Thread: Wow... Baby oil did NOT work for me!

Been reading about preshave preps and saw some are using baby oil. Noticed a bottle on my wife's side of the sink this morning so thought I'd give it a try... talk about a NO GO! I applied some of it pre-shave and then used my normal Truefitt & Hill Ultimate Comfort and the only thing it did was make the blade easier to rinse. It literally made it harder to move the blade vs smoother. Guess I get to save money and just stick with the cream.

I've never understood the concept of pre shave oil. To me, the benefit of wet shaving is the hydration of the skin and beard. Laying a layer of oil on it can only create a barrier to the water that might help. I've tried oils and found them of no benefit at best. If oils aren't working for you, don't feel obligated to use them. They may just be a waste of your time and money.

All my life I never did any kind of prepping before a shave until I started using a straight. Guess what, having tried a lot of the preps recommended I am back to what I did all my life. That would be wet face, lather up on it and shave. The prepping did nothing for me. The only changes I made since trying straights was to switch from hot water to cold and adding the use of an alum block post shave.

Everyone is different when it comes to what works but there are no magic bullets other than a shave ready razor and proper lathering and shaving techniques. Personally I would just concentrate on those three areas until you are good to go and then add additional steps one at a time to see if they improve your already good shaves.

Bob

@OCDshaver... that's kind of how it felt. The oil was actually BLOCKING the ability of the cream to make for a smooth shave. With that said, I do put a few drops of glycerin in with the cream before lathering, but I'm done with oils.

If it intrigues you later, you can always give oils another go. To me, they make more sense as a POST shave treatment since your skin could use something after the soaps and aftershaves. Straight oil might be a little much but you get my point. My prep consists of a hot shower and a good lather. Good luck!

@OCDshaver... that's actually a very good point. Do you have recommendations for post shave? For my preshave, I do a shower plus conditioner on the face and seems to be working well.

Originally Posted by MajorEthanolic

@OCDshaver... that's actually a very good point. Do you have recommendations for post shave? For my preshave, I do a shower plus conditioner on the face and seems to be working well.

Actually yes. There's a thousand aftershaves. Take your pick. I prefer Captains Choice bay rum most days. But their Lime is great too. Myrsol, Musgo Real, Proraso, Alt Innsbruck, and WM Neumann are all others in my collection. But the best balm I've found (and I've tried just about all of them) is Ems aftershave balm. They are out of Oregon. You can find them at shaveplace.com. I go with the un scented. I finish every shave with Em's balm. It's packed with all sorts of great stuff to soothe and hydrate. They also sell a bay rum essential oil that I buy. I often put a few drops in the bottle of balm and give it a good shake jut to give it a whiff of bay rum scent. It performs better than anything else I've tried.

Gentlemen,

Right you are, faces and skins are different. I cannot wear wool, for instance, and have to wash a new dress shirt about five times before I can wear it.

Although I use what I consider to be top line soaps and creams, and am confident in my overall preparation, that extra touch of a quality pre-shave helps further to cushion my skin. I am more concerned with getting a comfortable shave than a perfect shave. When I don't use a pre-shave, I feel it on my skin.

Pre-shave oils don't do much for me except to muck up things. The best pre-shave for me is Castle Forbes, a water soluble light cream that cushions the skin well and helps provide glide for the razor.

Some gentlemen see no need for a pre-shave and some do. Either way, shave comfort is what's important.

And a couple of more suggestions. Pre shave, wet the face and finger rub a small amount of Cremo or Kiss My Face against the grain. Post Shave, Nivea's Aftershave Sensitive Skin Balm.

@razorfeld, @OCDshaver... Ok, so now I'm torn. Found these 2 links:

http://www.amazon.com/Captains-Choic.../dp/B0066GR55K

Amazon.com: nivea aftershave sensitive