Thread: Baby oil

My oldest brush is now about 40 years old and regularly used with lather to which I added olive oil. No problem at all. So far.

Since you shave with soap it sort of cancels out the oil effect on a brush.

Originally Posted by 1holegrouper

Since you shave with soap it sort of cancels out the oil effect on a brush.

Alot of oils,such as olive oils, are not water soluble.But who knows?

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Alot of oils,such as olive oils, are not water soluble.But who knows?

I use glycerin all the time with no ill effects. Come to think of it, a lot of soaps are glycerin based.

Originally Posted by Wayne1963

I use glycerin all the time with no ill effects. Come to think of it, a lot of soaps are glycerin based.

Glycerin is 100% water soluble and breaks down with any soap.apples and oranges

Hello to All,

If you get the amounts correct, the oils (olive etc.) will be emuslified in the lather; they do not need to dissolve.

Next time you make a salad dressing with olive oil, vinegar and mustard, rub a little between your fingers - you will find that is slick.

That is what the oils will do in lather.

The 'old' English hard shaving soaps (late Victorian) were over-fatted, and worked well for that reason. The down-side to over-fatting is that the soap is more likely to go bad during storage. Adding the oil at the lather stage is ideal if you want to over-fat with modern soaps/creams.

As the oils should have been emulsified in the lather, brush cleaning is not a problem either; if you think that your brush is not quite clean enough after rinsing, give it a wash with some baby shampoo.

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

You are right PhatMan, adding oil to the soap at the moment of mounting lather is the best way in order to get all the best properties of an oil. As for oils going rancid, you can simply store your shaving soaps in a cool place and this will keep both oils and soap in good conditions for a long time.
In my opinion, there is no need to wash the brush with a soap or shampoo: shaving soap or cream is a soap itself and it however has the property of any soap and, as such, is made of micellae (or micelles, if you like so) the basic subunits of any soap having the property of "cleaning". Each micelle has a double property: the exterior is hydrophilic - that is, attracted to water - whereas the interior is lipophilic, that is attracted by oils. These micellae form a chain which heads get combined with water, whereas the tails can easily get combined with oils and fatty substances.
This is why a soap "cleans" because of its property of attracting oils, that is making a "trap" for them, while being however combined to water. At this point you have a substance which has trapped oils and fats and also combined to water: this makes very easy to remove it by simply rinsing with water and this will also eliminate the oils it trapped in its lipophilic tails.
Any shaving cream or soap is made of micellae - we could use it for washing our hands, for example - however a shaving soap/cream must also have other properties, including the capability of making a rich, creamy and stable lather. The micellae in a shaving soap however combines to oils (including the ones you add at the moment of mounting lather) and will be removed during shave or rinsing. That's why there is no need to wash a brush with a shampoo or soap. You can do that, of course, as it tends to accumulate dried soap which should be removed periodically from bristles by simply washing it with lukewarm water.
This is something you can see yourself when soaking a brush in clean warm water before loading it with a soap. You will notice, after few minutes, a "transparent patina" floating on the surface of water: it is dried soap coating the bristles dissolved by heat and water.
You can also try this: wash your hands with your leftover shaving cream/soap to which you added oil: it will clean your hands like a regular soap leaving no oils or fats in your skin, but only a sensation of "smoothness" because of the emollient effects of oils.

I can feel the Klingon Delete Ship approaching.

Originally Posted by One2mny

Razorguy, are you a razor god?

Oh no, absolutely not! I am just a passionate straight razor user and collector, like you, like all of us!