Will preshave oil damage my badger brush?

[Alexland]

I know preshave oil is applied by hand onto the face so I'm not asking about applying the oil using a shaving brush which would make it all greasy and yucky (it's hard enough to get my hands clean after...) although if anyone has any clever suggestions on how to efficiently apply without using hands then I am interested.
My question is if the face has already had pre-shave oil applied around 30 seconds earlier if the subsequent application of shave creme and lathering using a badger brush would cause any damage to the ends of the brush hair as some oil gets transferred from the face onto the brush? I've been 'playing it safe' using a cheapo synthetic brush when oil has already been applied but I don't know if it's really an issue to be concerned about as it would be simpler to just own badger brushes otherwise I would be looking to upgrade my synthetic brush to something nicer.
Any thoughts appreciated, thanks!

 

[Alex Jr]

I don’t think so, but once in a while a quick rinse with some mild detergent soap would remove any grease.

 

[Pedigree]

I know preshave oil is applied by hand onto the face so I'm not asking about applying the oil using a shaving brush which would make it all greasy and yucky (it's hard enough to get my hands clean after...) although if anyone has any clever suggestions on how to efficiently apply without using hands then I am interested.
My question is if the face has already had pre-shave oil applied around 30 seconds earlier if the subsequent application of shave creme and lathering using a badger brush would cause any damage to the ends of the brush hair as some oil gets transferred from the face onto the brush? I've been 'playing it safe' using a cheapo synthetic brush when oil has already been applied but I don't know if it's really an issue to be concerned about as it would be simpler to just own badger brushes otherwise I would be looking to upgrade my synthetic brush to something nicer.
Any thoughts appreciated, thanks!

An alternative to oil would be glycerine. I use GFT skinfood which is glycerine based and won't oil-coat the bristle hairs of the brush. With an pre-shave oil, you'd need to clean the brush often as the oil would prevent the hairs from absorbing water.

 

[Alexland]

An alternative to oil would be glycerine. I use GFT skinfood which is glycerine based and won't oil-coat the bristle hairs of the brush. With an pre-shave oil, you'd need to clean the brush often as the oil would prevent the hairs from absorbing water.

Thanks that might well be the insight I needed. I'm about 10% the way through a 100ml bottle of Bluebeards Revenge shave oil and while I have noticed that it does seem to perform better than my beloved Proraso preshave it's so sticky on the hands and I really don't want to damage my brushes. Do you still apply GFT skinfood with your hands and is it easy to clean away?

 

[Ron R]

This is my pre shave routine and have not had any issues with my brushes for the last 5 years.

I was never sold on pre shave oils myself, I bought a used Gem brass Clog Pruf and I'm was certain that the prior owner used pre shave oil of some sort and it was the hardest razor to clean of all my vintage razors purchased.
Gillette claims its best to clean your beard prior to lathering with face soap to clean facial oils, defoliate dead skin & dirt.
So my pre shave is one of the best you can use IMO and I kind of fluked out finding this procedure early in my venture of traditional wet shaving.
I use to suffer from dry eye where I live in Northern Alberta Canada and in the summer we get large forest fires, pollens and lots of wind and this just drives my eyes burning(eye drops did not do much) it seems so I tried different soaps with not much success until I read something about this CeraVe soap was gentle to the eyes and is great for cleaning women's makeup and cleans & hydrates the skin also. It must be good to go through a gauntlet of vocal women in the 100's of thousands I figured.
So I was willing to try anything to relief my acidic burning eyes and went to Shoppers drug mart and bought this CeraVe hand bar cleanser and tried it. Well what a great difference did it make for my dry eyes and found it was even good for cleaning the whole face also. To bring every thing up a notch I incorporated a dedicated Yaqi 24mm Cashmere synthetic shave brush to scrub my whole face and did that ever feel good and found I was getting better shaves because the beard was cleaned & hydrated + then I added a dollop of moisturizing Aloe Vera gel to the cleaned beard prior to lathering my face with shave soap and never looked back, that was approximately 5 years ago. This pre-shave does not clog up my brushes or razors and is better than a hot towel to the face IMO. The CeraVe hand bar cleanser with a 5-10 second brush load will last about 7-8 months also, it kicks up a great lather and I had a shave with it once also to test it's lather quality & it worked well enough with no irritation or weepers.(I have gotten PM from folks who also had success with dry eyes issues with CeraVe hand bar cleanser & thanked me)
(Old archived photo)

Have some great shaves!

 

[Pedigree]

Thanks that might well be the insight I needed. I'm about 10% the way through a 100ml bottle of Bluebeards Revenge shave oil and while I have noticed that it does seem to perform better than my beloved Proraso preshave it's so sticky on the hands and I really don't want to damage my brushes. Do you still apply GFT skinfood with your hands and is it easy to clean away?

I apply it with my hands and have no issues whatsoever, it's glycerine and water based so all I do is simply wipe my hands on a towel or I sometimes simply don't do anything. It's pretty convenient.

 

[JoeScho]

I know preshave oil is applied by hand onto the face so I'm not asking about applying the oil using a shaving brush which would make it all greasy and yucky (it's hard enough to get my hands clean after...) although if anyone has any clever suggestions on how to efficiently apply without using hands then I am interested.
My question is if the face has already had pre-shave oil applied around 30 seconds earlier if the subsequent application of shave creme and lathering using a badger brush would cause any damage to the ends of the brush hair as some oil gets transferred from the face onto the brush? I've been 'playing it safe' using a cheapo synthetic brush when oil has already been applied but I don't know if it's really an issue to be concerned about as it would be simpler to just own badger brushes otherwise I would be looking to upgrade my synthetic brush to something nicer.
Any thoughts appreciated, thanks!

I use pre-shave oil and I don't remember having any brushes feel greasy or end up clumped or anything like that. I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[frbock]

Years ago when I grew a beard for the winter (could be -20 outside), I had to shave it off in the spring.
I'd cut it down with scissors, and then I think I rubbed conditioner on the stubble. Let it sit and soften.
Then to the main event. At the time, I was a poor student, so I used the can (old spice).
Basic conditioner did a pretty good job of softening the stubble.

 

[SydneyShaver]

Unless you are using the brush to apply the oil or mixing the oil in a latherbowl or off the puck, it shouldn't really make a difference. I haven't noticed any differences in any of my brushes from using pre-shave oil.

 

[reformedshavr]

I haven't had any issue with Musgo preshave oil gunking up my brush. I've tried other oils and found them to be ineffective - the MR seems to be a completely different take as it is very light and not at all sticky.
That said, I use Glyce pre-soap or Proraso preshave cream as my daily drivers

 

[Pedigree]

I don't think it's the oil gunking up a brush that's the issue, I think it's the oil coating the bristles of the brush effecting its ability to absorb water.

 

[RayClem]

There are a variety of preshave products. Some oils like olive oil can kill your lather. I have tried a few and have yet to find one that I thought benefited my shave; but I use high quality soaps that do not need a preshave product.

Some of the artisan soapmakers produce preshave products that contain ingredients other than vegetable oils and nut butters. They are more likely to be beneficial than pure oils.

 

[huck1680]

I hate to say this but pre-shave oils have always been a non-starter for me. Seriously, wash yer mug, leave damp, build your lather and...off you go.

 

[emwolf]

I used preshave oil for several years and it never seemed to harm my brushes in any way. I've switched to Noxzema these days and I find that too seems to have no adverse effect on the badger or boar.

 

[nav]

I've never had any issues at all.
When using PSO, I apply 2-3 drops (beyond this impacts the lather).
Wash my hands with soap.
Load my brush with soap and proceed to face lather.

It has never impacted any type of brush I've used.

 

[ccos]

badger is my preference always

 

[Jay21]

A high quality soap will clean the oils off of the brush. Plus, many high quality soaps have their own oils. I would make a habit of working the leftover soap on the brush with your hands and running water from the faucet to clean it before setting it to dry. That should be fine. The small microscopic or even molecular traces of oil may actually help preserve the natural hair over the long term.

As a side note (not poking at anyone, so don't take it that way): I always get a kick out of internet posts in general that ask something along these lines, "Will this product I put on my body in any way damage the inanimate object I also plan to use on my body?" If you think it will damage your object, maybe it's not safe for your body. If it's safe for your body, it's probably safe for your object. There are exceptions, YMMV, etc.