shaving oil?

Hey everyone,

It's great to be in the company of those who have discovered the joy in shaving. I'm having a problem with razor burn, irritation and redness. Sometimes the redness will extend above the shaved area, which leaves me wondering if I'm reacting to the soap or the brush. Perhaps my face is more sensitive than I'd realized. I'm fairly new to straight razor shaving so there is a very good chance it has everything to do with my technique, but I'm hoping that there exists a product that can help ease the effects of the learning curve. I'm considering purchasing some shaving oil to see if it'll make a difference. What are your thoughts?

I know what you mean! I get soap burns on my cheek bones sometimes. If it's on an area where the razor isn't going then it probably is the soap, rather than your technique.

The general feeling on shaving oil is that it's a bit of a waste of time. It won't be any use if you use it instead of the lather. It just won't be slick enough. You may find it helps as part of your prep to soften the stubble, then whack the lather over the top. Your best bet would probably be an alternative soap.

Is it one in particular that causes a problem? If so, what are you using?

First of all welcome to SRP.
Im by far not an expert . Is your razor honed properly? Do you strop correctly?
If it is most likely it's your angle .I use preshave oil and in my findings it does make the blade glide
a little nicer .But everyones face is diffrent .Could be your soap or cream witch every you use.
But to answer the learning curve being easy the only thing I can say is shave more and try diffrent angles.
Their are alot of great guys on this site who like to help us new guys along.

Hey jashobeam, Welcpme to SRP.. good to have you onboard!

For me shaving oil was one of the things that made me change my shaving routine from cardridge to a straight.. I used it a couple of times with a cardridge but the shaving oil clogged them up instantly so I had to use a new one every shave... Then I figured that that wouldnt happen with a DE.. and I found a site that sold DE's and straights..

When I tried the shaving oil with a straight I found that it didnt work for me.. my face got too slippery so I couldnt stretch my skin .. and I couldnt find out which parts I had done and which I didnt.

I doubt that the razor burn is caused by the soap or cream... I havent got experience with razor burn but I could imagine that if you do lather up and dont shave it should rule out the soap if you dont get any reaction.
[edit: I should read more carefully.. if the rednes extends to areas where you didnt shave it could very well be the soap.. just ignore the rest will ya :-) ]

IMO the most likely cause of the razor burn is:
1 razor not sharp enough
2 too much pressure
3 wrong angle
4 going over the same spot too many times

well good luck and have fun shaving!

Maarten

While some guys swear by it, I do not like getting anything on my hands during or just before I start shaving, be it oil, lather or even water. From your description, it is probably the soap that is irritating your skin. I get burning too, but no redness, from strong fragrance oils and can only do two passes comfortably with them. I am ok with essential oils. If you are overly sensitive, you may want to try hypoallergenic soaps like AOS unscented or T&H ultimate comfort. Some soaps are also lightly scented and gentle, IME: DR Harris, MWF, Provence Sante, and IK.

I'd concur with the others. ie Change your soap. Oil has a place in my routine, but only when shaving my head.

Quote:

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When I tried the shaving oil with a straight I found that it didnt work for me.. my face got too slippery so I couldnt stretch my skin .

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+1

It's very important to be able to stretch the skin
properly throughout the shave. Shave oil (and
pre-shave oil to an extent) prevent this.

- Scott

I had a great shave yesterday with no redness, razor burn or irritation. Here is a list of my equipment:
1. Dovo Best Quality SR
2. Bismarck short hanging strop
3. Vulfix Pure Badger Brush
4. Georgetown Pottery Shaving Scuttle
5. Taylor of Old Bond Street Luxury Lavender Shaving Soap
6. Saint Charles Shave Lavender Aftershave Milk

Factors that I believe contributed to a painless shaving experience are:

1. It'd been two days since my last shave
2. I made a conscious effort to apply very light pressure with the blade
3. I kept the area I was shaving well-soaped, only soaped portions of my face at a time, re-applied soap between passes, and even rinsed my face after completing a section before soaping up the next area.

My prep always includes applying a very warm towel to my face. I do this several times, resoaking the towel between applications. Next I apply fresh warm lather to my beard area and let it marinate while I strop the blade. Then I wipe off the lather with my wet towel, apply fresh lather, wet my blade and begin shaving.

i always found that i got irritation and burn from specific razors regardless of preshave oil. turns out my razors needed a little more finishing and a few extra licks on the leather. changed my technique a bit on the tender areas, and voila, irritation gone.

keep at it and just say no to the shave oil.

vgod

I've only been using a straight edge for a month now and I also went down the oil route. I went that way because the lather seemed somehow not enough, so I tried the oil on its own this did'nt even last a few strokes but it did feel good on the skin I put this down to the oil having menthol in it. Then I tried the oil under the lather and wow what a result the best yet so carried on using that way, the menthol in the oil really does leave your face feeling nice and cool afterwards.

Mark