Pre Shave Oil?

[AJS]

I have been cursed with very oily skin which is also sensitive, so while I need a lot of protection during shaving anything that is too oily can cause breakouts. Therefore I am unsure as to whether or not a pre shave oil would be suitable for me or not. Obviously the added lubrication would be a plus, but I am worried that an oil, used in conjunction with a cream followed by a balm would prove too much for my face. Being knew to proper wet shaving I am still looking for the right products but I was thinking of eshave or art of shaving oil followed by eshave white tea oil or AOS lavender/hypoallergenic cream. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with the products mentioned? I understand the need for experimentation and self discovery but I want to get off to hte best possible start and I do not want to be left with products that I am unable to use.
Thanks in advance, AJS

 

[ouch]

AJS- We all feel your pain. I think you'll quickly find this community to be understanding, gracious, and generous to a fault. If you're worried about getting "stuck" with products that don't suit you, check out the buy/sell/trade section. The average response time is measured in nanoseconds. If anything, I've lost almost every item I've had my eye on to someone who was quicker than I was, so I doubt you'll have much trouble unloading anything. Secondly, feel free to ask for samples- I can almost guarantee that someone will accomodate.
As far a pre-shave oils are concerned, some go for them, but I feel that a good cream or soap will give you all the protection you need.

Welcome aboard, good luck, and hang on to your wallet!

 

[Scotto]

Don't waste your money on pre-shave oils. Take the time to learn good prep, and you will be fine.

 

[KUJO]

Try oils if you feel you need them with your shave cream. I can tell you though that the better shave creams have oil enough to keep your face well lubricated for the blade.

I was tempted early on too, but deferred any purchase. I'm glad I did, because I suspect it would have gunked up my brush and then taken up space in my cabinet or wound up as a FS item in the forums

In honesty, I'll say that I did buy a tube of Jack Black Beard Lube and used that as a pre-shave for a while and will, every now and then, slap some on and use it if I haven't shaved in a day (which is the max I've gone without shaving since I started this adventure)

 

[AJS]

Thankyou all for taking the time to reply, I am now fairly certain that I wont opt for an oil. I should have mentioned that I am in the UK, would I still be able to post in the buy/sell/trade section if I needed to?
Continuing the subject of pre shave prep, could you post your morning routines? The reason being I am without shower (always been more of a bath person up until now) I was thinking of a hot cloth over my face for a couple of minutes followed by lathering in a warmed shave bowl, how does this sound to you?Any advice would be most welcome.
Regards, AS

 

[KUJO]

You're just in time, whatever your name happens to be. See this thread on shave routines:

http://www.badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=21034#post21034

 

[AJS]

Thanks for the link. My real name happens to be Alex, if your're confused because I neglected to insert the J when I signed off that is because on other internet forums I signed on as AS, I couldn't do that on Badger and Blade and so had to use my middle initial( which is for James) and sometimes I just forget to include it (no secret identities here.)
Regards, AS

 

[PoshRichM]

Alex:

I used to be a big proponent of Pacific Shave Oil (which is an excellent non-pore-clogging shave-lube), but then I discovered that I'd been making my lathers too dry (i.e., without enough water). After fixing that, and correcting for the hardness of my local water supply, the PSO became superfluous.

Advice to work on your lather technique is well founded.

-Rich

 

[obsessis]

I use Pacific Shaving Oil for touchup/blade buffing. It is the only thing that lets me get ultra smooth shaves.

 

[NYLaw]

Alex/AJS: You MUST try the Truefitt & Hill or Nancy Boy pre-shave oils...

Definately stay away from the eShave, Art of Shaving, and Anthony pre-shave oils...
My skin is also oily, so I say stay away from the above big-3 because they're thick, heavy and based with CASTOR oil- it's like putting petroleum on your face. (For some people, like my father, who have very dry skin, it's soothing- it's not for us.)

The Nancy Boy and T&H oils are extremely light- You say you're in the UK: If you happen to have a store nearby that carries the T&H you'll see immediately how truly light it is... It washes right off but works while you have it on.