave the soap on kind of bubbly, with alot of water..
should i try glycerin soap?? how about olive oil or avocado oil based soap??

but.. I heard it's bad for your face's skin to wash with soap though, ie., it's too strong..
those more knowledgeable can correct me or add info

nemurenai said:

i think regular soap works for me,
I think the fact that it has a high pH (basic) softens the hair (by breaking the hydrogen and disulfide bonds in the hair or something like that). i leave the soap on kind of bubbly, with alot of water..
should i try glycerin soap?? how about olive oil or avocado oil based soap??

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you should try as many things as is possible. variety is the spice of life...enjoy it!

nemurenai said:

but.. I heard it's bad for your face's skin to wash with soap though, ie., it's too strong..
those more knowledgeable can correct me or add info

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some people's skin can't handle a wash with so-called "soap" but it depends on how you define soap. Real, quality soap (such as cold process, or vegetable soap) should do you fine. On the other hand, washing your face with a bar of Irish Spring or Dial may dry you out.

thanks!
I have to try glycerine, vegetable, and cold process now..
then again my gf was soo against using soap on the face, she recommended "cleanser", I have to try that too (;_/~$$$

Matrix Biolage Conditioning Balm

Never tried it but after browsing and searching a lot this is probably a very good one. And natural.
Reviews are very good.

A comment from a user:

The only thing I recommend in order to conserve: Purchase a "squeeze bottle dispenser" and spoon the conditioner into it. It takes a little extra work, but makes handling and dispensing so much easier. It has also helped us have better control over the amount we use.

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