I use AOS Pre-Shave also, today or my next shave I will use EVOO and follow up. This is an interesting alternative since its much less expensive comapred to most pre-shave oils.
Grape seed oil pre-shave
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I use AOS Pre-Shave also, today or my next shave I will use EVOO and follow up. This is an interesting alternative since its much less expensive comapred to most pre-shave oils.
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- #22
Hopefully you enjoy your results. The good thing about using something like EVOO is that even if you don't like it for your pre-shave, you can always use it in the kitchen
ok... here's a slightly related question. cream/soap and oil compatability? I suppose this question has been asked and answered a dozen times, but my feeble search skills aren’t getting it done.
I hear there can be conflicts between pre shave oils and shave creams. Is this true? If so, why? Just how obvious/hazardous are these conflicts? I assume I won’t burst into flame. (poor man's thermite?) Will the lather vanish into wet goo? Instant toxic sludge and 2nd degree burns? Is there a general rule that might allow someone to forecast compatibility? Are all creams, soaps, and oils equal in this regard?
I'm sure this has been discussed before. If you could point me to the applicable thread, I'd be quite grateful.
Thanks for your patience.
I hear there can be conflicts between pre shave oils and shave creams. Is this true? If so, why? Just how obvious/hazardous are these conflicts? I assume I won’t burst into flame. (poor man's thermite?) Will the lather vanish into wet goo? Instant toxic sludge and 2nd degree burns? Is there a general rule that might allow someone to forecast compatibility? Are all creams, soaps, and oils equal in this regard?
I'm sure this has been discussed before. If you could point me to the applicable thread, I'd be quite grateful.
Thanks for your patience.
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- #24
I don't think you will have to worry about creating the world's next napalm by using a pre-shave oil with your cream. Be careful of which oils you use but for the most part you will be fine with anything that you can buy(whether it be grape seed, olive, etc. or packaged pre-shave oil i.e Proraso, Musgo, etc.). Some essential oils can cause irritation specifically when used in high concentrations. Be careful of any allergies if you are using anything that is a blended oil. In terms of ruining your lather I think that if you are using too much oil it may degrade the quality of the lather.
Pre-shave oil seems to be extremely YMMV on the boards here. Give it a shot and see how it works for you. Hope this helps.
Edit: I have found http://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/ to be a good source for carrier and essential oils for making your own pre-shave.
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Cool site for oils. Many thanks!
There's lots of controversy on the board about preshave oils. I use them, but I use them for my skin, not to increase glide or anything else. The reason I say that is the mindset is different. I apply a few drops to my wet face and rub the oil into my skin. It's absorbed and is gone - no clean up, no gunking, nothing to affect my lather.
I see a lot of people complain about clean up issues, gunking up their razor, clogging their razor, etc. I think these folks are using a lot of oil and leaving a layer of it on their face before they shave in an attempt to increase the glide of the razor.
I use the preshave oil to increase the pliability of my skin and (I think) this reduces the nicks and weepers when I shave.
YMMV (considerably)
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- #27
They also sell these aluminum tins with a screw top lid. They seems to be perfect size for most large soaps that are sold as refills for wooden bowls. You can always mill the soap in there. They also sell an assortment of glass bottles to keep any home made liquids looking nice and uniform in your shave den. You just have to make sure you label them if you start getting too many. It may sound like I work for these guys since I am pushing all their products but I assure you that I do not. I think I am getting a new AD...
http://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/aluminum-canister-with-screw-top-lid-p-1729.html
http://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/packaging-glass-bottles-jars-vials-c-2_80.html
Hopefully you enjoy your results. The good thing about using something like EVOO is that even if you don't like it for your pre-shave, you can always use it in the kitchen
Hahaha yes! I love your post about Grape Seed. I wonder how "truffle oil" would do... Just kidding, but economically EVOO>AOS pre shave.
I like grapeseed oil. I buy the HOBE brand at Vitamin Shoppe. It's a thin oil and absorbs pretty quickly.
I also use a light application of baby oil as a pre shave sometimes. It works great.
I also use a light application of baby oil as a pre shave sometimes. It works great.
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- #30
Exotic Oil Acquisition Disorder?
Argan Oil anybody?
http://www.josiemarancosmetics.com/products/face/100-organic-argan-oil
It is only $48 for 50ml
I bought a sampler pack from AOS a couple years back from a forum member, and in the pack was a small bottle of unscented pre-shave oil. I used the oil one time and thought that it was just too messy and didn't help provide a smoother shave. (I basically just smeared it on my face prior to lathering)
Fast forward to just a few weeks ago. I'm cleaning out my shave drawer and stumble across the little bottle. Around the same time I ran across a video of some guy getting a straight shave and took note to what the barber was doing to see if I could learn something from it. I noticed how he used the pre shave oil almost to massage the guy's face prior to the shave. So, I gave the oil another go. I massaged the pre-shave oil on my face and followed that up with a hot towel wrap in the shower. What a difference this made for my shave! My skin was nice a supple and ready for a good shave. No clogging of the razor, and my skin felt great afterward.
When I started to price out the AOS pre-shave oil, I got a little disgusted at the prices. Good product, but I wasn't willing to shell out that kind of money for such a small amount of product. So, thanks to the recommendations here, I picked up organic EVOO and grape seed oil at my local Trader Joe's. I made a 50/50 mix and was pleasantly surprised at how well this held up to the AOS product. It worked just as well, if not better. (Even if by better I mean better on the wallet
)
Fast forward to just a few weeks ago. I'm cleaning out my shave drawer and stumble across the little bottle. Around the same time I ran across a video of some guy getting a straight shave and took note to what the barber was doing to see if I could learn something from it. I noticed how he used the pre shave oil almost to massage the guy's face prior to the shave. So, I gave the oil another go. I massaged the pre-shave oil on my face and followed that up with a hot towel wrap in the shower. What a difference this made for my shave! My skin was nice a supple and ready for a good shave. No clogging of the razor, and my skin felt great afterward.
When I started to price out the AOS pre-shave oil, I got a little disgusted at the prices. Good product, but I wasn't willing to shell out that kind of money for such a small amount of product. So, thanks to the recommendations here, I picked up organic EVOO and grape seed oil at my local Trader Joe's. I made a 50/50 mix and was pleasantly surprised at how well this held up to the AOS product. It worked just as well, if not better. (Even if by better I mean better on the wallet
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- #32
I bought a sampler pack from AOS a couple years back from a forum member, and in the pack was a small bottle of unscented pre-shave oil. I used the oil one time and thought that it was just too messy and didn't help provide a smoother shave. (I basically just smeared it on my face prior to lathering)
Fast forward to just a few weeks ago. I'm cleaning out my shave drawer and stumble across the little bottle. Around the same time I ran across a video of some guy getting a straight shave and took note to what the barber was doing to see if I could learn something from it. I noticed how he used the pre shave oil almost to massage the guy's face prior to the shave. So, I gave the oil another go. I massaged the pre-shave oil on my face and followed that up with a hot towel wrap in the shower. What a difference this made for my shave! My skin was nice a supple and ready for a good shave. No clogging of the razor, and my skin felt great afterward.
When I started to price out the AOS pre-shave oil, I got a little disgusted at the prices. Good product, but I wasn't willing to shell out that kind of money for such a small amount of product. So, thanks to the recommendations here, I picked up organic EVOO and grape seed oil at my local Trader Joe's. I made a 50/50 mix and was pleasantly surprised at how well this held up to the AOS product. It worked just as well, if not better. (Even if by better I mean better on the wallet
Great! I'm really glad you found it helpful. I started this thread as my own test and to receive some input from other experienced B&B members. I have now used grape seed oil as a pre-shave for a week now. The condition of my skin has drastically improved. I usually get dry skin especially during the winter, nothing drastic but definitely noticeable. Using grape seed oil has been wonderful. I find the most effective way for me to use the oil is to apply a very small amount to my damp face after getting out of the shower. I pat my face with a towel but do not completely dry it. I then massage the oil on my entire face. While the oil is being absorbed into the skin, I brush my teeth and prep my shave. I have found grape seed oil to absorb pretty quickly. I have not experimented with EVOO yet so I can not comment. Using grape seed oil has made my skin more pliable and resilient. The blade seems to glide with the skin as I shave. After this week long test I have decided to pull the trigger on creating 2 of my own mixes one will be Bergamot and French Rosemary essential oils mixed with grape seed and walnut oil as carrier oils. I plan on experimenting with the ratios, but I have read that at 3% essential oils are at a therapeutic level. My other planned concoction is French Cypress and Cedarwood (Atlas) essential oils, also with grape seed and walnut as carrier oils. I am hoping that my order arrives sometime this week so I can play around with the concoctions this weekend but Maryland is hunkering down for snow(5 or so inches is what I'm hearing and we usually don't respond well to snow) so we will have to see. Sorry for the long post but my intention of this thread was to give my own experience with grape seed oil and I felt like after a week I had collected enough observational data to give a report.
I use sweet almond oil as pre-shave oil during the weekends(don't have time during the week shaves). It definitely make the skin more supple, which reduce irritation for me and conduct to a closer shave that stay close for a longer time. I have been using it for a good while now and found a procedure which gives me very good results.
-I will pat my face with the towel when getting out of the shower but not insist on it.
-Then I will massage approximately 1 ml of oil (± 10 drops) on my face where I will shave (during approximately 2 min).
-I then remove the remaining oil by rinsing with the warm water in the sink where my brush was soaking. this gets my face wet and ready for face lathering at the same time.
-I will than proceed to kyle's prep and the first lathering of it will remove any oil left on my face.
like this there is no oil that will mess with my razor or anything. There is no particular reason why I'm using sweet almond oil other than I had it already at home for massage use. Plus, it's written on the bottle that it can be used to maintain skin.
-I will pat my face with the towel when getting out of the shower but not insist on it.
-Then I will massage approximately 1 ml of oil (± 10 drops) on my face where I will shave (during approximately 2 min).
-I then remove the remaining oil by rinsing with the warm water in the sink where my brush was soaking. this gets my face wet and ready for face lathering at the same time.
-I will than proceed to kyle's prep and the first lathering of it will remove any oil left on my face.
like this there is no oil that will mess with my razor or anything. There is no particular reason why I'm using sweet almond oil other than I had it already at home for massage use. Plus, it's written on the bottle that it can be used to maintain skin.
L'Occitane Shower Oil is grape seed oil based and also cleanses your face. Love it.
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