'Shaving Cream Racquet' Technique

[LtBrugman70]

http://www.lewrockwell.com/tucker/tucker65.html

I know that the above link, which concerns itself with the evils of using any shaving cream at all, has been read by a lot of people around here. Now, the author of the article recommends spending 5 days shaving with baby oil (or mineral oil ). After these 5 days, he says that a man can shave his whole face in 20 seconds without cutting himself or getting razorburn with only warm water.

Has anyone tried this? Is this guy just completely insane?

I'm an architectural engineer, and have a very broad engineering education. I don't know of any means to remove the friction and abrasion that causes razor burn other than a lubricant of some kind (i.e. shaving cream). Am I over-analyzing the situation and getting too technical? Better yet, I'm thinking of testing this myself...

If I can muster up the courage, I'm going to shave with baby oil for 7 days. On the 8th day, I shall shave with nothing more than warm water.

Wish me luck, for this may be the dumbest thing that I have ever done.

 

[rtaylor61]

Give it a shot, and if we don't hear back from you, we will know how it went! Some of the straight razor users at SRP do a final clean up with just water...

Randy

 

[rafikz]

Tks for stepping up! good luck and keep us informed

 

[nichhel]

Sarge: We need a volunteer!
B&B: <pointing to Lt Brugman>: He volunteers, Sir!

But look, lower down the page he makes fun of a wetshaving article. He's clearly in the bic-disposable school, I think.

 

[LtBrugman70]

Er... nichhel, why would an Lt be volunteering for an assignment handed out by a sgt? Hehe...

Anyway, upon further research I found the following post. Note, it is written by aan aesthetician working for www.gentsllc.com, and most of their shaving products are glycerin based.

As a licensed esthetician (can work with a dermatologist or plastic surgeon,) specializing exclusively in men&#8217;s shaving/skincare, I&#8217;d like to introduce myself to the forum by addressing the information in some recent posts. Here goes:

1) The best time to shave is during/after the shower. A hair swollen due to warmth and moisture is about 70% easier to cut because it&#8217;s weaker. If you&#8217;re shaving prior to the shower, use a warm washcloth as a compress and hold it on your face for 3 minutes. NEVER shave &#8220;cold.&#8221;

2) You should ALWAYS have a medium between your skin and a sharpened piece of steel. To a certain extent shaving cream is a racket. Most aerosols (foam/gel) are simply soap-filled water getting propelled through a can. Any product sticking away from the face, aka the &#8220;Santa&#8221; look, is simply a waste. It&#8217;s only that which physically sits on the face/hair that serves to soften your beard. Whether it&#8217;s Barbasol, Trumper or Truefitt (sorry guys) &#8211; soap is the enemy. We DON'T want &#8220;mounds of lather.&#8221; This soapy lather (from shave cream or certain cleansers) cuts through the fatty barrier (oil) that we have on our skin, allowing precious moisture to escape. This is a main reason why so many men suffer from dehydration (externally.) Someone touched on this principle in a post about not washing your hair daily b/c it removes vital oils &#8211; same idea.

3) Shaving can remove up to two superficial layers of skin (this is why pre-shave scrubs should not be used) and so this is a time when you MUST apply a product to lock in moisture. The specific product will depend on your skin type. Products enriched with aloe (in high enough concentration) are wonderful since aloe is moisturizing while possessing anti-inflammatory properties.

4) Also, if you find it necessary to use a pre-shave oil in addition to shave cream, your shave cream doesn&#8217;t contain enough lubricating/hydrating ingredients. This is simply a marketing tool cleverly used by certain manufacturers to get you to purchase an additional product.

Hope this helps!

And this:

Thanks for your warm welcome, Ken. Yes, Proraso is soap. It is soap based because of its "soap ingredients." The fact that it is dispensed in a tube as opposed existing in the form of a solidified piece of soap makes no difference. Sodium hydroxide is lye, a very strong chemical used in the manufacture of detergents. Potassium hydroxide is also used to make soap. Sodium lauryl sulfate is a surfactant (foaming agent) which manufacturers find ideal. It's cheap to buy in bulk and builds mounds of suds (check your face wash and shampoo. I'd be very surprised if you didn't find one of the two sulfates and also very surprised if you can actually pronoune half of the ingredients on the label.) Unfortunately, we have all been trained that the mounds of suds shown in the Head and Shoulders commercial is good for us - "Get squeaky clean." This couldn't be farther from the truth. This particular sulfate is considered among the most irritating, associated with causing skin dryness, dehydration and redness. It' cousin, Sodium laureth sulfate, comes in as a close second. Very often anti-irritant ingredients will be incorporated into a formulation with the sulfates in order to reduce sensitivity potential. Propylene glycol, also in Proraso (as well as many deodorants) is used in break fluid and antifreeze! So, we wind up with a chemical cocktail which the body doesn't recognize, can't metabolize and thus stores in fat tissue (w/c doesn't get detoxed.) The FDA (I wouldn't start on them here,) is hands off on ingredients unless you're eating it or using it as a prescription drug. We have a 35 billion $ cosmetic industry which is essentially self-regulated. The skin, as your largest organ, eats too. Think of why a nicotine patch works and why physicians have success with trans-dermal skin patches...it's going right into your bloodstream. So, without digressing too much here, what you put on, to a certain extent, you put in. Soap ingredients cause dryness and dehydration, both causes of premature aging. You also mention, Ken, that you have oilier skin. When you use products (especially a face wash) that contains harsh detergents, the skin gets stripped, this sends a message to your oil glands that the skin is dry, and so the glands pump out more oil and you wind up in a circle - remaining oily. You want to use a cleanser that contains oil-controlling ingredients w/o stripping the skin. Hope this helps.

In fact, this person continues to discuss the pros and cons of many of our favorite shaving creams:
http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-52676.html

Be advised that the shaving cream her company produces is $6.00 for a 4oz tube, so they aren't out there to rip anyone off.

 

[GeeQue]

The barber I used to go to 5 years ago swore that he shaved with his face dry as he never used neither soap nor cream to shave. "Start first with water only and with practice" he would say, "anyone can accomplish this". Even though I respect his knowledge in this field, I never tried it.

 

[rafikz]

LtBrugman70, are u going to try liquid or gel form? the gel form seems to be a good idea

 

[Joedy]

What a load of bunk.

You can also shave with a broken piece of flint or how about some sharpened clam shells, but I don't see this being advocated.

There is a general consensus that canned "foam" creams are worse than worthless and that there is a reason that high quality creams give good performance and also help the skin to heal.

Why use mineral oil? Wouldn't plain cooking oil work as well? The point is this is just one person's rambling blog and of which the very vast majority of men who use quality products would attest that shaving without proper lubrication is a recipe for disaster. While plain water may work after some adjustment, why put yourself through the experience? Tom's of Maine is a natural product and can be had for 4 dollars at Whole Foods grocery stores. It sure beats plain water anyday.

-joedy

 

[LtBrugman70]

Well, I just shaved for the first time with baby oil after a nice hot towel treatment.

TERRIBLE!

I refuse to do this ever again. This has been a learning lesson: steel+skin-lubricant=disaster. I've got nicks and razorburn galore, and I was being very gentle and careful on purpose.

I'm going to have to say that shaving cream/soap is not a racquet, even though shaving foams certainly are.

 

[JMT]

Well, I just shaved for the first time with baby oil after a nice hot towel treatment.

TERRIBLE!

I refuse to do this ever again. This has been a learning lesson: steel+skin-lubricant=disaster. I've got nicks and razorburn galore, and I was being very gentle and careful on purpose.

I'm going to have to say that shaving cream/soap is not a racquet, even though shaving foams certainly are.

Imagine how well it would have gone if you tried to shave in 20 seconds.

 

[jduffy]

The internet is a great place for spreading truth but it can be used to spread lies as well.

 

[Howard]

If I can muster up the courage, I'm going to shave with baby oil for 7 days. On the 8th day, I shall shave with nothing more than warm water.

Well, I just shaved for the first time with baby oil after a nice hot towel treatment.

TERRIBLE!

Lieutenant, good sitrep! Will look forward to continued updates as you complete the rest of your mission.

 

[LtBrugman70]

Bah! There will be no more of this creamless shaving. Somebody else can pick up where I left off...

 

[javyn]

What razor did you use? I emailed this guy after I read the article asking what kind of razor he used, and if he could recommend this approach with a DE. His reply was simply "I use a Sensor Excel".

I don't see myself trying this. Baby oil would make a huge mess, and if I tried in the shower, would turn it into a very dangerous area.

 

[PalmettoB]

Ya know, even if this horrific experiment HAD worked, count me in the "you can have my shaving brush when you pry it from my cold, dead hand" camp!

 

[Tito]

Please tell me that my beloved Proraso doesn't double as brake fluid???
Should I switch to Bigelow?

 

[LtBrugman70]

I used my merkur classic, which has served me well and given many comfy shaves... well, when I used shaving cream, that is.

Yeah for shaving cream!

 

[Howard]

I've actually done shaves with a straight razor with both light oil and just water.

Light oil is pretty good. There are a number of "shaving oils" on the market for this purpose. Many are based on olive, castor, or grapeseed oil. Some have added vitamin E, tea tree oil, fragrance, etc. Pretty much any light oil will work, including light machine oil. I have not tried baby oil but I'm sure that works too. The inventor of one of the shave oils, ThompsenShave oil, got his idea after shaving with gun oil on a dare.

It does take a little getting used to not seeing the areas where you have shaved, from the swath of cleared lather. I did not find the shave too difficult though. One of the secrets is to wet the face liberally both before and after rubbing a small amount of oil on, and to keep applying water as the shave progresses. I understand that the oil and stubble can gum up a DE, but it's no problem with the straight I use.

The water shave is a little more tricky but just as achievable. Again, I find the secret to be the liberal application of water throughout the shave. It hurts more and is less forgiving than shaving with lather or oil. On the other hand, after you've done it, you can appreciate any shave soap no matter how inexpensive, and are in no danger of being a "shaving snob."

Now where's my Palmolive cream! Wonderful stuff that!

 

[baald]

ethylene glycol is what is used in auto fluids, not propylene glycol. and even if it PG is used in auto fluids, so what?! so is water.

also, while lye and KOH may be used in the manufacture of soaps, you will not likely find any lye in a soap that hasn't been used up in a chemical reaction. at least soap that's meant to be used on skin.

fwiw
baald

 

[Magruder]

Well, I´m not sure what to think. My path to DE shaving included the Shaving Cream is a Racket article, and a few days of shaving with just aloe vera gel (also tried mineral oil and found it too messy) and a Mach 3.

The aloe vera worked about as well as Edge (that statement can be taken two ways), much to my surprise. I went back to using Edge, though, because I liked having the visual reminder of where I had already shaved.

By the way, I have a couple of partially-used cans of Edge available if anyone wants them. I have found better stuff.