Thread: glycerine as a pre shave option?

I currently use trumpers limes skin food as a pre shave but could glycerine be used as a low cost alturnative?

has anyone out there tried this as a pre shave?

I look forward to your comments

Hey Evin,
I don't think this would be a good idea...Not getting into the intricacies of the biochemistry involved, Glycerin is a humectant, meaning it LOVES water. If used in pure form (like the kind you get at pharmacies, USP grade) on dry skin, it will cause a burning sensation by sucking your skin dry of its moisture (hence the burning sensation)...However, used in moist environment (on moist skin) and in lather, it will suck water from the environment and is a wonderful and fantastic moisturizer (during your shave).

I would use some other oil...Truffit & Hill, olive, almond, etc, even Stephan's conditioning creme (although this has some mineral oil should be used carefully as pre-shave)

I would tend to agree with Robert. There are any number of pre-shaves out there with which to prep your beard rather than glycerin. Try some pre-shave oil, a conditioning shave cream such as Stephan's or good old Proraso pre-shave and a hot towel.

A better use for glycerine would be to use it to make uberlather.

Some interesting comments there and food for thought. The main reason I put up this post is I'm looking at my current shave setup and see if it can be tweeked to give the best bang per buck.

At the moment I do not fully agree with what has been said so far . So today I have been out to the supermarket and picked up a small bottle of glycerine and will give it a go I will let you know my findings i.e will it be a winner of a binner

My plan of use is to use it the same way I use the Trumpers skin food so a few drops will be applied imediately to my beard after a hot shower so applied to wet skin.

Originally Posted by Evin

Some interesting comments there and food for thought. The main reason I put up this post is I'm looking at my current shave setup and see if it can be tweeked to give the best bang per buck.

At the moment I do not fully agree with what has been said so far . So today I have been out to the supermarket and picked up a small bottle of glycerine and will give it a go I will let you know my findings i.e will it be a winner of a binner

My plan of use is to use it the same way I use the Trumpers skin food so a few drops will be applied imediately to my beard after a hot shower so applied to wet skin.

Well, that's entirely your choice...but wet skin is the key. Now, whether you agree or not with what's been said is up to you, but the biology of how this thing works cannot be disputed. But, try it anyway.

An effective pre-shave provides lubrication (and glide) through the medium of some sort of oil...Glycerin is not an oil. it is a humectant, and not an effective lubricant, like oil or fat.

As Bill suggested above, use it in überlather and you will be amazed...that's where glycerin shines the most.

Originally Posted by Evin

I currently use trumpers limes skin food as a pre shave but could glycerine be used as a low cost alturnative?

has anyone out there tried this as a pre shave?

I look forward to your comments

Try Corn Husker's Lotion. I have used it as a pre-shave for years. I don't know specifically what it does, but I know that I miss it when I leave it out. Also on the plus side, it is quite inexpensive, rinses off easily, and can be found at Wal-Mart and many super-markets.

I have added a couple drops (2 or 3) to my shaving cream with good results.

Evin

I have been using one drop of Olive Oil on a wet face as a pre-shave. Then, One drop of Glycerin, into a tub of Body Shop’s Maca Root Shave Cream. Dab in a wet brush and build lather on my face.

The results are a super thick and very comfortable lather. The main reason I do it, is the lather. I can get the lather to stick to the blade and shave half of my face before rinsing... with a 5/8 blade.

The by-product is the comfort. I tried Glycerin on a wet face as a Pre- shave and caused breakouts.

This concoction works great for me. Everyones skin is different. Try it. What’s the worst that can happen?

Marty

Ok I got a chance to play with this stuff. So I rubbed in 2 drops of glycerine to my wetted face from the hot shower I just had and went for it.

At this point I feel that I will need a few shaves to form a solid opinion on weather to use glycerine as a pre shave or not, because my first shave was not consistant with my normal routine add to that I'm not fully proficient with a straight so I will have to form my views with my vintage DE razor a flare tip rocket.

So how did it go well I was using soap instead of cream and the soap had been softened and a few drops of glycerine added so it could be shaped to fit my antique shaving mug I that was given today the soap used was palmolive. with the DE razor I was not using a fresh blade 3rd shave with a super max blade any issues would show up very quickly. the razor felt smoother to draw across my face, thats it on notice able differances at the mo but compared to the trumpers it felt no different.

I will keep using the glycerine and when I have had 3 consistant shaves using my normal setup I will be in a better position to say weather my inital findings are correct or not.

I will keep you posted.