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

Hello Guys! First I want to thank Lynn and all those that support him with the creation and maintenance of this site. This is an excellent resource. Here is some background info on me and my dilemma. I am new to straight razor shaving. I am in the process of getting my list of supplies together and plan on purchasing everything this week. I typically get hot shaves from a few barbers I frequent. With that being said I keep a thin lined beard and mustache and love the straight, tight edges and smooth shave the barbers get with the straight razor. When they shave me they don't use shave creams or soaps; if they did they would not be able to see my beard clearly enough to get those precise edges, at least that is what I think. Instead they use some type of clear oily stuff and it appears to be diluted with water. I'm trying to figure out what that stuff is so I can purchase it. Does anyone have any idea? Thanks for the help.

Karl

You didn't say what part of the world you hail from.

If it was the U.S I would say it's a typical clueless barber. People with beards have been shaved by barbers for a very long time and have shaved themselves and they have used standard soaps and creams with no issues. Sounds like your guy is using his own solution. Just ask him what it is. The possibilities are endless

No one can really say for sure. It may be a barber mixture that works for them. But, it could be a clear bump free shaving gel that acts as a super lubricant almost, and "prevents" against razor bumps and/or razor burn. I think i may have picked some up a while ago. The stuff i have doesnt reall have a name brand besides "invisible no lather shaving gel". its comes in a small 5 or 6oz white bottle. It works well, but i still prefer the lather. I picked mine up at Sally's which is a beauty salon/babrer supply store. Best thing you can do though is ask you barber. Hope it helps.

could be KY

It is more than likely conditioner (same stuff you use on your hair) diluted with water it's pretty common in barbershops around here.

What's my barber using?

yeah your best bet is to just ask your barber what he is using.. however. what works for you may not be the best for your customers to shave with.. so I would have an arsenal of creams and gels or oil..

I know in my shop a lot of the guys use promate shave gel for their Krisp lines and for most of their lining .. frankly I dont spend the money on the promate stuff but it does work well.. I use aloe shave gel when I use the straight razor to arch my daughters and girl's eyebrows because with it I can see every little hair.

and I dont know how this particular group feels about the Latherizer machine but my girl loves it to give shaves in the shop.

Sounds like a shaving oil, also have a bottle sitting on the shelf. Wilkinson is the name, thought it was a small bottle in a pyramid shape.
You can use it as a pre and for a shave. (described on the bottle) Have not used it yet as I'm more a soap man.

I use Shave Secret. Little bottle shave oil I picked up for a couple of bucks at Walmart. I like it. It's especially refreshing in the summer. :)

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

Quote:

---

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.

Might be a produce called "Blade Guide" that you can buy at Amazon and other internet vendors

a little off topic perhaps, but...

When I wear a beard or other type of facial hair I find it very useful to water down my existing lather (used for the rest of my face) to touch up and define the hair lines. You have to be careful and find the right balance though, to have a lather that still provides protection and glide yet is transparent enough to let you see what you're doing.