Thread: 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.