Thread: If we wash our faces to get oils off of our skin, why would we use a preshave oil??

It just dawned on me this morning while in the shower before my shave. "If I am washing my face to get the oils off of my skin in order for the facial hair to stand up easier under lather, why would I use a preshave oil after I just finished getting all the oil off of my face?"


The only thing I can think of is that:

1. The pre-shave oils smells nice and are another item that companies can sell
   
   OR
   
   
2. I have misunderstood the concept of why we wash our faces before shaving when possible (washing as opposed to just letting them soak in a hot towel in order to saturate the hair)

can someone clarify this one for me?

My best guess is that pre-shave oil possibilly helps the hairs stand up better. A quality that the oils secreted by the face do not possess. But then like you suggest, even if that is what it does then it still logically would repel moisture. Good post. I'd really like to know the awnser to this one.

Jeremy

JL,
I've never understood this one either. It's kinda like mowing your lawn and bagging the clippings (rather than mulching) and then applying a high nitrogen fertilizer...foolish and wasteful.

Just my opinion,
Ed

The idea is simple but I'm not condoning it . . . wash face, remove oil and dirt. In the old days this was done with lather first, followed by steam towels. Then a second steam towel, which sans oil and dirt on the face can penetrate the follicle. Then, apply a shave oil to act as a better buffer for the skin. Then reapply lather to allow razor to glide over face.

That was the original idea, although I don't know when oil was actually added to the process (I think thats very, very, new) and I think most people screw up the order now and don't get nearly the effect they are supposed to.

Thanks Alan,
Your explanation is perfectly logical...but it still makes sense to use oil ONLY if your shave cream/soap does not provide the proper lubrication for a shave. The only situation this would seem to apply is if you have extremely hard water.
Thoughts?
Ed

I have a shave oil, but I don't always remember to use it. The thing is I don't really notice any difference between an oiled shave and an unoiled one. What seems to make the biggest difference is the sharpness of the razor and the lather. I don't think I'll be buying another bottle of that third-pressing olive oil.

Soap and water will only create a lather in the relative absence of grease. Take for example washing-up detergent. While washing up your greasy crocks and cutlery the froth disapears. So, grease "consumes" lather/froth while it causes grease to dissolve into water.

Basically shaving soap and shaving cream are manufactured by splitting oils and/or fats into fatty acids and glycerine. Fatty acids and glycerine are water soluble and create a lather or a froth when added to water and whipped up. The hotter the water the better the froth/lather. The shaving soap or cream will dissolve the grease of the skin at the expense of the amount of lather you get. So if you don't wash the grease off your face before applying shaving soap/cream you get less lather with the same amount of shaving soap or cream.
.
Lather is a fatty lubricant dissolved in water. You need the water to soften the hairs of your beard and you need the fatty acids and the glycerine as a lubricant for your razor. And you need both water and lubricants where the razor touches the hair. If you do not wash your face before shaving you can still have a lather but you'll need larger amounts of shaving soap or cream. As you would add some more detergent when the froth is gone from your washing up water while there's still crocks left to be washed up.

I am quite sure pre-shave oil is formulated to give lubrication without "consuming" lather. If you would use e.g. olive oil as a pre-shave you would find you need more shaving soap or cream. Because the oil will be dissolved into the water of the lather thereby consuming lather.

I hope I made myself clear. I find it difficult to explain things technical adequately in English.

Probably. the only other tidbit I can add is that oils seem to have become vogue at the same instant that shaving with disposable straights was made mandatory. I think the use of a DE blade with a straight applies too much stress on the skin and you need all the buffering you can get.

Thats the end of my knowledge level on that subject. :-)

Originally Posted by ForestryProf

Thanks Alan,
Your explanation is perfectly logical...but it still makes sense to use oil ONLY if your shave cream/soap does not provide the proper lubrication for a shave. The only situation this would seem to apply is if you have extremely hard water.
Thoughts?
Ed

Could it be that the oil from your skin is dirty and you clean that off and put fresh oil on? Just like your car.

Glen

Originally Posted by Kees

I hope I made myself clear. I find it difficult to explain things technical adequately in English.

Crystal, actually. Your English is as good or better than most native speakers. Nice explanation.

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