Thread: Pre shave, non oil based

Hello there, I recently was farting around with a bottle of "The art of shaving" pre shave oil...
While I feel the oil does help, even if I use the tiniest bit, and give it plenty of time to absorb into my beard/skin, I can't help but get an oily residue on my brush, and even in my sink sometimes. Gets on my safety razors too... sometimes it gets on my straight razor, but I do not mind that too much, hence the carbon blades.

I saw a video of a guy shaving with a Scottish product called "Execute shave"
Its a pre shave oil, that is not actually oil based and is water soluble.

I have only seen one other product like this, and I believe it was Castle Forbes or something, but that product is 60 dollars!!!!!
I cannot find any of the Execute water soluble stuff here in the USA, and the only source on ebay I found to ship it here (with a high shipping price) is a patchouli scent... i'm pretty sure I have a scent allergy to patchouli so thats a no go.

Can anyone help me with another oil/solution that is water soluble? I've tried pre shave soaps, but they really don't seem to benefit me any better than using a regular soap and washing my face with that. thanks!

In the beginning I tried oils as a preshave, never really liked any of them.
I found this 4 years ago & use it every shave,,, unless I'm testing a soap or cream for review.

Washes of clean, does not clog razor, water based , nice clean scent & softens the whiskers for me.
At Wal Mart,,, lasts a long time.

haha, I thought it was a pet product at first glance. Softens up your beard eh? So what is it generally meant for? Just a moisturizer?
Is it expensive? I may have to run down to the ol' Wal-fart and give er a try tomorrow!

D R Harris has Arlington pre shave. That's off the top of my head so it may be called something close to that. I love it and have been using it for years. Also, the Porasio pre shave creme is in my mind way better than any oil based pre shave.

Originally Posted by glytch5

haha, I thought it was a pet product at first glance. Softens up your beard eh? So what is it generally meant for? Just a moisturizer?
Is it expensive? I may have to run down to the ol' Wal-fart and give er a try tomorrow!

It is a moisturizer for the skin, less than $5.00, it works great for dry skin,,, what I really like is the way it easily washes off, with no residue.

If its not in the skin care section, it will be in the first aid section,, don't ask why, but it is in one of the Wal marts here.

Pretty much anything water soluble should rinse off from your razor. The problem with oil based preshave is that the non-polar lipid structure of the oil repels the polar water and makes it bounce right off without actually dissolving any of the preshave. That being said, the entire purpose of soap is for one side to be polar and the other not polar so it can dissolve oil and then be washed away by water (which is why if you wash your hands a lot you get dry hands, because it's stripping the skin's oil), so your soap should be able to take the oil off :/ I would recommend making your own just using things that can dissolve in water but are also slippery/would soften the beard like glycerin.

Noxema, very cheap, and does the job very well. By the way it's the same stuff as Proraso pre/post cream at about 5 times cheaper. It preps your beard without doing the oil thing, and if you get a little razor burn it,ll fix you up after shave too. Been around a long time, give it a try, if you don't like it I,m sure the wife uses it. Tc

I am going to have to try Udderly smooth. Having tried the oils they always frustrate me due to the razor clogging.

Very interesting what can be learned here. I got as an Xmas gift of some Huile de Pre Shave Oil. It's just okay and I'm almost out, so I will definitely try the noxema product and the udderly smooth. You guys are a wealth of information! I Thank you and my face says Thanks too.

I second that, you guys are great, thanks for the info.