Thread: What about cooking oil

SO i was shaving today, and i got a real smooth shave, the best i have every had. How ever i still had slight burning in my face. And i was trying to find like a pre shave cream, and i was watching seinfeld, the episode when kramer use butter ask shaving cream. NOW i am not crazy enough to use butter, but what about cooking oil, or any kind of oil, will that give my face added protection along with shaving cream, and if you think this is a really dumb idea please tell me

sounds like itll give you some fun zits

I've personally used baby(mineral) oil and vitamin E oil. I know some people use olive oil and I've heard that castor oil works really good as well.

Originally Posted by Zargart

SO i was shaving today, and i got a real smooth shave, the best i have every had. How ever i still had slight burning in my face. And i was trying to find like a pre shave cream, and i was watching seinfeld, the episode when kramer use butter ask shaving cream. NOW i am not crazy enough to use butter, but what about cooking oil, or any kind of oil, will that give my face added protection along with shaving cream, and if you think this is a really dumb idea please tell me

My dear Zargart:

I am aware some gentlemen use olive oil as an aftershave balm. Then again, why not just settle for a legitimate aftershave balm? Try any of the following: Institute Karite aftershave balm, Geo F Trumper's Coral Skin Food, aftershave balm by Edwin Jagger, Castle Forbes, Proraso, Truefitt & Hill, D.R. Harris — and the list goes on. Even Nivea, found at your local pharmacy, has a good aftershave balm.

Regards,

Obie

Some oils will make you break out. It depends on your skin--grapeseed oil for me is a no-no. Personally though, I'm not an oil guy. There's a chance of gunking up your brush and really, if you absolutely need an oil to get a good shave, it probably means your lather is not doing all it can. You might want to experiment there 1st. I really like the CF preshave (non-oil), but I can still get a very good shave w/o it--it just gives a little extra (5% maybe) performance sometimes.

Not saying don't use it (if it improves your shave, absolutely do it!), but it seems like everybody is getting into various oils for shaving & it leaves me wondering whether or not some have really experimented enough to find what works best for them, lather-wise. They might not have figured out how best to lather a given soap/cream or they may be using something that just doesn't give optimal performance for them.

THat being said, we have some really senior guys on here who love the stuff, so @ the end of the day, it really is about what works for you. Bottom line though, I'd stay away from cooking oil & try an established brand intended for use on the face like AOS, T&H, etc. first.

I make my own bath oils and bath salts and have done so for several years. Grapeseed oil is my favorite but I do have to point out something I learned the hard way. Never buy oil for cosmetic purposes from a grocery store. All grapeseed oil is NOT the same. I tried some from Trader Joe's and it made a thick sticky mess on my skin, in my hair and in my bath tub. Never again! I had to take another bath with my kid's bubble bath to get the mess off me! I called and complained, asking if it was really pure grapeseed oil. They insisted it was but I still have doubts. It was not like the grapeseed oil I'm accustomed to at all. Now I only use cosmetic grade grapeseed oil which tends to be lighter and doesn't react to water by turning into slime.

Another standby of mine is jojoba oil. Jojoba has antibacterial qualities that I think might be helpful for shaving. A word of advice about jojoba and most other oils--a tiny bit goes a long way. Use just a few drops at a time until your face feels moisturized. With purchased products the oil content is usually low so you don't have to worry about that so much. It might take some practice to get the hang of using straight oil by itself.

Lori

Obie makes some great points above when he suggests some tried and tested products. It is a great idea even if you do want to make your own, so you know how it's supposed to work.

LoriB also has some good advice on her oils, cosmetic grade oils is a good idea and also helps inb another deprartment - if it is cosmetic grade, chances are it is used in cosmetics. "Regular cooking oil" is not a very specific term, but most of those are not very well suited. Olive oil, while great in cooking, is so thick it doesn't absorb in your skin and many do not like it for this reason. Grapeseed oil is a cooking oil but also well suited for cosmetic use. It is my staple cosmetic oil, it is light and will absorb, and has many uses.
I'll add that there are many different qualities, like LoriB discovered. Some are cold pressed and of high quality, but in our modern world we also reheat the mass and press again for a lower quality oil, and some will add not-so-nice chemicals to get the very last out of the raw product through a third or maybe even more runs through the press. I have found that I can buy high quality oil from many vendors, even some grocery stores, just as long as I know what I'm buying.
On a side note - I'm just as picky when it comes to my food oils as I am when it comes to my cosmetic oils

zargart,

When I do use oils (which is very infrequently) I tend to use a mix of jojoba and castor oil (50/50)

The oils generally recommended for shaving use are those that have a low possibility of 'clogging your pores' - i.e. non-comedogenic oils (olive, jojoba, castor, grapeseed, sunflower, almond, avocado etc).

As LoriB has said, you only need a few drops !

Have fun & good luck !

Best regards

Russ

Aren't we missing a little chemistry? Soap works to bind to oil in order to break it loose and carry it away. So by applying oil followed by shaving cream (soap) the oil is being removed from the skin where it then won't provide any lubrication.

Originally Posted by tombuesing

Aren't we missing a little chemistry? Soap works to bind to oil in order to break it loose and carry it away. So by applying oil followed by shaving cream (soap) the oil is being removed from the skin where it then won't provide any lubrication.

When I use oil, it's not for extra lubrication but to help elasticise and moisturize the skin. I put it on after the shower and then wait a good ten minutes before adding any shave soap.