Thread: Homemade Pre Shave Oil

I'd like to know your recipes for Pre Shave Oil, that is, The Folks that make their own. What oils are you using and in what ratio's. What EO's and/or FO's do you add. Anyone using anything exotic, Grapeseed, Jojoba, etc...
Some of the benefits of making your own, would be getting the right viscosity of oils, and having a fragrance you like, not the one the manufacturer likes. Lynn's Pre Shave Oil post gave me the idea. I've used many of the top brands. Right now, I like one given to me by a member here. For store bought, I'd go with T&H. It's lemon scented, which I like, and just the right viscosity. Also, it has a tiny tiny opening, so you can actually get a few drops at a time. It dispenses nicely. Proraso is like cold cream, reminds me of Noxema. AOS is too thick, Castle Forbes, well, it doesn't even seem like pre shave oil, looks like milky hand lotion. I'm waiting on TOBS as we speak.....

One Sunday a few weeks ago I did actually try using olive oil as a pre shave oil, and it did work! Ok, I smelt like a salad, but it did add a lot of glide to the shave! :-)

I just decided that I didnt really like the oily feeling on my skin, so I've basically decided not to pursue pre shave oils.

Originally Posted by Stubear

One Sunday a few weeks ago I did actually try using olive oil as a pre shave oil, and it did work! Ok, I smelt like a salad, but it did add a lot of glide to the shave! :-)

I just decided that I didnt really like the oily feeling on my skin, so I've basically decided not to pursue pre shave oils.

You might like Castle Forbes..It's not oily at all. It's quite different than the lot.....

Thanks!

I've heard alot of good things about CF so I'll give it a try!

I've used organic sunflower seed oil as a pre-shave. It worked well, but I never seem to stick with pre-shave oils as a step.

Chris L

I've used Jojoba, Grapeseed, Sweet Almond and Olive oils. I use them pure when I do. I am currently using the grapeseed oil, which I like alot. My other "go to" oil was the Sweet Almond (still comparing the two).
I don't really do mixtures at the moment. I don't really feel the need to have the other additives beyond the base oil. The Jojoba oil is a good skin treatment, but I currently feel the other two are better for shaving (I don't use the Olive anymore).
Make sure that you use the almond oil sooner rather than later, because it will spoil eventually.

Originally Posted by grimlad

I've used Jojoba, Grapeseed, Sweet Almond and Olive oils. I use them pure when I do. I am currently using the grapeseed oil, which I like alot. My other "go to" oil was the Sweet Almond (still comparing the two).
I don't really do mixtures at the moment. I don't really feel the need to have the other additives beyond the base oil. The Jojoba oil is a good skin treatment, but I currently feel the other two are better for shaving (I don't use the Olive anymore).
Make sure that you use the almond oil sooner rather than later, because it will spoil eventually.

Thanks Sean, Do you find the Almond has a strong fragrance to it. I'm looking for a base that will take EO's well.

Try using Hawaiian tropic tanning oil...it works and smells great and is cheap...

Zib,

I don't really find much scent at all with sweet almond oil. You have to sniff pretty strongly to smell it imo (of course it could be my sniffer, lol). It just seems to have a clean, natural oil smell to it, not strong at all. I would think it would work well with other EO's, although I am not sure. I did play around with my own mixtures at one point and never had any trouble with the combinations.

I've used EVOO , my OCM mix, and grapeseed oil as pre-shave oils.
The grapeseed oil was by far the slickest. The other oils are quite a bit thicker, so on that note I'd recommend grapeseed oil as a base. On a side note, I unearthed an old bottle of American Crew pre-shave oil... I decided to just use it all up so I could use the empty bottle for the grapeseed oil. Well I don't know if it the oil or something else I did wrong, but as I started my second pass, my face started getting pretty irritated. At this point I am assuming it was the oil, possibly the cloves in the oil - it smells very strongly of clove oil. If I try it again I'll pay close attention to any burning sensations. (I guess that was just a warning to take it easy on the clove oil until you are sure it won't irritate your skin)