Shaving Oil -- does it have a place?

sebell · Post by **sebell** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 7:07 pm

I don't use any oils except for Zirh pre-shave before using Zirh Aloe
Shave Cream. This is _not_ a soap, so doesn't work using the same
principles as traditional shaving lather.

- Scott

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:08 am

I don't use them.

paperpundit · Post by **paperpundit** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:39 am

I use them, but I add this caveat...I am a human sponge. I live in a swamp (just a few miles inland from Gordon) and I am usually dry a second or two after stepping out of the shower. It is freaky...

Thus, when I first started wet shaving, I noticed that my lather would dry rather quickly. My solution was to dip my hand in the sink and re-wet a section, then shave...

Shave oil, on my skin after a few warm towels, prevents my skin from sucking the moisture from the lather when I shave at the sink. Of course, I don't need it if I just shave in the shower...

Post by **ichabod** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:24 am

paperpundit wrote:I use them, but I add this caveat...I am a human sponge. I live in a swamp (just a few miles inland from Gordon) and I am usually dry a second or two after stepping out of the shower. It is freaky...

Thus, when I first started wet shaving, I noticed that my lather would dry rather quickly. My solution was to dip my hand in the sink and re-wet a section, then shave...

Shave oil, on my skin after a few warm towels, prevents my skin from sucking the moisture from the lather when I shave at the sink. Of course, I don't need it if I just shave in the shower...

Have you considered selling your dehumidifying services around the state? Having been the guy who was soaked before getting into the shower in Tampa, I will never cease to be amazed at your sponginess.

Do you miss Patrick? How often do you get back to Bikini Bottom?

goose · Post by **goose** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:32 am

I don't use oil or any pre-shave product other than water. Pre-shaves usually cause more problems than they solve. I think most gents that use shave oil are trying to use as many products as possible to combat their poor shaves instead of focusing on technique and making a good lather.

Clint

paperpundit · Post by **paperpundit** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:46 am

I miss Barnacle Boy and Mermaid Man the most...

And truth be known, I'm a Californian, so I have no idea why I am so sponge-like...

Scrapyard Ape · Post by **Scrapyard Ape** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:01 pm

paperpundit wrote:I miss Barnacle Boy and Mermaid Man the most...

Sounds like there are some gender confusion issues there.

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:20 pm

I used shave oil to lubricate a squeaky hinge in the bathroom. Worked great and is about the only use I have for it.

Gillette1904 · Post by **Gillette1904** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:24 pm

rustyblade wrote:I used shave oil to lubricate a squeaky hinge in the bathroom. Worked great and is about the only use I have for it.

This means I have to try shaving with 3-In-One oil to see how well that works...

Scrapyard Ape · Post by **Scrapyard Ape** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:30 pm

Gillette1904 wrote:
rustyblade wrote:I used shave oil to lubricate a squeaky hinge in the bathroom. Worked great and is about the only use I have for it.
This means I have to try shaving with 3-In-One oil to see how well that works...

Don't bother..... I've already "taken one for the team" and can assure you that 3 in1 is not suitable for shaving.

I had "a few too many", if you absolutely must know. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

paperpundit · Post by **paperpundit** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:09 pm

Greg, I'll let you know that Ernest Borgnine sure sounds like a man to me...

Probably doesn't use shaving oil, either.

evahs · Post by **evahs** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 2:07 pm

Using cheap shave oil on your face can't be good for your skin even if you do get a good shave with it.
Regadrs,
Jay

Gillette1904 · Post by **Gillette1904** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:55 pm

paperpundit wrote:Greg, I'll let you know that Ernest Borgnine sure sounds like a man to me...

Probably doesn't use shaving oil, either.

Pfft. Ernest Borgnine could shave with a fish-scaling knife and still look great.

And his wife has that whole line of skin-care products, so even if he doesn't look great, he soon will.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 2:32 pm

While doing research, I found this thread on page 11 of SMFU.

Although all the arguments against the use of pre-shave oil sound convincing, I can only tell you that in my tests for Natural Science, so far all but one of the soaps have performed better with their pre-shave oil than without it.

This has come as a great surprise to me. Maybe their pre-shave oil is different from everybody else's.

scruffy · Post by **scruffy** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 6:21 am

I would not have bothered with it except that a Rite Aid had a closeout on them a while ago. I snagged 3 small canisters of them ($2.74 each instead of $5.49). It was One Planet Shaving Oil. i bought one; tried it and liked it. I went back the next week and they were still there. So, I bought the rest of them. I did leave one.

I use it instead of shaving cream. It changes things up a bit. It is small so it fits nicely in my travel kit, or my bathroom kit. It does not gunk up my razor, but I do have to shave slowly since it does not offer as much protection as shaving cream or soap.

I prefer it on hot days when I can not stand a shaving brush touching my face.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 7:38 pm

Ed, you probably should have got that last bottle too! Anyway, this brings to mind that I really don't use shave oils. I bought one at Walmart, ShaveSecret, I think, but I just couldn't make any sense out of why I would use it, so there it sits in the drawer and now it's 4 years old. I love my beautiful smelling Stephan Stay Smooth brushless shaving cream for two reasons, it smells just like coconut heaven, and it really works well with all my razors including straights. Plus, it provides very good post shave moisture and smoothness. One of the ingredients is mineral oil. That's about as close to using a shave oil as I come. The stuff washes right off with water, doesn't seem oily, just nice and smooth. That's all I know about shave oil for now.

scruffy · Post by **scruffy** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 6:18 am

Gary, You are right. I should have snagged that last bottle. What was I thinking?

The small bottles are great for traveling. Just toss them in and go.