Pre Shave Cream Recipes?

CjH

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So guys.... There are tons of DIY instructions on the World Wide Web helping us to make pre shave oil.
But I can't find a thing on making pre shave "CREAM"
Does anyone know how to do this? Does anyone have any links or recipes of their own?

Happy shaving guys.
 
I've never made one but looking at what i can find on the Prosaro ingredients list and having made moisturisers you'll need an oil part and a water part and an emulsifier to combine them.

For the oil part i'd include some castor oil as it's hydroscopic so will help to retain moisture, i'd also include a good portion of vegetable glycerine for the same reason. For the emulsifier i'd use Emulsifying wax BP as it's very easy to use. I imagine you wouldn't want it to thick so that it absorbs quickly.

I'd try some thing like this:

Sweet almond oil 15%
Castor oil 10%
Emulsifying wax BP 3%
Glycerine 15%
Water 54%
Vitamin E oil 1% (prevents the oils going rancid)
Preservative 1% (prevents bacteria, yeasts and moulds)
Essential oils of choice 1%

To make it melt the oils and wax in a small bowl then add to the warmed water/glycerine solution (i put both in a double boiler/ban marie to melt and warm up) mix it well then allow to cool mixing regularly. when it starts to thicken add the Vit E/E.O./preservative and mix well.

The water portion can be infused with what ever you want, flowers, herbs, teas oats etc.

Emulsifying wax BP usage range is 2-6% so feel free to experiment, more = thicker.

The Soap Kitchen is a good resource for ingredients.
 
I've never made one but looking at what i can find on the Prosaro ingredients list and having made moisturisers you'll need an oil part and a water part and an emulsifier to combine them.

For the oil part i'd include some castor oil as it's hydroscopic so will help to retain moisture, i'd also include a good portion of vegetable glycerine for the same reason. For the emulsifier i'd use Emulsifying wax BP as it's very easy to use. I imagine you wouldn't want it to thick so that it absorbs quickly.

I'd try some thing like this:

Sweet almond oil 15%
Castor oil 10%
Emulsifying wax BP 3%
Glycerine 15%
Water 54%
Vitamin E oil 1% (prevents the oils going rancid)
Preservative 1% (prevents bacteria, yeasts and moulds)
Essential oils of choice 1%

To make it melt the oils and wax in a small bowl then add to the warmed water/glycerine solution (i put both in a double boiler/ban marie to melt and warm up) mix it well then allow to cool mixing regularly. when it starts to thicken add the Vit E/E.O./preservative and mix well.

The water portion can be infused with what ever you want, flowers, herbs, teas oats etc.

Emulsifying wax BP usage range is 2-6% so feel free to experiment, more = thicker.

The Soap Kitchen is a good resource for ingredients.
Ooooooh. Excellent information. Just out of curiosity. Is the preservative actually called "preservative" or is there a particular name for it?
 
Ooooooh. Excellent information. Just out of curiosity. Is the preservative actually called "preservative" or is there a particular name for it?

I got mine from an online company called Aromantic, it's called Preservative Eco Plus.

I'm just making up a batch of my recipe above as i type, i'm using an oat infusion for the water part, i'll let you know how it goes.
 
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I got mine from an online company called Aromantic, it's called Preservative Eco Plus.

I'm just making up a batch of my recipe above as i type, i'm using an oat infusion for the water part, i'll let you know how it goes.
Coolio.... What scent are you going for?
 
Okay, so made up the cream that i posted above and gave it a whirl this afternoon when i shaved. I should say at this point that i have never used a pre shave cream and usually just massage a little oil into my damp face so i have no real comparison to make for this.

That said i started with my usual first step which is to wash my face with plenty of water whilst the hot tap is warming up, then after just patting my face with a towel leaving it slightly damp i applied a generous amount of the cream, at first it looked as though i had seriously over done it but it soon soaked in. I then stropped my razor and whipped up my lather using one of my own soaps and shaved.

The shave was very good and post shave my face felt great, to what extent the cream helped is hard to say, i would have assumed that the most difference it could have made would have been on the first pass, but actually the second and third passes (xtg and atg) actually seemed smoother than usual. I will continue to use for a week or so and try other razors out and see how it goes.

I reckon that this would actually make a good post shave balm/moisturiser as well and i may just try it out in that capacity.
 
Okay, so made up the cream that i posted above and gave it a whirl this afternoon when i shaved. I should say at this point that i have never used a pre shave cream and usually just massage a little oil into my damp face so i have no real comparison to make for this.

That said i started with my usual first step which is to wash my face with plenty of water whilst the hot tap is warming up, then after just patting my face with a towel leaving it slightly damp i applied a generous amount of the cream, at first it looked as though i had seriously over done it but it soon soaked in. I then stropped my razor and whipped up my lather using one of my own soaps and shaved.

The shave was very good and post shave my face felt great, to what extent the cream helped is hard to say, i would have assumed that the most difference it could have made would have been on the first pass, but actually the second and third passes (xtg and atg) actually seemed smoother than usual. I will continue to use for a week or so and try other razors out and see how it goes.

I reckon that this would actually make a good post shave balm/moisturiser as well and i may just try it out in that capacity.
Excellent.
Let us know how it preforms in the coming week.
 
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