Cheapskate wants to lose the pre-shave oil

[Steveareno]

I am trying to reduce what I spend on shaving products that I use regularly (I mean, part of the reason I got interested in DE shaving was to save money). I've been using AOS pre-shave oil as my main way of prepping for the shave, and it's probably the most expensive single product I use ($22 a bottle). I'm thinking about going without it when my current supply is exhausted, so I was wondering about the best way to prep my face and beard without using a pre-shave oil. I tried using the Pacific shaving oil, which is significantly cheaper, but was not impressed.

Right now I'm using VDH Luxury soap, which I think is quite good for the money ($5 a puck). I will be interested to see how well it works without a pre-shave oil underneath it, and was wondering if switching soaps might be a good idea if I want to go without the oil. I'm thinking I could spend more on the soap and skip the oil? Any thoughts?

 

[sir-nix-alot]

I ditched the preshave all together. Wash face in the shower. Face lather and let sit for 2 minutes. No reason to use the oil.

 

[eelhc]

Make your own and get a lifetime supply for under $20. I use a mix of castor, olive and tea tree oil (good for oil cleansing method too). Do a search here you'll see a bunch of threads.

 

[Foyle]

Like sir-nix said, wash your face in the shower and face lather for 2 minutes. It's the best beard prep.

 

[BlackBard]

Like sir-nix said, wash your face in the shower and face lather for 2 minutes. It's the best beard prep.

Agree.

 

[Klos Shave]

I've started using regular Noxema as a preshave treatment and it works wonderfully. And for $4 a 12oz tub you're looking at maybe $4 every 2 years.

 

[duokun]

I use Prorasso Pre/Post cream, seems to work well for me. i have never used an oil. the Prorasso was about $12-13 i think and has lasted em months, even with giving several of my friends generous samples.

 

[breadstick]

I tried pre-shave oil and never really liked it. Just let good lather sit on your face for a bit and shave away.

If you want something like shave oil, you might try shave secret from Wal-Mart. Just a drop rubbed into your wet face is supposed to be pretty amazing. I'm sure it would make a great preshave oil.

 

[FreshVintage]

Either in addition to, or instead of regular face wash, I've found using a face scrub (St. Ive's in this case) works well in my pre-shave prep!

 

[PugslyCat]

I ditched the preshave all together. Wash face in the shower. Face lather and let sit for 2 minutes. No reason to use the oil.

+1 - There isn't a lot to add here. I never saw the need for pre-shave oil. A lot of guys will hold a warm, wet towel over the lather for those two minutes, but I never bothered.

I've started using regular Noxema as a preshave treatment and it works wonderfully. And for $4 a 12oz tub you're looking at maybe $4 every 2 years.

I tried this, actually it was the Dollar General store brand equivalent to Noxema, but that caused my face to break out.

 

[Renato1]

I find AOS Pre-shave oil very handy for use with lousy shaving creams. I find plain old olive oil from the kitchen to be only a bit less effective than the AOS Pre-shave oil.

But I find that using either AOS Pre-shave oil or olive oil with a very good shave cream - like Trumpers cream or Art of Shaving cream - reduces their performance to that of the improved performance of those oils with the lousy creams.
Regards,
Renato

 

[Shave_Rat]

Looks like you'll need to experiment. Try a couple (or if it's really bad, one) shave with just the lather sitting method, then if that fails, try the just olive oil as a preshave and see how that does, then move to other homemade preshave oils that are cheap. After that, assuming those are all unsatisfactory, move to a more expensive soap/cream and repeat the process. May have some initial investment but any product you decide you don't like you can probably get some money back in the marketplace here selling it to another member.

 

[HogwildUSMC]

one decent cheep pre shave oil that i use is "secret shave" found it at walmart for ~2 $ or so.

 

[oakeshott]

After reading and participating in this thread,

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...tin-Revisiting-the-Scientific-Data-on-Shaving

I began to rethink pre-shave oil. I haven't used it now for over a month and not only have my shaves not suffered, I think my skin might actually look better. My prep is at the absolute minimum now. Wet cloth on face for a few minutes. Lather. Let lather sit for a minute or two, shave.

I no longer think the pre-shave oil has any impact on the whiskers, though it may serve some useful purpose for the skin.

 

[Shave_Rat]

I had understood the pre-shave oils to help in the glide factor of the blade against the skin, making a water resistant layer between the blade and the skin and helping cut back on razor burn with better lubrication, the same way oil is used to lubricate in tons of other applications. I didn't think it had any effect on the hair itself.

 

[SmoovD]

IME, shave oil only impacts the skin not the beard. I will use pre-shave oil on ocassion but only if I have to shave without the benefit of a shower. The oil gives my skin the elasticity that is needed to achieve a close shave. I have never experieced beard softening from pre-shave oil. If you are looking to prep your beard, stick with few minutes of warm water.

 

[ouch]

Lose the pre shave oil.

 

[shave~extacy]

I use noxema and a hot towel.

 

[El-a-Menthol]

Best and cheapest way is to use plenty of water. Second it to find a good but cheap SOFTENING conditioner (use at end of showering).

 

[Doppelgaenger]

I was having problems with proraso green soap drying out my skin. To solve the problem I got glycerin and I use 4 drops in my lather and it's really made a big difference. I've been using it almost non-stop for going on 4-5 months now and I've barely made a dent in the bottle. I think the bottle cost me $6 at CVS so you could get it cheaper online if you looked. I haven't looked back and I will continue to use it as I think it's really improved my skin tone.

I bought arko and have learned to face lather, I still preffer bowl lathering though. That's neither here nor there, but when you use glycerin you probably want to use it in a bowl so you ditribute it evenly into the lather and over your face.