Shave Secret is a great shave oil. When I tried it as a base for lather, I found that the oil reduced the lather and the shave was better with only the oil. Now, I'm a double heretic! I use Shave Secret as a lubricant for my Panasonic Arc5 Shaver. It lubricates and eliminates heat build-up, and I love the clove smell. I've not noticed an downside from repeated use.
Alas and curses! I have discovered shave oil. Goodbye brushes and endless soap assortment?
- Thread starter HDSledge
- Start date
This is becoming something of a subversive thread. Heretical, i dare say! 
It is often hard to get oil all the way off, requiring lots of hot water and soap. If I had to choose between having an oily neck or a full beard, I might turn to laser hair removal. Thankfully I have less offputting choices, like MdC or PdP.
Are you applying it with a basting brush? How is 4 or 5 drops of oil a big deal to remove?
Let's just say that in general I dislike oil. I even find some aftershaves too oily. I have never tried shave oil and am pretty sure I never will. I like soap.Are you applying it with a basting brush? How is 4 or 5 drops of oil a big deal to remove?
- Thread starter
- #26
Have you tried it? If not you haven't a leg to stand on.
The stuff works great and my wife likes the scent, plus I like the conditioning effect of the oil. No burn, bumps, or clogged razor. The only downside is you can see the beard hair in the sink as it tends to stick together a bit.
Water works too.
Stubble gets easier to cut when wet.
AA
Stubble gets easier to cut when wet. AA
I've used Shave Secret and it definitely works as advertised. I don't use it every day, but it's a lifesaver for travel when you never know if the local water will get along with your soap. I usually keep a bottle around to change things up or if my skin feels particularly dry.
Water works too.
AA
I actually know a guy, who was the one who got me into wet shaving with a DE. He only shaves with a DE and running water in the shower. He literally, just holds his face under the shower head while he actually shaves. no soap, no lather, no nothing. Just running water.
He also, doesn't use any aftershave products at all.Talk about your minimalist.
I bought my first razors and soaps when I first started from him, because he didn't want them. He was sure he would never use anything else again other than his one DE and running water.Talk about ymmv?
I tried this stuff when I first started shaving with DE. Can't say with any certainty that it improved the quality of my shaves.
Their marketing campaign is total BS. "I almost never have nicks or cuts." Yeah, me neither.
I want to try it with my SR...
Out of curiosity, this thread has inspired me to give the ShaveSecret a quick and dirty test. I was curious to know how well it would work for me with a straight razor.
Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade, Southern Witchcrafts Cedar.
Before pass 1 (WTG), I used 4 drops total on both sides of my face, before lathering both sides of my face.
Before pass 2 (XTG), I used 3 drops only on the right side of my face, lather only on left side of face.
Before pass 3 (ATG), I used only lather on both sides of my face.
The oil definitely seems to provide some slickness. But, considering I did a side-by-side comparison, I can say with certainty that the left side of my face (Southern Witchcrafts) was noticeably slicker.
I had no difficulty shaving the right side of my face (ShaveSecret and water). But the oil residue seemed to slow down my straight razor. It never stuck to my skin, but the residue seemed more slimy than slick. I'm not sure how else to explain it.
I'm really glad I did this test. Not sure if the oil helped at all, but my skin feels fantastic and Southern Witchcrafts Cedar has amazing slickness. Very easy to make great wet-paint-like lather.
I would only recommend using the oil if you needed to shave and didn't have any soaps. I can see how it does make that possible.
Kudos if you're getting exceptional results with it.
Feather AC SS, Feather Pro blade, Southern Witchcrafts Cedar.
Before pass 1 (WTG), I used 4 drops total on both sides of my face, before lathering both sides of my face.
Before pass 2 (XTG), I used 3 drops only on the right side of my face, lather only on left side of face.
Before pass 3 (ATG), I used only lather on both sides of my face.
The oil definitely seems to provide some slickness. But, considering I did a side-by-side comparison, I can say with certainty that the left side of my face (Southern Witchcrafts) was noticeably slicker.
I had no difficulty shaving the right side of my face (ShaveSecret and water). But the oil residue seemed to slow down my straight razor. It never stuck to my skin, but the residue seemed more slimy than slick. I'm not sure how else to explain it.
I'm really glad I did this test. Not sure if the oil helped at all, but my skin feels fantastic and Southern Witchcrafts Cedar has amazing slickness. Very easy to make great wet-paint-like lather.
I would only recommend using the oil if you needed to shave and didn't have any soaps. I can see how it does make that possible.
Kudos if you're getting exceptional results with it.
Last edited:
I used shaving oil with mach 3 before switching to DE.
I must say it worked really well! Very comfortable shaves, left the skin very conditioned compared to soaps (yes, even the superfatted ones).
The cartridge also lasted longer.
Of course switching to DE gives a much longer lasting BBS, which is my daily preference.
If I had to use carts, I'd definitely use shaving oil with them.
I must say it worked really well! Very comfortable shaves, left the skin very conditioned compared to soaps (yes, even the superfatted ones).
The cartridge also lasted longer.
Of course switching to DE gives a much longer lasting BBS, which is my daily preference.
If I had to use carts, I'd definitely use shaving oil with them.
The company recommends using Shave Secret and water alone, without soaps or creams over top. If you are getting a slimy feeling, you may be using too much oil. The slickness comes from the combo of water + oil. If you do not use enough water, you won't get the slickness you need. You are supposed to mix the oil and water together in the palms and apply the mixture to the face.
I think it does require some practice to get used to shaving like this. I have only done it for a few days at a time.
I have not tried Shave Secret with a straight razor, that does sound more difficult.
Is it a preshave? I thought it was just a standalone product. The oil reduces slickness but only a bit from my use, but mine is designed to be standalone or preshave. You’re meant to mix it with water on your face and re-hydrate after. It’s not meant to be lathered as far as I know.
I'll try it again. I'll try experimenting with various amount of oil and water.
It's possible I did something wrong. I used it alone first, and didn't get the results I expected, so I also tried it as a preshave.
Ah I see. I haven’t used it myself so I don’t know. Just going off of what I’ve read. I just used my American crew shave oil on its own for the first time and the only thing I didn’t like was how much I ended up using and the fact that it doesn’t stick to the razor after shaving. It’s a lot like my favourite shave gel but with less feedback
I tried it again, using 3 drops, into my wet palms, and rubbed on my face. So far so good, right? Well I can't say exactly that it provides slickness, at least not compared to some of my best soaps, like SV, SW, or TBS maca root. Maybe those soaps have me spoiled. The razor never stuck to my skin, but I didn't have any trouble skin stretching either.
I shaved WTG using my Feather AC SS, and it was just ok. I added a few drops of water to my face whenever the blade got a little tuggy. A little messy because it seems to clog up the business end of the blade clamp.
I decided the performance of the oil wasn't slick enough for my personal requirements because I didn't feel like attempting an XTG or ATG pass with the Shave Secret and water. Instead I decided to lather using my worst performing soap: GFT.
The resulting shave was good. The GFT is the least slick soap I own, and IMO it provides better slickness than the shave secret and water.
Am I doing anything wrong? Am I getting sub standard results because I am using a shavette?
I shaved WTG using my Feather AC SS, and it was just ok. I added a few drops of water to my face whenever the blade got a little tuggy. A little messy because it seems to clog up the business end of the blade clamp.
I decided the performance of the oil wasn't slick enough for my personal requirements because I didn't feel like attempting an XTG or ATG pass with the Shave Secret and water. Instead I decided to lather using my worst performing soap: GFT.
The resulting shave was good. The GFT is the least slick soap I own, and IMO it provides better slickness than the shave secret and water.
Am I doing anything wrong? Am I getting sub standard results because I am using a shavette?
I'm not sure, I have used Shave Secret with lightweight disposable razors like the BIC Metal when away from home. I still prefer to use my soaps most of the time, but I did get a pretty decent shave this way, in a featherweight package.
Shaving with a shavette seems like a more challenging way to go. Maybe try a few more drops of oil, like 6 or so. You are still basically shaving with water, just letting the oil reduce the friction.
Similar threads
