Title’s pretty self explanatory. I made my own a while back using olive oil, castor oil, and bay rum essence and when I need it it seems to work quite well. But I was looking at it and musing to myself about whether it’s best suited to sheering off a week’s worth of growth or preventing razor burn after it’s been just a day. What do y’all think?
Is preshave oil most effective when shaving a little or a lot of hair?
- Thread starter sirplatypus
- Start date
I think it is most effective when the moon is in aquarius.
As long as enough; which is a very small amount; gets rubbed into the skin, it shouldn’t matter is my opinion.
Oil is to protect the skin during shaving, keeping it moisturized and flexible to «give» in to the blade. Amount of hair would be irrelevant I would think.
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
A good pre shave for my self is to just brush wash my whiskers & face each morning with CeraVe hand bar soap with a dedicated 24mm cashmere synthetic brush and use a dollop of Aloe Vera gel on beard area just before I start to lather my beard.
Been doing this for last 3+ years and a few things I have noticed the soap is a mild and easy on my eye area + hydrates my whiskers well enough for easier slicing of the razor blade. Also my shaving gear does not get gummed up with oils and easy to clean. I believe pre shave products do help in the shave, one way to find out is apply and shave and remember the outcome if it is worth it !
A bar of CeraVe soap with about a 5-10 second brush load lasts about 8-9 month or ($.03 per shave) and the amount of lather it produces with a brush is outstanding and even had a shave with CeraVe hand bar soap once with good results.
Have some great shaves!
Been doing this for last 3+ years and a few things I have noticed the soap is a mild and easy on my eye area + hydrates my whiskers well enough for easier slicing of the razor blade. Also my shaving gear does not get gummed up with oils and easy to clean. I believe pre shave products do help in the shave, one way to find out is apply and shave and remember the outcome if it is worth it !
A bar of CeraVe soap with about a 5-10 second brush load lasts about 8-9 month or ($.03 per shave) and the amount of lather it produces with a brush is outstanding and even had a shave with CeraVe hand bar soap once with good results.
Have some great shaves!
Pre-shave oil is primarily used for conditioning the skin so a lot of hair would make it harder to get to the skin. A well worked in first lather would help prepare the stubble for shaving.
If you want to reduce razor burn, improve your razor technique.
This may sound harsh, but I believe Pre-Shave oils are a crutch for poor soaps/creams or weak lathering technique. Same as adding to a soap/cream or "uber lathering".
Use a quality lather product and you won't need anything else.
A hot shower is all you should need.
Use a quality lather product and you won't need anything else.
A hot shower is all you should need.
I agree ! I think it's better to get a good smooth soap so there's no need for the oil. Thats keeps my razors clean too.
IMO pre-shave oil is best suited for daily shaves instead of a week worth of beard for the same reason already stated above, is hard to get the oil on the skin with more beard growth.
Lets look at things with some perspective here: we get our brushes wet so they lather easier since they get loaded with water, specially boar bristles, they basically swell and absorb tons of water, they also become very soft.
Same thing happens to our whiskers, they swell and become very soft once loaded with moisture thus making them very easy to slice off by the blade, therefore no much pressure is needed, consequently having less irritation, and with a good protective lather we can cut down irritation to zero.
Oil is supposed to protect the skin and making a slick surface for the blade to “glide” over the skin. The problem lies on the lack of preparation for the beard, if you fail to hydrate the whiskers on the first place, the oil wont help much since there will be more resistance for the blade to go thru the whiskers thus rendering the oil pretty much useless.
In my experience toying with pretty much anything under the sun when it comes to shaving, oils don't add much, there is no product I can think off that beats good hydration of the beard and a good soapy lather.
But my opinion is worth as much as I got paid for it: $0
Lets look at things with some perspective here: we get our brushes wet so they lather easier since they get loaded with water, specially boar bristles, they basically swell and absorb tons of water, they also become very soft.
Same thing happens to our whiskers, they swell and become very soft once loaded with moisture thus making them very easy to slice off by the blade, therefore no much pressure is needed, consequently having less irritation, and with a good protective lather we can cut down irritation to zero.
Oil is supposed to protect the skin and making a slick surface for the blade to “glide” over the skin. The problem lies on the lack of preparation for the beard, if you fail to hydrate the whiskers on the first place, the oil wont help much since there will be more resistance for the blade to go thru the whiskers thus rendering the oil pretty much useless.
In my experience toying with pretty much anything under the sun when it comes to shaving, oils don't add much, there is no product I can think off that beats good hydration of the beard and a good soapy lather.
But my opinion is worth as much as I got paid for it: $0
Personally, I find that a Hot Water beard soak with a washcloth and a good slick shave soap like Cella or even Men's Dove shave soap (I like the orange one) works best for me. I personally find that oils prevent the proper hydrating of the beard. As my Dad taught me, Keep your shave simple, Water soak-soap,brush-razor-rinse-aftershave, Done, Oh and you better clean up your mess or your mother (or future wife) will have our head ll.
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