What's your favorite shaving oil?
- Thread starter packerfan
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I haven't tried them. I gave up on oils a long time ago, never had any luck with them. Some folks here do like the pre-shave oils, and I'm sure some are bound to stop by sooner or later.
Good Luck.
Good Luck.
I used pure grapeseed oil for awhile - then discovered tallow-based soaps and abandoned the pre-shave oils.
I am a huge fan of DIY. And too cheap to spend a ton on oils. The carrier oils used by pretty much everyone are basic, and the amount of the the expensive essential oils in the higher priced blends are there mostly for scent (and the scent washes away anyways). Pacific makes a great oil though!
I've had good luck with 50% light olive oil and 50% Castor oil. Avoid extra virgin, unless you want to smell like a salad, and castor oil from a pharmacy or indian grocery. Total spend was about $5 and I have enough to last a lifetime.
I used a massage oil blend containing grapeseed oil previously, and it was a great pre-shave.
If you live in a major city, many Whole Foods/Co-Op's/Massage supply co.'s will have bulk oils, and you can blend your own pre-shave for a dollar or two per oz., and they will often have a pump bottle perfect for oils.
Chadd
I've had good luck with 50% light olive oil and 50% Castor oil. Avoid extra virgin, unless you want to smell like a salad, and castor oil from a pharmacy or indian grocery. Total spend was about $5 and I have enough to last a lifetime.
I used a massage oil blend containing grapeseed oil previously, and it was a great pre-shave.
If you live in a major city, many Whole Foods/Co-Op's/Massage supply co.'s will have bulk oils, and you can blend your own pre-shave for a dollar or two per oz., and they will often have a pump bottle perfect for oils.
Chadd
Keep it simple.
EVOO, Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
EVOO, Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
I heard coconut oil (I believe the cold pressed stuff) is really nice. I will be buying some next time I hit Whole Foods
5w20
the weight is the crucial thing....
too heavy, and it can gum up brush and razor (AOS, this means you!) and if it's too light, it doesn't work as well (pacific shave oil).
the best ones are somewhere in between. personally, i like the gentlemen's refinery preshave oil. it's a good balance, IMHO
too heavy, and it can gum up brush and razor (AOS, this means you!) and if it's too light, it doesn't work as well (pacific shave oil).
the best ones are somewhere in between. personally, i like the gentlemen's refinery preshave oil. it's a good balance, IMHO
Buy some extra virgin coconut oil and you won't go wrong,it is superior to any shave cream I have tried (including the 3 "t's")and it's all you need.I will never go back to a cream again,it is also cheaper than the high end shave oils by quite a bit....good luck.
Shave Secret is a good cheap oil, and can be found at Wal-mart.
I did some experimenting with pre-shave oils but never found them to be very time effective. But since you asked, I was most impressed with organic 100% pure JoJoba Oil by "Desert Essence".
Cheap, effective and easiest to clean up after shaving.
The most expensive pre-shave oil I've used was Truefuitt & Hill and it was magnificent!
Don't get me wrong. For what I wanted from a pre-shave oil they both worked. But the time I had to spend getting the oil off my razor's handle, my hands and my brush! It wasn't worth the very real soft razor glide from the oil versus the time to clean up after using the oil!
As a side note I only used pre-shave oil on my first pass. Maybe if I had used it on my last razor pass I would appreciate pre-shave oils more. Since on the first pass my facial hairs helped to support the razor while the last pass is soap and razor only. H'mmmm! Maybe I should do some experimenting again with pre-shave oils?! Naww! The clean up is just to much of a hassle for me.
Cheap, effective and easiest to clean up after shaving.
The most expensive pre-shave oil I've used was Truefuitt & Hill and it was magnificent!
Don't get me wrong. For what I wanted from a pre-shave oil they both worked. But the time I had to spend getting the oil off my razor's handle, my hands and my brush! It wasn't worth the very real soft razor glide from the oil versus the time to clean up after using the oil!
As a side note I only used pre-shave oil on my first pass. Maybe if I had used it on my last razor pass I would appreciate pre-shave oils more. Since on the first pass my facial hairs helped to support the razor while the last pass is soap and razor only. H'mmmm! Maybe I should do some experimenting again with pre-shave oils?! Naww! The clean up is just to much of a hassle for me.
Castor oil + Olive oil + whatever essential oils I choose for scent; currently Bergamot, Lime and Lavender 
Same here...made my own pre-shave oil but found out a hot shower and allowing lather to sit on my beard a little longer is a much better solution, especially if you use a moisturizing cream/soap.
Like a lot of people here, I like pre shave oil but don't like the expense of buying a brand name. You can make your own, of course. But in my search for an inexpensive substitute ready-made blend, I recently discovered Burt's Bees Bath and Body Oil with Lemon and Vitimin E.
At $8 for 4 oz, it costs a fraction of the pre shave name brands and works great, for me at least . . . all beards are not created equal as we all know. By comparison, T & H pre shave is $30 for a 2 oz bottle or $60 for 4 oz!!
The main ingrediants of the Burt's Bees Bath and Body Oil are:
Sweet Almond Oil
Lemon essential oil
Vitimin E
To this they added Canola, wheat germ and soybean carrier oils, and some rosemary essential oil. These are all common ingredients in the brand name pre shaves.
The result is a fairly light oil that obsorbs quickly and has a great subtle scent (if you like citrus) that will stay with you most of the day. For consistency, I use it with T & H West Indian Limes Shave Cream and After Shave Balm.
If you are not into making your own pre shave oil and like citrus scents, I recommend trying this!
Good luck!
At $8 for 4 oz, it costs a fraction of the pre shave name brands and works great, for me at least . . . all beards are not created equal as we all know. By comparison, T & H pre shave is $30 for a 2 oz bottle or $60 for 4 oz!!
The main ingrediants of the Burt's Bees Bath and Body Oil are:
Sweet Almond Oil
Lemon essential oil
Vitimin E
To this they added Canola, wheat germ and soybean carrier oils, and some rosemary essential oil. These are all common ingredients in the brand name pre shaves.
The result is a fairly light oil that obsorbs quickly and has a great subtle scent (if you like citrus) that will stay with you most of the day. For consistency, I use it with T & H West Indian Limes Shave Cream and After Shave Balm.
If you are not into making your own pre shave oil and like citrus scents, I recommend trying this!
Good luck!
Plain old Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) from any grocery store is the best pre-shave oil you will ever use.
I am not saying PSOs are essential. You can get great shaves without them. But don't pay cash for some companies PSO when you can get something superior in EVOO for far less cash.
And the benefits of EVOO for your skin, and, in fact, for your whole body, are too numerous to list here.
I am not saying PSOs are essential. You can get great shaves without them. But don't pay cash for some companies PSO when you can get something superior in EVOO for far less cash.
And the benefits of EVOO for your skin, and, in fact, for your whole body, are too numerous to list here.
I just realized that you were referring to an actual shaving oil, and not necessarily a PSO. My apologies. But I see that a previous poster recommends EVOO for this too. I imagine it would work great, although I have only used it as a PSO
+1 for Shave Secret
If you are talking about preshave, I've found Corn Huskers Lotion to do the job and it's cheap.
If you are talking about preshave, I've found Corn Huskers Lotion to do the job and it's cheap.
Most workdays I use 50% castor and 50% olive, shaving not pre-shave. Very non-irritating and few nicks or cuts. Not as close a shave as shaving soap but much quicker; takes longer than gel but is less irritating. I have not tried to optimize the mix; I just got this from Wikipedia. Razor rinses up fine but the sink is a little harder to clean! Talk about a cheap experiment, $5 will get you through a year.
3-5 drops of T&H. Its a good pre and post treatment. Just found this second part out after being on there site and looking at the 4 oz. Home bottle. It works and less is more.
