Are there any sly guys out there who make their own pre-shave oil? I want to look into incorporating it into my regime without breaking the bank. Even just an outline would be helpful
I don't make my own shaving oil. On occasion, I use shave oil from time to time but the shave soaps I use are super, slick and don't need the oil. Shave oil is so inexpensive that you may consider buying it instead. You can get Shave Secret Oil at Walmart for a great price. I believe you can get it for under $4.
WARHAWK
I'm a DIYer by nature. If I can make something on my own, I will. I make an all-purpose oil that serves as my preshave (for my head & neck), a beard oil, and an oil cleanser. It's based on the Oil Cleansing Method that is omnipresent on the interwebs.
The thing with a preshave is that it should be emollient enough to serve as a buffer between your skin and the blade, but not so viscous that it clogs your razor. Some guys use coconut oil, neat; but I find I get clogged pores with coconut oil (however good it smells!) I use one part castor oil (extremely viscous) and two parts grapeseed oil (sometimes one part grapeseed and one part almond oil.) I don't add essential oils, though you could (I'd stay away from citrus like lemon or grapefruit as they're irritating and can make the skin photosensitive.)
Good luck on your project.
Cheers!
Now...don't laugh! I use a tea tree oil blend that I found in the "Ethnic" hair care products section at Walmart. It's called "Hollywood Beauty". It's a much larger bottle than any pre-shave oil that I've ever found and it's under $4. It's not straight tea tree oil; it has a blend of five or six somewhat exotic oils and doesn't have the usual tea tree smell. It doesn't clog my blades (I use a Gillette Fusion Pro Glide...the one with the ball). It gives me a super-smooth shave on my head and face. I use Head Blade's Head Slick on my head and Gillette gel on my face. As a finish on my head, I blend a pea-sized drop of aloe vera gel, three drops of the tea tree oil, and an equal amount of witch hazel. I mix it together in the palm of my hand and smooth it on my freshly-shaven head. Super shine without the greasiness.
I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the info!
I use coconut oil. Have also used almond oil -- they both work well.
I use a combination of oils for my mix.
Equal parts of extra virgin olive oil, grape seed oil, sunflower seed oil and baby oil (with aloe).
If I wat to make it a "cold" oil, then I add in menthol crystals (2 tbsp for 4oz).
Works we'll for me.
Thanks guys.
Been staying at my parent's house this weekend and instead of my bowl and brush I went back to the canned stuff. I noticed my parents has some baby oil lying around so I tried it under my cream and I found I got a much closer shave. I just want to put together some stuff designed to do what baby oil just did.