Thread: My barber doesn't use soaps or creams; what is he using?

There was a thread sometime ago about how you can shave with just water if you constantly rewet the area to make sure it's wet. Since reading that, I've tried this and found it to work really well. What I usually do is I shave close to my beard or goatee or whatever with the lather on my face. Then I rinse the remaining lather (near my facial hair) off and make sure the area is wet and start to clean up the lines with just water on my face. If your blade is sharp, your technique is decent, and your face is wet, this should be pretty easy to do.

@krs19: please ask your barber and let us know what he uses.

My guess is either a home brewed mixture or a pre-shave oil.

As everyone said it is possibly a shave oil either the barbers own blend or an off the shelf one.

It may also be one of the King of Shaves products. They do oils and gels.

A friend of mine uses the King of Shaves stuff. Tried them once but didn't like them.

I'm going there Saturday; I will ask and definitely share the info. He has a great routine he uses on me and I basically plan on mimicking this routine once I know what shave products he is using. First he uses clippers to trim the beard down to the length i want it. Second is some sort of pres-have treatment and a hot towel. After that he sprays my face with a little water then uses his oily stuff and massages that into the face then the shave begins. Once the shave is complete he throws a cold towel on for a minute or two. He uses the cold towel to wipe my face down and I'm done. The whole thing takes maybe 20 minutes or so. My face feels great when he's done and the shave is close. It lasts at least 2 days. Thanks guys for all of your comments as well. Be safe...

A 5/8 or 1/2 spike point straight razor would be helpful in keeping your beard lines looking straight.

Pabster

Originally Posted by krs19

I'm going there Saturday; I will ask and definitely share the info. He has a great routine he uses on me and I basically plan on mimicking this routine once I know what shave products he is using. First he uses clippers to trim the beard down to the length i want it. Second is some sort of pres-have treatment and a hot towel. After that he sprays my face with a little water then uses his oily stuff and massages that into the face then the shave begins. Once the shave is complete he throws a cold towel on for a minute or two. He uses the cold towel to wipe my face down and I'm done. The whole thing takes maybe 20 minutes or so. My face feels great when he's done and the shave is close. It lasts at least 2 days. Thanks guys for all of your comments as well. Be safe...

And what used your barber for stuff ?

When I was a kid & the barber used to trim my neck etc he just used to wipe on what seemed a soapy solution, possibly just shave soap dissolved in water.

In one of George MacDonald Fraser's memoirs he talks about getting shaved in India in the days of the raj, and the barber giving him the closest shaves he's ever had while only using sweat for lubricant (the shavee's sweat not the barbers).

Not sure if that works in air-conditioning or temperate or cold climates.

I use “The Real Shaving Company” shaving gel for a crisp beard or line up and my barber uses something similar. I only use this for a line up though and not a full shave. It doesn’t dry out and very slick works well if you want a super thin beard and stache for that D-bag look….I admit I have rocked it before.