Baby Oil instead of Shaving Cream?

[raccoonandbrush]

I read a post on Yahoo Answers that mentions baby oil as an alternative to shaving cream. I am currently trying to figure out I can shave against the grain so it's clean and comfortable. Here' what the post says:

"Try something altogether different. Shave using BABY OIL instead of shaving cream. Your razor will glide over the skin, giving you a close, smooth shave with little or no razor burn. Your razor blades will last longer, too, because there's no soap to 'dull' them. After shaving, apply a good quality skin conditioner - or - use Vitamin E Oil to moisturize the skin & promote healing of any razor burn."

Now is that true? Will baby oil make the blade glide over the skin better? Also, if I use baby oil, will I be able to clean it from my face after I'm done shaving?

Thanks!

 

[jlindy]

Try something altogether different. Shave using BABY OIL instead of shaving cream.

I wouldn't try it... It sounds like something written by someone who doesn't shave. Stick with your regular shaving soap. If you need something to promote healing razor burn try a splash of Witch Hazel.

 

[Agouti]

Ah, finally we know that it is the SOAP that dulls the blade and not the beard!

 

[Patriot45]

I read a post on Yahoo Answers that mentions baby oil as an alternative to shaving cream. I am currently trying to figure out I can shave against the grain so it's clean and comfortable. Here' what the post says:

"Try something altogether different. Shave using BABY OIL instead of shaving cream. Your razor will glide over the skin, giving you a close, smooth shave with little or no razor burn. Your razor blades will last longer, too, because there's no soap to 'dull' them. After shaving, apply a good quality skin conditioner - or - use Vitamin E Oil to moisturize the skin & promote healing of any razor burn."

Now is that true? Will baby oil make the blade glide over the skin better? Also, if I use baby oil, will I be able to clean it from my face after I'm done shaving?

Thanks!

Sounds risky! Not to mention, that is a whole lot of oil you will be putting on your face. Doesn't seem like it would be healthy.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Yahoo answers?

I've got a few grains of salt I could PIF to you.

 

[dlseto]

I used coconut oil with a Gillette Sensor Excel to moderate success. I used to shave in the shower, would wet my face, apply coconut oil, and one pass with the Sensor. It worked well enough to make me presentable. But, I switched from baby oil to coconut oil for my skin because I wasn't happy with baby oil as an ineffective moisturizer.

Since I started DE shaving, I don't use the coconut oil to shave. I've been converted to the various cremes and soaps commonly used by members of the boards. The cremes and soaps are definitely more slick and cushioning than the oil and more suited for shaving.

I have found vitamin E oil to work well as a moisturizing post shave. It can accelerate the healing of my skin to some extent.

 

[Alacrity59]

I don't see why it wouldn't work. I've shaved dozens of times with Cromwell & Cruthers shaving oil. Just three drops rubbed onto the face and then water on top. When I came back to DE shaving a couple of years ago it was the one dependable way that I could get bbs on my neck without razor burn.

I do love some of the responses so far

 

[Walter Sobchak]

I've never used baby oil, but it wouldn't surprise me if it worked. I have used King of Shaves Kinexium Shaving Oil and the stuff works very well.

If I'm in a super hurry don't have time to blast out some lather, I'll put two sprays of this in my hands and rub it on my beard. I can get an incredible shave in 5 minutes. It's very slick stuff. The blade just skates around my face. I get no burn.

That said. I'll keep it for times when I forget to set my alarm, or to use in my travels, but I still love lather and brushes more.

 

[James099]

Ah, finally we know that it is the SOAP that dulls the blade and not the beard!

I've actually heard that what dulls the blade the most is leaving your blade wet when you are done shaving instead of drying it. Apparently it dulls by having water dry on it. But I guess the soap could contribute to the "dulling" process as well.

 

[Axel_]

As someone mentioned, shaving with oil of different kinds work really well to me, as long as I've showered before and my beard already is soft and easy to cut. Therefor, I don't see any reason why baby oil wouldn't work...

But, the fact that you would get more shaves out of sounds a lot like humbug to me... Anyone with different result?

/A

 

[Crazy Dave]

I use baby oil as a pre-shave oil but I don't think it would work alone with my beard. It is a great pre-shave oil!

Dave

 

[Pumpkin]

I think there's a slight difference in consistency between baby oil and proper pre-shave oils!

I was going to post a separate thread but you've pre-empted me

Yesterday, as I stepped out of the shower and started my prep. I noticed the bottle of baby oil was still out (had used it to give one of my Super Speeds a little service).

Knowing how much you guys like to hear about other people's experiments I thought I'd try some

I applied (approx) 3 drops to my hands and then rubbed onto my wet face. Nice coverage, didn't feel too slick (did have about 36 hours stubble).

Applied some Palmolive stick directly to my face and then worked up a nice lather (used my spare "bristle" brush as I didn't want to risk either my Men-U boar or my Tweezerman badger getting clogged up).

The lather didnt feel quite as slick as it usually would at this point...still had a nice cushion though.

Started with my first WTG pass (40's SS loaded with a Derby). Cut nicely but I needed to rinse my razor significantly more than usual. Just a quick twirl in the sink wasn't enough, needed hot running water!

Re-applied lather from the brush for a XTG pass. Pretty much usual results at this point. Second re-lather followed by another XTG.

Ended up with a nice DFS and I'd say that my skin did feel smooth, but not noticeably any better than usual after using Palmolive!

Biggest difference though was whilst cleaning up...my brush DEFINITELY needed a bit more vigorous cleaning and rinsing than usual and the sink didn't rinse out as easily. Still had a significant amount of "gunk" left in the razor after rinsing it.

Overall, no great difference in the shave...but more work cleaning up after using baby oil

Hope that helps.